2020 Official Draft Thread

[The Neighborhood Bully 266]

3 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

The prospects I'm talking about have skills. I could understand your reticence if I was out here advocating for a guy with no jumper who couldn't pass or handle the ball but I'm not. (In fact it's precisely because he can do all of those things and also has the mobility of a wing but is the size of a 7 footer that I think he's got a chance to be a star) And to be clear Bamba has skills also. He's a good 3 point shooter for a 7 footer and he's a great rim protector. Whether you believe Bamba is a bust or not I don't understand why you wouldn't think that combination of skill is worth betting on? 

On Tyler Herro. I really don't think anything has happened to suggest he's going to be a star. He was probably the worst player in the NBA finals and wouldn't have played nearly as much if Dragic had been healthy. He had a couple big playoff games, but Bobbie Gibson once scored 31 points as a rookie in the ECF and he didn't go on to stardom. The NBA has seen a bunch of guys who were labeled as a future star off a few games or a good rookie year and never got there. Brandon Knights rookie year is incredibly similar to Herro's stat wise. 

I really don't think SGA is the dunk you think it is there. SGA was an incredibly high upside prospect in my opinion considering his length, handle and finishing ability. He was never to my knowledge labeled as "probably just a rotation player". And 4 other teams passed on him after us also. 

We're also talking about the same front office who drafted Chuma Okeke an incredibly skilled player. 

I think people on this sub look at our drafting over the whole rebuild rather than just Weltman and Hammond who don't have nearly a large enough sample size to judge from considering one of their draft picks was great, one is a third year player who's shown flashes but has had interruptions (although I guess that's not a commonly held opinion) and one hasn't played yet.

 

 

 

I'm not sure I'd call someone who has played 27, 75, 34, and 0 games in his first 4 years a great draft pick in a year Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adabayo, John Collins, and OG Anunoby were still available.

[Soul Bro 1,419]

My point is our team tends to favor length and versatility over other things. To me, this has not worked. 

[Soul Bro 1,419]

42 minutes ago, The Neighborhood Bully said:

I'm not sure I'd call someone who has played 27, 75, 34, and 0 games in his first 4 years a great draft pick in a year Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adabayo, John Collins, and OG Anunoby were still available.

That stings but is true. Isaac is my favorite guy but you have two young all-stars on that list.

[CTMagicUK 1,480]

43 minutes ago, The Neighborhood Bully said:

I'm not sure I'd call someone who has played 27, 75, 34, and 0 games in his first 4 years a great draft pick in a year Donovan Mitchell, Bam Adabayo, John Collins, and OG Anunoby were still available.

Sure but injuries are injuries nobody can control them and our execs don't have a crystal ball.

If you draft one of the best defensive players on planet earth it's a good draft pick.

Frank Ntilikina, Zach Collins, TJ Leaf and Malik Monk were also still available.

It's incredibly easy to look back and say 'well we missed out on X player' but so did everyone else who picked earlier. Guys sometimes develop in unexpected ways that is difficult to project. Guys might not have developed the same way in different situations. Nobody should look back at the 2013 draft and says "we should have drafted Giannis at 2" like no **** with the benefit of hindsight we should have but hindsight is 20/20.

 

[Mauro Pedrosa 1,031]

Tyler Herro was overwhelmed in the finals but there aren’t many young players that I like more than him.

He can create for himself and others, not just shoot

[Luke_FfS 248]

I've been quite critical with the management in other facets of their job, but I agree that draft and injuries are really easy to judge in hindsight. You'll always find a player that was chosen after your pick and has been great. You'll also find ones that have been more healthy, if your term of comparison is a player with such bad luck as JI.

Those are things that they can't control, IMO. Okeke is another history, as they know he was injured and a risky choice, so the judge is already open on that one.

But draft time should be a time to be active (especially if you've chosen a path with little space to move), trying to  move up or down, trying to add assets, the player choice is not the only important thing.

[CTMagicUK 1,480]

Slightly off topic but FWIW I really think Okeke is going to be a great draft pick. He's long, intelligent, he can pass, dribble and shoot. Also, it's a small thing, but he's probably the best inbounds pass defender I've ever seen. He got so many deflections and steals on those plays in college. He was the best player on the court in the tournament against North Carolina last year, a court that also included lottery picks Coby White and Cam Johnson.

But to be fair if Okeke doesn't work out because of injury then fair play for criticism because we knew about that when we drafted him.

[Natesroom 197]

4 hours ago, Mauro Pedrosa said:

Tyler Herro was overwhelmed in the finals but there aren’t many young players that I like more than him.

He can create for himself and others, not just shoot

reminds me of Courtney lee

[TheNameIsOrlando 310]

10 hours ago, Natesroom said:

reminds me of Courtney lee

I agree. I don't see anything special. He's a piece but not a guy you build around. 

[Luke_FfS 248]

I wonder if we would make those comments if he was playing in a Magic uniform and our team was the Eastern Conference champ. :P

[hootie249 293]

  So Mike Miller has been working with RJ Hampton, getting ready for the draft. Anybody here still on his bandwagon? Does he fit with the Magic? 

I'm back again to share draft thoughts, didn't realize it's right around the corner. I think he is still a guy our Gm's would love. I still love Kira, Nesmith, Anthony and possibly Bey as a super sleeper pick for us if we wind up trading anyone.

[Soul Bro 1,419]

On 11/8/2020 at 8:36 AM, Luke_FfS said:

I wonder if we would make those comments if he was playing in a Magic uniform and our team was the Eastern Conference champ. :P

We would not. Herro, at age 20, averaged more points as a rookie than Lee did in any year as a pro. Meanwhile, Lee played 4 years of college ball and was a rookie at age 23. Do I think Herro's a star? No. Do I think the Herro's of the world help build a winning roster? I do.