2024 NBA Draft Thread

[orlandoholic 134]

On 2/29/2024 at 6:38 PM, CTMagicUK said:

But Jaquez was never a bad defensive player in college. He was 2 times Pac 12 all defensive team. 

i know, but like i said. The scouts had concerns about his athleticism in the NBA.. 

Sometimes we focus too much on those abilities rather than the IQ, feel for the game and other aspects and limit those players ceiling. 

Just like you said about Reed Sheppard. 

But lessons were learned in recent years. I doubted Haliburton too, for the same reasons (also strange looking shot).

Doncic, on the other hand, was never a doubt for me. He was a different player in europe. Never seen such a dominant player at any age in Europe ever. But scouts still doubted him (physical ability) and Doncic wasn’t drafted 1-2. 
 

 

[jmmagicfan 302]

5 hours ago, orlandoholic said:

i know, but like i said. The scouts had concerns about his athleticism in the NBA.. 

Sometimes we focus too much on those abilities rather than the IQ, feel for the game and other aspects and limit those players ceiling. 

Just like you said about Reed Sheppard. 

But lessons were learned in recent years. I doubted Haliburton too, for the same reasons (also strange looking shot).

Doncic, on the other hand, was never a doubt for me. He was a different player in europe. Never seen such a dominant player at any age in Europe ever. But scouts still doubted him (physical ability) and Doncic wasn’t drafted 1-2. 
 

 

This is why scouting is part science, part psychology, and part luck. In person interviews really helps to understand who a player will become.

[CTMagicUK 1,482]

5 hours ago, orlandoholic said:

i know, but like i said. The scouts had concerns about his athleticism in the NBA.. 

Sometimes we focus too much on those abilities rather than the IQ, feel for the game and other aspects and limit those players ceiling. 

Just like you said about Reed Sheppard. 

But lessons were learned in recent years. I doubted Haliburton too, for the same reasons (also strange looking shot).

Doncic, on the other hand, was never a doubt for me. He was a different player in europe. Never seen such a dominant player at any age in Europe ever. But scouts still doubted him (physical ability) and Doncic wasn’t drafted 1-2. 
 

 

But Jaquez proved he could play good defense in college, whether or not scouts thought that would translate to the NBA that's still better than Knecht who looks bad on defense in college.

[orlandoholic 134]

3 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

But Jaquez proved he could play good defense in college, whether or not scouts thought that would translate to the NBA that's still better than Knecht who looks bad on defense in college.

Oh i get what you are saying.. Agree

 

[CTMagicUK 1,482]

You know, I think Yves Missi is a very interesting prospect in general but also for us specifically, especially if we don't bring back Goga. 

I finally got to watch him in a real game, had always kind of assumed he was a Clint Capela type shot blocking and dunks guy from what I read and highlights but he's a really fluid mover and surprisingly nimble on both ends with flashes of ball handling to score on drives and create for himself or punish slower bigs in pick and roll. The passing feel doesn't look terrible either from what I've seen. His assist and turnover stats are bad but I think there's upside for him to develop there.

He's a late comer to basketball as well I gather and shows a lot of skill for his inexperience, he didn't even move to the US until 2021. If you play the percentages, worst case he's an athletic big who blocks some shots and throws down some lobs. That's still a fringe NBA player. Best case though I think is one of the best players in this draft given how good he is with limited experience in the game and how much scope for growth there could be. 

[orlandoholic 134]

Didn’t know Dillingham could playmake like that.. Dude looks like Garland more and more.. 

Kentucky has a nice team, i’d draft 4-5 guys. Like the team a lot

[CTMagicUK 1,482]

17 hours ago, orlandoholic said:

Didn’t know Dillingham could playmake like that.. Dude looks like Garland more and more.. 

Kentucky has a nice team, i’d draft 4-5 guys. Like the team a lot

Who are the non Dillingham/Sheppard guys? 

Those are the only two I'd pick first round I think.

[orlandoholic 134]

9 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

Who are the non Dillingham/Sheppard guys? 

Those are the only two I'd pick first round I think.

Antonio Reeves is their best player. He’s a guard i’d definitely draft, also putting him on our list. Very underrated and talented player. Very talented in the pick and roll! His problem is that he is a senior. But at the very least he is a high 2nd round pick imo

Justin Edwards is a bet on upside, but i can see him putting it together at the pro level

DJ Wagner is really improved lately. Also looked really good playmaking and also knocking down 3s. I won’t ever underestimate a Kentucky guard. Definitely first round talent! 

Im also still high on Ivisic. You rarely see a guy that tall, so mobile and defensively a threat and can shoot and also underrated passer! Dude plays like Porzingis on a leash. 

 

Only player i’m not high on nd probably won’t change my mind is Bradshaw. He reminds me too much of Bol Bol. really low motor. 

[CTMagicUK 1,482]

21 hours ago, orlandoholic said:

Antonio Reeves is their best player. He’s a guard i’d definitely draft, also putting him on our list. Very underrated and talented player. Very talented in the pick and roll! His problem is that he is a senior. But at the very least he is a high 2nd round pick imo

Justin Edwards is a bet on upside, but i can see him putting it together at the pro level

DJ Wagner is really improved lately. Also looked really good playmaking and also knocking down 3s. I won’t ever underestimate a Kentucky guard. Definitely first round talent! 

Im also still high on Ivisic. You rarely see a guy that tall, so mobile and defensively a threat and can shoot and also underrated passer! Dude plays like Porzingis on a leash. 

 

Only player i’m not high on nd probably won’t change my mind is Bradshaw. He reminds me too much of Bol Bol. really low motor. 

Antonio Reeves is only 6 months younger than Cole Anthony who's been in the league for 4 years. And I'm not huge on Reeves' feel for the game at all for someone who's one of the oldest guys on the floor every night. He'll get picked because he's 6'6 and can shoot but I'm not super high on him and I wouldn't pick him first round. 

Justin Edwards might actually get picked first round, 6'8 guys who can shoot usually get valued and then get 2nd and 3rd chances to stick in the league as well but I don't love the lack of explosion, I don't love the handle, he doesn't get to the FT line much. He's had some really bad turnovers in games I've seen this season (admittedly more early in the season than lately). 

I'm not prepared to bail D.J. Wagner out with the "he's a Kentucky guard" thing. I get that he's very young and he's a good passer, he takes care of the ball pretty well too and he plays defense. But he's statistically neither a good finisher at the rim or a good shooter and he doesn't get to the FT line much so where does his offense come from? And beyond that, nothing else stands out statistically either. His assist numbers aren't anything to right home about, he doesn't get rebounds, steals or blocks with any kind of significant regularity... if he went to Iowa instead of Kentucky we're likely talking about him returning for his sophomore season and not about his draft stock.

Ivisic I can obviously see the appeal someone so big who blocks shots and shoots it from 3. I even understand why our franchise specifically might be interested in a prospect like that. And if we picked him, look pro scouts have a lot more intel than I do and WeltPark have done a decent job in the draft lately so I'd actually be pretty excited. But would I personally pick him first round? I don't think so. He's older than both Anthony Black and Jett Howard and he's playing 11mpg in college. 

[orlandoholic 134]

3 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

Antonio Reeves is only 6 months younger than Cole Anthony who's been in the league for 4 years. And I'm not huge on Reeves' feel for the game at all for someone who's one of the oldest guys on the floor every night. He'll get picked because he's 6'6 and can shoot but I'm not super high on him and I wouldn't pick him first round. 

Justin Edwards might actually get picked first round, 6'8 guys who can shoot usually get valued and then get 2nd and 3rd chances to stick in the league as well but I don't love the lack of explosion, I don't love the handle, he doesn't get to the FT line much. He's had some really bad turnovers in games I've seen this season (admittedly more early in the season than lately). 

I'm not prepared to bail D.J. Wagner out with the "he's a Kentucky guard" thing. I get that he's very young and he's a good passer, he takes care of the ball pretty well too and he plays defense. But he's statistically neither a good finisher at the rim or a good shooter and he doesn't get to the FT line much so where does his offense come from? And beyond that, nothing else stands out statistically either. His assist numbers aren't anything to right home about, he doesn't get rebounds, steals or blocks with any kind of significant regularity... if he went to Iowa instead of Kentucky we're likely talking about him returning for his sophomore season and not about his draft stock.

Ivisic I can obviously see the appeal someone so big who blocks shots and shoots it from 3. I even understand why our franchise specifically might be interested in a prospect like that. And if we picked him, look pro scouts have a lot more intel than I do and WeltPark have done a decent job in the draft lately so I'd actually be pretty excited. But would I personally pick him first round? I don't think so. He's older than both Anthony Black and Jett Howard and he's playing 11mpg in college. 

It depends on what teams are looking for! 

Look in this draft, there are mostly role players available. As a Magic franchise, i feel like it’s a comfortable situation right now. 

We have tons of cap space and our core is already set. A large core.. At the draft, we could really only go backup SF/PF or backup PF/C. I don’t see any other position we could address.

On top of that, we have tons of cap space to fill that starting PG/SG/ position. I don’t believe we can address that position in the draft. I’d try to trade up for Ron Holland maybe, but i doubt we’d use future assets to do so. 

So if we are talking Kentucky prospects, i can see us drafting Justin Eswards, his skill set is kinda nice for our bench unit. One thing he is really good at, we really lack. Off ball movement, cuts. That’s a nice skill for our team. We don’t need to draft somebody who is effective with the ball in his hand. 

As for Ivisic. He’s very underrated. I feel like he could do a lot more, if he had the green light. 

[orlandoholic 134]

Draft prospects i’d trade up for 

(final starting spot)

1. S. Castle

2. C. Williams

3. R. Holland

4. Risacher

If we ever had a chance to trade up, i feel like this is the year to do so. Couple of teams could be willing to get more future assets, because there is no clear franchise player available.. 

I’m using 2025 Orl and Denver pick to do so! 

 

[CTMagicUK 1,482]

I'm going to go ahead and take a victory lap on my "Trayce Jackson Davis is a first round pick" take from last year. 

Sometimes guys are just so obviously good at the game of basketball but because of some biases or another they fall way further than they should and a smart franchise picks them and we end up with the whole "omg how did they find this guy" chatter.