Draft Choice

If we pick 4th I'd want Fears




Cooper Flagg
Dylan Harper
Ace Bailey
Jerimiah Fears
VJ Edgecomb
Jase Richardson
Tre Johnson
Rasheer Flemming
Kon Knuepel



Most sites have Flemming going between 12-25, but he's the elusive rim-protector and floor-spacer we have coveted next to Zion for years. In fact he's the only player in college basketball to have like 50 dunks and 50 3's (supposive 7'5 wingspan)

I'm down on Edgecomb cause we need a primary guard in the worst way, and that just isn't him as of now or any time soon

We have had good luck with the Baylor players.

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Originally Posted by 13 - 3

We have had good luck with the Baylor players.

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True. and he's kinda athletic

Don't think we need to worry about building around Zion anymore. Just pick the best player (I think, given his lack of availability, we should do this even on the off chance we don't trade Zion this offseason).

I see the appeal of Fears and wouldn't be mad at him with pick 4

I would be interested in him or vj

no love for trey johnson? he's the best three level scorer after flagg and harper and led Baylor as a freshman. nba is about scoring,right?

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Originally Posted by clark griswald

no love for trey johnson? he's the best three level scorer after flagg and sharper and led Baylor as a freshman. nba is about scoring,right?

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good point, I got love for Tre. He should be higher. But I tell ya, he needs to work his off hand and doesn't really attack the rim at all. It's easy to be picky in this draft though, the dude is a straight up scorer; and that's something he could do from day one.

thats also what I like about Jase Richardson. Jase will enter the league shooting 41% on 3's on decent volume. No waiting on him to develop his shot as with Edgecomb and Fears. I went with Fears due to his relentless pursuit of getting into the lane, and handles to do it efficiently coinciding with his FT% It's odd to see someone shoot 85% FT's in volume, yet 28% on 3's; im assuming he'll learn to shoot the 3 fast.

Someone sell me again on Edgecomb, seemingly all 3 of those guards mentioned will help sooner than Edgecomnb



still want Rasheer Flemming as well

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Originally Posted by fullcourtpress

Someone sell me again on Edgecomb, seemingly all 3 of those guards mentioned will help sooner than Edgecomnb

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The pitch on Edgecomb is this:

- Best transition scorer in the class. Great pace, knows where to be, fills lanes, good hands, good reads, decisive against a transition defense. Super impressive for his age and size.
- Really excellent perimeter defender and especially shot blocker for his size.
- Projects pretty well as a shooter even if it's not all there immediately.
- Really excellent interior passer, especially some of the trickier reads, which is promising for his continued improvement in more complex systems and moments.
- Great wingspan for his height
- Plays well offball, cuts well

Reality is that, 90% of the time, you shouldn't drafting for how soon someone is going to help, you should be drafting for upside, especially when you're a franchise like New Orleans who is not going to just acquire stars in free agency or trade very often. You've got to make big plays in the draft, and Edgecomb is the best upside between a combination of skillset, size, age, et cetera. The dream is that he basically turns into Victor Oladipo, but even if he does, you still have a poor man's Victor Oladipo with a mid-tier outcome and that's not bad at all.

Compare someone like Jase, who yes will enter the league shooting a higher percentage from 3, but he's shorter, gets to the rim less, is less athletic, has less burst, is worse defensively, doesn't take a higher volume to accommodate that improved percentage (and remember, volume can be just as important as percentage in some cases) and he's not even appreciably younger? It makes things much muddier.

Fears at least has the benefit of being a full year younger than Edgecomb, but again he's smaller, he's a worse shooter, worse defender, and gets to the rim less, and shows similarly lower level secondary passing skills. Could he potentially be better, if everything hits? Sure, but assuming both players hit their top 5% outcomes, Edgecomb probably looks better, so that's the bet if you're taking him first.

I still like Fears and Jase and would have both top 18, but yeah I'd have Edgecomb over them for those reasons.

I just fear if the mandate is to get rid of Z, and if our pick is not top 2 I can see Dumars being pressured to win now and trop our pick 3-8 to the highest bidder and it result in a Julius Randle/Kuminga,Sabonis, Cam Johnson, Lauri Markaden type deal and this team next year will look like the Bulls aka a 10 seed team.

I believe ownership would love to do what the Kings did this year, which is compete for the playin. No future rebuild or want to wait on rookies outside of Flagg and maybe Harper (I think they would trade pick 2 for Bam Adeboyo or fringe all star).

Overall I believe and have connections that Z is gone, if this team will compete without Z, and with the injuries starting the season and keeping freaking WG I just don't see us keeping the pick if it's not top 2.

I can see under no circumstances us trading the top 3, and I'm doubtful we'd trade top 5. Also I think there's a good chance Zion doesn't get traded this year. Dumars said there was no mandate.

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Originally Posted by Pelicanidae

The pitch on Edgecomb is this:

- Best transition scorer in the class. Great pace, knows where to be, fills lanes, good hands, good reads, decisive against a transition defense. Super impressive for his age and size.
- Really excellent perimeter defender and especially shot blocker for his size.
- Projects pretty well as a shooter even if it's not all there immediately.
- Really excellent interior passer, especially some of the trickier reads, which is promising for his continued improvement in more complex systems and moments.
- Great wingspan for his height
- Plays well offball, cuts well

Reality is that, 90% of the time, you shouldn't drafting for how soon someone is going to help, you should be drafting for upside, especially when you're a franchise like New Orleans who is not going to just acquire stars in free agency or trade very often. You've got to make big plays in the draft, and Edgecomb is the best upside between a combination of skillset, size, age, et cetera. The dream is that he basically turns into Victor Oladipo, but even if he does, you still have a poor man's Victor Oladipo with a mid-tier outcome and that's not bad at all.

Compare someone like Jase, who yes will enter the league shooting a higher percentage from 3, but he's shorter, gets to the rim less, is less athletic, has less burst, is worse defensively, doesn't take a higher volume to accommodate that improved percentage (and remember, volume can be just as important as percentage in some cases) and he's not even appreciably younger? It makes things much muddier.

Fears at least has the benefit of being a full year younger than Edgecomb, but again he's smaller, he's a worse shooter, worse defender, and gets to the rim less, and shows similarly lower level secondary passing skills. Could he potentially be better, if everything hits? Sure, but assuming both players hit their top 5% outcomes, Edgecomb probably looks better, so that's the bet if you're taking him first.

I still like Fears and Jase and would have both top 18, but yeah I'd have Edgecomb over them for those reasons.

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Well said. Just curious, ya think he could be our PG?

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Originally Posted by donato

I can see under no circumstances us trading the top 3, and I'm doubtful we'd trade top 5. Also I think there's a good chance Zion doesn't get traded this year. Dumars said there was no mandate.

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Which, if there was a mandate, is exactly what he would say in order to try to maintain leverage in trade negotiations. Have you ever seen anyone come out and say "we're definitely going to trade this guy"?.

As someone said, you don't focus this pick on building around Zion. You have to be open to the possibility that he may be traded if you are Dumars. If there is someone you think can be a generational talent, grab him right away. There are a billion shooters in this league. The system is more important than the players.

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Originally Posted by donato

I can see under no circumstances us trading the top 3, and I'm doubtful we'd trade top 5. Also I think there's a good chance Zion doesn't get traded this year. Dumars said there was no mandate.

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Lol why would you trust anything this orginization says? Dumars contradicted himself so many times yesterday.

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Originally Posted by JJackisangry

As someone said, you don't focus this pick on building around Zion. You have to be open to the possibility that he may be traded if you are Dumars. If there is someone you think can be a generational talent, grab him right away. There are a billion shooters in this league. The system is more important than the players.

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Pelicans are high on Ace Bailey.

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Originally Posted by Silverfoxx

Pelicans are high on Ace Bailey.

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I think he will be good. Can see him going at 3 though so it will be interesting to see where we land.

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Originally Posted by Silverfoxx

Lol why would you trust anything this orginization says? Dumars contradicted himself so many times yesterday.

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I'm just saying I'm not convinced we are definitely trading Zion. I think it could go either way, and I'm actually fine with it either way.

if we were to pick 5th, is this draft deep enough to trade back with san antonio for 8 and 14?

there's not a prospect outside the top 3 that i would prefer over a combination like Rasheer Flemming and Jase Richardson. Thats two 3 pt marksmen at our two problem positions

Jase Richardson
Herb Jones
Trey Murphy
Zion
Rasheer Flemming

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For those that haven't tried it yet... enjoy
https://www.tankathon.com/

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Originally Posted by fullcourtpress

if we were to pick 5th, is this draft deep enough to trade back with san antonio for 8 and 14?

there's not a prospect outside the top 3 that i would prefer over a combination like Rasheer Flemming and Jase Richardson. Thats two 3 pt marksmen at our two problem positions

Jase Richardson
Herb Jones
Trey Murphy
Zion
Rasheer Flemming

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It would be extremely foolish to trade outside the top 5 if we are lucky enough to be there. We have seen that fail miserably in the past. The NBA draft is always a crapshoot outside the top 5.