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The pick should be on the table for a trade
I know this, do not let this year panic this franchise into chasing one dimensional specialist shooters. You might win a few more games. Even get in the playoffs. But that's not the ultimate goal.
Find basketball players that can shoot. Simple as that. Be patient if you have to.
I'd be hard to find a better prospect than Jalen Johnson where we will be picking.
I like JJ's attitude. We need someone who plays with an edge.
Franz Wagner, Moe Wagner's brother, has declared for the NBA draft: "I mean, if Moe can play in the league — obviously they’ll take anyone.” @brhoops
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 4, 2021
(via @PlayersTribune) pic.twitter.com/IS5xkCTf7u
Hey, Franz officially entered the draft finally. He's our guy if we end up using our pick at that 10-13 spot imo [assuming all the obvious candidates are gone, such as Cade, Mobley, Moody].
And more importantly, defense.
Franz is one of the handful of top tier defenders in this class. He just doesn't make mistakes off-ball, at least not at the college level (obviously rookies often take a minute to adjust in the NBA, and NBA offenses are so much harder to read, but it's a good sign) and he's got good hands and he's 6'9 with a 7'0 wingspan which is helpful. Needs to work a bit on his closeouts, he sometimes does that forward-foot-on-the-man thing that makes it hard for him to recover if he's beaten, but other than that he's super promising.
I think the shot will be fine, he's a career 84%FT guy at college and while his 3pt% there was only mediocre (34.3% this year) it did improve from his rookie year and the volume is encouraging. It's not a mechanically horrible shot either, though there's a bit of work to be done; I buy it. FT% and FTr are usually more indicative of future 3pt% than raw college 3pt% is anyway.
And, like you mention, he has some auxiliary skills that give him room to grow into a potentially higher ceiling guy. He can do a bit on ball, he can run a pick and roll just a little, he makes good passes off the dribble. There's real potential there for him to be a super-role player, if everything goes well, who makes two way impact without demanding the ball a ton.
Man, you guys are really gonna get yourself worked up for a dream offseason and be let down. That core would need Hart and Hayes plus one more big wing who could shoot to be special. But it aint happening.
I will say again -- owners have received little to no revenue for what will be about 20 months by the time next season starts. Teams arent going to trade the guys who will sell tickets for guys and/or picks who wont. I really dont think Beal gets moved in the summer. Or either Portland guy when they lose in the 1st round. Or even a Sabonis. Now, all of those guys could be moved by February, after tickets have been sold. But it aint happening this summer.
But I cant stop you from dreaming. Zion and Lillard would be awesome
@mcnamara247
Last edited by fullcourtpress; 05-05-2021 at 04:57 PM.
I have no idea where nbadraft.net ranks anyone, I don't base my opinions on mainstream draft consensus. Last year everyone and their mother in the mainstream had James Wiseman as a top 3 pick, I barely had him in the lottery. Also, he may well go top 12, but where someone gets drafted and where someone should get drafted are often two entirely different things, so maybe he will go top 12 but that doesn't necessarily mean he should.
Johnson has strengths, of course, and I don't actually think he ''quit on his team'' - I think declining to play under the circumstances was unfortunate but entirely understandable - I just don't have him rated that highly compared to some other players. He's good, sure, and I could see him being a justifiable late lottery pick depending on team context, but I don't think it would be ''hard to find a better prospect'' at 10 or so. There are plenty of players who I think are either clearly better than him now, or who have very plausible pathways to better upside, and I generally think drafting in the lottery should be a value maximisation process where you try and get the best possible upside (with a few exceptions).
I'd be totally cool if they traded down, acquired more draft capital to help offload Bledsoe, and left this draft with Isaiah Todd.
Lonzo showed what I was talking about this team needing. A guard that doesn't necessarily have to stand behind the line and shoot 40% from 3. But a guard that can simply win his 1-on-1 battles while Zion and BI draw so much attention. Just step in and hit a 45 - 50% off dribble mid-range. You'll have all the space you need to do so.
So I like Davion Mitchell there. Moody or Keon Johnson if available.
Thats about where I am so far with this draft.
And I am higher on Todd than I am on Jalen Johnson.
Last edited by luckyman; 05-05-2021 at 08:16 PM.
I agree with a lot of the spirit of this but I have a few concerns.
1) Self-creating midrange shots at 45% or more is extremely uncommon. You say a guard who can ''simply'' win their 1v1 battles and shoot that percentage is all we need, but that's actually a lot less common than someone who can shoot just league average from 3, and so is much harder to acquire.
2) Even if you do all the work of acquiring someone with that skillset, it's worth less to the offense than a 3pt shooter who is simply league average (45% from midrange is 0.9 points per shot, 36% from 3 is 1.09 points per shot), and most defenses are much happier giving up contested pull-up 18 footers than they are catch and shoot 3s.
3) Even if that was acceptable, why would you make it your aim? Surely even if you think someone who can break guys down and hit 18 footers is sufficient, someone who could do the same thing but hitting 23 footers would clearly be better, since the shots are worth more points and they create more space. So why would you aim for the former when there are potentially guys who could do the latter?
That's my confusion, really. I just don't get why you'd settle when you're high enough in the draft to be aiming for more upside than that.
And I'm also much lower on Davion Mitchell but that's a conversation we've had a little before so I just don't think we'll agree on that one
So the spurs have lost 4 in a row. Are we on the cusp of being outtanked ?
Just another Kiwi basking in the reflected glory of Steven Adams....bask bask...
Possibly, but in order for that to happen we would have to play respectably will for a period of longer than about twenty minutes at a time, which we haven't really done all season long. So it's up in the air.
They have the hardest schedule of any team remaining if I remember correctly.
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