2019 NBA Draft

[NorthCoastBias]

I’m drunk but I can’t imagine giving a shit about this. Whatever pick the Cavs get, they’ll fuck it up. Go Browns.

 

[TyGuy]

Plot twist: I'm drafting Zion mostly for his defense.

Which should be the case with big men these days. I think I said earlier in this thread that id feel more comfortable picking this guy with a high pick if he was projecting elite on defense.

 

[Nathan S]

Updated statistical rankings. Dropped Shittu, added Xavier Johnson. As before they're color-coded by tier in Jackson Hoy's top-100, so (roughly speaking) higher-profile guys will be in blue, green, and yellow, while sleepers will be in orange and red.

It was a particularly good week for Ponds, whose all-around hyper efficient play has kept St. John's undefeated so far, Claxton who dropped a monster 13/13/6/2/6 line in a road win against rival Georgia Tech, Wesson who's now averaging an absurd 27 points and 12 boards per 40, and Hunter, who's establishing himself as the clear best player on an extremely talented Virginia squad.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

PJ Washington has gone under the radar in part because he's a returning guy that people feel like they know, plus Kentucky hasn't played anyone.

But I definitely could see him jumping into the late lottery if he plays this well all season. Has consistency issues, but has shot it very well this year. Moves extremely well for his size and can attack off the bounce pretty well. Movement + size also leads to a lot of defensive upside too. Has flashed some passing as well.

Seems like he could be a guy that everyone wants DeAndre Hunter to be lol. But I've not watched enough Hunter still to commit to that.

 

[Nathan S]

PJ Washington has gone under the radar in part because he's a returning guy that people feel like they know, plus Kentucky hasn't played anyone.

But I definitely could see him jumping into the late lottery if he plays this well all season. Has consistency issues, but has shot it very well this year. Moves extremely well for his size and can attack off the bounce pretty well. Movement + size also leads to a lot of defensive upside too. Has flashed some passing as well.

Seems like he could be a guy that everyone wants DeAndre Hunter to be lol. But I've not watched enough Hunter still to commit to that.

He's come a long way since he fouled out in 17 minutes against Duke in the season opener. I need to watch more of him, but based on box scores seems like he shows a new facet every game.

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Lol. Zion has 40.8 PER and 20 BPM and his strength of schedule is 6 so far! That's insane.

 

[I'mWithDan]

Seems like he could be a guy that everyone wants DeAndre Hunter to be lol. But I've not watched enough Hunter still to commit to that.

Most interesting aspect, for me, has been Hunter flashing some passing skills. He has a handful of 3 and 4 assist games, which could change the way you look at him, if you think he can sustain that.

He's seen a huge spike in his offensive efficiency and role, without much of a drop off in his defense. I like him slightly more just because his shooting mechanics are really, really good. And for what his role will be at the next level, I just believe in that more than anything.

Washington is the better rebounder by a wide margin but I think Hunter is easier to project given his shooting and ability to guard on the perimeter.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

Most interesting aspect, for me, has been Hunter flashing some passing skills. He has a handful of 3 and 4 assist games, which could change the way you look at him, if you think he can sustain that.

He's seen a huge spike in his offensive efficiency and role, without much of a drop off in his defense. I like him slightly more just because his shooting mechanics are really, really good. And for what his role will be at the next level, I just believe in that more than anything.

Washington is the better rebounder by a wide margin but I think Hunter is easier to project given his shooting and ability to guard on the perimeter.

Re-reading my post and I realize I sounded lower on Hunter than I actually am. I could really go either way on Washington vs Hunter right now.

Like pretty much everyone now, I'm really fascinated with oversized wings with movement skills. I didn't realize how valuable those sorts of things are offensively when they can handle the ball a little bit. Although he was in a less than ideal situation at UK, I think undervaluing Kevin Knox helped me realize that somewhat.

I'd be curious to hear who you think between Hunter and Washington is more fluid? That's really the crux of what I was trying to get at in the original post. Hunter is further along with his jumper, and you pointed out his passing of late as well... but I think Washington should be talked about in the same light as Hunter as a guy that could be a top 10 pick if his offense is sustained.

It's also surprising that Hunter is almost a year older than Washington.

 

[I'mWithDan]

Re-reading my post and I realize I sounded lower on Hunter than I actually am. I could really go either way on Washington vs Hunter right now.

Like pretty much everyone now, I'm really fascinated with oversized wings with movement skills. I didn't realize how valuable those sorts of things are offensively when they can handle the ball a little bit. Although he was in a less than ideal situation at UK, I think undervaluing Kevin Knox helped me realize that somewhat.

I'd be curious to hear who you think between Hunter and Washington is more fluid? That's really the crux of what I was trying to get at in the original post. Hunter is further along with his jumper, and you pointed out his passing of late as well... but I think Washington should be talked about in the same light as Hunter as a guy that could be a top 10 pick if his offense is sustained.

It's also surprising that Hunter is almost a year older than Washington.

I think they are comparable athletes vertically (I'd still give the nod to Hunter) but the separation is how Hunter moves laterally. I also think Hunter is a far, far better team defender. He's always in good help side positions, he's aware of where the ball is at all times and he's playing in a system that stresses the value of defense.

My big hangup with Washington is he plays like a traditional PF but is not a great athlete and a bit undersized......and I wonder if he is athletic enough to play against bigger players without some sort of equalizing skill (not a great athlete, not a great shooter). He is really physical though, so he may be able to mitigate some of that athletic short coming but will he be able to just bully inside in the NBA? That's pretty much how he scores now. He just strikes me as a 3rd big off the bench ceiling......but maybe I am just not giving him enough credit.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

Just watched Auburn-Murray State. Of the Murray State games I've watched, this was the first one where Morant was played on-ball defensively... and boy is he a train wreck on that end lol.

The effort is about as bad as I've seen, and he'd just be floating around out there about half the time. Even down the stretch, he doesn't even try to hide the fact he doesn't care on that end lol.

I'm probably alone with this, but Garland is my top PG for this year right now.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

@Nathan S Not sure if you mentioned but Bitadze got picked up by a Euroleague team recently. Had 17 points in his debut today.

 

[ajz20]

View: https://twitter.com/scoutwithbryan/status/1078770567388504064?s=21


Worth the read

 

[I'mWithDan]

View: https://twitter.com/scoutwithbryan/status/1078770567388504064?s=21


Worth the read

Larry Johnson comp? I see why this FO member has “former” attached to him name.

I’m not shooting the messanger here but someone walk me through how Johnson makes sense? Was that just a similar body type lazy comp?

Johnson hit 33% of his NBA 3’s and showed range outside of the paint early on. He was also a pretty creative ball handler. Johnson was also a good but not great athlete.

Zion as Larry Johnson would seem to be a pretty underwhelming NBA career comp.

 

[Nathan S]

Larry Johnson comp? I see why this FO member has “former” attached to him name.

I’m not shooting the messanger here but someone walk me through how Johnson makes sense? Was that just a similar body type lazy comp?

Johnson hit 33% of his NBA 3’s and showed range outside of the paint early on. He was also a pretty creative ball handler. Johnson was also a good but not great athlete.

Zion as Larry Johnson would seem to be a pretty underwhelming NBA career comp.

Yeah lol...lazy comps, typo in the second sentence, still thinks Reddish is a top-5 player, and the dreaded "Most hyped prospect to come out since LeBron James" tag that, somehow, applies to a prospect in almost every single draft.

EDIT: Bonus, gets his height wrong.

 

[blommen]

I don't hate the Larry Johnson comp in principal, but most of it obviously stems from the heavy frame and athletic ability. I do agree with his notes, honestly. I don't know, I get why people think Zion is a slam dunk prospect but I really don't like his lack of length and the non existent jump shot. It just seems like such a giant risk to me. While Barrett doesn't have the same ceilling as Zion I would frankly be much more confident drafting him than Zion.