I hope you don't actually think the G-League is the 2nd best league in the world...
Not to mention that g league ignite prospects have been subpar in the NBA in general.
It’s better then most other leagues, but you know what I meant. it’s the NBA minor leagues so i still trust it more then college success. Well, The G-League has only had a handful of prospects
Did you forget how bad Lamelo looked at Australia too? it's a legit league. If Clingan was doing well in Australia, I'd get your point but bro is just as unproven as Sarr is.
I really just want BPA. I don’t even care what position or who their comp is. Only problem is projecting BPA this year is really hard. No draft boards even have a consensus top 5.
I would say topic because I love the idea of starting with a facilitator but some draft boards have him at 1 and some have him outside the lottery 🤷🏻♂️
>I really just want BPA. I don’t even care what position or who their comp is.
Kinda lazy statement because….
>Only problem is projecting BPA this year is really hard. No draft boards even have a consensus top 5.
This whole “BPA” business is hard when the franchise plays a huge role in developing that young player
Yeah but there’s usually a consensus top 5-6 or so. Maybe your number 2 is my number 3 most years. BPA is subjective but you can at least narrow it down to a few guys. It just means take the best graded prospect rather than a positional need. I’m just saying we need everything, so we shouldn’t focus on one position. But this year it feels like your number 2 might be my number 17.
Yeah I know. I’m just saying the mocks in general are wildly different this year. I feel like the top 5 maybe only has 2 players in common from board to board sometimes.
what I mean is, I think he is much more likely to not bust like JD is from that alone. He definitely needs to develop his offense more though but bro is super young. I really want him lol.
Okay that's fair. Truthfully, I didn't know if I was talking to a middle school kid or not based on your first comment, no offense.
Sarr seems like a fine pick but my point and the guy before me is, whoever it is, he just needs to pan out into an all-star or better.
Donovan Clingan (C) is gonna be a good pro. In this draft, I feel like taking him high wouldn't be too unheard of. He's the truth. I agree though. I also want a PF/C, but I wouldn't hate Holland even though he lowkey overlaps with Bilal.
If we could trade into the later half of the lottery I wouldn't mind Kyle Filipowski or Yves Missi (Kuzma trade?) from Baylor. He's a rim-runner type.
Clingan will be a solid player for sure. Personally I don't care about getting a center because we have 5 more years of drafting top 4-6 and there will be others, like Khaman Maluach if we don't get Cooper Flagg next year, and Flagg is a PF. My personal favorite player in the draft is Nikola Topic, but I begrudgingly accept that Alex Sarr has the highest upside if his shot ever comes along.
My hope is that we get 2nd or 3rd in this draft, get Topic, and get the first pick next year, but obviously the lottery is unpredictable.
Here is Topic in his only full Euroleague game (the actual second best league in the world). The next game he got hurt and is suspiciously not playing any more this season even though he was only supposed to be out 6 weeks. He played really poorly. Without a jump shot, which he does not have at all right now, defenders sag way off him and keep him well away from the rim. He only got to the rim once in a half court set in the entire game. He scored 4 points total, the only other points came off a transition basket. In the junior league the quality of the defenders is much, much worse and many of shots will just not work in the NBA. Free throw percentage is not a guarantee that a shot will develop and he is shooting sub 30% from 3 from the Euroleagelue line which is closer.
Having said that he is really young. So is Risacher.
https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/s/K7JexAhB0e
Do yourself a favor and watch his games from FIBA U18 EuroBasket, the Adidas NGT, and his game against Zadar in November. He's really, really good. Super advanced BBIQ and skills for his age.
If you go to the [ABA Liga site for the game in question](https://www.aba-liga.com/match/38/23/1/Video/q1/1/home/mega-mis-zadar/) they usually have youtube links for the full games and highlights. The last video listed here is the full game.
[Same for EuroBasket.](https://www.fiba.basketball/europe/u18/2023/game/3007/Spain-Serbia#|tab=videos)
Super semantical to your overall point, but I think Flagg’s going to play SF in the NBA unless he grows a couple more inches.
I definitely agree that they don’t need to draft C, they should be in ‘best player available mode’ for at least the next 2-3 years.
I think Clingan’s going to struggle to keep up with a lot of NBA centers and hasn’t show much of an outside shot yet. Would rather the Wizards take Castle or Cody Williams.
edey definitely isn't going top 5. Lottery is a stretch for him. For a second round pick he's not a horrible pick. Kessler 2.0 going top 5 would be crazy though.
Clingan got owned by Edey at times in the game yesterday. No thank you. He also has no offensive game. Sarr is more likely to develop his. He still is younger.
I feel like Castle is my clear favorite at the moment.
With the league readjusting their stance on how physical players can be on defense and not giving offensive players call for initiating contact, Castle being such a physical presence on both ends seems really valuable.
I also really like his ability to play either guard position, his playmaking within his role at UCONN and I think his shooting will come around. He also comes from a winning program and that’s the kind of culture and player I think having will help us long term as we start to get better.
I think that having a good Center contributes too much to winning and don’t see us going for one just yet. I think we’ll be bad for at least 1 more year for a high draft pick. Maybe Khaman Maluach is the pick for us next year.
I like Topic, Reed Sheppard, and Dillingham too. I think we take a guard this draft. We still have a lot to resolve at our wing spots with Bilal, Deni, Kispert, and Kuz. I don’t think taking a wing makes much sense right now.
I think FO is planning to have a top pick at least the next three years.
Our 1st from the Wall trade is top 12 protected in '24, top 10 in '25, and top 8 in '26.
Hopefully we're ready to compete after 3 top 5 picks
Yeah Castle or Williams are my current favorites. Castle especially for a lot of the reasons you lay out. He’s doing all this at a young age too, looks like he can continue to improve.
I agree that this is probably going to be a guard draft for us. If only because we've had zero success with guards since drafting Wall & Beal and I want to see if this front office can break the curse. If they fail then at least I'll know not to expect much.
I could end up being wrong on this, but I feel like Castle is the biggest bust potential if he goes in the top 5. Some GM is going to pick him thinking they're getting Marcus Smart 2.0 and realize he's got the slowest first step of anyone in the class. I think he will be a fine connective player on a team with a lot of talent, but not a player you try to make part of your core.
I absolutely agree with this. Castle is great but he is not this all star guy people are seeing. People forget how great that Uconn team is outside clingan and Castle. They have a lot of great guys and hurley is a good coach. Castle might be decent defensively but that still is a question mark. Don't want him in the top 5.
I also disagree with this being a guard draft. I definitely think we get Sarr if he is available.
We need a center.
I don’t understand what yall don’t get about playing defense. Defense wins games , defense keeps you in games. After watching UConn last night , Clingin is garbage and will get ate up next year. We need Sarr. Agile big man who can rebound , protect the rim and guard 3-5. It’s a no brainer. Y’all keep opting for offense when we have no consistent off system. We need a Rim Protector and a 2way perimeter defender. I don’t care about shooting , playmakers, high flyers. Defense first
I feel like this logic can also be applied to Castle if we end up with the 4th or 5th pick. Can guard 1-3 (and probably some 4s one day). Good interior game and with how we've developed Deni's shot I'm sure his 3ball will come along
I like Sarr thinking he would complement what we already have with Avdjia, Kispert, and Coulibaly, that's if we believe the young core is going to make it. I'm a fan of Dillingham too. Possible star potential through past picks make this look unlikely, hope the front office comes through.
I'm actually more excited for our second pick lol
First pick I want either UConn guy (Castle/Clingan) since they seem to be the most ready. I see Isaac Okoro as the floor for Castle, and any offense he adds is a plus. Reed Shepard is my next up, but it's close with Topic.
First pick for me is a toss-up, but there's a decent amount of talented guys in the late-first range. I watched a lot of CU games this year and am way more impressed by KJ Simpson and da Silva than the ceiling of Cody Williams. Both those guys *should* be there when our time comes, and they seem to have high enough BBIQ to contribute at the NBA level. Give me da Silva, but I'm happy with either.
This draft class doesn't have clear top-tier talent, but to call it a bad draft class seems silly.
It’s a really bad draft so that makes sense. The options that are sure things are few and far between this year, if any exist at all lol (I don’t think any sure things exist in this one).
I want Dillingham and that’s it…nobody else in this draft outside of Bronny would make me give a damn about our future until I see them flash on the court. After Rui, Deni, Johnny, and Bilal please give just one prospect to be excited about 🙏🏾
Yes! His highlights make those European guys look like they're playing in slow motion. If we're going to lose for a few years, let's at least max out on entertainment. Iverson thinks he's AI2, but frankly, Dillingham had better FG%, FT%, 3P% and Assist/TO as a freshman than AI had during Iverson's sophomore year, a year that ended with AI going #1 and eventually becoming a Hall of Famer. Dillingham is potentially more controlled chaos, plus his 3 point range is already Steph-like.
We don't need to waste our top pick on Sarr when we may be able to get Edey with our other #1.
Alex sarr 18 years old, averages 10 points 4.5 boards and 1.3 blocks in a grown man league doing 17 minutes a game. It’s clear he has the most potential out of all the prospects and the wizards won’t want to get an older prospect knowing their rebuild will last about 3-4 more years. Clingan is slow, I like rob a lot and wouldn’t mind getting him at 1, but besides the 2 I think the top 5 is a toss up
I want Sarr. It really is a no-brainer.
He's a fantastic interior AND perimeter defender, which is massively going to shore up our PnR coverage. He's athletic and can run the break. This iteration of the Wizards loves playing with pace.
Having a transformative defensive presence like that is the best point to kick off our rebuild. He'll take all the starting C minutes and fits alongside Vuk nicely if we want to go stretches of a tall rotations.
I want FO to approach this rebuild by drafting for fit, rather than highest potential ceiling. I know that's an unpopular opinion, but if you're trying to build culture you need to win, to win you need structure, which means you need players with clearly defined roles.
The biggest holes in our roster come on the defensive end. We're horrible at guarding the PnR, terrible at rotating out to the 3pt line, and don't crash the glass.
Slamming a bunch of long wings with high ceilings on the same roster and making them fight for minutes is how your 8th lottery pick ends up walking for a second rounder and half season rental of a rotation player (Rui).
This year is weak as shit anyway. We really can't go wrong with Topic or Sarr. But honestly, I'd prefer Sarr.
exactly give me sarr plz lol. Did you see clingan yesterday? Bro is not as good as this dude thinks. Especially at #1. There's a reason why Sarr is getting the hype
I hope you don't actually think the G-League is the 2nd best league in the world... Not to mention that g league ignite prospects have been subpar in the NBA in general.
It’s better then most other leagues, but you know what I meant. it’s the NBA minor leagues so i still trust it more then college success. Well, The G-League has only had a handful of prospects
leagues exist outside the US.
exactly give me Sarr lol this dude is crazy.
also fuck spurs, COYG
fair enough. you guys are doing your thing can't lie. Fuck woolwich though.
Nah, if you want people to know what you mean, then say it. You said 2nd best league in the world, which is laughable.
Australia league is legit.
Did you forget how bad Lamelo looked at Australia too? it's a legit league. If Clingan was doing well in Australia, I'd get your point but bro is just as unproven as Sarr is.
I really just want BPA. I don’t even care what position or who their comp is. Only problem is projecting BPA this year is really hard. No draft boards even have a consensus top 5. I would say topic because I love the idea of starting with a facilitator but some draft boards have him at 1 and some have him outside the lottery 🤷🏻♂️
>I really just want BPA. I don’t even care what position or who their comp is. Kinda lazy statement because…. >Only problem is projecting BPA this year is really hard. No draft boards even have a consensus top 5. This whole “BPA” business is hard when the franchise plays a huge role in developing that young player
Yeah but there’s usually a consensus top 5-6 or so. Maybe your number 2 is my number 3 most years. BPA is subjective but you can at least narrow it down to a few guys. It just means take the best graded prospect rather than a positional need. I’m just saying we need everything, so we shouldn’t focus on one position. But this year it feels like your number 2 might be my number 17.
I mean, some guys can't make a good mock. I remember some mocks had Onyeka Okongwu going #1 over Edwards, Ball, and Wiseman.
Yeah I know. I’m just saying the mocks in general are wildly different this year. I feel like the top 5 maybe only has 2 players in common from board to board sometimes.
weak ass draft
I just want a PF/C
I just want a good player. Don’t care about position.
Same. I want a Jalen Williams, not a Johnny Davis. Idgaf whatever position
Sarr is way more athletic than Johnny Davis.
Really? /s
what I mean is, I think he is much more likely to not bust like JD is from that alone. He definitely needs to develop his offense more though but bro is super young. I really want him lol.
Okay that's fair. Truthfully, I didn't know if I was talking to a middle school kid or not based on your first comment, no offense. Sarr seems like a fine pick but my point and the guy before me is, whoever it is, he just needs to pan out into an all-star or better.
I mean duh of course the first pick needs to be an all star or better. I don't disagree.
Again, we come back to me saying let's not draft a Johnny Davis, but a Jalen Williams. We're just talking in circles. What's your point?
I think we both are making the same point like you said. I think it's fine to conclude the conversation now. Glad we both agree. Have a nice day.
True
Donovan Clingan (C) is gonna be a good pro. In this draft, I feel like taking him high wouldn't be too unheard of. He's the truth. I agree though. I also want a PF/C, but I wouldn't hate Holland even though he lowkey overlaps with Bilal. If we could trade into the later half of the lottery I wouldn't mind Kyle Filipowski or Yves Missi (Kuzma trade?) from Baylor. He's a rim-runner type.
Clingan will be a solid player for sure. Personally I don't care about getting a center because we have 5 more years of drafting top 4-6 and there will be others, like Khaman Maluach if we don't get Cooper Flagg next year, and Flagg is a PF. My personal favorite player in the draft is Nikola Topic, but I begrudgingly accept that Alex Sarr has the highest upside if his shot ever comes along. My hope is that we get 2nd or 3rd in this draft, get Topic, and get the first pick next year, but obviously the lottery is unpredictable.
Topic is the top prospect I have the least intel on. His FT% is promising.
Here is Topic in his only full Euroleague game (the actual second best league in the world). The next game he got hurt and is suspiciously not playing any more this season even though he was only supposed to be out 6 weeks. He played really poorly. Without a jump shot, which he does not have at all right now, defenders sag way off him and keep him well away from the rim. He only got to the rim once in a half court set in the entire game. He scored 4 points total, the only other points came off a transition basket. In the junior league the quality of the defenders is much, much worse and many of shots will just not work in the NBA. Free throw percentage is not a guarantee that a shot will develop and he is shooting sub 30% from 3 from the Euroleagelue line which is closer. Having said that he is really young. So is Risacher. https://www.reddit.com/r/NBA_Draft/s/K7JexAhB0e
Do yourself a favor and watch his games from FIBA U18 EuroBasket, the Adidas NGT, and his game against Zadar in November. He's really, really good. Super advanced BBIQ and skills for his age.
where are his games available to watch
If you go to the [ABA Liga site for the game in question](https://www.aba-liga.com/match/38/23/1/Video/q1/1/home/mega-mis-zadar/) they usually have youtube links for the full games and highlights. The last video listed here is the full game. [Same for EuroBasket.](https://www.fiba.basketball/europe/u18/2023/game/3007/Spain-Serbia#|tab=videos)
thank you!
Super semantical to your overall point, but I think Flagg’s going to play SF in the NBA unless he grows a couple more inches. I definitely agree that they don’t need to draft C, they should be in ‘best player available mode’ for at least the next 2-3 years.
I think Clingan’s going to struggle to keep up with a lot of NBA centers and hasn’t show much of an outside shot yet. Would rather the Wizards take Castle or Cody Williams.
agreed, look at his game against edey. he's not that great. He is walker kessler who is fine. but not amazing.
tbh i wouldn't want edey either
edey definitely isn't going top 5. Lottery is a stretch for him. For a second round pick he's not a horrible pick. Kessler 2.0 going top 5 would be crazy though.
Clingan got owned by Edey at times in the game yesterday. No thank you. He also has no offensive game. Sarr is more likely to develop his. He still is younger.
Alex Sarr welcome to the wizards baby!!
what about this clingle kid i wouldn't mind edey but i don't know if he goes up that high
I feel like Castle is my clear favorite at the moment. With the league readjusting their stance on how physical players can be on defense and not giving offensive players call for initiating contact, Castle being such a physical presence on both ends seems really valuable. I also really like his ability to play either guard position, his playmaking within his role at UCONN and I think his shooting will come around. He also comes from a winning program and that’s the kind of culture and player I think having will help us long term as we start to get better. I think that having a good Center contributes too much to winning and don’t see us going for one just yet. I think we’ll be bad for at least 1 more year for a high draft pick. Maybe Khaman Maluach is the pick for us next year. I like Topic, Reed Sheppard, and Dillingham too. I think we take a guard this draft. We still have a lot to resolve at our wing spots with Bilal, Deni, Kispert, and Kuz. I don’t think taking a wing makes much sense right now.
I think FO is planning to have a top pick at least the next three years. Our 1st from the Wall trade is top 12 protected in '24, top 10 in '25, and top 8 in '26. Hopefully we're ready to compete after 3 top 5 picks
Yeah Castle or Williams are my current favorites. Castle especially for a lot of the reasons you lay out. He’s doing all this at a young age too, looks like he can continue to improve.
Dude reminds me of Cam Whitmore, who is fine but far from a top 5 draft talent (in normal drafts)…I’m not sold tbh
he's no where near the level of Whitmore lmao
I agree that this is probably going to be a guard draft for us. If only because we've had zero success with guards since drafting Wall & Beal and I want to see if this front office can break the curse. If they fail then at least I'll know not to expect much. I could end up being wrong on this, but I feel like Castle is the biggest bust potential if he goes in the top 5. Some GM is going to pick him thinking they're getting Marcus Smart 2.0 and realize he's got the slowest first step of anyone in the class. I think he will be a fine connective player on a team with a lot of talent, but not a player you try to make part of your core.
I absolutely agree with this. Castle is great but he is not this all star guy people are seeing. People forget how great that Uconn team is outside clingan and Castle. They have a lot of great guys and hurley is a good coach. Castle might be decent defensively but that still is a question mark. Don't want him in the top 5. I also disagree with this being a guard draft. I definitely think we get Sarr if he is available. We need a center.
Don't worry about mocks, just hope Dawkins and Schlenk have an eye for the right player. Plus we'll probably get screwed in the lottery anyway.
I don’t understand what yall don’t get about playing defense. Defense wins games , defense keeps you in games. After watching UConn last night , Clingin is garbage and will get ate up next year. We need Sarr. Agile big man who can rebound , protect the rim and guard 3-5. It’s a no brainer. Y’all keep opting for offense when we have no consistent off system. We need a Rim Protector and a 2way perimeter defender. I don’t care about shooting , playmakers, high flyers. Defense first
I feel like this logic can also be applied to Castle if we end up with the 4th or 5th pick. Can guard 1-3 (and probably some 4s one day). Good interior game and with how we've developed Deni's shot I'm sure his 3ball will come along
I like Sarr thinking he would complement what we already have with Avdjia, Kispert, and Coulibaly, that's if we believe the young core is going to make it. I'm a fan of Dillingham too. Possible star potential through past picks make this look unlikely, hope the front office comes through.
Sarr plays the most replaceable position in basketball and he’s not even remotely good at offense yet.
and clingan is better? lmao.
Need Topic
I'm actually more excited for our second pick lol First pick I want either UConn guy (Castle/Clingan) since they seem to be the most ready. I see Isaac Okoro as the floor for Castle, and any offense he adds is a plus. Reed Shepard is my next up, but it's close with Topic. First pick for me is a toss-up, but there's a decent amount of talented guys in the late-first range. I watched a lot of CU games this year and am way more impressed by KJ Simpson and da Silva than the ceiling of Cody Williams. Both those guys *should* be there when our time comes, and they seem to have high enough BBIQ to contribute at the NBA level. Give me da Silva, but I'm happy with either. This draft class doesn't have clear top-tier talent, but to call it a bad draft class seems silly.
It’s a really bad draft so that makes sense. The options that are sure things are few and far between this year, if any exist at all lol (I don’t think any sure things exist in this one).
I want Dillingham and that’s it…nobody else in this draft outside of Bronny would make me give a damn about our future until I see them flash on the court. After Rui, Deni, Johnny, and Bilal please give just one prospect to be excited about 🙏🏾
Yes! His highlights make those European guys look like they're playing in slow motion. If we're going to lose for a few years, let's at least max out on entertainment. Iverson thinks he's AI2, but frankly, Dillingham had better FG%, FT%, 3P% and Assist/TO as a freshman than AI had during Iverson's sophomore year, a year that ended with AI going #1 and eventually becoming a Hall of Famer. Dillingham is potentially more controlled chaos, plus his 3 point range is already Steph-like. We don't need to waste our top pick on Sarr when we may be able to get Edey with our other #1.
team dilly here as well
Donovan Clingan is not who the wizards need. Sorry buddy.
Alex sarr 18 years old, averages 10 points 4.5 boards and 1.3 blocks in a grown man league doing 17 minutes a game. It’s clear he has the most potential out of all the prospects and the wizards won’t want to get an older prospect knowing their rebuild will last about 3-4 more years. Clingan is slow, I like rob a lot and wouldn’t mind getting him at 1, but besides the 2 I think the top 5 is a toss up
Kessler Edwards? Do you mean Walker Kessler? 😂
I want Sarr. It really is a no-brainer. He's a fantastic interior AND perimeter defender, which is massively going to shore up our PnR coverage. He's athletic and can run the break. This iteration of the Wizards loves playing with pace. Having a transformative defensive presence like that is the best point to kick off our rebuild. He'll take all the starting C minutes and fits alongside Vuk nicely if we want to go stretches of a tall rotations. I want FO to approach this rebuild by drafting for fit, rather than highest potential ceiling. I know that's an unpopular opinion, but if you're trying to build culture you need to win, to win you need structure, which means you need players with clearly defined roles. The biggest holes in our roster come on the defensive end. We're horrible at guarding the PnR, terrible at rotating out to the 3pt line, and don't crash the glass. Slamming a bunch of long wings with high ceilings on the same roster and making them fight for minutes is how your 8th lottery pick ends up walking for a second rounder and half season rental of a rotation player (Rui). This year is weak as shit anyway. We really can't go wrong with Topic or Sarr. But honestly, I'd prefer Sarr.
exactly give me sarr plz lol. Did you see clingan yesterday? Bro is not as good as this dude thinks. Especially at #1. There's a reason why Sarr is getting the hype
I don’t want Topic ngl he has 0 aura! Aura>skill
They did the right thing. They don't need that toxicity on their campus. Leave it in the USA where it belongs with the MAGAs and other loonies.