If you were an NBA GM, who would you rather have

[dasher]

You could take Mali, or you could take any of the following players. who would you take Mali over?
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Daniel Ochefu, Grayson Allen, Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard, Matt Jones, Jamel Murray, Tyler Ulis, Isaiah briscoe, Alex Poythress. and that is guys for just 3 schools.

 

[cuseinseattle]

Brandon Ingram is the best prospect on this list by a wide margin. He is going in the top 2 or 3 picks. I have not seen a draft list for this season that has Mali in the 1st round. If we does go in the 1st it would be in the low 20's anyway. It seems like a huge risk to take unless his family is in a very bad financial position.

 

[EastCoast2]

Ingram and Murray are the only definites

 

[jordoo]

Ingram and Murray are the only definites

This is exactly what I was about to post. You could make the argument for others but those two are the clear cut ones.

 

[CorduroyG]

matt jones isnt considered an nba prospect is he?

 

[Cusefan0307]

Allen is rated higher than Mali on most draft projections. People aren't even talking about the foreigners.

 

[Jack Hall]

I would take him over Jones, Kennard, Briscoe, Poythress in a heartbeat. Some of the others are close. Like Brunson. Face it, its going to be a nervous couple months, he is probably right on the borderline of going. And i really want him back. I think we are title contenders with him, TL and TR back. If he goes we really need to land Diallo AND have him reclassify imo...

 

[two3zone]

Ingram
Allen
Murray
Brunson
Hart
Mali
Ochefu
Ulis
Jones
Brisco
Kennard
Poythress

 

[Ward]

You could take Mali, or you could take any of the following players. who would you take Mali over?
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Daniel Ochefu, Grayson Allen, Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard, Matt Jones, Jamel Murray, Tyler Ulis, Isaiah briscoe, Alex Poythress. and that is guys for just 3 schools.

As many who have seen my posts on here might recall, I'm a big proponent of guys cashing that check and chasing their dreams when the opportunity presents itself. Having said that, I don't think Mali should leave and think after next year he'll have a better outlook if he can have more consistent production. I think Mali goes ahead of all but maybe 4 guys you listed and even a couple of them are toss ups.

Ingram, Murray are definites.

The rest of the guys:
Brunson - size might be a concern for the NBA so Mali probably gets the edge
Josh Hart - I saw a comparison of him to a Danny Green role in the league and thought that's a good ceiling for him. Hart is probably a mid 2nd round type though. Probably a toss up this year.
Ochefu - Mali over him. He's 22-23 years old so most scouts look at like he should be dominant if he's that big and strong and 2-3 years older than everyone he's playing against. Compare him to 22-23 year old bigs in the league and he doesn't stack up.
Grayson Allen - I'd probably pick him but I feel like he's much more of a finished product than Mali is. Allen scored a ton of points on the FT line and I don't think he gets there nearly as much in the NBA as he did at Duke. He's a real good athlete but I don't know how much he can improve from an athletic standpoint where Mali can get stronger.
Kennard - Mali over him all day
Matt Jones - I think he's terrible. Never seen him play and thought he was good. Mali over him
Ulis - him over Mali
Briscoe - he can't shoot and in the current NBA it's tough to be a 6'2 power guard who can't shoot. Mali fits better in current league style of play.
Poythress - has no position and doubt he gets drafted. Mali over him

 

[Dave85]

You could take Mali, or you could take any of the following players. who would you take Mali over?
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Daniel Ochefu, Grayson Allen, Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard, Matt Jones, Jamel Murray, Tyler Ulis, Isaiah briscoe, Alex Poythress. and that is guys for just 3 schools.

I remember when CJ Fair just missed getting drafted in the second round. The guy that was picked over him was from Utah State and shot 3's at 32.7%. And CJ Fair shot at 31.3% or something like that. It was like a 1% difference. I think shooting percentage is a much bigger deal in the NBA. Take your list and put them in order of shooting percentage and that's probably a bigger clue on draft potential and who's going and who's staying.

 

[dasher]

I remember when CJ Fair just missed getting drafted in the second round. The guy that was picked over him was from Utah State and shot 3's at 32.7%. And CJ Fair shot at 31.3% or something like that. It was like a 1% difference. I think shooting percentage is a much bigger deal in the NBA. Take your list and put them in order of shooting percentage and that's probably a bigger clue on draft potential and who's going and who's staying.

I looked at the shooting % before I made that list.

 

[Millhouse]

I remember when CJ Fair just missed getting drafted in the second round. The guy that was picked over him was from Utah State and shot 3's at 32.7%. And CJ Fair shot at 31.3% or something like that. It was like a 1% difference. I think shooting percentage is a much bigger deal in the NBA. Take your list and put them in order of shooting percentage and that's probably a bigger clue on draft potential and who's going and who's staying.

depends on how you want to look at it. 32.7 is 4.5% better than 32.7

 

[dasher]

Remember, this is just 3 schools.

 

[reedny]

Mali has limited options. First, he's not on anyone's draft list in the 1st round. That means if he leaves, he'll have to scrape by trying to make a rotation somewhere without any guaranteed money. It's not a fun life, as I think CJ and Arinze will tell him.

Second, there are a bunch of better prospects ahead of him. Mali's not an NBA 3 or PG, so he doesn't have the versatility of G -- who can claim the ability to play 3 roster spots. Mali projects as a volume SG in a year with a bunch of good (better) shooting guards.

Among those are:

1. Murry;
2. Held;
3. Valentine;
4. Possibly Allen; and
5/6. At least one, possibly 2, euros.

If he declares, don't panic. Remember under the new rules, he can declare, go to the combine and still return to school (as long as he doesn't sign with an agent).

 

[Jasoncuse]

To me, Allen should be pretty far ahead of Mali on draft boards. He's stronger, a better shooter, a better ball handler, more athletic and I think he's a pretty good defender. I'm not sure why so many see him as a possible late 1st rounder only. He has the complete package for an NBA SG and is ready to contribute immediately as a shooter, at the very least. I think he's getting dinged because he looks like Ted Cruz.

 

[007]

You could take Mali, or you could take any of the following players. who would you take Mali over?
Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Daniel Ochefu, Grayson Allen, Brandon Ingram, Luke Kennard, Matt Jones, Jamel Murray, Tyler Ulis, Isaiah briscoe, Alex Poythress. and that is guys for just 3 schools.

If the point of this is that Mali is not a 1st round lock this year, I am on board with that.

 

[OrangeTown]

depends on how you want to look at it. 32.7 is 4.5% better than 32.7

Depends on how you look at it. Some of us may say that 32.7 is actually the same as 32.7.

 

[rrlbees]

Mal is 17th on the nbadraft.net mock.

 

[Briancuse]

Ingram in a heartbeat, there are some people contemplating taking him over Simmons.

 

[two3zone]

Ingram in a heartbeat, there are some people contemplating taking him over Simmons.

It is a tough call, couldn't imagine having the first pick and having to make the call.

On one hand if you draft Simmons, no matter what nobody can get upset with you because he is Ben Simmons.

But if you really believe Ingram is better and you pick Ingram and Simmons lives up to the hype and Ingram isn't close to Simmons then you can lose your job really fast.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Mal is 17th on the nbadraft.net mock.

And the 55th rated freshman by draft express.

 

[Briancuse]

It is a tough call, couldn't imagine having the first pick and having to make the call.

On one hand if you draft Simmons, no matter what nobody can get upset with you because he is Ben Simmons.

But if you really believe Ingram is better and you pick Ingram and Simmons lives up to the hype and Ingram isn't close to Simmons then you can lose your job really fast.

Gun to my head I would probably take Simmons, but Ingram is going to be a really good pro.

 

[rrlbees]

And the 55th rated freshman by draft express.

Well a couple people said that he doesn't appear on any draft boards in the first round. That's not true.

 

[EastCoast2]

Briscoe - he can't shoot and in the current NBA it's tough to be a 6'2 power guard who can't shoot. Mali fits better in current league style of play.

100% agree. Especially with Briscoe - he shoots 13% from three and 46% from the FT line. He's good defensively but at "only" 6'2, he'd be smaller than most guards in the NBA and is basically the definition of "zero-threat offensively"

 

[SoBeCuse]

Nbadraft.net are a bunch of dorks like us. I'll be interested to see what Givony/Draft Express and Chad Ford will be saying about him soon. Those guys have connections.