DestroidMengars

I'm honestly a little surprised that several people are more interested in Jordan Hawkins than Gradey Dick with pick 11 as a shooter option. I feel like they were comparable this past season; however, Dick was a freshman and Hawkins a sophomore. If you look at Hawkins numbers as a freshman, they really didn't look too great. Equally, I'm always weary of overvaluing someone's performance in the tournament. Usually when draft stock gets elevated due to a few games of March Madness play, it doesn't really pan out as NBA success.

Yeah, I'm in the same boat. I brought up the idea of the Vassell trade the other day. I'd be willing to do 6 OR 11+extras for Vassell. Most 2020 redrafts I've seen would put Vassell at right around the 6th pick in that draft right now, so I'd think the 6th pick in this draft would be a fair offer. Of all the trade ideas I've seen floated around, this is one of the ones I'd be most on board with at the moment, as he plays a position of need, can stretch the floor, and is in the same age range as our core guys.

I've seen some rumors about the Spurs wanting to acquire a second lottery pick to get a point guard to pair with Victor, and a couple videos describing Devin Vassell as the potential odd man who could get moved in such a trade. Thoughts?

"Gradey Dick isn’t likely to be considered by the Mavericks, sources tell @tim_cato The team’s new front office is focused on athleticism and physicality much more than the old guard." https://twitter.com/TheAthleticNBA/status/1663636647676608512 Good news if true and we're hoping he's there at 11. They were the team I was most worried about picking him up.

The impression I get is that there are the three top guys who'd go pretty early in any draft, then there are three more players who have star potential but are seen as less likely to reach that potential, then there are like five guys who are considered pretty high-end role players, pretty safe picks but not viewed as ever likely to reach that status of being a team's first option. So, we should be able to get one guy from the star potential group and one guy from the high-end role player group where we sit at 6 and 11. It's definitely not the deepest draft class.

I wish Franz was better at guarding two guards consistently. It seems like there are very few floor spacing, defensive minded shooting guards out there that we could potentially pick up who would fit perfectly within our system. It does seem like it would be much easier to find someone to slot in at small or power forward and slide Franz down to the two if only we could rely on him in that position consistency. Maybe he's working on getting better at guarding quicker guards over the summer? Does Jabari Smith really offer that much more than, say, Taylor Hendricks?

I kind of go back and forth between him, Whitmore, and Hendricks (if all are available). The things that keep bringing me back towards Whitmore are that 1) he's a year younger than Ausar and 2) he played against normal college competition vs. in a new league, so it's easier to get a read on his true ability level. However, I'm neck and neck between the two of them. I definitely like that Ausar is more of a two guard than a forward, which is what we really need. But then I think, why not just take Hendricks, he's got both a decent three point shot already and the defense? Slide Franz to the two... I just wish Franz was a bit more consistent at guarding 2s. I feel like Hendricks and Dick have the most obvious fit on this team of those potentially available at our two spots, but they certainly have lower ceilings than most other options. I think I'd definitely take Gradey at 11 if he's still available there, but I'd be really reluctant to take him at 6.

Taking team fit out of the equation, I'm curious how the other members of this board separate the top prospects by tiers? In my view, we should be able to pick up one player from the fourth group and one from the fifth where we sit at 6 and 11. How would you group the top prospects differently? Tier 1: Victor Wembanyama Tier 2: Scoot Henderson Tier 3: Brandon Miller Tier 4: Cam Whitmore, Amen Thompson, Ausar Thompson Tier 5: Taylor Hendricks, Jarace Walker, Gradey Dick, Anthony Black, Cason Wallace

Better not take Rayan Rupert

Based on who might be available at 11, I'd rank my preferences: 1. Gradey Dick, 2. Cason Wallace, 3. Jordan Hawkins, 4. Kobe Bufkin, 5. Keyonte George

Nikola Jokic vs. Nikola Jovic here we come.

It doesn't sound likely that Jaylen Brown forces his way out if Boston loses: Rival teams reportedly expect disgruntled Boston Celtics All-Star to sign supermax deal (msn.com)

Cason Wallace at Combine

Solid video on who helped and hurt their stock at the combine. I haven't seen much discussion about it on this site: 2023 NBA Draft Combine Winners and Losers I 2023 NBA Draft Prospects' Stock Updates post NBA Combine - YouTube

Hollinger's Full Top 14: 1. Victor Wembanyama, 2. Scoot Henderson, 3. Cam Whitmore, 4. Brandon Miller, 5. Anthony Black, 6. Amen Thompson, 7. Ausar Thompson, 8. Derek Lively, 9. Taylor Hendricks, 10. Kobe Bufkin, 11. Gradey Dick, 12. Jarace Walker, 13. Cason Wallace, 14. Dariq Whitehead

This is a more realistic assessment of about what it would cost the Magic to get Brown in a trade as of about a month ago: NBA Rumors: Magic Land Celtics' Jaylen Brown In This Trade (nbaanalysis.net)

What I said is, people here are overvaluing our assets. I wasn't making an argument for him being a star, I was making an argument for him being better than the trash SGs we currently have. We legitimately do not have a quality starting SG on this team right now. Simons is a quality starting caliber SG, not a big time star, but a clear upgrade over what we have. You pretty much need four firsts to even sniff a star player in a trade anymore. With that criterion, you don't think Simons is worth two? Seems about right to me.

Agreed, he's a clear upgrade over the SGs on our roster right now and still young. People here are overvaluing our assets.

Question: who is the best, established shooting guard that you believe we could realistically get by packaging our picks?

Would any of you consider trading 6 and 36 with Utah for 9 and 16? Would Utah potentially want to move up a couple spots? 9 is as high as I'd consider drafting Dick based on consensus rankings. We could still get a Hawkins at 11 or someone else who's slipping. Then, we could take a swing on a high upside guy at 16, like a Nick Smith, Jr., or perhaps look at backup center in Lively at that spot.

I still believe that Scoot goes at 2 to Charlotte, even with them having LaMelo. I don't believe the narrative that Miller is seriously being considered over Scoot by any teams, even those with a PG. I also don't think picks 6 and 11 are enough juice to get you all the way up to 2. Probably they can likely net you pick 4 and maybe 3. So the players worth considering if they're worth trading up for are Brandon Miller or Amen Thompson. I'm a no on Thompson, and a maybe on Miller, but leaning no. I'd just stay at 6 and 11. All of these guys other than Wemby and Scoot have a decent number of question marks and when you're picking among guys that might not pan out, it's better to pick two than have to roll the dice on only one.

Are those of you rooting for the Magic to take Dick envisioning him as a starting shooting guard or a backup small forward? I worry about his ability to guard players at the two guard spot. While he hustles and you can't question his effort on that end, he's kind of slow and weak and I worry that he'll give up more points than he gets you. I prefer Hendricks for the 3-and-d potential; he can spread the floor a bit and won't likely give up more points than he nets you.

I'm fine with this outcome. We kept the Bulls pick, which ended up at the highest position it could for us to still get it. We also kept our pick at 6, which was statistically more likely to fall one spot to 7, so that's a small win. The way I see it, there are 6 players with superstar upside in Wemby and Scoot most likely to hit that bar. Brandon Miller less likely, and then the Thompsons and Whitmore a bit less likely than that, but still with a shot. So we're guaranteed to have the opportunity to pick at least one of those guys at 6, whereas at 7 we might not have had that chance. Of the players potentially there at 6, I'd rank my preferences as Ausar, Hendricks, Whitmore, Dick. At 11, Dick, and if he's gone Hawkins. I'd only pick Dick at 6 if we're planning on focusing strictly on upgrading shooting and plan to draft both him and Hawkins.

I wouldn't give up on Suggs. I found this video interesting: Top 25 Prospects I've Scouted (2018-pres.) - YouTube. It goes through the top 25 NBA prospects this individual has scouted from 2018 to this past year and it has Suggs right at #9, right between Anthony Edwards and Jalen Green. That's someone you give longer to figure things out and don't trade away.

Outside of Wemby, those two would be my best-case scenario.