2023 NBA Draft watch

[GTR11]

Jalen Wilson at 51.

So we got two CamT now

[Born_Ready]

Sean Marks is that you with the (W)islon pick? Okkkkkk. very solid selection.

I’ve seen enough of dude and glad he’s a Net. He can play at this level without question. Great pick at this spot forrrrrrrr sure, ino.

[Papi_swav]

Jalen Wilson looks like he's NBA ready and can play now while the other 2 are development potential picks. I'm fine with this, now let's start the FA/off season process.

[Rastas]

Wilson got picked because Marks didn't want da Martian dude crying anymore about no ready to play now picks.

[Netaman]

I believe Dr. O'Malley (Nets' doc) was the one that did Whitehead's surgery, so there is some inside information there. Both of these guys are longer term, developmental prospects. They'll be G-League fixtures for at least a year.

Dariq pick tells me Joe is expendable now. I'd love to move him to NOP or Orlando where they need shooting desperately. He also more of a LeVert type player with deadly step back 3. After foot surgeries though his quick first step went out the window. If he can regain that speed back. We either got legit high IQ 6th man or legit spot up shooter who can play D.

This Clowny guy is a back hole to me. But his scouting report scream Nic Claxton 2.0. I can actually see him get legit pt this year. Sharpe is a 3rd string big if we being 100.

Joe has been expendable for 2 years. The foot surgeries took away any shred of surprising athleticism he had left and if it wasn't certain prior, this past playoff series confirmed the guy can't make shots when it matters. He is an expiring contract for salary matching.

Maybe if he has a good year you can trade him at the deadline for a fringe pick or young player.

[Netaman]

Vecenie had a pretty good write-up on Wilson and had him ranked higher than the consensus. I was hoping for Isaiah Wong there but I'm a fan of guys with unorthodox skills. The 40%+ unguarded and 42% on pullups from 3 offer some encouragement that he can play a beefy 3 & d role with some handles to drive/dish on hard closeouts. Sounds very Grant Williams-y with similar size.

37. Jalen Wilson
W | Kansas | Birthdate: Nov. 4, 2000 (Age: 22) | 6-6 | 230 LBS | Hometown: Denton, Texas
BACKGROUND
Parents are Derale and Lisa. Has two younger brothers. Both of his parents were hoopers. His mother was a high-level high school player on the road to a Division I scholarship but tore her ACL and ended up playing community college. Father played at TCU then played professionally. Jalen was considered a high-level player for his age group during his first two years in high school, but really blew up in the summer before his junior year. Achieved four-star status on the recruiting circuits. Attended John H. Guyer High School in Denton and was a four-year starter. Really emerged onto the national scene during that junior year, when he earned all-state honors and led his team to a 32-5 record. Then, as a senior, Wilson once again led his team to a remarkable 38-2 mark before falling for the second straight year in the regional title game in the state tournament. Again, earned all-state honors. Wilson was considered in the ballpark of a top-50 recruit in the 2019 recruiting class and stayed solid with that four-star status. Committed to Michigan before his senior season, but decided to decommit after John Beilein was hired by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Was essentially the last top-50 player to commit in the 2019 recruiting class because of this and chose Kansas. Looked poised for a role as a freshman but broke his ankle in the second game of the season and took a medical redshirt year. Then, in his redshirt freshman season, emerged early as a standout player for the Jayhawks. Started for most of the season, averaging 12 points and earning All-Freshman honors in the Big 12. Declared for the draft but returned to school. As a sophomore, Wilson helped Kansas to a national championship along with first-round picks Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji. He was named third-team All-Big 12 and averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds in the NCAA Tournament. Declared for the draft again as a sophomore and received an NBA Draft Combine invite. Ultimately, decided to return to school again. That was the right call, because Wilson broke out as a fourth-year junior. Was the Big 12 Player of the Year and a first-team All-American. He was a finalist for National Player of the Year. Carried Kansas to a No. 1 seed before the team fell to Arkansas in the second round. Wilson declared again for the draft, this time as a full participant. Was again invited to the 2023 NBA Draft Combine.

STRENGTHS
Wilson has an interesting blend of size and physical strength at over 6-foot-6 without shoes and nearly 6-foot-8 in them. Has an enormous physical frame with huge shoulders. Has great body control. Very fluid for his strength level. Plays with real confidence. Completely fearless on the court. Because of that, when he gets moving downhill, it’s difficult to stop his momentum. More than happy to initiate contact and create separation with physical play by putting his shoulder into someone. Goes up through contact and isn’t bothered by it. Drew a ton of fouls this past season. Averaged 5.5 free-throw attempts per game and took the second-most free throws in the Big 12. Wilson was the epitome of a high-degree-of-difficulty shot maker this past season. To be that, you must be someone who can create those shots. This past season, he did. Think the key skill here is his handle. He has a real feel for how to get free for a bucket. A very confident, comfortable ballhandler for his size. Has a real bag of tricks as a perimeter driver. Can cross guys, freeze them with inside-out dribbles and attack with between-the-legs dribbles. And he plays at very sharp, quick cadences that allow him to change speeds. Can pull up quickly off all those moves when he drives his defender backward. Wilson is comfortable playing out of ball screens at the top, coming off pindowns from the corners or just isolating from the wing and elbow-extended area. A versatile offensive creator, and one who can be a bit unpredictable in his approach because of how many ways he can attack you. He’ll also play well off spins and pivots because of how much body control he has. Constantly seems to be in complete control of his movements. Never seems off-balance. Really knows how to read his defender’s balance and attack when he just slightly gets off his center. As a scorer, Wilson seems to generally have real touch even if the percentages don’t always tell the story because of how tough the shots are. Has a bevy of little floaters and hooks around the rim. Comfortable shooting from all three levels. Nearly two thirds of his catch-and-shoot attempts were guarded this past season because of how tightly defenders played him. But Wilson
also took over 60 3-point attempts off the catch that were unguarded, per Synergy, and made them at a 40.3 percent clip. He also made 43.2 percent of his pull-up 3s this past season. That, in addition to the touch finishes inside and the near-80 percent mark from the line, should give some real hope for Wilson to be a player who exceeds his collegiate shooting percentages in the NBA. Shoots a very high-arching ball with a high release and follow-through that comes off his hand softly. Interestingly, Wilson took a real leap out of ball screens this past season. His footwork was quite strong, and his feel for how defenders played him in drop was terrific. He’s attack-oriented but patient. Knows how to navigate bodies in the lane. Can snake those actions well to find openings and get all the way to the rim. But, if someone goes under that screen, he’s very comfortable just stopping and popping from behind the 3-point line. Can play off two feet on-balance or put his foot down and drive. One of the more interesting parts of his game is his passing. He clearly has real vision and understands where the help is coming from. Played with much more of a scoring mentality this past season but showcased some real flashes as a playmaker. Threw some awesome cross-corner kickouts off drives and is excellent at finding backdoor baseline cutters. Really knows how to read the low man on the backside. Knows how to manipulate defenders at pace but can also make live-dribble plays at full speed with either hand. I also really like him leading the break and reading advantage situations at speed. He averaged 2.2 assists per game, but as his role changes in the NBA, I think there is some upside for Wilson to be a bit better than that as he shifts into being more of a lower usage guy. Defensively, Wilson displays real upside to be switchable. Wilson played the four for Kansas this past season, and Bill Self used him to switch most screening actions when he was involved as the roll defender. I think he generally did OK when strung out, although we’ll talk about some concerns below. Tends to play very physically and gets his chest into players, using his strength to try to slow down opposing drivers. It’s hard to go through him because of how physically well-proportioned he is, leading to a lot of pull-up jumpers against him. Thought he did a reasonable job of containing. Away from the ball, he’s generally available in rotation and makes the right reads. Does a good job as the low man on the opposite side reading the guard’s decision. Also rebounds well for his position.

WEAKNESSES
Wilson has a concerning blend of traits including a lack of length and a lack of true foot speed. Has just a 6-foot-8 wingspan and pairs it with a near 8-foot-4 standing reach, a very low number for a wing. He also isn’t overly quick. Very balanced but wouldn’t say he has a great first step or a quick first stride on defense. Also, not a particularly vertical athlete. Has two dunks in the last three years. Isn’t a very explosive player in general, even though he’s capable of playing at speed. The big thing that gets pointed to with Wilson is the shot. His numbers from 3 weren’t great. Made just 34 percent this past season on six attempts per game. Needs to prove he can consistently knock them down at an above-average clip. The reason the shot is so important is because of his finishing at the rim. Wilson self-created nearly all of his looks, so you wouldn’t expect to see a high percentage there. But his is particularly low. Made just 47.7 percent at the basket this past season in half-court settings, in large part due to that lack of lift and lack of length. Almost all of his attempts are quite difficult. But it’s unlikely it will get easier for him as he gets to the NBA and needs to finish over longer players. The big question is how Wilson adjusts to a different role allocation in the NBA. Even in 2021-22 when he played more of a role on the Kansas title team, he didn’t shoot or pass wildly well and played closer to a big than to an NBA wing role. This past season, he took a ton of midrange jumpers he likely won’t be asked to take in the NBA unless he gets phenomenal at them. He’s not there yet. It’s hard to visualize exactly what Wilson does on offense at the next level if the shooting doesn’t totally translate. If it does, things get easy. While Wilson was generally a solid defensive player at Kansas, he wasn’t particularly impactful. He wasn’t all that disruptive in passing lanes. He wasn’t a turnover-forcing machine. He wasn’t necessarily a stopper on the ball despite being useful and switchable. Wasn’t impactful rotating to protect the rim when he needed to because of his lack of length. In general, his tools don’t really translate particularly well to doing anything other than being an on-ball stopper type against bigger wings due to his foot speed and size concerns. That role has value. But him proving that he can scale down in size and play against guards will go a long way toward him being able to stay on the court. He has a chance to do that, but he needs to keep improving his overall footwork and foot speed. Also, he needs to do a better job of not getting caught on screens away from the ball and end up trailing the play.

SUMMARY
Wilson’s profile is fascinating. In a lot of ways, he doesn’t exactly scream NBA role player. He’s not an awesome shooter. He’s an average defender. He didn’t pass or make a ton of plays for his teammates this past season. But when I watch his game, he reminds me a lot of some of the good role players who have recently exceeded their draft value as they scale down into a different role. Think of guys like Caleb Martin and Dillon Brooks, both of whom were primary options in college and don’t exactly have immense measurables but figured it out in the NBA as impactful players who did whatever it takes to work. I think Wilson will just do whatever it takes and become an NBA rotation player. There is some downside here if the shooting doesn’t come along quite as much as you’d hope. But there is real upside to being comfortable handling the ball at the level Wilson can, even for role players in today’s NBA. There’s upside to being this big and strong while also being able to do things at speed and make plays as a passer. I just kind of think Wilson knows how to hoop and will figure it out, even if there is a learning curve.

[Paradise]

I don't know why we went for 2 upside picks. Was hoping for at least one these guys to be NBA ready

Barring trades, we have a full roster this year & an empty roster next year. We can afford to let guys develop for a year.

Of players no one wants outside of Claxton and Bridges

Lol We turned down two picks for Finney Smith. How does nobody want anyone outside of Claxton and Bridges?

[NyCeEvO]

Barring trades, we have a full roster this year & an empty roster next year. We can afford to let guys develop for a year.

Of players no one wants outside of Claxton and Bridges

Lol We turned down two picks for Finney Smith. How does nobody want anyone outside of Claxton and Bridges?

We should’ve traded him for those 2 1sts. Would’ve at least been valuable in a trade package for another veteran or draft pick (e.g. Leonard Miller).

[Netaman]

Of players no one wants outside of Claxton and Bridges

Lol We turned down two picks for Finney Smith. How does nobody want anyone outside of Claxton and Bridges?

We should’ve traded him for those 2 1sts. Would’ve at least been valuable in a trade package for another veteran or draft pick (e.g. Leonard Miller).

i'd generally agree but who knows what the 2 picks were. look at the knicks, the picks they own are so protected they keep getting deferred and dont have a lot of value. memphis was probably the team offering and i agree if they had their 2023 first on the table probably should have done it, but i'd imagine they were not offering as much as they just gave up for smart (which was #25 this year and GSW next year).

if those were the 2 first though, 100% yes should have done that deal.

[Decipher]

Lol We turned down two picks for Finney Smith. How does nobody want anyone outside of Claxton and Bridges?

We should’ve traded him for those 2 1sts. Would’ve at least been valuable in a trade package for another veteran or draft pick (e.g. Leonard Miller).

i'd generally agree but who knows what the 2 picks were. look at the knicks, the picks they own are so protected they keep getting deferred and dont have a lot of value. memphis was probably the team offering and i agree if they had their 2023 first on the table probably should have done it, but i'd imagine they were not offering as much as they just gave up for smart (which was #25 this year and GSW next year).

if those were the 2 first though, 100% yes should have done that deal.

Smart is not only much better than DFS but also more valuable to Memphis

No way they offered that unless Ja pulled his water pistol out

[Netaman]

We should’ve traded him for those 2 1sts. Would’ve at least been valuable in a trade package for another veteran or draft pick (e.g. Leonard Miller).

i'd generally agree but who knows what the 2 picks were. look at the knicks, the picks they own are so protected they keep getting deferred and dont have a lot of value. memphis was probably the team offering and i agree if they had their 2023 first on the table probably should have done it, but i'd imagine they were not offering as much as they just gave up for smart (which was #25 this year and GSW next year).

if those were the 2 first though, 100% yes should have done that deal.

Smart is not only much better than DFS but also more valuable to Memphis

No way they offered that unless Ja pulled his water pistol out

agreed which is why i said that

[Netaman]

Didn't realize Whitehead is from Newark. Here's a good behind the scenes video of him. Seems to have a really good head on his shoulders and played a lot of football growing up. Really liking this pick more and more.

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=SLAM

[Netaman]

Another good video of Whitehead, here is in a win vs Miami in the ACC Tournament. I watched a lot of Miami last year and obviously they also went to F4, but they also had 2 experienced guys get drafted yesterday who played against Whitehead a good amount in the clips in Walker and Wong (I was hoping for either at #51). You will see in this where Whitehead's athleticism stands out over both of them despite the injury. He also looks to compete on D and hit all his free throws. There are a few plays that were close to big highlights but he couldn't complete, maybe due to the foot? Knowing he had a corrective surgery after the season it's pretty exciting to think about what he could be if this is the diminished version.

Watch on YouTube

;ab_channel=TheScoutingRapport

[Claud]

Clearly both Clowney and Whitehead are projects who aren't part of the rotation next season, but they have intriguing upside.

Key questions:

1. Will Clowney become a respectable 3pt shooter at the NBA level + give us good defense/rebounding? Can he play PF next to Clax and space the floor?

2. Is Whitehead an initiator or finisher? Can he handle the ball and make correct reads off the PnR? or is he another wing that just finishes the play?(we have many of those on the roster)

[Netaman]

Clearly both Clowney and Whitehead are projects who aren't part of the rotation next season, but they have intriguing upside.

Key questions:

1. Will Clowney become a respectable 3pt shooter at the NBA level + give us good defense/rebounding? Can he play PF next to Clax and space the floor?

2. Is Whitehead an initiator or finisher? Can he handle the ball and make correct reads off the PnR? or is he another wing that just finishes the play?(we have many of those on the roster)

depending on whatever trades go down I think whitehead has a shot at 3 & d role next year. Think of him kind of like yuta, 12th/13th man but will probably get a chance at some point.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Paradise]

Of players no one wants outside of Claxton and Bridges

Lol We turned down two picks for Finney Smith. How does nobody want anyone outside of Claxton and Bridges?

We should’ve traded him for those 2 1sts. Would’ve at least been valuable in a trade package for another veteran or draft pick (e.g. Leonard Miller).

Yeah, big mistake looking at how we just landed Whitehead, Clowney, Wilson who can play the same spots. We probably can and will look at it again during free agency.

[CalamityX12]

Been out for a bit and now my 3 cents are in!

My anticipating draft review is this:
bleh... lol

A lot of my preferred selections were taken although I wanted Miller too but he kept falling and falling, I'm like draft up for him?? but maybe there's a reason?

Not impressed with our picks, really laughed and not ounce of shock when i read we picked up Dariq.... of course we would!

The same people(not here) that went against drafting Clowney are now trying to sell the selection, though they're not completely behind it.

I honestly don't have much stock or expectations with them, lets see how it unfolds, neither offers excitement or "omg, his potential can really be a force!" type of vibe.

So I grade that a C+... play the hand your dealt with.

Revisionist would say, should've traded up with those picks for a more impactful player.... Hard to imagine, IMO, that Lively, hawkins, Hendricks, Howard or Dick were worth more alone than the two picks used?

For that POV, i give Marks a D, C-.

[Netaman]

Been out for a bit and now my 3 cents are in!

My anticipating draft review is this:
bleh... lol

A lot of my preferred selections were taken although I wanted Miller too but he kept falling and falling, I'm like draft up for him?? but maybe there's a reason?

Not impressed with our picks, really laughed and not ounce of shock when i read we picked up Dariq.... of course we would!

The same people(not here) that went against drafting Clowney are now trying to sell the selection, though they're not completely behind it.

I honestly don't have much stock or expectations with them, lets see how it unfolds, neither offers excitement or "omg, his potential can really be a force!" type of vibe.

So I grade that a C+... play the hand your dealt with.

Revisionist would say, should've traded up with those picks for a more impactful player.... Hard to imagine, IMO, that Lively, hawkins, Hendricks, Howard or Dick were worth more alone than the two picks used?

For that POV, i give Marks a D, C-.

with whitehead it's an unknown. nobody knows what he is because he played hurt and he's i think the youngest player in draft. i appreciate that they swung on upside and that he seems like a good kid. have to respect that he played hurt when he probably could have shut it down.

i was annoyed that the draft activity was overhyped (again) and there were no moves, nets and around the league, but as we get close to FA i understand it more. if they lose cam johnson, would it really make sense to have traded DFS a week earlier to move up and pick grady dick or jordan hawkins instead of whitehead? I don't think DFS could have gotten them up to Hendricks and it's probably 50/50 whether or not hendricks is ever better than DFS.

when whitmore was falling i was kind of into that too because who doesnt want a guy who is ranked in a lot of analysts top 5? but who knows, again whitehead healthy was considered the better prospect by a lot and the 3 pt shooting he showed at duke is a useful player if that remains and nothing else translates.

clowney i dont really have a feel for other than he sounds a lot like allen/claxton so it's easy to trust the FO.

tl:dr im disappointed the draft didn't turn into a signature event of the offseason but i think they still probably hit at least a couple of singles or doubles. on to free agency and trades.