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2019 NBA Draft

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Crazy thing is Givony has us picking him at 26 in his latest mock after picking Morant at #2 (assuming no change in slot after lottery).
Why take Morant when we already have a capable up and coming PG in Sexton?
 
I know this is a guy that is probably out of everyone's radar, but since he might be the first Portuguese player ever in the NBA, what are Neemias Queta's chances of being drafted at all? Does anyone know? He doesn't show up in any of the mock drafts i've seen besides a weird first round pick by the Spurs on Sports Illustraded.

If he stays in the draft, he will certainly get drafted. He's not in mocks often because everyone expects him to go back to school. He has excellent size and length with great shot blocking instincts. There's shooting upside as well, though I'm sure teams will encourage him to go back to school to see if it's legitimate. Overall his offense is his main issue... I doubt the shooting is real, and he's the a vertical athlete which limits him as a potential roll man.

He's a similar player to Mfiondu Kabengele, who is far more certain to stay in the draft due to his age. He's projected as a fringe first rounder.

I fully expect Queta to go back to school.
 
Why has Hachimura seemingly fallen down on mock drafts? Before the tournament alot of mock drafts had him top 6, now I see him in the teens.

Watching him play, you would think he has the game and body to be a modern big wing (SG/PF) especially if he can add a consistent 3 point shot. Like he is quick enough to be a SF but has a solid build that he can play PF.

Well, he was pretty lukewarm in the tournament, so that's certainly part of it. After famously leading Gonzaga's win over Duke early in the year, he shot worse than 50% from the field in all of his last six matchups against major-conference opponents. People are wondering, rightly, to what extent his scoring volume/efficiency has been inflated by the weak WCC schedule he faced, which is a serious concern since there's not much substance to his game beyond his scoring.
 
Why take Morant when we already have a capable up and coming PG in Sexton?

I think the Cavs take Morant if they feel he is clearly better than RJ Barrett. Barrett might be the better fit but if the front office project out Morant to be an All-star and Barrett to not have as high of a ceiling then you take Morant.

Morant and Sexton are different enough players that they can co-exist. Morant is so good at getting everyone else involved. Sexton has played well off the ball. Both attack in the full court. I don't think there would be a problem when Morant plays on the ball and Sexton off the ball. They would definitely have to work on Sexton playing on the ball, Morant off the ball, and making sure everyone still gets involved.

You hope that Morant's passing ability is enough to make sure the Cavs don't have another Kyrie vs Dion situation and we end up with a Lillard/McCollum relationship.
 
Quick writeup on the top-3 centers in the draft, in my opinion. I'll plan to do something similar for other positions, and may in general add more than 3 players if there's no clear dropoff in quality after 3. For multi-positional players, I'll try to include them at the position where I think they have the most long-term promise.


Goga Bitadze

Offense - One of the most well-rounded offensive center prospects in recent memory, he's equally at home spotting up for 3 and using his athleticism and physicality to score around the rim. Sub-elite ballhandling and basketball IQ make him a good rather than great offensive prospect, more likely an efficient 3rd/4th option than a high-volume 1st/2nd option.

Defense - Arguably the best shot blocker in Europe, he should make an immediate impact with his rim protecting ability in the NBA. High effort level, quick feet, and leaping ability are a double edged sword at the moment as for every highlight block he commits an unnecessary foul, but he has one of the highest defensive ceilings in the draft if he can improve his fundamentals.


Bol Bol

Offense - Maybe the best pure shooter in the whole draft and arguably the highest gravity shooter in the draft thanks to his height, he should be a valuable roleplayer at the least if he can stay healthy. His offensive potential inside the arc is much more questionable, as he lacks the physicality to get to the rim reliably and struggles to protect his dribble from smaller defenders.

Defense - Big-time shot blocking threat thanks to his size and IQ, but doesn't always play with an edge, and his high center of gravity makes it hard for him to hold position against stronger bigs. Below-average footspeed could get exposed at the next level, and may make him more of a situational guy than a regular 30+ minutes per game starter.


Jaxson Hayes

Offense - Fantastic finisher around the rim, but very limited offensive game otherwise. Just 9 assists and 0 3-point attempts on the season. At just 220 pounds and lacking a functional handle, his offensive production at the next level may be limited to capitalizing on defensive breakdowns and occasional putbacks.

Defense - Great shot blocker, high ceiling overall thanks to his combination of length and athleticism that could theoretically make him one of the most versatile defenders in the league. Fundamentals have a long way to go, as illustrated by the fact that Texas was actually slightly better defensively with him on the bench, but at just 18 years old, time is on his side and he could get there.
 
If he stays in the draft, he will certainly get drafted. He's not in mocks often because everyone expects him to go back to school. He has excellent size and length with great shot blocking instincts. There's shooting upside as well, though I'm sure teams will encourage him to go back to school to see if it's legitimate. Overall his offense is his main issue... I doubt the shooting is real, and he's the a vertical athlete which limits him as a potential roll man.

He's a similar player to Mfiondu Kabengele, who is far more certain to stay in the draft due to his age. He's projected as a fringe first rounder.

I fully expect Queta to go back to school.
Thank you for the reply. Yeah, there was a doubt if he would stay one more year or declare, but he just said that he is declaring for the draft, hiring an agent and pursuing his dream, but keeping the door open for a return to school so i'm guessing that if he gets drafted, there's no way he goes back.
 
The cavs gameplan will have to be malleable until the lottery. How you bend this team changes a lot depending on our draft position. Which may be 1 through 6. Obviously at 1 we take Zion, and try to use our assets to optimize.. and I think that is the easiest set of choices for us.. i believe we are already better postioned than were were with Lebron 1.0..

With 2, the choices are more difficult, but if you believe Morant is a clear number 2, you take him. We might play him with Sexton for another tank year. But if he is as good as advertized, we could actually make the playoffs.. we played competitively when love was healthy using knight Stauskus and clarkson, so we might imagine even 20 of those minutes replaced with Morant might have an impact..

At 3 the difficulty is the pick itself, more than the personell... we are probably talking Barrett who will also replace the knight, stauskus, and clarkson minutes. But he could be rodney hood, or he could be much better than that .. i think we would wait a bit to see what we have before making moves..

At 4-6 i dont think we improve significantly next year. Culver, Hunter for example dont strike me as franchise changers.. i think you might take a shot at goga, because he could be a franchise changer, but be prepared for disappointment. I also think okoche is a good choice here, especially in a trade down scenario, because he will play sparingly next year, and allow us to pick up another lottery pick.
 
I like Goga as much as the next guy, but taking him in the 4-8 range seems to be a mega stretch.

If the lottery doesn't work as we hoped and we end up in the 5-6 range, I'd be perfectly content trading back to the 10-14 range, acquiring an asset, and drafting Goga there than I would reaching for a guy that does have bust potential.
 
I like Goga as much as the next guy, but taking him in the 4-8 range seems to be a mega stretch.

If the lottery doesn't work as we hoped and we end up in the 5-6 range, I'd be perfectly content trading back to the 10-14 range, acquiring an asset, and drafting Goga there than I would reaching for a guy that does have bust potential.

The problem with trading back while targeting a specific guy is that someone else may snag him before you have a chance to pick. Presumably, the Cavs have a board in which they've listed the guys they want to draft. If they're going to move back, then they have to assume that other teams are targeting the same players they are. If they think Goga is the 8th best player in the draft, then they can't drop back in to the teens and hope he's still there.
 
I like Goga as much as the next guy, but taking him in the 4-8 range seems to be a mega stretch.

If the lottery doesn't work as we hoped and we end up in the 5-6 range, I'd be perfectly content trading back to the 10-14 range, acquiring an asset, and drafting Goga there than I would reaching for a guy that does have bust potential.

I don't hate the idea of trading down in this draft if we miss out on Zion and we're confident that good prospects will still be on the board in the later lottery/teens. But the complaint with Goga isn't that he has bust potential. He's already proven that he can make an impact in the 2nd-best pro league in the world, and you can't ask for much more than that if you're looking for assurances that a guy won't bust. I think the main complaint is that he doesn't have as much upside as the other top center prospects because he doesn't have Hayes's elite athleticism and he doesn't have Bol's elite skills.
 
I think I'm at the point where if a big isn't projecting to be able to defend the perimeter, I'm probably not gonna draft him. It feels like too big of a need going forward with how the league is evolving.
 
I think I'm at the point where if a big isn't projecting to be able to defend the perimeter, I'm probably not gonna draft him. It feels like too big of a need going forward with how the league is evolving.

You'd think, but so many starting centers these days have little willingness or ability to defend the perimeter. That includes guys like Embiid and Gobert who're widely considered among the best defensive players in the league, as well as guys like Vucevic, Gasol, Cousins, Jokic, Poeltl, Zubac, Baynes, Kanter, and Lopez who're all starting for playoff teams. Could probably add Adams and Drummond to that list too.

There aren't many centers in the league who can defend the perimeter and protect the rim, and given the choice most good teams will sacrifice perimeter defense to put a rim protector on the court.
 
You'd think, but so many starting centers these days have little willingness or ability to defend the perimeter. That includes guys like Embiid and Gobert who're widely considered among the best defensive players in the league, as well as guys like Vucevic, Gasol, Cousins, Jokic, Poeltl, Zubac, Baynes, Kanter, and Lopez who're all starting for playoff teams. Could probably add Adams and Drummond to that list too.

There aren't many centers in the league who can defend the perimeter and protect the rim, and given the choice most good teams will sacrifice perimeter defense to put a rim protector on the court.

And they are both being exploited in the playoffs, not impacting the defense like the numbers say they should.
 
And they are both being exploited in the playoffs, not impacting the defense like the numbers say they should.

Sure, Embiid and Gobert had bad games, though I think it would be an overreaction to say that they're not among the best defensive players in the league. Other guys I listed had really good games. My main point is that it seems premature to say that the league is evolving towards positionless small-ball when in reality very few teams are actually playing that way. If anything, surprisingly many teams are going out of their way to put more size on the court even if it means starting a relatively unskilled guy like Baynes/Poeltl/Zubac.
 
Sure, Embiid and Gobert had bad games, though I think it would be an overreaction to say that they're not among the best defensive players in the league. Other guys I listed had really good games. My main point is that it seems premature to say that the league is evolving towards positionless small-ball when in reality very few teams are actually playing that way. If anything, surprisingly many teams are going out of their way to put more size on the court even if it means starting a relatively unskilled guy like Baynes/Poeltl/Zubac.

I don't think we are evolving to position less small ball, but having a pure center as your best player is really problematic because sometimes when he is getting cooked in the pick and roll, you have to pull that guy and run a small ball unit.

In other words you are better off having a good but not great big guy with defensive instincts like Baynes/Poeltl/Zubac who it is no big deal to pull at times than a DPOY guy like Embiid or Gobert who you feel you must keep on the floor to woin.
 

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