2023 NBA Draft Day Thread

[Shine88 88]

4 minutes ago, ball junkie said:

Jimmer …scroll to the 9:25 mark …dude always gets a crazy amount of views 

I think Black was higher on their board than Ausar Thompson. His camp had a nice read that Orlando was his landing spot back when Whitmore was projected as a top 5 pick. I think if Amen would've been available, it would've made their decision a bit more difficult. They went out their way to workout Black after his camp initially declined to workout for Orlando.

[CTMagicUK 1,490]

Arkansas were 8.9 points per 100 possessions better with AB on court Vs off. Their eFG% was also 6% better with AB on court Vs off. 

[ball junkie 277]

I don’t think Jimmer is trying to say Black sucks …quite the opposite …but because of his shooting deficiencies doesn’t fit our team and that Weltham just rolled with it at pick 6…who knows how much if any they tried to trade but they didn’t …then they reached at pick 11 with 2 better shooters on the board making it worse…he insinuated Weltham is infatuated with length and the lineups we could throw out there with great overall size …but he said something to the degree that size doesn’t always equate to success .

Will be interesting to see how it plays out …

 

[ball junkie 277]

Jett Howard vs. Gradey Dick vs. Jordan Hawkins

While most of the first round -- outside of Whitmore -- went pretty much according to plan, Michigan's Howard going No. 11 to Orlando raised some eyebrows. The Magic seemed like a prime candidate to target shooting at that spot in the draft, but with Kansas' Dick and UConn's Hawkins also on the board -- going two and three picks later, respectively -- it felt early for Howard.

Here is how some coaches viewed those three players.

On Howard:

"I thought Jett was going to go much later. A lot of the feedback I had been hearing was teams were not as high on him as they were earlier in the year. Beautiful shooting stroke, projectable from that sense. But not a whole lot else. Not impacting the game in a big way aside from shooting. He made a lot of tough shots but not a lot of creation for others. Kobe Bufkin was the one that made Michigan go. Defensively and offensively, I felt Jett was trending more toward the 20s."

"I'm a supporter. Good size for the wing position. Excellent shooter. Very confident. Can do enough off the bounce to keep you honest. Capable of getting hot quickly, and you will have to honor him as a perimeter threat. But it will be a major adjustment for him defensively."
 

On Dick:

"He's got the size, I anticipated him being the first of those three to go. Pretty good athlete. Factoring in recency bias, you watch games in the playoffs, [Max] Strus and [Duncan] Robinson, bigger wings [like Dick] who can shoot it, can plug right in."

"Gradey Dick is an elite-level shooter with great size and great length. He's way more athletic than he looks. He does have a major deficiency on the defensive end of the floor. He struggled to guard third or fourth options on average college teams. His ceiling in the NBA will really depend on who he can guard at the next level. It needs to drastically improve."

On Hawkins:

"I think Hawkins is the best shooter in the draft. The shots he makes are different from anyone else in the draft. The other guys are catch-and-shoot guys, one-cut shot guys. Jordan is flying around screens all game long. Incredibly quick trigger. He has to be in a situation where the coach is going to use him to maximize his strengths. The thing that those other guys have over him is size and physical strength. Hawkins is still pretty slight."

"Hawkins, I really think, can be a very good NBA player. He'll be able to carve out a lengthy career. He's the best pure shooter in the draft. People also don't talk about him enough from a defensive standpoint. UConn went as he went. When he was playing his best basketball, UConn was nearly unbeatable. They tore through the NCAA tournament when he was playing well. That shows the impact he has on a team. And from his own player development, he made a huge jump from last year to this year. He could have another big jump in him from college to the NBA."

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/37914289/men-college-basketball-coaches-react-2023-nba-draft-picks

[ball junkie 277]

Scroll to the 1:10.30 mark …some really good insight from Vecenie …Magic talk for a good 6-7 minutes 

[Oveido Voodoo 6]

4 hours ago, ball junkie said:

Jett Howard vs. Gradey Dick vs. Jordan Hawkins

While most of the first round -- outside of Whitmore -- went pretty much according to plan, Michigan's Howard going No. 11 to Orlando raised some eyebrows. The Magic seemed like a prime candidate to target shooting at that spot in the draft, but with Kansas' Dick and UConn's Hawkins also on the board -- going two and three picks later, respectively -- it felt early for Howard.

Here is how some coaches viewed those three players.

On Howard:

"I thought Jett was going to go much later. A lot of the feedback I had been hearing was teams were not as high on him as they were earlier in the year. Beautiful shooting stroke, projectable from that sense. But not a whole lot else. Not impacting the game in a big way aside from shooting. He made a lot of tough shots but not a lot of creation for others. Kobe Bufkin was the one that made Michigan go. Defensively and offensively, I felt Jett was trending more toward the 20s."

"I'm a supporter. Good size for the wing position. Excellent shooter. Very confident. Can do enough off the bounce to keep you honest. Capable of getting hot quickly, and you will have to honor him as a perimeter threat. But it will be a major adjustment for him defensively."
 

On Dick:

"He's got the size, I anticipated him being the first of those three to go. Pretty good athlete. Factoring in recency bias, you watch games in the playoffs, [Max] Strus and [Duncan] Robinson, bigger wings [like Dick] who can shoot it, can plug right in."

"Gradey Dick is an elite-level shooter with great size and great length. He's way more athletic than he looks. He does have a major deficiency on the defensive end of the floor. He struggled to guard third or fourth options on average college teams. His ceiling in the NBA will really depend on who he can guard at the next level. It needs to drastically improve."

On Hawkins:

"I think Hawkins is the best shooter in the draft. The shots he makes are different from anyone else in the draft. The other guys are catch-and-shoot guys, one-cut shot guys. Jordan is flying around screens all game long. Incredibly quick trigger. He has to be in a situation where the coach is going to use him to maximize his strengths. The thing that those other guys have over him is size and physical strength. Hawkins is still pretty slight."

"Hawkins, I really think, can be a very good NBA player. He'll be able to carve out a lengthy career. He's the best pure shooter in the draft. People also don't talk about him enough from a defensive standpoint. UConn went as he went. When he was playing his best basketball, UConn was nearly unbeatable. They tore through the NCAA tournament when he was playing well. That shows the impact he has on a team. And from his own player development, he made a huge jump from last year to this year. He could have another big jump in him from college to the NBA."

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/insider/story/_/id/37914289/men-college-basketball-coaches-react-2023-nba-draft-picks

Yeah... I think that Jett has the most up side ... or ceiling out of all of them... and is probably the best range shooter... my concern is not really defense for Jett... as he is oversized for a 2 and played most of the year with a pretty serious ankle injury... one to both ankles...

And keep in mind... he played through them... yeah..in a time where these kids come out of the rotation over the slightest little discomfort... Jett stayed in and played...

Also the knock on Jett's D is not like Dick's... where he gets backdoored and targeted relentlessly and it seems as though there is a cognitive inability to keep up with the speed of the collegiate players... 

But a lot of the scouts say that Jett's defensive issues stem from improper angles and positioning and not difficulties staying in front of players or losing track of his assignments.

 In other words... it would appear the magic feel that Jett can be coached better to play better D...

 

It's true, I wanted Hawkins too... I agree he is likely the best "in the system" shooter in the draft... but also he is a winner... he is careful and disciplined with the ball and he takes really good shots with in the rhythm of the offense... and likely Hawkins will be able to contribute to a team the quickest ... maybe on day one...as he has a reputation as being tenacious as a defender at the college level. I mean sure he is not the thickest most stout guy... but he is what 6'5"? And should be plenty quick enough to stay in front of or at least stay with any of the 2 guards in the NBA...at least for regular season play... 

My biggest concern for Jett... is that he is really good at making bad shots... just watch his highlight reels... Jett is making shots from the logo region... and sometimes falling out of bounds or off balance... granted those are less of bad shots if they are at the end of a shot clock... but I am  actually really happy with Jett as an 11 pick and feel like he probably will wind up being the more high value player... when it is all said and done... dude makes shots... and lots of them... and tough ones too... if he winds up being coachable I think.he winds up being the biggest or at one of the biggest steals from this draft...  why not swing for the fences if you are the Magic... if Jett winds up only being able to provide serviceable D at the NBA level he probably winds up being an allstar... the Kid puts the ball in the hole from way out... like it is easy.

And again.... from what I have seen Jett seems like he is a good kid with lots of heart and respect... he just has to realize he is in the NBA now and the work has not even begun yet.

I would love to see him get some burn right away and have a few Klay Thompson type plays run for him... to keep him out of some of those "bad" shots early on... but I have a feeling that the competition for playing time at the 2 position will be valuable for Jett's character and career but the ability to space the floor is going to be a necessary requirement for the 2 position if the Magic are going to be serious about playoffs... so how quick will Jett fit in on D?  

Also ...  Jett has always played the 2 guard position... I would love to see him get out there with Paulo Franz and WCJ ... with Black out there too we would have a really tall  lineup that should always find a mouse in the house...and have enough interior presence to make up for smaller players that might get penetration against that line up... none of those guys are incapable of helping  on interior D... and the Aaron Gordons of the league may be able to bully up on Jett at first... but I can't think of one 2 guard that will target him to  back him down...For a mismatch...

Why is everyone slating Jett as a 3 when he has always played the 2

[Soul Bro 1,421]

“Source: It was the suit. Orlando passed on Dick because of his lobsta suit.” - @wojespn

[Oveido Voodoo 6]

4 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

“Source: It was the suit. Orlando passed on Dick because of his lobsta suit.” - @wojespn

The Bee Gees disco lobster???

  Yeah... good move, go Magic!

Somewhere Dikembe Mutombo is waving his finger at his suit?

Get that s*#! Out of here... not in my house!

[orlandoholic 135]

 

These kids these days are different. Ant Black is one of them lol.. 

I don’t know what it is, but in every episode this dude is eating some sorts of bad fast food or candy.. I mean i guess you can do that. But i definitely know that you are what you eat and that it starts with nutrition. It also separates the great ones from the good ones as well.. 

[CTMagicUK 1,490]

1 hour ago, orlandoholic said:

 

These kids these days are different. Ant Black is one of them lol.. 

I don’t know what it is, but in every episode this dude is eating some sorts of bad fast food or candy.. I mean i guess you can do that. But i definitely know that you are what you eat and that it starts with nutrition. It also separates the great ones from the good ones as well.. 

He's a 19 year old who exercises for a living. Are we surprised he hasn't yet thought about what he eats?

This is beyond a non issue. 

[orlandoholic 135]

1 hour ago, CTMagicUK said:

He's a 19 year old who exercises for a living. Are we surprised he hasn't yet thought about what he eats?

This is beyond a non issue. 

Like i said.. Different types of personalities i guess.. 

Everybody who is 19 should know how to eat healthy, especially if you are doing that for a living and chasing a dream.

Thompson twins seems well educated on this. 
I’ve seen Scoot also talk about this. 

 

Nutrition is main part of success. Can’t do it without. Injuries will pile up, recovery is bad and so on..

now i’m not saying this is the case for AB. I just noticed that on every episode of his videos he has some type of junk food. 

I obviously don’t know what he eats 99% of the time.

Also you can see with his physique that he has more upside. Dude is just skinny with some muscle. He should get stronger imo. 

That’s going to be a point of emphasis imo. 

[CTMagicUK 1,490]

13 minutes ago, orlandoholic said:

Like i said.. Different types of personalities i guess.. 

Everybody who is 19 should know how to eat healthy, especially if you are doing that for a living and chasing a dream.

Thompson twins seems well educated on this. 
I’ve seen Scoot also talk about this. 

 

Nutrition is main part of success. Can’t do it without. Injuries will pile up, recovery is bad and so on..

now i’m not saying this is the case for AB. I just noticed that on every episode of his videos he has some type of junk food. 

I obviously don’t know what he eats 99% of the time.

Also you can see with his physique that he has more upside. Dude is just skinny with some muscle. He should get stronger imo. 

That’s going to be a point of emphasis imo. 

Once the season starts he'll have our organisation's chefs and nutritionists at his disposal while we're traveling.

Let's not act like the greatest players of all time never ate junk food and acted like their bodies were a temple 24/7. LeBron is on record for loving sugary cereals. Jordan drank, smoked cigars, ate whatever. Charles Barkley, no other comment. The league's current MVP drank pink lemonade by the gallon coming out of college apparently. Giannis famously ordered a ludicrous amount of fast food when they won a championship.