NBA Draft Discussion (DJ Wilson, Moritz Wagner)

I don’t see the potential – RIGHT NOW – as much with Moe as some are making it out to be, but he did just drop 26 on LVille. Moe needs to get stronger and keep improving as a post defender because there’s only so much ceiling for a 5 man that can’t guard 5s.

I think DJ has a more natural fit, but there are also some obvious holes in his game. 6-10 wings with stupid wingspan have been taken on less.

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Yeah, I think they can go in the 1st if they put together a full year of production, but look at some of the guys at the bottom of Givony’s 1st round mock right now.

20-29 right now are

Donovan Mitchell
Ivan Rabb
Tyler Lydon
Johnathan Motley
Harry Giles
TJ Leaf
Bam Adebayo
Jawun Evans
Semi Ojeleye
Caleb Swanigan

Can’t see any way that they can sneak into the first with the guys available. If anything, it seems like a really strong bottom of the first this year.

Probably the wrong thread for this, but I mean statistically Lydon and Wilson are very similar.

Lydon is an appreciably better rebounder on both ends of the floor isn’t he? And I don’t believe he has the same kind of “soft concerns” following him around (even though the soft concerns for DJ are a bit overblown, only soft on offense weirdly enough).

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DJ 6.9 OR%, 16.1 DR%; Lydon 7.7 OR%, 19.2 DR%.

So yes, he’s better but I guess that kind of just proves my point that it isn’t insane to think about. The NBA loves long, skilled guys.

Always good to see quotes from NBA folks like this: “The player development program (at Michigan) is outstanding.” Nice that it’s true, nice to get that out there for recruits to see too.
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If DJ was a 19 year old freshmen, scouts and teams would be all over him.

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Per DX, Lydon is 20.9 years old, DJ is 21.1 years old.

Mo doesn’t turn 20 for another month.

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I thought the comment from Ford that Wilson was previously in the 30s all year was odd. Has anyone actually seen him on Ford’s top100 in that spot? There was a rumor a year or two back that he retroactively changes his prior lists. thought that was funny.

I’ve always held a grudge against Chad Ford because I used his articles as a defense for the Pistons selecting Darko over Melo for 2 years…only to finally give in that I (we) were wrong.

Very interested to see if anyone could pull up proof that Ford has had any UM players on his radar this year, because I certainly don’t remember it.

Man the bottom of the first round is junk. Mitchell, Lydon, Adebayo I think all would be better served coming back.

I think of the two, Wilson is more likely to go. He’s older and does fit the proptoype of what the modern NBA is looking for. I think at the very least, there’s no reason for him to not enter his name in. Then, he can go to the combine and do individual workouts. As long as he doesn’t hire an agent, he can still come back to school. I don’t think DJ is ready to play in the NBA but sometimes it’s smart to strike while the iron is hot.

However, there is a new component of the new NBA CBA that may impact some kids’ decisions. NBA teams will be allowed to sign 2 extra players to two way contracts. That allows them to send them to the D League while retaining their rights. Those players will make lesser salaries while in the D League as opposed to their NBA salary. They will make more than the typical D league player but much less than the minimum NBA salary.

I heard Jonathan Givony of draft express on a podcast with Woj last week and he said unless you are a guaranteed top 20 pick that you’re better off staying in school. He thinks a lot of players picked after that will get stuck in the D League making a lot less money and playing in Sioux Falls.

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I’ll be stunned if DJ doesn’t at least test the waters.

Not a rumor. It was verified through cached versions of his website.

I think that is the smart move and seems likely.

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Heck I’d encourage Moe to do it too. I think we had this discussion last year, but if the process allows for a kid to find out if he can play pro hoops, you as a coach should feel obligated to encourage them to do so. The gamble is that the scouts/execs don’t make soft promises, imo.

Correct. Teams have to offer 1st Round picks guaranteed contracts. 2nd Round picks aren’t offered guaranteed contracts meaning the team can cut the player and void the contract.

So the player has more leverage as an undrafted free agent able to negotiate terms with multiple possible suitors versus being drafted in the second round and locked in to a non-guaranteed contract with one pre-determined team.

Thank you for that. I think that aspect, and the fact this is considered a deep draft, give me some comfort that they both return next year.

We better hope they do. Those two will be our best two players and we’ve got a lot of potential with them both for one more year.