2022-2023 Draft Thread

[Soul Bro 1,419]

2 hours ago, O_SteveO said:

Just doing some research on Cam Whitmore and I really think he could either be Jaylen Brown or Josh Jackson. His FT % really worries me and it seems like he needs the ball a lot. 

Conversely, he's a 40% spot up three point shooter and can finish with the best of them. Moreover, he's one of the youngest in the draft. 

[Soul Bro 1,419]

Quote

6. Orlando Magic

Taylor Hendricks | 6-9 forward | 19 years old | UCF

The Scout: Hendricks is the biggest riser of this draft class. He’s over 6-9 in shoes and has over a 7-foot wingspan. He’s an elite defensive player and has real athleticism. He slides his feet incredibly well as an on-ball defender and has real switchability. Off the ball, he’s very impactful as a weakside rim protector who can fly over in help situations and block shots. And offensively, Hendricks was very valuable. He averaged 15.1 points and seven rebounds while shooting 39.4 percent from the field on real volume. Hendricks need to improve as an offensive playmaker and ballhandler. But it’s easy to imagine Hendricks stepping into the NBA early and playing relatively early as a useful 3-and-D player while he continues to round out his game.

The Fit: The Magic love guys like Hendricks who are long, athletic and have high upside. On top of that, Hendricks actually fills a real need as a shooter for a team that really could use one. The team finished in the bottom 10 in the NBA in 3-point rate, and the Magic shot just 34.6 percent this season. They obviously have a lot of this player type already, but he’s a skill-level fit the team likely envisioned when they drafted Chuma Okeke as a valuable multi-positional player a few years ago. This is definitely the high-end of his range, but Hendricks starts getting in play here.

The Range: No. 6 to No. 14

https://theathletic.com/4513228/2023/05/16/nba-draft-lottery-mock-draft-wembanyama/

[ball junkie 277]

5 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

What's the specific trade Vecenie threw out there for the Magic?

The only one I heard was the one with Portland where we maybe get 3 and Scoot and they 6, 11 and WCJ …that’s what they were talking about in that vid I posted on the previous page …The Locked on vid 

Edit think we get Nurcic too 

[Soul Bro 1,419]

If Scoot is seen as a generational talent and somehow falls to Portland, I'd be willing to go for it in a trade. I've read the rumor about including WCJ with #6 and #11, which I don't like. However, I'd be willing to take on the Nurkic contract and let go of some combo of Fultz, Suggs, Anthony and Isaac to make it happen. It all depends on WeltHam's view of Scoot.

PS - I also love that latest Vecenie mock, too, where we draft Hendricks and Dick. 

[All Eyes On Me 1,196]

I don’t like trading WCJ in any deal that doesn’t get us a capable Center back. We were awful when he missed time last year. Adding Scoot and losing WCJ makes us significantly worse from a roster building standpoint 

[Soul Bro 1,419]

6 minutes ago, All Eyes On Me said:

I don’t like trading WCJ in any deal that doesn’t get us a capable Center back. We were awful when he missed time last year. Adding Scoot and losing WCJ makes us significantly worse from a roster building standpoint 

To be clear, the trade suggested has us including WCJ and taking Nurkic back. I don’t like Nurkic or his contract. Meanwhile, WCJ is still young and improving and on an insane contract.

[All Eyes On Me 1,196]

6 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

To be clear, the trade suggested has us including WCJ and taking Nurkic back. I don’t like Nurkic or his contract. Meanwhile, WCJ is still young and improving and on an insane contract.

Oh gross. I like that even less lol

[Evergreen 8]

If we view Scoot as the answer, you do what's necessary to go after him. We have the resources to do so. We need clarity at the 1 and 2 because what we have now are question marks. I see no reason to trade WCJ to move up because we keep all of our question marks and now add Scoot. To move up I'm offering whichever PG will get the deal done, I don't care if it's Fultz, Anthony, or Suggs. It's hard to determine which of the three has the most trade value because none of them are sure things.

If the Magic do not move up, I'm letting MCW walk, I attempt to trade Anthony, and via FA/draft/trades I'm targeting a SG. Let Suggs and Fultz split time at PG (this might help Fultz stay healthy). Hope Isaac can stay healthy to back up the 3/4, and then sign Vuc as our backup at C. I'm probably waiving Harris and signing a cheap vet to play backup SG. Fill out the rest of the roster with shooters and we're good.

[TreyMachine 395]

1 hour ago, All Eyes On Me said:

Oh gross. I like that even less lol

Unless Scoot is actually a generational talent like Ja (without the head drama) - then I don't mind. 

[ball junkie 277]

17 minutes ago, TreyMachine said:

Unless Scoot is actually a generational talent like Ja (without the head drama) - then I don't mind. 

I mean, you’re talking Franz, Banchero and a generational PG …all relatively the same age …and I love Fultz …in the Locked on vid previous page Portland was the willing participant …Orlando guy turned him down …nobody knows what’s going on behind closed doors but I don’t see how you can’t consider this if applicable 

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

11 hours ago, Soul Bro said:

Conversely, he's a 40% spot up three point shooter and can finish with the best of them. Moreover, he's one of the youngest in the draft. 

My biggest issue with him is he processes the game so slowly on offense.

His assist percentage is so low for someone who saw a decent amount of the ball and if you watch him play he very rarely seems to be reacting quickly and he's often missing open team mates. He also has a habit where he catches the ball and holds it to let the defense get set before attempting anything which is kind of just frustrating to watch.

I think with him being so young you hope that improves with more and more reps but it's concerning to me personally.

EDIT: and to relate this to these playoffs. The Boston Celtics have two incredible stars who aren't great passers and are struggling to deal with the best playoff defenses. The Heat on the other hand have a bunch of roleplayers (and 2 stars to be fair) who are all incredibly quick decision makers.

[CTMagicUK 1,476]

7 hours ago, All Eyes On Me said:

I don’t like trading WCJ in any deal that doesn’t get us a capable Center back. We were awful when he missed time last year. Adding Scoot and losing WCJ makes us significantly worse from a roster building standpoint 

Agree. And the free agent pool at the 5 this year sucks. It's essentially Jakob Poeltl and a 35 year old Brook Lopez and that's it.