2021 NBA Draft Thread

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

27 minutes ago, ROCK LEGENDS PHOTOGRAPHERS said:

I recently read an article that said that Green could possibly go 1st or 2nd because he is more of a sure thing.

2 maybe. Can't see anyone but Cade at 1. 

[Soul Bro 1,419]

5 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2943527-2021-nba-draft-prospects-scouts-cant-figure-out

This is worth a read if you've got the time. Definitely a couple guys in there that could be in play with the Bulls pick.

I’d pass on all of them

[jmmagicfan 299]

35 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

I’d pass on all of them

I don't think I would pick any of them with the #8 (Bulls) pick, but since BJ Boston is being mocked late 1st/early 2nd, I might grab him with #33. I might consider Barnes or Springer as a late lottery if the Bulls pick falls and some of my other preferences (Giddey, possibly Moody) are already gone. 

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

10 hours ago, Soul Bro said:

I’d pass on all of them

I like Springer a lot. Would definitely take him. In fact he's probably my third favourite Bulls pick (Giddey, Moody then Springer).

I think from a pure talent perspective Scottie Barnes with the Bulls pick is fine but we're quite possibly the worst roster fit for Scottie since we already have 2 good PFs and already have major pieces who can't shoot. 

Ziaire I still like. I think 8-10 might be a bit of a reach but his struggles in college feel similar to Cole's to me. He's a much better shooter than the numbers suggest and he's got a lot of skill. Before the season started and I was thinking we'd be picking 15-18 I was hoping he'd somehow fall to us so I wouldn't be mad at all if he was the pick. 

 

 

[jmmagicfan 299]

4 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

I like Springer a lot. Would definitely take him. In fact he's probably my third favourite Bulls pick (Giddey, Moody then Springer).

I think from a pure talent perspective Scottie Barnes with the Bulls pick is fine but we're quite possibly the worst roster fit for Scottie since we already have 2 good PFs and already have major pieces who can't shoot. 

Ziaire I still like. I think 8-10 might be a bit of a reach but his struggles in college feel similar to Cole's to me. He's a much better shooter than the numbers suggest and he's got a lot of skill. Before the season started and I was thinking we'd be picking 15-18 I was hoping he'd somehow fall to us so I wouldn't be mad at all if he was the pick. 

 

 

I sincerely hope that we take the best player available at both slots, regardless of fit, and then make trades or sign free agents accordingly. My personal hope is for Cunningham (of course) and Giddey; and I don't care that they are similar players - two 6'8" guys who can potentially both play three positions is a win. I would be very happy with Suggs or Green for "our" pick as well, as I think both have star potential, but we might have to look at a trade to even out the roster sooner with Suggs, since he really is a 1/2. I like Green, but I'm not sure that he has the strength/size to play the SF - I think he is almost exclusively a SG, so again would clog up the back court rotation. It's unfortunate that our biggest position of need right now is a "pure" SF, as that seems to be the position with the fewest options among the top players. I don't dislike Corey Kispert or Franz Wagner - I just don't think either will be an all star; they will both probably have fairly long careers as occasional starters/bench rotation players (6th/7th guys), but I just want more from a (hopefully) top-10 pick, and I think Giddey, and Moody have better ceilings. I actually like Wagner better than Kispert - and it might be interesting to have both Wagners on the team as part of the bench mob. 

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

15 minutes ago, jmmagicfan said:

I sincerely hope that we take the best player available at both slots, regardless of fit, and then make trades or sign free agents accordingly. My personal hope is for Cunningham (of course) and Giddey; and I don't care that they are similar players - two 6'8" guys who can potentially both play three positions is a win. I would be very happy with Suggs or Green for "our" pick as well, as I think both have star potential, but we might have to look at a trade to even out the roster sooner with Suggs, since he really is a 1/2. I like Green, but I'm not sure that he has the strength/size to play the SF - I think he is almost exclusively a SG, so again would clog up the back court rotation. It's unfortunate that our biggest position of need right now is a "pure" SF, as that seems to be the position with the fewest options among the top players. I don't dislike Corey Kispert or Franz Wagner - I just don't think either will be an all star; they will both probably have fairly long careers as occasional starters/bench rotation players (6th/7th guys), but I just want more from a (hopefully) top-10 pick, and I think Giddey, and Moody have better ceilings. I actually like Wagner better than Kispert - and it might be interesting to have both Wagners on the team as part of the bench mob. 

I like Franz Wagner. I don't think he's going to be a star but I think he could be a starter on a good team and I'd be fine with him late lotto. He's just a little uninspiring.

With guys like Giddey, Moody, Springer, Ziaire (and a bunch of others tbf) I can see development paths where they become All Star level players or like third best player on a great team level at least, with Franz I can't really see that.

Kispert I just don't like lottery, I think he's fine and he'll probably have a solid career. But I think picking him at 9-11 or whatever will end up akin to picking Doug McDermott when Zach Lavine, TJ Warren and Jusuf Nurkic are all on the board. There's nothing wrong with Doug, I'd just rather have those other guys. 

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

1 hour ago, jmmagicfan said:

I sincerely hope that we take the best player available at both slots, regardless of fit, and then make trades or sign free agents accordingly. My personal hope is for Cunningham (of course) and Giddey; and I don't care that they are similar players - two 6'8" guys who can potentially both play three positions is a win. I would be very happy with Suggs or Green for "our" pick as well, as I think both have star potential, but we might have to look at a trade to even out the roster sooner with Suggs, since he really is a 1/2. I like Green, but I'm not sure that he has the strength/size to play the SF - I think he is almost exclusively a SG, so again would clog up the back court rotation. It's unfortunate that our biggest position of need right now is a "pure" SF, as that seems to be the position with the fewest options among the top players. I don't dislike Corey Kispert or Franz Wagner - I just don't think either will be an all star; they will both probably have fairly long careers as occasional starters/bench rotation players (6th/7th guys), but I just want more from a (hopefully) top-10 pick, and I think Giddey, and Moody have better ceilings. I actually like Wagner better than Kispert - and it might be interesting to have both Wagners on the team as part of the bench mob. 

Also for a true SF I think Moody is the guy. He's listed as a SG but he's 6'6 with a 7'0+ wingspan. He's damn near the ideal size for a 2/3. 

[jmmagicfan 299]

1 hour ago, jmmagicfan said:

I sincerely hope that we take the best player available at both slots, regardless of fit, and then make trades or sign free agents accordingly. My personal hope is for Cunningham (of course) and Giddey; and I don't care that they are similar players - two 6'8" guys who can potentially both play three positions is a win. I would be very happy with Suggs or Green for "our" pick as well, as I think both have star potential, but we might have to look at a trade to even out the roster sooner with Suggs, since he really is a 1/2. I like Green, but I'm not sure that he has the strength/size to play the SF - I think he is almost exclusively a SG, so again would clog up the back court rotation. It's unfortunate that our biggest position of need right now is a "pure" SF, as that seems to be the position with the fewest options among the top players. I don't dislike Corey Kispert or Franz Wagner - I just don't think either will be an all star; they will both probably have fairly long careers as occasional starters/bench rotation players (6th/7th guys), but I just want more from a (hopefully) top-10 pick, and I think Giddey, and Moody have better ceilings. I actually like Wagner better than Kispert - and it might be interesting to have both Wagners on the team as part of the bench mob. 

 

8 minutes ago, CTMagicUK said:

Also for a true SF I think Moody is the guy. He's listed as a SG but he's 6'6 with a 7'0+ wingspan. He's damn near the ideal size for a 2/3. 

I kind of forgot that Moody is as physically solid, and with as long a wingspan as he has. I can see him as a 2/3. 

[jmmagicfan 299]

So if we get a top-5 pick, I would take, Cunningham, Suggs, Green, Mobley, or Giddey. Yes, I think Giddey is a bigger risk than any of the rest of them, as they are all better scorers; but I think he has as much or more upside than anyone else in the draft not named Cunningham. I might even take him top-2, as I'm that high on him. In my mind, Cunningham is absolutely #1, and I'm not sure it is even close; but I go back and forth after that between Suggs/Green/Giddey. 

I would love to do something like Atlanta did a few years ago, getting the guy they wanted plus a few other assets. I think that would be a great way to wind up with Giddey and additional asset(s). The only problem then is, what if the guy you traded blows up. As good as Trae Young has turned out to be, wouldn't you still rather have Doncic now?

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

18 minutes ago, jmmagicfan said:

So if we get a top-5 pick, I would take, Cunningham, Suggs, Green, Mobley, or Giddey. Yes, I think Giddey is a bigger risk than any of the rest of them, as they are all better scorers; but I think he has as much or more upside than anyone else in the draft not named Cunningham. I might even take him top-2, as I'm that high on him. In my mind, Cunningham is absolutely #1, and I'm not sure it is even close; but I go back and forth after that between Suggs/Green/Giddey. 

I would love to do something like Atlanta did a few years ago, getting the guy they wanted plus a few other assets. I think that would be a great way to wind up with Giddey and additional asset(s). The only problem then is, what if the guy you traded blows up. As good as Trae Young has turned out to be, wouldn't you still rather have Doncic now?

Hey you don't get to steal being the Giddey guy from me! Haha. Although maybe you do if you would take him top 2. I've got him at 5 and I thought I was high on him. 

I think it's massively unlikely we'd do anything like trade out of a top 4 pick to draft Giddey. That's a lot of risk you're taking considering those top 4 guys are all really good. And GMs unfortunately have to actually explain moves to the media and to their owners. Trading Jalen Suggs (just for example) for Giddey (who most mocks have in the late lottery) is going to be a really tough one to explain to people, even if you are right you might not live to say "I told you so". 

If the Bulls pick ends up best case (#8) I'd be surprised if Giddey is off the board anyway. 

 

[jmmagicfan 299]

4 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

Hey you don't get to steal being the Giddey guy from me! Haha. Although maybe you do if you would take him top 2. I've got him at 5 and I thought I was high on him. 

I think it's massively unlikely we'd do anything like trade out of a top 4 pick to draft Giddey. That's a lot of risk you're taking considering those top 4 guys are all really good. And GMs unfortunately have to actually explain moves to the media and to their owners. Trading Jalen Suggs (just for example) for Giddey (who most mocks have in the late lottery) is going to be a really tough one to explain to people, even if you are right you might not live to say "I told you so". 

If the Bulls pick ends up best case (#8) I'd be surprised if Giddey is off the board anyway. 

 

Which actually gives me a lot of comfort, as I think we can most likely get him with the Bulls' pick (assuming we don't get screwed by the lottery, again). However, if for some reason we do have the worst possible outcome, where four teams including the Bulls jump ahead of us, and we end up with just the #7 pick this year, then I definitely want us to go all-in on Giddey. I think his floor is pretty solid, and his ceiling is ridiculously high. Most draft boards have Cunningham, Suggs, Green, Mobley as the top-4; and six out of Kuminga, Barnes, J Johnson, K Johnson, Wagner, Mitchell, Kispert, Sengun, Moody for the remainder of the top-10. If we get a top-4 pick, and the Bulls pick is in the 8-10 range, I'm okay with picking one of the "usual suspects/top-4" with that pick and Giddey with the Bulls pick, as he will most likely (90%) still be there. But, if we start hearing someone else is going to pick him in the 5-10 range; or if we fall into the 5-7 range, and the Bulls pick is 11 or 12, I'm picking Giddey first, and then whoever else is still available at 11/12. I know he's not a typical Weltham guy, as he is 6'8", but his wingspan is only about 6'7-1/2", but he's such a unique prospect I am really pulling for us to get him.

Actually my toughest scenario is if the Bulls jump ahead of us, and we end up with the #4 pick only. Yes, we are probably going to get a really good player (Mobley?), but I think the likelihood of us then trading that pick and getting Giddey becomes almost 0%.  The prospect of us picking yet another really tall guy with a thin frame like Isaac and Bamba just really worries me. 

[A Better DJ & Photographer 455]

1 hour ago, jmmagicfan said:

The prospect of us picking yet another really tall guy with a thin frame like Isaac and Bamba just really worries me. 

Me too! I love JI's game but having him only part of each season is exactly what I was afraid of when we drafted him. We need to break our recent mold and draft somebody that can already shoot and has a durable body so they can step in and play NBA basketball.