2023-24 NBA (Playoffs!) Thread: Mavs - Boston it is (9 Viewers)

[Desert_Power]

Clippers rebrand looks like a real positive. Really hate their current stuff.

 

[Yo Mama]

Clippers rebrand looks like a real positive. Really hate their current stuff.

Yeah, I like that they embraced the 90s color scheme and script. I would have liked the San Diego baby blues too but maybe that’s one of their retro offerings.

It was funny that so many people were surprised the Clippers name was related to ships.

 

[mr. furley]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

Honestly, who cares. The kid almost died. That probably had something to do with his play. Weird people are even talking about this.

these are the same guys who say **** like "i tore my ACL when i was 30 and i was back at work (a desk job) in 2 weeks! why can't these guys play (high level professional sports) at the same, or better, level than they did before after 9 months of rehab?? because they're rich, entitled, babies! yeah, i'm 40, sedentary, walk with a permanent limp and couldn't clear a deck of cards in my prime but i also don't get paid millions to play a kid's game."

 

[the moops]

but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Turns out you actually can

 

[Capella]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

 

[Capella]

People hate Bron so much that they are eager to trash his kid who had a heart issue and couldn’t play for 4 months right before he went to one of the biggest programs on the west coast. Y’all need to go watch the Care Bears or something.

 

[thecatch]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

If you think the heart issue is the o it reason why he’s not living up to his dad’s billing of him as a top pick, we’ll just agree to disagree. You are mischaracterizing the criticism of Lebron’s hypocrisy with regard to media attention as criticism of the kid.

 

[msudaisy26]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

Jordan would have made sure his kid didn't miss a practice.

 

[Yo Mama]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

Jordan would have made sure his kid didn't miss a practice.

MJ to his son: “That’s just proof you have no heart!”

 

[Capella]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

If you think the heart issue is the o it reason why he’s not living up to his dad’s billing of him as a top pick, we’ll just agree to disagree. You are mischaracterizing the criticism of Lebron’s hypocrisy with regard to media attention as criticism of the kid.

You don’t think not playing for 4-5 months whatever it was isn’t a factor in how he is playing now? I’m not saying he’s ever going to be good or not (I don’t care at all) but Lebron’s comments came before the heart issue. It’s not like he said it last week.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

One issue for Bronny is that his NIL income is higher than all but the top 2-3 NBA rookies will earn in their first three seasons. He's a freshman at USC and absolutely on top of the world right now.

 

[Capella]

One issue for Bronny is that his NIL income is higher than all but the top 2-3 NBA rookies will earn in their first three seasons. He's a freshman at USC and absolutely on top of the world right now.

I’m sure 90% of that has to do with his name but will that money pour in next year if his game doesn’t improve? USC is dreadful I don’t get why people would throw good money after bad there. Unless the NIL people are doing it to get an inroad with his dad.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

The Poku era in OKC ended unceremoniously last week, but we can all be excited now that the Poku era in Charlotte has begun!

Relatedly, Poku is now one of 34 picks in the top 40 in 2020 and 2021 that have either been waived by the team that drafted them or never even signed a contract (h/t Jon givony). I guess I don’t know for sure what the rate is historically, but 43% seems pretty high to me.

 

[Yo Mama]

LeBron needs 21 points Thursday to pass Kareem for the most points ever on February 29th. (Westbrook doesn’t play this Thursday).

1 - Kareem - 102 (4 games)
2 - Kobe - 97 (4)
3 - Garnett - 90 (4)
4 - Carmelo - 89 (4)
5 - Oscar Robinson - 87 (3)
6 - Kidd - 86 - (5!!!)
7 - Westbrook - 83 (3)
7 - Jerry Lucas - 83 (3)
9 - LeBron - 82 (3)
10 - Bob Lanier - 81 (4)

I love stupid stats like these.

 

[scoobus]

Haven't watched the Celtics in a while, good to see Jayson Tatum is still complaining on every single anything that doesn't go his way.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Strus straight drains a 58 footer to win the game for the Cavs

 

[Desert_Power]

Dame +41 against the Hornets tonight

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Strus straight drains a 58 footer to win the game for the Cavs

Strus and Reed Sheppard are #1 and #2 trending topics on Twitter for their game-winning shots.

 

[Major]

Good to see the Rockets finally having a prime time game on TNT. Hope Udoka continues to give Amen playing time. Love watching him play. Dude just kind of glides across the court and has great handles driving to the hoop.

 

[Jayrod]

Haven't watched the Celtics in a while, good to see Jayson Tatum is still complaining on every single anything that doesn't go his way.

 

[CletiusMaximus]

Dame +41 against the Hornets tonight

Miles Bridges finished -48

 

[CletiusMaximus]

One issue for Bronny is that his NIL income is higher than all but the top 2-3 NBA rookies will earn in their first three seasons. He's a freshman at USC and absolutely on top of the world right now.

I’m sure 90% of that has to do with his name but will that money pour in next year if his game doesn’t improve? USC is dreadful I don’t get why people would throw good money after bad there. Unless the NIL people are doing it to get an inroad with his dad.

NIL revenue isn’t necessarily all booster money. Many of the top earners are women athletes who are extremely popular social media influencers earning millions from sponsorship money that has nothing to do with athletic talent or wins and losses. Bronny has millions of followers and provides real value to his revenue sources apart from anything he does on the court.

 

[Major]

Strus straight drains a 58 footer to win the game for the Cavs

I thought Dallas won on the sick Luka pass but that shot was awesome. He had five 3s in the last 5 minutes to keep them in it.

 

[mr. furley]

The Poku era in OKC ended unceremoniously last week, but we can all be excited now that the Poku era in Charlotte has begun!

Relatedly, Poku is now one of 34 picks in the top 40 in 2020 and 2021 that have either been waived by the team that drafted them or never even signed a contract (h/t Jon givony). I guess I don’t know for sure what the rate is historically, but 43% seems pretty high to me.

take it for what it's worth, but a handful of years ago (maybe first covid year??) Simmons and Russillo did a redraft of a bunch of years. after like pick 3 it was basically "no, you go. the rest of these guys stink."

feels like if teams don't get a top 5-6 pick, they're throwing their money in the trash.

exaggeration, but, man there were a lot of bad drafts.

 

[the moops]

The Poku era in OKC ended unceremoniously last week, but we can all be excited now that the Poku era in Charlotte has begun!

Relatedly, Poku is now one of 34 picks in the top 40 in 2020 and 2021 that have either been waived by the team that drafted them or never even signed a contract (h/t Jon givony). I guess I don’t know for sure what the rate is historically, but 43% seems pretty high to me.

Where did you hear/read this? I would love to see the list of guys. I am looking at the 2020 draft, just first round, and I can only find Killian Hayes, Poku and Azubuike. In 2021 I can only see Kai Jones.

The other 36 are all second round guys? I must have missed several first rounders then, cause there are only 20 picks to look at in those two 2nd rounds.

 

[Instinctive]

Caught up to the Mavs game. That sucks. Dallas is better than that team. Played pretty meh and still should have won.

 

[the moops]

feels like if teams don't get a top 5-6 pick, they're throwing their money in the trash.

Just picked a random draft - 2020 top 6 was Edwards, Wiseman, Ball, Williams, Okoro, Okongwu

Best top 6 from the rest of the first round would be like Haliburton, Bane, Maxey, Quickley, Vassell.

Obviously you want the top 5'ish pick, but man, if you have a bite in the late lottery and mid 20's or so, you certainly can find guys. Dudes are paid millions of dollars to evaluate picks and they fail about as often as they succeed, even in that top 5-6. Drafting players is hard

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

If you think the heart issue is the o it reason why he’s not living up to his dad’s billing of him as a top pick, we’ll just agree to disagree. You are mischaracterizing the criticism of Lebron’s hypocrisy with regard to media attention as criticism of the kid.

You don’t think not playing for 4-5 months whatever it was isn’t a factor in how he is playing now? I’m not saying he’s ever going to be good or not (I don’t care at all) but Lebron’s comments came before the heart issue. It’s not like he said it last week.

His comments were just a few weeks ago that Bronny could help the Lakers and that he was better than some players in the nba right now.

 

[Capella]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

If you think the heart issue is the o it reason why he’s not living up to his dad’s billing of him as a top pick, we’ll just agree to disagree. You are mischaracterizing the criticism of Lebron’s hypocrisy with regard to media attention as criticism of the kid.

You don’t think not playing for 4-5 months whatever it was isn’t a factor in how he is playing now? I’m not saying he’s ever going to be good or not (I don’t care at all) but Lebron’s comments came before the heart issue. It’s not like he said it last week.

His comments were just a few weeks ago that Bronny could help the Lakers and that he was better than some players in the nba right now.

What I saw online today was it being from last year.

 

[Leeroy Jenkins]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

If you think the heart issue is the o it reason why he’s not living up to his dad’s billing of him as a top pick, we’ll just agree to disagree. You are mischaracterizing the criticism of Lebron’s hypocrisy with regard to media attention as criticism of the kid.

You don’t think not playing for 4-5 months whatever it was isn’t a factor in how he is playing now? I’m not saying he’s ever going to be good or not (I don’t care at all) but Lebron’s comments came before the heart issue. It’s not like he said it last week.

His comments were just a few weeks ago that Bronny could help the Lakers and that he was better than some players in the nba right now.

What I saw online today was it being from last year.

January 7, 2024.

LeBron James: "Bronny could play for us right now." | FOX Sports

LeBron James was adamant that his son Bronny could make an immediate impact on the Los Angeles Lakers.

www.foxsports.com

Thing is, I don’t know if anyone was even specifically trashing Bronny. Espn just moved him from the 2024 mock to a 2025 second round pick. But Lebron had to say something, after he is the one that put an unfair spotlight on the kid. So everyone will always ask whether stuff is just handed to the kid based on his dad’s nonsensical comments.

 

[the moops]

Bronny James vs Thanasis Antetokounmpo

Who you taking?

 

[thecatch]

How is Lebron going to tell people with a straight face to let Bronny just be a kid and play basketball (because he was removed from ESPN's 2024 NBA Mock Draft), when he was out there saying Bronny could be in the NBA and help the Lakers right now?

He contradicts himself a lot when it comes to anything besides just playing basketball.

Of course he is going to talk up his kid. And when things don't proceed in the best possible way, of course he is going to provide cover for his kid.

It's called being a loving parent

He put his son in this position when he started suggesting his NBA future was tied to Bronny's and getting his media contacts to hype Bronny as an early first round pick.

He is Lebron's son. He was always going to be talked about and hyped regardless of what Lebron said about him

Remember all the NBA hype Michael Jordan's son got? Wait, you don't? Weird.

Before social media and Mj’s kid wasn’t a top-100 recruit.

His hype has always exceeded his talent because of his dad’s camp’s aggressive marketing. Which is whatever, but you can’t drive the social media train hyping your kid as the next NBa superstar and then complain about the media hype you caused in the first place.

Pretty sure you can if your kid has a setback and that setback is almost dying.

If you think the heart issue is the o it reason why he’s not living up to his dad’s billing of him as a top pick, we’ll just agree to disagree. You are mischaracterizing the criticism of Lebron’s hypocrisy with regard to media attention as criticism of the kid.

You don’t think not playing for 4-5 months whatever it was isn’t a factor in how he is playing now? I’m not saying he’s ever going to be good or not (I don’t care at all) but Lebron’s comments came before the heart issue. It’s not like he said it last week.

His comments were just a few weeks ago that Bronny could help the Lakers and that he was better than some players in the nba right now.

What I saw online today was it being from last year.

January 7, 2024.

LeBron James: "Bronny could play for us right now." | FOX Sports

LeBron James was adamant that his son Bronny could make an immediate impact on the Los Angeles Lakers.

www.foxsports.com

Thing is, I don’t know if anyone was even specifically trashing Bronny. Espn just moved him from the 2024 mock to a 2025 second round pick. But Lebron had to say something, after he is the one that put an unfair spotlight on the kid. So everyone will always ask whether stuff is just handed to the kid based on his dad’s nonsensical comments.

Ryen Russilo had what I thought was a pretty even handed critique of Lebron on his podcast today along these lines.

 

[Frostillicus]

feels like if teams don't get a top 5-6 pick, they're throwing their money in the trash.

Just picked a random draft - 2020 top 6 was Edwards, Wiseman, Ball, Williams, Okoro, Okongwu

Best top 6 from the rest of the first round would be like Haliburton, Bane, Maxey, Quickley, Vassell.

Obviously you want the top 5'ish pick, but man, if you have a bite in the late lottery and mid 20's or so, you certainly can find guys. Dudes are paid millions of dollars to evaluate picks and they fail about as often as they succeed, even in that top 5-6. Drafting players is hard

This is going to sound stupider than it actually is, but I wonder if it's better to have a pick in the 20s than the late lottery. By that I mean, in the late lottery youre compelled to take a risk on a higher upside player, but in the 20s you can pick an upperclassmen who is more polished and could be a rotation guy, but with limited upside, on a rookie contract who will probalby be more help than you're late lottery ticket.

Also the whole Bronny James thing is crazy. Guys his age float around those mock drafts all the time. The obsession with his "failing" because is Lebron's kid is not a good look.

 

[Encyclopedia Brown]

Bulls went 2-29 on 3-point shots in a game against Detroit.

Simone Fontecchio went 5-8.

 

[thecatch]

feels like if teams don't get a top 5-6 pick, they're throwing their money in the trash.

Just picked a random draft - 2020 top 6 was Edwards, Wiseman, Ball, Williams, Okoro, Okongwu

Best top 6 from the rest of the first round would be like Haliburton, Bane, Maxey, Quickley, Vassell.

Obviously you want the top 5'ish pick, but man, if you have a bite in the late lottery and mid 20's or so, you certainly can find guys. Dudes are paid millions of dollars to evaluate picks and they fail about as often as they succeed, even in that top 5-6. Drafting players is hard

This is going to sound stupider than it actually is, but I wonder if it's better to have a pick in the 20s than the late lottery. By that I mean, in the late lottery youre compelled to take a risk on a higher upside player, but in the 20s you can pick an upperclassmen who is more polished and could be a rotation guy, but with limited upside, on a rookie contract who will probalby be more help than you're late lottery ticket.

.

I don’t have data to support this, but as a fan of a team that frequently picks between 5-9, it feels like the difference between picks, say, 3 and 5 is bigger than the difference between picks 5-25 in many drafts.

 

[identikit]

Caught up to the Mavs game. That sucks. Dallas is better than that team. Played pretty meh and still should have won.

Cavs have a better record overall

 

[msudaisy26]

Caught up to the Mavs game. That sucks. Dallas is better than that team. Played pretty meh and still should have won.

Cavs have a better record overall

Easy now, he knows more than of us.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

The Poku era in OKC ended unceremoniously last week, but we can all be excited now that the Poku era in Charlotte has begun!

Relatedly, Poku is now one of 34 picks in the top 40 in 2020 and 2021 that have either been waived by the team that drafted them or never even signed a contract (h/t Jon givony). I guess I don’t know for sure what the rate is historically, but 43% seems pretty high to me.

Where did you hear/read this? I would love to see the list of guys. I am looking at the 2020 draft, just first round, and I can only find Killian Hayes, Poku and Azubuike. In 2021 I can only see Kai Jones.

The other 36 are all second round guys? I must have missed several first rounders then, cause there are only 20 picks to look at in those two 2nd rounds.

Givony posted it on his twitter. I think that he may have the detail on espn.com behind a paywall. I will see if I can find it.

James Bouknight is another 1st rounder who was waived. I think that there were a few others, as I had been noticing that trend.

Technically the tweet says “shown the door”, not waived https://x.com/draftexpress/status/1762147023254348249?s=46&t=GyZ_5RtGJgIaHCHb5LsW_Q

So i guess that may include players like Jaden springer and Aaron nesmith.

Just seems like teams are more willing to cut bait on higher picks than in the past, at least partly due to the increasing financial pressures.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

Josh primo was also cut, though that was a different situation

 

[Long Ball Larry]

I was also thinking about guys like Josh Christopher, Leandro balmoro, and usman garuba who were basically dumped by their drafting team and then waived. I would like to look at the same group of players from older drafts to see how anomalous it is.

 

[mr. furley]

feels like if teams don't get a top 5-6 pick, they're throwing their money in the trash.

Just picked a random draft - 2020 top 6 was Edwards, Wiseman, Ball, Williams, Okoro, Okongwu

Best top 6 from the rest of the first round would be like Haliburton, Bane, Maxey, Quickley, Vassell.

Obviously you want the top 5'ish pick, but man, if you have a bite in the late lottery and mid 20's or so, you certainly can find guys. Dudes are paid millions of dollars to evaluate picks and they fail about as often as they succeed, even in that top 5-6. Drafting players is hard

This is going to sound stupider than it actually is, but I wonder if it's better to have a pick in the 20s than the late lottery. By that I mean, in the late lottery youre compelled to take a risk on a higher upside player, but in the 20s you can pick an upperclassmen who is more polished and could be a rotation guy, but with limited upside, on a rookie contract who will probalby be more help than you're late lottery ticket.

Also the whole Bronny James thing is crazy. Guys his age float around those mock drafts all the time. The obsession with his "failing" because is Lebron's kid is not a good look.

yeah, it's kind of wild reading some of the draft profiles for the top picks vs guys in the later first round

picks 3-5 are like: "played one year of basketball prior to landing at (power school). stands 6'8" with an 8 foot wingspan. struggles handling the ball. shot needs to be completely rebuilt from the ground up. shot 18% from 3, 38% from 2. had shots around the rim blocked at a 46% clip. plays with elite length in zone defense. footwork is clumsy and deliberate. lacks awareness. standing vertical 49". ran a 10.22 40-yd dash in HS. needs time in the weight room but has broad shoulders and teams expect him to fill out. NBA comps: Kevin Durant, Dr. J"


picks 24-28: "has been playing basketball since age 3. won 6 state titles, staring varsity for the HS team when he was 12. natural team leader. Eagle Scout. straight A student since elementary school. tremendous court awareness. future coach. vertical only 38" from a standing leap. concerns about lack of explosiveness. stands 6'4", considered short for a point guard. averaged 4.5 steals per game, and 14 assists pg in college. scouts doubt his ball skills. shot 48% from 3 and 60% inside the arc. shot form compared to Ray Allen but not expected to be much of a shooter at the NBA level. NBA comps: Lloyd Walton, Jermaine Jackson. Upside: Korean or possibly Malaysian league bench time."

 

[the moops]

So i guess that may include players like Jaden springer and Aaron nesmith.

Well this is way different than original teams waiving or never signing the players. Nesmith was most of the value IND got in the Brogdon trade. Springer was traded for a 2nd round pick.

 

[Long Ball Larry]

So i guess that may include players like Jaden springer and Aaron nesmith.

Well this is way different than original teams waiving or never signing the players. Nesmith was most of the value IND got in the Brogdon trade. Springer was traded for a 2nd round pick.

thank you, moops.

I inaccurately wrote "waived" going off of memory.

I think that the bigger point that he is making, which I am still parsing through, is that teams seem to be quicker to move on from higher draft picks if they don't see them as part of the future right away. My perception is that teams have historically overvalued their own draft picks. That perception may be wrong, but if not, then this is suggesting a shift in the landscape.

 

[Yo Mama]

Meh, my expertise is centered around regurgitating weird stats I find online, running various way too detailed NBA related drafts in the offseason, throwing out fake/unrealistic Lakers trade ideas, and mastering all things related to the In Season Tournament. This is the lull in my posting season. Plus the Celtics are good and Lakers are bad, so I can’t get too excited about the season right now.

 

[Yo Mama]

Speaking of weird stats (this one from Dan Lebatard):

The Heat have won more games in Portland this month (1) than our pal @General Malaise Trailblazers have (0).

 

[Mister CIA]

Notebook updated.

 

[Jayrod]

On a side note, I just went down the Wemby rabbit-hole for a bit. Kid is getting better as the season goes along.

Does he have a case for DPOY as a rookie? He's leading the league in blocks by a wide margin and is #4 in DefRtg, #3 in DefReb%, #6 in DefBox+/- & #10 in DefWS. I guess maybe Gobert is his strongest competition but the Timberwolves have several guys in the top 20 in those categories meaning he is benefitting from being the anchor of a great defensive team where Wemby is basically doing these things on his own.

 

[Mister CIA]

Meh, my expertise is centered around regurgitating weird stats I find online, running various way too detailed NBA related drafts in the offseason, throwing out fake/unrealistic Lakers trade ideas, and mastering all things related to the In Season Tournament. This is the lull in my posting season. Plus the Celtics are good and Lakers are bad, so I can’t get too excited about the season right now.

The Spurs have a winning record against every NBA team, except the Lakers. Enjoy it, while you can.

 

[Instinctive]

Meh, my expertise is centered around regurgitating weird stats I find online, running various way too detailed NBA related drafts in the offseason, throwing out fake/unrealistic Lakers trade ideas, and mastering all things related to the In Season Tournament. This is the lull in my posting season. Plus the Celtics are good and Lakers are bad, so I can’t get too excited about the season right now.

The Spurs have a winning record against every NBA team, except the Lakers. Enjoy it, while you can.

I'm really really intrigued to see who succeeds Pop, especially with RC moved to the business side.

 

[Mister CIA]

On a side note, I just went down the Wemby rabbit-hole for a bit. Kid is getting better as the season goes along.

Does he have a case for DPOY as a rookie? He's leading the league in blocks by a wide margin and is #4 in DefRtg, #3 in DefReb%, #6 in DefBox+/- & #10 in DefWS. I guess maybe Gobert is his strongest competition but the Timberwolves have several guys in the top 20 in those categories meaning he is benefitting from being the anchor of a great defensive team where Wemby is basically doing these things on his own.

There's certainly a case, but last I checked there were experts arguing Holmgren over Wemby for ROTY, so I won't hold my breath for DPOY.