Updated mock draft from Nbadraft.net
https://www.nbadraft.net/nba-mock-drafts/?year-mock=2022
So we touched on this in the Purdue snowflake thread but there will be some very interesting decisions after this season. For those of you who only want to discuss the here and now, you can choose not to comment on this thread. To me, it’s obvious this team isn’t making any kind of real run, so I look to the future. Anyway, there are many mock drafts that still list Houstan and Diabate as late first round picks. Nbadraft.net has been my go to source for a while and they updated yesterday. Houstan has been a lottery pick for much of the year. Now, he is nowhere to be seen for 2022 or 2023. Frankie is listed as #31 for 2023, which is…interesting. Diabate early second round 2023 as well. Dickinson not on either list.
Its scary to think we could lose all 5 starters from a team that is currently a bubble team. However, if all the freshmen return and we can get Hunter back for his junior year, we might have something. I think it’s a no brainer for Houstan and Diabate to return, but I think both will be coinflips. I will concede that Hunter will probably move on. Either way, next years team will be very young.
Also interesting that Ivey from Purdue is up to #2.
February 9th, 2022 at 1:11 PM ^
I agree that an impact transfer or two seems pretty important here. Assuming Dickinson goes and Diabate comes back, you don't really have a 4 that I feel confident unless they are going to turn Houstan into a 4. Obviously a slashing wing who can shoot is a giant hole in this team. Then, as others have mentioned a bigger guard would be nice. Collins' body language didn't look great in some of the final timeouts last night. I would worry about him looking to transfer, especially if we bring in another guard from the portal.
February 9th, 2022 at 9:56 PM ^
I think Houstan's best position is definitely going to be the 4. We really dont have a natural 3 on the roster right now and are playing Houstan there more out of necessity. I think a stretch 4 fits his skillset better both offensively and defensively.
February 9th, 2022 at 3:49 PM ^
Absolutely! They need at least one big body, even if he just an average player as long as he’s 6-11 or 7. And at least one shooter.
February 9th, 2022 at 1:36 PM ^
Unless Jet is a light out shooter right off the bat, that team is going to struggle mightily with the same issue we have now. Hard to see that team being much better. We would still need another tansfer gaurd/wing type to come in and play a ton of quality minutes.
February 9th, 2022 at 7:30 PM ^
The issues we have now are primarily on defense (23rd in offense, 111th (!!) in defense on kenpom). Especially the lack of athleticism and general "freshmen-ness" i.e. not knowing what to do or where to be.
Depending on what we get in transfers, we should be significantly more athletic next year. So if the freshmen and sophomore(s) figure out what they're doing to go along with that athleticism, and if we pick up some plus defenders via transfer (a la Chaundee Brown), we should be able to make more progress on that side of the ball than we suffer on offense, IMO.
Again, will depend a lot on transfers but there's def a path to being a better team next year.
February 9th, 2022 at 2:07 PM ^
No Love for Jace?
February 9th, 2022 at 12:09 PM ^
Most of these guys are being drafted purely on potential. It seems like not that long ago that a guy did not have many options if he couldn't go straight to an NBA roster. Now they have the G league and all the international pro leagues that are starting to pay pretty well. They know that if they at least get drafted, the worst that can happen is they play for money against men and they don't have to play school. Best a college coach can do is try to catch lightning in a bottle for one season because there ain't no building a program anymore. Short way of saying Juwan will probably go to the league after his sons are through here.
February 9th, 2022 at 12:21 PM ^
Crazy thing is we can look at mock drafts and projections all we want, but if a guy has his mind made up that he is going pro (good decision or not) well thats that.
Hunter is obviously going to be gone. With Houstan and Diabate its going to come down to how they perform at the combine. I can absolutely see Diabate really impressing some teams and keeping his name in the draft. With Houstan, unless there is a skill level that we haven't seen displayed or a different role that he really excels at, its hard to see him standing out there and giving scouts the impression that he is a sure fire first rounder. I keep thinking of Johnny Juzang being a somewhat similar guy to Houstan in terms of being a good shooter with decent positional size but not a great athlete and he really struggled at the combine this past year so much so that he went back to school. At the same time, all it takes is 1 team to jump on a guy a year early given how young he is like a Josh Primo.
February 9th, 2022 at 12:24 PM ^
Any long form insights on why HD isn't making the lists at all, even tail end of Round 2? What are his NBA comps?
Maybe bullet points:
- Not athletic enough to be switchable enough on defense (can't be a starter)
- Bench bigs are a dime a dozen
- Bench bigs are (probably?) not generally primary options
- His postup game works in college, but won't in the pros where his size isn't big enough relative to other Centers
- Round 2 is for high upside flyers, or 3+D wing flyers
Anything else?
February 9th, 2022 at 1:42 PM ^
I think you nailed it. His likely role is the equivalent of what Austin Davis did for us last year. Useful piece to eat up minutes but, like you said, a dime a dozen.
The comp I've had in my head is Goga Bitadze but he flashes a bit better agility than Dickinson.
February 9th, 2022 at 12:35 PM ^
Unfortunately I don't see Houstan or Diabate sticking around. They're both internationals so neither can earn anything from NIL. Even a modest GLeague salary (or potential European league salary) could be preferable, as those are generally considered better development opportunities.
Dickinson will be our first basketball test case for the power of NIL to retain players. If we can put together $1 million in NIL deals, there may be some reason for him to stay.
February 9th, 2022 at 6:16 PM ^
Yep, unfortunately, I agree with you given their international status.
February 9th, 2022 at 12:36 PM ^
Nobody on this team is anything close to a lottery pick. Diabate with a HUGE leap maybe makes it in the first round.
Not a single player seems to be particularly good at any specific skill.
I know that seems harsh, but nothing about watching this team tells me we have any special talent that the NBA will covet.
Maybe Houston finds his jumper, but that alone doesn't make him a first rounder.
Who else is even a very good college player?
Dickenson is unfortunately a dinosaur for the modern game. He's not particularly athletic, not a beast inside on offense or defense. I don't see what role he plays in the NBA other than a backup.
I love our players, just being honest at this point
February 9th, 2022 at 12:57 PM ^
If Dickinson can continue to shoot consistently outside there's a place for him. Centers who can stretch the floor or operate from the high post have a place in the NBA. Look at Joker and Embid, last year's MVP and likely this years. Not saying Hunter is as good as them but centers who can move a little and shoot have a place. Kevon Looney has been around forever and he can't shoot a lick.
February 9th, 2022 at 6:19 PM ^
Hunter is a very good post player and becoming a very good shooter for a 7 footer. Unfortunately for him, his lack of athleticism and agility is so stark that it makes him not a take for the NBA.
February 9th, 2022 at 12:38 PM ^
I understand why people think Dickinson is going to leave. I don't understand why he would leave.
If you aren't getting drafted and being told you won't be, what is his alternative? Europe?
That's not a bad option but also that career path is probably there for him after this season or after his senior year.
Why not stay, make money, get a free degree, and be college famous and on TV.
He could also rack up a lot of BIG10 statistics and exposure by playing all 4 years. Which he can parlay into a career in media and opportunities post playing career.
"Oh, its Hunter Dickinson. Former UofM center and all-time leader in x, y, and z"
February 9th, 2022 at 3:04 PM ^
I tend to agree with you, but OTOH that "free degree" comes with an opportunity cost of losing two years (or at least one year and a lot of summer classes) as a professional basketball player. His knees and hips and what-have-you only have so many years before even the lowest Euro league isn't interested in him. He can go back to school in his 30s and finish his degree.
There's the additional cost of playing in a college system, where classes and practice restrictions and team incentives (i.e. Juwan Howard needs to win basketball games now) come at the cost of development time. I mean, I think the world of Howard, but Dickinson can't work on what it takes to become an NBA center while he's writing a term paper for his history class or watching film for the upcoming Purdue game.
Again, I tend to agree with you. But if HD's dream is to play in the NBA, then I'd be uncomfortable pushing him on sticking around longer. There's only so much college can help with him on that one.
February 9th, 2022 at 12:59 PM ^
The backcourt will be gone…but I suspect 2 of the 3 front court players will be back next season
February 9th, 2022 at 1:01 PM ^
I'm not a big basketball guy so excuse my ignorance. Is this considered to be a weak draft year?
February 9th, 2022 at 1:22 PM ^
I think you'll see Dickinson leave this year but I'd be surprised if Houstan or Diabate leave. I know there's the appeal of an NBA roster/development but I'd say a top-flight college program beats out a G-league spot, which is likely where they'd wind up.
It's going to be a weird year next season but history points to freshmen typically making a leap after an offseason of development, and to their credit this team doesn't seem to have given up being at least competitive this year.
February 9th, 2022 at 1:31 PM ^
Not Michigan related but… why would the Pistons take another point guard? It doesn’t make any sense
February 9th, 2022 at 1:34 PM ^
In the NBA you don't draft based on positional needs. There's such a small amount of difference makers in each draft that you can't afford to say "well this combo guard is the best guy on the board but we drafted one last year." Especially a team as lifeless as Detroit, you go best player available.
February 9th, 2022 at 2:11 PM ^
Sure but if all things are equal you take the player that fits better for you. Ivey isn’t so far and away the better player over guys that would be a better fit.
February 9th, 2022 at 6:27 PM ^
I would love the Pistons to take Ivey. He could be a generational player. There's a lot of talk about Banchero as one of the "big three" but it would be a huge mistake for the Pistons to take him with a top 2 pick. If they have the second, it has to be either Ivey or Holmgren.
February 9th, 2022 at 3:55 PM ^
The Kings have a max contract PG(Fox) and drafted 2 PG’s in back to back drafts(Halliburton who was recently traded and Davion Mitchell). The NBA is all about talent acquisition and getting the best value for your pick.
February 9th, 2022 at 1:32 PM ^
Hunter is gone, and I'm bracing for Diabate to maybe jump too. Hell I could see Houstan even declaring, we've seen 5 stars declare after worse seasons than he's having.
February 9th, 2022 at 1:43 PM ^
I had no idea Mr. Bean was playing basketball and is being drafted at #47. That was cool to see.
February 9th, 2022 at 2:09 PM ^
I stand by saying we should have taken only three new recruits, and kept Davis, Smith, and rolled with Zeb. We are gonna get wiped out after this season.
February 9th, 2022 at 6:30 PM ^
We had spots (or at least one spot) for Davis and/or Smith. They chose to leave and get their careers started. And Zeb was on the roster. I'm shocked he didn't beat out Collins as the third guard, but Juwan made that choice as the season went on. That decision wasn't made on the recruiting trail.
February 9th, 2022 at 3:09 PM ^
NBAdraft.net isn't particularly reliable. Guys like Jonathan Wasserman at Bleacher REport are more likely to be accurate.
This one has Houstan at 35. I could see him sneaking into the first round if he has a killer shooting performance at the combine but yeah it's up in the air right now.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2952806-2022-nba-mock-draft-a-shake…
Also, for a laugh check out this NBADraft.net profile of Deshawn Stevenson:
February 9th, 2022 at 3:30 PM ^
I know I've been wrong about this stuff before, but there is just no viable way that Diabate and Houstan can enter the NBA draft and get selected in the first. Right now, I could see Diabate taken in the 2nd round- he's very athletic but far too raw right now to make any form of impact on an NBA roster.
Houstan needs to be able to turn into that elite shooter he was known for in high school.
Dickinson is gone- don't even think that's debatable honestly- he basically said it in his return to school IG post.
February 9th, 2022 at 3:34 PM ^
Houstan has been a lottery pick for much of the year. Now, he is nowhere to be seen for 2022 or 2023.
I saw him he's on my milk carton. Pretty much a no show down the stretch.
Also, If the Pistons don't draft Ivey if they are fortunate enough to win the second pick, I will lose my friggen mind.
February 9th, 2022 at 5:04 PM ^
You would think with Juwan as their coach, these guys would have the perfect role model to base their expectations and hopes on in deciding when to leave college. I mean he played three college seasons, 100 games. And he didn't lose much from starting his pro career by doing so, leaving as the fifth overall pick in the 1994 NBA draft. But maybe he had different personal priorities.
February 9th, 2022 at 6:10 PM ^
This idea that Hunter sticking around for 2 more years because what is he really gonna do, improve? Lol, yeah! He most definitely can improve and become a very high draft pick in those 2 years as opposed to declaring after this year and not getting drafted. You or me have no clue how much he is or isn't going to improve during that time. It's mind boggling that anyone would think otherwise. Player development is not and never will be an exact science
February 9th, 2022 at 7:21 PM ^
For those of you who only want to discuss the here and now, you can choose not to comment on this thread.
ok then, i appreciate you giving us a choice. very generous.
February 9th, 2022 at 8:37 PM ^
You need a new go to site. Forget the Michigan players, there are countless other puzzling rankings.
February 9th, 2022 at 11:42 PM ^
Nobody paying any attention thinks Diabate, Houston, or Frankie are going pro anytime soon.
If they do they don’t make their living scouting basketball.