2022 NBA Draft Thread

[SunsRIt]

And damn...with how little it took to get Wood, why didn't the Suns roll the dice on him?

It gets tougher with age.

[Vladimir_Taltos]

And damn...with how little it took to get Wood, why didn't the Suns roll the dice on him?

Hey Virt, hope all is well...to me, the larger question is how do we think we can afford to stand pat? We lost ugly in an utter collapse in the 2nd round, CP is a year older, and we made zero moves...not a pretty outcome...

[Split T]

The offseason hasn’t started, so a little early to say we made zero moves. I know you mean in the draft, but JJ is right about 1 thing, rookies rarely make you better right away. It’s also possible we have a deal in place to trade for someone that was drafted but we have to wait until we can legally complete the trade.

Although most likely we just passed on the draft because we have bigger fish to fry. I don’t really agree with his overall draft approach, but I don’t necessarily disagree with what they did this year. Using up assets to trade into the draft might not be the best idea if we’re trying to land someone like Kevin Durant in a trade.

[In2ition]

This isn't technically a 2022 Draft subject, but I thought I would post this here for people to keep an eye on this kid. At 15 yrs old, I'm most impressed with his bballiq and feel for the game. You can see it in his passing and quick decision making. Those things don't tend to decrease as you get older, and in fact just get better and better. His size, athleticism, and skill at 15 yrs old is also a bit impressive for his age and should improve too.

[In2ition]

[Split T]

I just find it hard to get that excited about draft prospects anymore. Part of it is we are actually winning and I focus more on the actual team, but I also know we aren't going to be drafting many players over the next 5-6 years. I'll still follow the upcoming draft class a bit because I follow the league as a whole, but I'm turning into someone who doesn't really know anything about the players until they get to the nba.

[In2ition]

I totally get that. I didn't know much about anyone in this past draft except for a couple players, but saw both of these clips on this kid and it was intriguing.

[SunsRIt]

Good video on Webenyama:

[In2ition]

I remember seeing video of Wembanyama when he was 12 yrs old and sitting up in my chair thinking this kid might up being special.

[Split T]

I’m not saying Wembanyama will bust or anything…I’m sure he’s going to be a fantastic player, but I’m not sure I see the “best prospect I’ve ever seen” talk that many draft analysts have put out there. That’s not to say I wouldn’t take him number 1, I just don’t think he’s a LeBron level prospect. He’s certainly getting the hype though.

The first draft I remember is the Kobe draft…The video kinda goes over the same guys, but the most hyped draft prospects I remember were LeBron, AD, and Zion. Wembanyama is joining that group, but he feels more AD/Zion than he does LeBron to me. We’ll see though.

[Indy]

I’m not saying Wembanyama will bust or anything…I’m sure he’s going to be a fantastic player, but I’m not sure I see the “best prospect I’ve ever seen” talk that many draft analysts have put out there. That’s not to say I wouldn’t take him number 1, I just don’t think he’s a LeBron level prospect. He’s certainly getting the hype though.

The first draft I remember is the Kobe draft…The video kinda goes over the same guys, but the most hyped draft prospects I remember were LeBron, AD, and Zion. Wembanyama is joining that group, but he feels more AD/Zion than he does LeBron to me. We’ll see though.

With Lebron I remember the story being "He can do all these amazing things AND he has size" and with those other guys it seems it has been "They are so big AND they can do amazing things." That is big difference to me.

[Split T]

I’m not saying Wembanyama will bust or anything…I’m sure he’s going to be a fantastic player, but I’m not sure I see the “best prospect I’ve ever seen” talk that many draft analysts have put out there. That’s not to say I wouldn’t take him number 1, I just don’t think he’s a LeBron level prospect. He’s certainly getting the hype though.

The first draft I remember is the Kobe draft…The video kinda goes over the same guys, but the most hyped draft prospects I remember were LeBron, AD, and Zion. Wembanyama is joining that group, but he feels more AD/Zion than he does LeBron to me. We’ll see though.

With Lebron I remember the story being "He can do all these amazing things AND he has size" and with those other guys it seems it has been "They are so big AND they can do amazing things." That is big difference to me.

That’s a good point. It’s true there are no 7’2 guys who are as skilled as Wembanyama, but there’s quite a few under 7’0 who are more skilled. Not sure there is more than 1 or 2 guys at any size as skilled as LeBron was.

[Superbone]

Get a room, guys! I mean why don't you make a 2023 thread?

[In2ition]

This guy is continuing to get a lot of buzz for a 15 yr old.

[Split T]

Where’s the 2026 Draft Thread? Haha…I looked him up on ESPN, they have him 3rd in his class. The two ahead of him were a wing from Gilbert, AZ of all places(Koa Peat) and Carlos Boozer’s son Cameron. Another 6’7-6’8 wing. Are those two playing in these games?

[In2ition]

I've seen a little of both of those kids. Koa Peat played on Perry High's State Championship team, which was stacked. Both are big and athletic. I'm not going to say that Flagg is definitely going to be better than them, but the court vision really stands out to me. That's the biggest thing I look for in a player, because it only gets better with age and experience, unless you have a terrible coach that tries to coach it out of them. It's early and these ranked lists change in time.

Does anyone remember how Emoni Bates was going to be the next big thing? He was a can't miss prospect, but is already transferring from Memphis to Eastern Michigan and people have passed him. It's because his skills didn't get polished and honed, and he doesn't have the bballiq/court vision that people thought.

Josh Jackson was another player that was can't miss, but it was obvious to me even at Kansas that his passing was part of the offense and not "good decision making and vision". Athleticism can only take you so far, because just about everyone is athletic.

[Split T]

Ya others were Marvin Bagley and Andrew Wiggins. They proved to be good enough to hang as rotation players in the nba, but there was some crazy talk with them. I remember a video saying Wiggins was a Kobe/Dwight combo. Kobe’s skills but Dwight’s body. I think he was probably 14-15 at the time and he must’ve just been an early grower, because he didn’t end up Dwight sized. Bagley was getting all the KG comps.

The Harrison twins and OJ Mayo are a few others who come to mind. But ya, Emoni Bates was supposed to be the next Durant. Guess it turns out it’s hard to evaluate 15 year olds. So much development still happens over the next 4 years…

[virtual9mm]

And damn...with how little it took to get Wood, why didn't the Suns roll the dice on him?

It gets tougher with age.

Haha just saw this, got buried with all of the Durant excitement.

[virtual9mm]

And damn...with how little it took to get Wood, why didn't the Suns roll the dice on him?

Hey Virt, hope all is well...to me, the larger question is how do we think we can afford to stand pat? We lost ugly in an utter collapse in the 2nd round, CP is a year older, and we made zero moves...not a pretty outcome...

So much has happened since that post!

[Superbone]

And damn...with how little it took to get Wood, why didn't the Suns roll the dice on him?

It gets tougher with age.

Haha just saw this, got buried with all of the Durant excitement.

Buried in what?!