2024 NBA Draft Thread

[Pattycakes]

There's no clear cut superstar value in this draft IMO, you can select in the teens and might have better results in the end than the guys who are selected in the early lottery.

That's why assuming everyone keeps their pick(unlikely), I think most teams will go need first, BPA second(you don't even know for sure who is going to be better).

So here would be my top 10:

1.ATL - Sarr (they were looking to shed Capela for years, no better opportunity than right now)
2. WAS - Topic (they need bodies everywhere)
3. HOU - Risacher (they are actually deep at every position, any guy selected here assuming Hou keeps the pick, won't play much during their rookie year)
4. SAS- Sheppard (I don't really care what anyone else says, he's the best fit for the Spurs...they desperately need bodies who can make a simple pass to Wemby. And he's one of the few guys in the draft with a ready shot from Day 1, they need that as well.
Spurs will look to accelerate the development process and maybe contend for the playoffs as soon as next year. Sheppard is a rotation player from the get go)
5. DET - Buzelis (Stewart experiment needs to die already, he's a backup level player in this league. They are thin at the 3/4, it's either him or Holland here)
6. CHA - Dillingham (Ball is injury prone, Rozier is no more. They are thin at the Guard position and selecting Dillingham makes sense)
7. POR - Holland (the days of playing the likes of Toumani Camara and Kris Murray are over)
8. SAS - Knecht (as I said, Spurs will try to speed the development and win games. Sheppard and Knecht are the two guys who can play from day one because of their shooting, that's the guys I see the Spurs going after)
9. Mem - Clingan (no Steven Adams, not sure they want JJJ as the full time 5. They need a C bad, if Clingan is available, they won't pass on him)
10. Uta - Castle (tried a ton of guards in the past two years, none have really ran away with the job. Castle makes sense here)

Camara is a bonafide nba starter… don’t let the team record fool you.

I hope we get Holland though too for the record. Him and Toumani compliment each other’s strengths decently enough that’s a solid 3 rotation and even Murray is playable…

[RyugaFan]

Who has him #1 overall?

my guy babyjax i think

I did, have him 3rd now on my mock (will update). But I am far from an expert, unless I'm right, then I am the expert (thanks for the shout out, though). Wouldn't be surprised if I end with him 1 on my big board, but he will end top 3 most likely (2 now).

He has some of the bigger hands in the class. Good for our agenda.

[atlantabbq99]

This class really is going to need someone to reclass or just make a massive jump or its going to be a very very weak draft.

When it comes to the Bronny thing, this is a response specifically to what Givony said in that video.

"He's improving at a rate I havent seen from any other player in this class."

Okay where? Saying things like he's gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, a little bit more explosive. He's describing pretty much 90% of the top recruits in high school basketball. Most of these guys do grow a little in high school and many do get stronger and more explosive as well. I dont know about the shooting, I cant find any shooting numbers for him this past year. The thing I see the most is comments like, "his jumper has good form and the potential is there". Doesnt sound like he is much of a knock down shooter yet. His handle hasnt improved enough to where he is an actual PG, he is still a combo guard that struggles to create any space off the dribble in the half court.

Id have a lot more respect for Givony with all of this, if he just says what Big J is saying. If he says something along the lines of, "from a player only standpoint he isnt a top 10 pick, but with this weak class and the marketing boost that a team will no doubt get if they take Bronny, I think he will go in the lotto."

Just dont give this dumb crap of, "he's improving at rates unlike anyone else in this class", while the vast majority of recruiting services still have him in the 30s and his statistical production is still pretty weak (13/5/2) and he is still not skilled enough to be a PG even though he's 6'3.

Back to the rest of this class, ya it looks like it is going to be pretty rough. With NIL now being part of college ball, I wont be shocked to see some guys that some might think would be OAD, decide to come back and make some money with NIL and also try and jump up in a very weak 2024 draft

For all the idiots who keep talking about "weak draft", you can read what RealGMer said about the 2022 draft and 2020. Goes to the lack of BB IQ we have on realgm....


https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2197297

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2179275

[Pattycakes]

This class really is going to need someone to reclass or just make a massive jump or its going to be a very very weak draft.

When it comes to the Bronny thing, this is a response specifically to what Givony said in that video.

"He's improving at a rate I havent seen from any other player in this class."

Okay where? Saying things like he's gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, a little bit more explosive. He's describing pretty much 90% of the top recruits in high school basketball. Most of these guys do grow a little in high school and many do get stronger and more explosive as well. I dont know about the shooting, I cant find any shooting numbers for him this past year. The thing I see the most is comments like, "his jumper has good form and the potential is there". Doesnt sound like he is much of a knock down shooter yet. His handle hasnt improved enough to where he is an actual PG, he is still a combo guard that struggles to create any space off the dribble in the half court.

Id have a lot more respect for Givony with all of this, if he just says what Big J is saying. If he says something along the lines of, "from a player only standpoint he isnt a top 10 pick, but with this weak class and the marketing boost that a team will no doubt get if they take Bronny, I think he will go in the lotto."

Just dont give this dumb crap of, "he's improving at rates unlike anyone else in this class", while the vast majority of recruiting services still have him in the 30s and his statistical production is still pretty weak (13/5/2) and he is still not skilled enough to be a PG even though he's 6'3.

Back to the rest of this class, ya it looks like it is going to be pretty rough. With NIL now being part of college ball, I wont be shocked to see some guys that some might think would be OAD, decide to come back and make some money with NIL and also try and jump up in a very weak 2024 draft

For all the idiots who keep talking about "weak draft", you can read what RealGMer said about the 2022 draft and 2020. Goes to the lack of BB IQ we have on realgm....


https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2197297

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2179275

At this point it’s reached stigma status where we’ll just have to wait til summer league to see the truth.

[Felixians4]

Memphis Grizzlies and Miami Heat would benefit a lot from this draft

Nikola Topić have to be top7 pick although injuries would scare franchises. You have to risk on this weak class

[FarBeyondDriven]

This class really is going to need someone to reclass or just make a massive jump or its going to be a very very weak draft.

When it comes to the Bronny thing, this is a response specifically to what Givony said in that video.

"He's improving at a rate I havent seen from any other player in this class."

Okay where? Saying things like he's gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, a little bit more explosive. He's describing pretty much 90% of the top recruits in high school basketball. Most of these guys do grow a little in high school and many do get stronger and more explosive as well. I dont know about the shooting, I cant find any shooting numbers for him this past year. The thing I see the most is comments like, "his jumper has good form and the potential is there". Doesnt sound like he is much of a knock down shooter yet. His handle hasnt improved enough to where he is an actual PG, he is still a combo guard that struggles to create any space off the dribble in the half court.

Id have a lot more respect for Givony with all of this, if he just says what Big J is saying. If he says something along the lines of, "from a player only standpoint he isnt a top 10 pick, but with this weak class and the marketing boost that a team will no doubt get if they take Bronny, I think he will go in the lotto."

Just dont give this dumb crap of, "he's improving at rates unlike anyone else in this class", while the vast majority of recruiting services still have him in the 30s and his statistical production is still pretty weak (13/5/2) and he is still not skilled enough to be a PG even though he's 6'3.

Back to the rest of this class, ya it looks like it is going to be pretty rough. With NIL now being part of college ball, I wont be shocked to see some guys that some might think would be OAD, decide to come back and make some money with NIL and also try and jump up in a very weak 2024 draft

For all the idiots who keep talking about "weak draft", you can read what RealGMer said about the 2022 draft and 2020. Goes to the lack of BB IQ we have on realgm....


https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2197297

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2179275

yeah, one of the first things I did was to go back and read past threads about draft classes to see if people on here that posted a lot knew what they were talking about and whether I should give them the benefit of the doubt when they were calling this a weak draft class as far back as the 2022/23 college season. Lots of laughable takes and I got my answer. Hard to blame them though since ESPN is on a full-court press to push the weak draft narrative. I swear they said it a dozen times during the 3 hour scrimmage. Pretty much regurgitating everything all the draft "experts" and "scouts" have been saying for 2 years now. It's kinda embarrassing.

Thing is, all the people who are always wrong have no shame about it. They just blow it off and say "well of course there were good players" as if that doesn't literally prove they were wrong when they claimed the class was weak and didn't have those players ranked high. You don't get to couch your statements with "every class has all-stars but nobody knows who they're going to be" b.s. If you're good at evaluating talent, point out the possible great players and rank them accordingly. If "experts" and others fail to do this they don't get credit because everyone else was also wrong.

That's what I think is happening with this class currently. There is no consensus top guys and rankings for this class so everyone is panicking to give themselves and their buddies in the industry cover when they botch this draft. "it was a weak class, what are you gonna do?" will be a very popular defense in the coming years. ESPN is running with "the draft starts at pick 7-10 compared to other drafts. That's how absolutely delusional and fraudulent these people are.

[Norm2953]

That's fine from Portland's POV when they have picks 7,14.

Portland might get some trade proposals about trading 7,14 to move up to get a particular
player, if there was a player they really wanted.

[pseudonym28]

Atl - Sarr
Was - Topic
Hou - Risacher
Sas - Dillingham
Det - Sheppard
Char - Castle
Por - Holland
Sas. - Buzellis
Mem - Clingan
Utah - Williams
Chi. - Knecht
OKC. - Filipowski
Sac. - Walter
Por - Salaun

[SeattleJazzFan]

Atl - Sarr
Was - Topic
Hou - Risacher
Sas - Dillingham
Det - Sheppard
Char - Castle
Por - Holland
Sas. - Buzellis
Mem - Clingan
Utah - Williams
Chi. - Knecht
OKC. - Filipowski
Sac. - Walter
Por - Salaun

topic will fall.

[Norm2953]

1) Sarr
2) Risacher
3) Clingan
4) Sheppard
5) Buzelis
6) Castle
7) Holland
8) Topic
9) Knecht
10) Dillingham

[HadAnEffectHere]

Little surprised at the lack of James Wiseman comparisons to Sarr.

-Both have elite size and speed, but highly questionable explosion
-Neither can rebound due to questionable toughness, strength, and hands
-Both just hung on the perimeter before the NBA despite being very bad at shooting and dribbling

Sarr is a better prospect than Wiseman (who always sucked and should have been like late lottery) because he has better lateral quickness and a better defensive IQ, but there's tons of similarities here.

Also pretty similar to Nerlens Noel with more strength and slightly better hands, but significantly less explosion. Noel's BBIQ never improved in the NBA so Sarr could end up being a lot better if he develops normally.

[SeattleJazzFan]

Little surprised at the lack of James Wiseman comparisons to Sarr.

-Both have elite size and speed, but highly questionable explosion
-Neither can rebound due to questionable toughness, strength, and hands
-Both just hung on the perimeter before the NBA despite being very bad at shooting and dribbling

Sarr is a better prospect than Wiseman (who always sucked and should have been like late lottery) because he has better lateral quickness and a better defensive IQ, but there's tons of similarities here.

Also pretty similar to Nerlens Noel with more strength and slightly better hands, but significantly less explosion. Noel's BBIQ never improved in the NBA so Sarr could end up being a lot better if he develops normally.

I think a fair question to ask is what makes Sarr significantly better than Ware. The measurables and athleticism are essentially identical. It's hard to compare production due to Big10 vs Australia, but in terms of their size, athleticism, skill set, etc, i don't see much real separation. If anything Ware probably shows a bit more potential as a shooter.

[EmpireFalls]

The combine scrimmages have been less useful than I would’ve hoped.

[clyde21]

Little surprised at the lack of James Wiseman comparisons to Sarr.

that's because they play nothing alike

[clyde21]

The combine scrimmages have been less useful than I would’ve hoped.

they are pretty useless to us but for people on the ground at the combine they are useful to see how players interact with coaches/each other.

[brackdan70]

This class really is going to need someone to reclass or just make a massive jump or its going to be a very very weak draft.

When it comes to the Bronny thing, this is a response specifically to what Givony said in that video.

"He's improving at a rate I havent seen from any other player in this class."

Okay where? Saying things like he's gotten a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, a little bit more explosive. He's describing pretty much 90% of the top recruits in high school basketball. Most of these guys do grow a little in high school and many do get stronger and more explosive as well. I dont know about the shooting, I cant find any shooting numbers for him this past year. The thing I see the most is comments like, "his jumper has good form and the potential is there". Doesnt sound like he is much of a knock down shooter yet. His handle hasnt improved enough to where he is an actual PG, he is still a combo guard that struggles to create any space off the dribble in the half court.

Id have a lot more respect for Givony with all of this, if he just says what Big J is saying. If he says something along the lines of, "from a player only standpoint he isnt a top 10 pick, but with this weak class and the marketing boost that a team will no doubt get if they take Bronny, I think he will go in the lotto."

Just dont give this dumb crap of, "he's improving at rates unlike anyone else in this class", while the vast majority of recruiting services still have him in the 30s and his statistical production is still pretty weak (13/5/2) and he is still not skilled enough to be a PG even though he's 6'3.

Back to the rest of this class, ya it looks like it is going to be pretty rough. With NIL now being part of college ball, I wont be shocked to see some guys that some might think would be OAD, decide to come back and make some money with NIL and also try and jump up in a very weak 2024 draft

For all the idiots who keep talking about "weak draft", you can read what RealGMer said about the 2022 draft and 2020. Goes to the lack of BB IQ we have on realgm....


https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2197297

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?t=2179275

yeah, one of the first things I did was to go back and read past threads about draft classes to see if people on here that posted a lot knew what they were talking about and whether I should give them the benefit of the doubt when they were calling this a weak draft class as far back as the 2022/23 college season. Lots of laughable takes and I got my answer. Hard to blame them though since ESPN is on a full-court press to push the weak draft narrative. I swear they said it a dozen times during the 3 hour scrimmage. Pretty much regurgitating everything all the draft "experts" and "scouts" have been saying for 2 years now. It's kinda embarrassing.

Thing is, all the people who are always wrong have no shame about it. They just blow it off and say "well of course there were good players" as if that doesn't literally prove they were wrong when they claimed the class was weak and didn't have those players ranked high. You don't get to couch your statements with "every class has all-stars but nobody knows who they're going to be" b.s. If you're good at evaluating talent, point out the possible great players and rank them accordingly. If "experts" and others fail to do this they don't get credit because everyone else was also wrong.

That's what I think is happening with this class currently. There is no consensus top guys and rankings for this class so everyone is panicking to give themselves and their buddies in the industry cover when they botch this draft. "it was a weak class, what are you gonna do?" will be a very popular defense in the coming years. ESPN is running with "the draft starts at pick 7-10 compared to other drafts. That's how absolutely delusional and fraudulent these people are.

So you are thinking this is an above average draft class? I kind of like the depth but I do agree that a top 5 pick in this one is more like a top 10 pick in a lot of drafts. I’ll admit though I have a blind spot with the euro talent.

[elias808]

There's no clear cut superstar value in this draft IMO, you can select in the teens and might have better results in the end than the guys who are selected in the early lottery.

That's why assuming everyone keeps their pick(unlikely), I think most teams will go need first, BPA second(you don't even know for sure who is going to be better).

So here would be my top 10:

1.ATL - Sarr (they were looking to shed Capela for years, no better opportunity than right now)
2. WAS - Topic (they need bodies everywhere)
3. HOU - Risacher (they are actually deep at every position, any guy selected here assuming Hou keeps the pick, won't play much during their rookie year)
4. SAS- Sheppard (I don't really care what anyone else says, he's the best fit for the Spurs...they desperately need bodies who can make a simple pass to Wemby. And he's one of the few guys in the draft with a ready shot from Day 1, they need that as well.
Spurs will look to accelerate the development process and maybe contend for the playoffs as soon as next year. Sheppard is a rotation player from the get go)
5. DET - Buzelis (Stewart experiment needs to die already, he's a backup level player in this league. They are thin at the 3/4, it's either him or Holland here)
6. CHA - Dillingham (Ball is injury prone, Rozier is no more. They are thin at the Guard position and selecting Dillingham makes sense)
7. POR - Holland (the days of playing the likes of Toumani Camara and Kris Murray are over)
8. SAS - Knecht (as I said, Spurs will try to speed the development and win games. Sheppard and Knecht are the two guys who can play from day one because of their shooting, that's the guys I see the Spurs going after)
9. Mem - Clingan (no Steven Adams, not sure they want JJJ as the full time 5. They need a C bad, if Clingan is available, they won't pass on him)
10. Uta - Castle (tried a ton of guards in the past two years, none have really ran away with the job. Castle makes sense here)

Camara is a bonafide nba starter… don’t let the team record fool you.

I hope we get Holland though too for the record. Him and Toumani compliment each other’s strengths decently enough that’s a solid 3 rotation and even Murray is playable…

A respectfully disagree that Camara is a bonafide NBA starter. He did fine and played good defense on a terrible team, but on a winning team he’s a bench player. The Blazers lack so much talent that someone like Camara shouldn’t stop them from drafting a wing.

[babyjax13]

The combine scrimmages have been less useful than I would’ve hoped.

they are pretty useless to us but for people on the ground at the combine they are useful to see how players interact with coaches/each other.

There is always a standout or two that rises to late 1st or early 2nd from this, too. I've only watched the second scrimmage so far, don't think that guy was there, but liked several players (Michael Ayayi was the most interesting to me).

Re: weak class/classes, 2022 was a pretty strong class outside of no clear #1 prospect. I still stand by my comment that there were 4 players you'd be thrilled to take 2nd in any draft but no clear #1. 2020 seemed rather weak to me and that was clearly wrong. Sometimes drafts just have guys that are less polished coming out. That could be the case here, but I don't quite see the same pool of talent. I think it is a below average draft because the top is weak, e.g. Sarr I think I would have between 5 and 7 last year (admittedly, last year was very good, I'd be comfortable with Sarr as probably the third pick in an average draft - whatever that is).

[EmpireFalls]

The combine scrimmages have been less useful than I would’ve hoped.

they are pretty useless to us but for people on the ground at the combine they are useful to see how players interact with coaches/each other.

There is always a standout or two that rises to late 1st or early 2nd from this, too. I've only watched the second scrimmage so far, don't think that guy was there, but liked several players (Michael Ayayi was the most interesting to me).

Re: weak class/classes, 2022 was a pretty strong class outside of no clear #1 prospect. I still stand by my comment that there were 4 players you'd be thrilled to take 2nd in any draft but no clear #1. 2020 seemed rather weak to me and that was clearly wrong. Sometimes drafts just have guys that are less polished coming out. That could be the case here, but I don't quite see the same pool of talent. I think it is a below average draft because the top is weak, e.g. Sarr I think I would have between 5 and 7 last year (admittedly, last year was very good, I'd be comfortable with Sarr as probably the third pick in an average draft - whatever that is).

I’m old enough to vividly remember the 2014 draft and all the hype surrounding - going in it was viewed as one of the best drafts in 30 years and arguably the best of the century.

It produced Embiid, which is great, but beyond that - Wiggins was frustrating, Jabari a huge bust, Exum out of the league, and the likes of Aaron Gordon and Randle took a long time to become good. Lavine is probably the 5th best player from the draft which is fine, but not great. Shockingly the actual best player was a 41st pick from Serbia during a Taco Bell commercial.

It was a good draft but the hype was far far more than the actual quality. So it can go both ways.

[HadAnEffectHere]

Little surprised at the lack of James Wiseman comparisons to Sarr.

-Both have elite size and speed, but highly questionable explosion
-Neither can rebound due to questionable toughness, strength, and hands
-Both just hung on the perimeter before the NBA despite being very bad at shooting and dribbling

Sarr is a better prospect than Wiseman (who always sucked and should have been like late lottery) because he has better lateral quickness and a better defensive IQ, but there's tons of similarities here.

Also pretty similar to Nerlens Noel with more strength and slightly better hands, but significantly less explosion. Noel's BBIQ never improved in the NBA so Sarr could end up being a lot better if he develops normally.

I think a fair question to ask is what makes Sarr significantly better than Ware. The measurables and athleticism are essentially identical. It's hard to compare production due to Big10 vs Australia, but in terms of their size, athleticism, skill set, etc, i don't see much real separation. If anything Ware probably shows a bit more potential as a shooter.

Uhh, Ware would be in contention for top 3 if he didn't supposedly hate basketball.

This is like pulling up Bol Bol's stats and measurements and going "why isn't this guy in the top 3???"

Sarr is also an elite perimeter defender.