New NBA Mock Drafts (Incl ESPN)
The NBA Draft is a week away and so there are a handful of new or new-ish mock drafts out within the past day or two.
ESPN$ - Jonathan Givony has a new one out today. Notable highlights
1. Orlando - Jabari Smith
2. OKC - Chet Holmgren
3. Houston - Paolo Banquero
4. Sacramento - Jaden Ivey
5. Detroit - Keegan Murray
29. Memphis - Caleb Houstan - One of the big mysteries of the 2022 NBA draft is where Houstan, once a projected top-10 pick, ends up. Houstan declined his invite to the NBA combine, indicating there might be something to the rumors of a first-round promise, or that Houstan has a landing spot with which he's comfortable in the form of a "soft promise," which would only prevent him from working out for teams outside a certain range. Houstan's positional size, defensive awareness and perimeter shooting gives him a high floor as a prospect, despite his disappointing freshman season at Michigan.
No Diabate (1st or 2nd round)
The Ringer - KOC put one out on Monday. PS - Ringer great on NBA coverage, not exactly great Draft predictors.
1. Orlando - Jabari Smith
2. OKC - Chet Holmgren
3. Houston - Paolo Banquero
4. Sacramento - Keegan Murray
5. Detroit - Jaden Ivey
No Houstan, No Diabate (Only 1st Round mock)
Bleacher Report - Jonathan Wasserman, new mockup today.
1. Orlando - Jabari Smith
2. OKC - Chet Holmgren
3. Houston - Paolo Banquero
4. Sacramento - Jaden Ivey
5. Detroit - Keegan Murray
46. Detroit - Caleb Houstan
53. Boston - Moussa Diabate
NY Post - Zach Braziller put up a Mock today. Highlights:
1. Orlando - Jabari Smith
2. OKC - Chet Holmgren
3. Houston - Paolo Banquero
4. Sacramento - Jaden Ivey
5. Detroit - Keegan Murray
No Houstan, No Diabate (Only 1st Round mock)
Stadium - Jeff Goodman dated today as well.
1. Orlando - Jabari Smith
2. OKC - Chet Holmgren
3. Houston - Paolo Banquero
4. Sacramento - Jaden Ivey
5. Detroit - Shaeden Sharpe
No Houstan, No Diabate (Only 1st Round mock)
It's interesting. Lots of buzz on Diabate after the combine and his combine numbers, but he doesn't seem to be rising on anyone's board. In fact, both seem to be big giant question marks at best.
Whoops. Sorry friends. Meant to put this on the main board, which I have now. Moms delete when you get a chance please? Thanks.
No worries JMo. Good topic no matter where you posted.
It's going to be exciting, I'm not going to be disappointed with Murray @5, the dynamic with this pick is there would be no reason not to trade Grant, preferably with Portland for #7 if Mathurin is still there.
Then you have a shitload of cap space to throw to a MAX (i.e an Ayton etc).
It's going to be a fun ride because things have to happen methodically and it be well planned out from a cap standpoint. This is just an example, a lot of things could happen depending on how the draft pans out.
ANNND.... now it appears someone went ahead and deleted the wrong one and left this very obviously not a Diary up in the Diaries instead... lol. Good times.
ANNNNNND...now that I scrolled down and saw this, I'll just leave your post here in the Diary section.
After all, you included more content than what we see in a lot of OPs on the MGoBoard.
LOL Rob F, where the F stands for piece of stinking crap!
Fine. Leave it here, in it's infinite timelessness we can all revel in its glory a week from now when it's talking about mock drafts.. AFTER the actual draft, and likely still the top diary post!
If you give me an edit button, I'll turn it into the mean things Rob F says about former Michigan Quarterbacks. I'm sure you said some particularly nasty things about Spencer Brinton and his badminton hobby.
JChooTalkin or just MoJiveTalkin?
Asking for a golfing QB...
Seems like there are 4 top-tier players and the Pistons pick at 5. Bloody hell.
There's always SOMEONE who outplays their ranking. It's up to Troy Weaver to find that guy or guys; he's got a good track record.
I think this is why people are upset about both leaving. It’s one thing if they balled out and went in the top 10, but to leave and potentially go undrafted is mind boggling. I’m guessing both have promises from a team otherwise WTF?
Also: top 75 on the (paywalled) "Athletic," by John Hollinger:
• Caleb Houstan at #44
"... failed to make an impression as a shooter ..., rebounded like a guard and shot 44.4 percent on 2s in Big Ten games....
"That said, the pieces here are probably worth taking a shot on late in the draft. Houstan is big and his shot isn’t broken.... enough perimeter skill to talk yourself into him developing more ..."
• No Diabate.
Again, it's paywalled (but now part of NY Times subscription):
The biggest knock against Diabate and Houstan is their play in the Big10 and NCAA tournament, especially in the last game against Villanova. Both were benched because they could not handle the moment be it offense, defense, or just holding on to the ball. Every team has footage of Michigan having a better chance to win because both were on the bench. Neither is ready. My prediction is both will go undrafted.
CBS also has a 2 round mock with Houstan going late first round and no Diabate
I'm going to be seriously pissed if the Piston's draft Keegan Murray. The lottery results were a gut punch and it's not gotten better. The only silver lining is that Sacramento picks in front of us and there's always a strong chance they misjudge both the talent available and the current state of their own team.
Seriously pissed?
I agree, the lottery results sucked for Pistons fans, but based on the options. Let's just assume the top 3 are the top 3 and they're gone. So, the next options are:
Jaden Ivey
Keegan Murray
Benedict Matthurin (sp?)
and who? Shaedon Sharpe
The Pistons need a shooter big. That's Murray. Ivey has gotten a lot of pre-draft hype as a shot creator. My concern for Ivey and Cade is that they both do best with the ball in their hand. Sharpe has fallen considerably based on pre-draft workouts.
I don't love Murray to be a multi-time all star, but a solid piece to go alongside the young nucleus of Cade, Saddiq, Isaiah, Hayes and Bagley seems like a good fit.
Have you seen the Pre-draft video of Shaedon working out with the Trailblazers? He sounds like he's 23! He is confident and articulate, a guy who is ready for the big stage. I was surprised to hear him talk like that; you'd think he was in the league already. We know he has leaps, a long wing span, and a smooth shot from the outside. I think the worst-case scenario is that he is a solid bench player, potentially a lot like the guys that will be available at the 5th pick, truth be told. If Jaden is gone at 4, the top three go as predicted, I say swing for the fences and select Shaedon.
That said, in Troy I trust; I have confidence he will do his due diligence.
Sharpe is definitely the biggest boom/bust prospect. I'd much rather roll the dice with him than on Murray or Mathurin. Ivey though would still be my chief preference. He will be dynamite in the current NBA.
I'll go with Murray over Sharpe
While I prefer Ivey to either, don't sell Murray short. He was 6' and a buck fifty 5 years ago. He's been growing into his body and his game ever since. He is a high intensity, high effort, high IQ guy. I disagree that he is anywhere close to his ceiling.
While it is hard to know how much Sharpe even wants to play.
I can't claim Sharpe won't be the better pro or might have higher upside, but to me he reeks of Emoni Batesism. I'll take the gym rat with the bloodlines every time.
I have, and I've been high on Sharpe as recently as a few weeks ago. But if you start looking at recent mocks and reading between some lines, you see that most draft pros have Sharpe on a downward trend.
Listening to an interview with Sam Vicenie (the Athletic) earlier this week, they talked about how Sharpe is basically a blackhole. He puts up everything he gets his hands on, and makes just enough for it to feel okay, but not enough for it to be good. They were also implying he's had some not-so-great team workouts of recent.
He has size. Wingspan. And is a shooter. That's a combo that could create a real success.
I think what Vlad says above is right, he's boom or bust. The whole sitting out this year, the teasing coming back, the revelation that it was Sharpe's people and never Cal that had any intention of saying stuff like that. It all adds up to a big mystery, one that I may not love for the young potential of this Pistons squad.
Murray, less likelihood for boom, but also way less likelihood for bust.
And I think Vlad's probably right on Ivey. Even though Cade and Jaden may not be completely complimentary of each other, they aren't exactly the same type of player. Cade is a playmaking distributor who can score. Ivey is a playmaking scorer who shoots and slashes. There's no such thing as a ball dominant player in the NBA anymore unless your name is Russ, either way. Screens and handoffs. Everyone touches the ball.
I actually get Diabate leaving more than Houstan since there were likely more issues with NIL opportunities. But neither of them were locks for the first round and it seems like Houstan's soft promise may not be much to rely on. We'll see, I guess.
I agree on understanding Diabate going pro more than Houstan, but for different reasons. Diabate has that explosive athletic potential where he can grow into that skill, whereas Houstan is more the skilled guy with athletic limitations (length yes, but not explosion).
But if what we saw out of Houstan this past year was evidence of his skill, then I'd pass as an NBA GM. Too much potential for bust with limited boom. Diabate has potential to bust too, but his ceiling is so much higher.
Prediction: Diabate drafted early 2nd, with his defense will get him a few minutes of playing time immediately, before becoming a solid rotation piece within a few years, carving out a solid little career.
Houstan- UDFA, G-League with NBA back bench upside if he puts it all together, but has to put it all together first, young enough and talented enough to do so, need to see it first.
Actually, both guys could stand some time in the G-League. Both need to work on developing a consistent shot as well as on defense. I agree that Diabate showed a higher ceiling, based on very good athleticism as well as pretty good hands and aggressiveness around the basket.
I think we have to divorce ourselves of the notion that guys like Houstan and Diabate will ever stick around more than a year anymore. Not because we don't want them to, but for top 50 type guys or equivalent physical talents, they're basically signing a one year contract with their college and then heading to the pros. If they do decide to stick for year two because they want to and they love college ball and their team then, hey great, that a massive bonus. But if they want to try their hand at the league, the one season they contributed was really all they were ever planning on.
That said, I think the model for NCAA basketball moving forward is going to be the one in which you have a system that brings in talent that wants to develop in college and is a stronger fit for the college game as your core pieces - top 75-150 guys. Then you design your offensive and defensive systems to plug and play these top 50 type guys here and there, without relying on them being a more than one year contributor. If you don't get another Top 50 guy to replace him next year, hit the portal for a grad transfer, etc...
I saw the Atlantic's quotes from scouts about various players and they overall were pretty critical, but when it came to our 2 guys... both said very strongly - should have gone back to school... and both lacking in possible impact at the next level. Indictments on what seemed like a poor, long drawn out decision.
Theyre gone now, but just can't understand the mentality for either running to the NBA so quickly when 1 more year could really have helped them develop.
#sad
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