2023-24 NBA Season

[jncuse]

Dennis Lindsey just got hired the other day as Senior VP of Basketball Operations. Did a good job in Utah and will teach Trajan Langdon a few things.

Hopefully it works out for Lindsey -- not really familiar with him but Utah has done well in their rebuild. Detroit doesn't have a Mitchell or Gobert though to accumulate things, and they seem to consistently get in that #4/#5 spot recently in the draft which is where things tend to get tricky,

Exec's though can go up and down very quickly. I'll use the case of Masai Ujiri.

In 2016 and 2017 Masai Ujiri and his staff, did the following:
#23 - OG Anunoby
#27 - Pascal Siakam
#46 - Norm Powell
UDFA - Fred Van Vleet.
I'm not sure if any GM got so much value over 2 drafts, without any #20 picks. (I guess Jokic alone at #41 trumps that, but in terms of 3+ players)

That turned into about $140 million of contracts today and the backbone of their supporting depth for their 2019 title team and 2020 team that essentially won 60 games without Kawhi.

Since then though, Masai and his staff have basically been hot garbage in terms of player development, identifying talent, and trades.

 

[jncuse]

Don't think many had Knecht falling all the way down to #17. Lakers probably happy, as they might get someone who can support now which they need given that their expiration date is near.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Don't think many had Knecht falling all the way down to #17. Lakers probably happy, as they might get someone who can support now which they need given that their expiration date is near.

I'm impressed they didn't overthink it.

 

[jncuse]

 

[NineOneSeven]

Connect4 to Lakers is a steal

 

[Melancer46]

Cross-race comps are crazy but cross-gender?! Somebody needs to teach this guy the rules of NBA comps.

 

[jncuse]

I suck at evaluating prospects and I know FG% doesn't mean too much in the modern game.

But drafting a kid at #19, who had a FG% of 37%, doesn't get me very excited as a Raps fan.

 

[Melancer46]

I suck at evaluating prospects and I know FG% doesn't mean too much in the modern game.

But drafting a kid at #19, who had a FG% of 37%, doesn't get me very excited as a Raps fan.

Yeah he was relatively disappointing this year. Couldn't finish at the rim to save his life and like 60-70% of his shots were 3 point attempts which he hit 34% of, hence the low FG%.

 

[jncuse]

Yeah he was relatively disappointing this year. Couldn't finish at the rim to save his life and like 60-70% of his shots were 3 point attempts which he hit 34% of, hence the low FG%.

When someone can't effectively create some volume of good looks in the NCAA (or in his case can't finish) it worries me. Maybe being too hard on him, he was a frosh after all.

 

[jncuse]

Did they just Filipowski was a strong defender with an edge.
Maybe against opposing fans I suppose.

 

[Melancer46]

Did they just Filipowski was a strong defender with an edge.
Maybe against opposing fans I suppose.

He did defend quite well this year and Duke was one of the best defensive teams in the country the last two years with him.

 

[Melancer46]

Wow, lol the seemingly unbelievable AJ Johnson buzz actually came true. Really bizarre choice by the Bucks.

 

[jordville]

Another Frenchman taken in the 1st round. That makes four. Is this another Frank T?

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I

Yeah he was relatively disappointing this year. Couldn't finish at the rim to save his life and like 60-70% of his shots were 3 point attempts which he hit 34% of, hence the low FG%.

if you can’t finish at the rim at a lesser level, good luck suddenly developing that skill against NBA monsters

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Wait, the 2nd round is tomorrow? When did they break that up? What's the point?

 

[Melancer46]

Wait, the 2nd round is tomorrow? When did they break that up? What's the point?

Tomorrow at 4 PM I believe. They did it for Bronny.

 

[jordville]

Wait, the 2nd round is tomorrow? When did they break that up? What's the point?

Yup. First time. More TV time like the NFL Draft.

Tomorrow at 4 PM I believe. They did it for Bronny.

Yup, at 4. And yes to Bronny as well.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

Tomorrow at 4 PM I believe. They did it for Bronny.

Yup. First time. More TV time like the NFL Draft.

Yup, at 4. And yes to Bronny as well.

 

[STEVEHOLT]

I think Edey will put up significant per minute stats from the beginning of his time in the league (Points, Boards). But will that be 8 MPG or so, or could he get it up to 20 within a year or two.

We have already seen centers with more range than him who put up big numbers, that simply can't get much floor time in the new NBA because of their inability to defend in space.

I assume Memphis thinks they can do some creative stuff with JJJ to partner with him on D. Edey got exposed fairly badly against UConn on D (although he had to be dead tired as well)

This may come back to look like an idiotic post and Im not saying the two are very close in terms of actual skill, but in terms of NBA success potential, I dont see much difference between Taco Fall and Edey.

 

[Knicks411]

I don’t really think it matters whether they try or not to tank. Theyre record was going to be in the realm of tank next year either way

They had the ninth worst record last year; if they had no incentive to lose I could see them being in the same range next year. Not like they would be good or anything but they’re likely going to be really bad now that they control their pick

 

[Newhouser]

so Filipowski goes back to Duke because he wasn't a lottery pick last year, and now is not even a 1st rounder in the worst draft in decades. People always say go back and get more tape - often times more tape is not a good thing.

Not sold on any of these guys but I think 5 years from now Clingan will be the best player from this draft.

 

[Cusefan0307]

so Filipowski goes back to Duke because he wasn't a lottery pick last year, and now is not even a 1st rounder in the worst draft in decades. People always say go back and get more tape - often times more tape is not a good thing.

Not sold on any of these guys but I think 5 years from now Clingan will be the best player from this draft.

He had no choice. He was injured. That said I think it’s hilarious he plummeted. He deserves all of it.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

He had no choice. He was injured. That said I think it’s hilarious he plummeted. He deserves all of it.

It reminds me that if you google NBA players from Duke and NBA players from Kentucky, you see a ton of great players who never won an NCAA championship but are making a ton of money in the pros.

I'm not bullish on Filipkowski, but still feel that with the right team that he can have a solid and lengthy NBA career and make great money playing the sport. Maybe his expectation will be a little less. The draft is pretty much a crapshoot for a lot of teams and a lot of first rounders barely make a 2nd contract.

That said, it wouldn't surprise me at all to see him picked 32nd by Utah.

 

[Melancer46]

This may come back to look like an idiotic post and Im not saying the two are very close in terms of actual skill, but in terms of NBA success potential, I dont see much difference between Taco Fall and Edey.

I don't think Tacko is in the same stratosphere as a prospect to be honest. I think there's a decent chance Edey is a full-time starter as a rookie and Memphis is a likely playoff (or at least play-in) team.

 

[jncuse]

This may come back to look like an idiotic post and Im not saying the two are very close in terms of actual skill, but in terms of NBA success potential, I dont see much difference between Taco Fall and Edey.

Tacko averaged 11 points a game in his senior season. Edey 25.

They will both have similar defensive challenges in the new NBA (although I think Edey might have high levels of basketball awareness that could help him a bit) but at least Edey should be able to contribute offensively in the new NBA. Edey, in workouts anyway, has demonstrated that he has an outside shot, something Tacko never had. Also better hands, better on the PnR, can shoot Free throws.

Not saying Edey will be a star or even consistent starter in the league, but Fall had 228 total minutes in the NBA.