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2018 NBA Draft - June 21

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Maybe I'm crazy but I'm still super high on Porter+Bagley. You really think they're tier 3 guys and could drop to the 6-8 range? Man....what a year to have a high lotto pick. Those dudes are GREAT prospects, IMO. Would have BOTH gone #1 over Fultz, IMO. Even with the back surgery.
 
Maybe I'm crazy but I'm still super high on Porter+Bagley. You really think they're tier 3 guys and could drop to the 6-8 range? Man....what a year to have a high lotto pick. Those dudes are GREAT prospects, IMO. Would have BOTH gone #1 over Fultz, IMO. Even with the back surgery.

Porter is my #2 guy if his shot is legit. But until I see that in the season or in the combine, I'd have him behind Trae and Doncic, and maybe Ayton as well.
 
Maybe I'm crazy but I'm still super high on Porter+Bagley. You really think they're tier 3 guys and could drop to the 6-8 range? Man....what a year to have a high lotto pick. Those dudes are GREAT prospects, IMO. Would have BOTH gone #1 over Fultz, IMO. Even with the back surgery.

I've got a tough job making these tiers man...you have Young regularly dropping 40+10, Ayton still #1 on a lot of big boards (for good reason), and Jaren Jackson lowkey stuffing every nook and cranny of the stat sheet. I like Porter and Bagley too, but have to make cutoffs somewhere. Blows last year's draft completely out of the water.
 
Man, I'm just not sold on Trae Young. I know he's putting up crazy numbers, but he's shot it terribly since conference play started and is averaging over 7(!) turnovers per game in Big 12 games.

I guess what I'm saying is I'd be ok if the Cavs landed at 5-6 and Young was already off the board. I'd really hesitate to be the team that has to make that call.
 
Man, I'm just not sold on Trae Young. I know he's putting up crazy numbers, but he's shot it terribly since conference play started and is averaging over 7(!) turnovers per game in Big 12 games.

I guess what I'm saying is I'd be ok if the Cavs landed at 5-6 and Young was already off the board. I'd really hesitate to be the team that has to make that call.

Yeah, I'm not too surprised with his regression shooting-wise, though he's played some quality defensive competition recently. I mentioned it earlier, but if his shooting numbers to date hold up, then I'd still keep him inside the top 3 of the draft. However I do expect them to come back some the rest of the season. He's had to face some tougher defenses lately, but he has at times looked like the player that scouts expected him to be closer to out of high school - a high volume type of guy with lower efficiency. Still a pretty long way to go though still.
 
Young Jaren Jackson shows off his athleticism off the dribble against Michigan.


Right before this he had a massive block and followed up the dunk with another block. He has so much potential, my dudes. Hop on the Jaren Jackson Draft Raft y'all, the water fine!
 
Another interesting upperclassman to keep an eye on is Gary Clark, an undersized PF in the mould of Draymond Green who's the lynchpin of Cincinnati's #1 ranked defense. He's strung together some really good games, most recently 17 points and 15 boards as Cincinnati beat UCF 49 to 38. If his offensive game continues to improve he should start to pop up in mock drafts soon.
 
Another interesting upperclassman to keep an eye on is Gary Clark, an undersized PF in the mould of Draymond Green who's the lynchpin of Cincinnati's #1 ranked defense. He's strung together some really good games, most recently 17 points and 15 boards as Cincinnati beat UCF 49 to 38. If his offensive game continues to improve he should start to pop up in mock drafts soon.

Really like Clark too. His NBA future depends so much on his shooting though.
 
Really like Clark too. His NBA future depends so much on his shooting though.

I agree...even at his ceiling he'd probably be a 4th/5th option offensively when he's on the floor, but his energy and leadership defensively could make him a big positive nonetheless. However, to be effective as a 4th/5th option, he needs to at least be able to score some garbage buckets around the basket and make open 3's. He can definitely do the former...can he do the latter? His 82% free throw shooting says maybe yes, the fact that he's only made 10 threes so far this year says maybe no.
 
Miles Bridges with 22 points against Indiana, including this ridiculous hammer.


I'm really liking Bridges as an athlete, and if he had a reliable 3 point shot I'd probably have him close to the top 5 at this point. He is everything you want from a modern day swing man from a physical standpoint. Big, strong as a bull, incredibly athletic and has a very good handle. His outside shot comes and goes but his form isn't bad and he could easily turn into a servicable marksman. At this point he is an easy top 10 pick to me and if his 3 point shot keeps improving he might be a guy who could go 6-7 in the draft.

It's a testament to how good this years draft will be that a guy like Bridges is merely being considered for a 10th pick. In any other year he'd be a stone cold top 3 pick, Imo.
 
Miles Bridges with 22 points against Indiana, including this ridiculous hammer.


I'm really liking Bridges as an athlete, and if he had a reliable 3 point shot I'd probably have him close to the top 5 at this point. He is everything you want from a modern day swing man from a physical standpoint. Big, strong as a bull, incredibly athletic and has a very good handle. His outside shot comes and goes but his form isn't bad and he could easily turn into a servicable marksman. At this point he is an easy top 10 pick to me and if his 3 point shot keeps improving he might be a guy who could go 6-7 in the draft.

It's a testament to how good this years draft will be that a guy like Bridges is merely being considered for a 10th pick. In any other year he'd be a stone cold top 3 pick, Imo.

There are a few question marks around him...for me, the biggest is his low free throw rate. How does a guy with his physical tools only shoot 2.6 free throws per game? Worried that he'll fade into the background a lot at the NBA level. He's shown flashes, as he did above, but generally looks more like a (very good) roleplayer than a potential superstar.
 
There are a few question marks around him...for me, the biggest is his low free throw rate. How does a guy with his physical tools only shoot 2.6 free throws per game? Worried that he'll fade into the background a lot at the NBA level. He's shown flashes, as he did above, but generally looks more like a (very good) roleplayer than a potential superstar.

I think that's a fair assessment, and Izzo has said that he wants him to be more aggressive with the ball going forward. Watching him play I don't get the feeling that he's squeemish about contact though. Dude plays really fucking hard and.. Like, he doesn't get a ton of boards but the boards he gets he really battles for, y'know?

I think some of it comes from how MSU plays on offense. Ward is such a big weapon for them and he needs to get the ball down low in order to utilize that. There's just not a lot emphasis put on driving to the basket from the forwards. Jackson is a victim of this too, though to a lesser degree, where he does have some ability when it comes to using his speed and length to get to the basket and score but it's just not something they do very often. Now, they've started going more to Jackson on the perimeter over the last couple of games so I would hazard a guess that Izzo is aware that it is a tool they should use more often and I think that will affect Bridges as well.
 
Maybe I'm crazy but I'm still super high on Porter+Bagley. You really think they're tier 3 guys and could drop to the 6-8 range? Man....what a year to have a high lotto pick. Those dudes are GREAT prospects, IMO. Would have BOTH gone #1 over Fultz, IMO. Even with the back surgery.

This draft is stupid deep. That pick is worth the world.
 
Trae Young plays like my MyPlayer in 2K14
 

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