2022 NBA Draft Discussion

What about Z-Bo? Big, burly, unathletic lefty. Obviously Hunter is taller and will never be as good as Randolph was, but if we are throwing names out there

2 Likes

And most of those white guys (maybe not Plumlee?) are significantly better athletes, including Zubac. Nurkic is just a good starting two-way NBA center so Iā€™m not sure how he wound up here.

NBA offense wants their centers to do at least one of three things:

  1. Screen like a monster (see Steven Adams, who just kills guys)

  2. Be a roll man (Bam, Capela etc)

  3. Space the floor as a shooter (Vucevic, Myles Turner)

You have a few unicorns - Jokic, and depending if Towns/Davis are willing to call themselves centers that day - who can do a few of these.

As much as shooting gets discussed in this thread, there are actually very few centers who are asked to space the floor - you can probably count them on one hand.

Hunterā€™s issue is that his offense is overwhelmingly post-ups, which as many have said, had gone the way the dodo (except for Joel Embiid, who is also a first team all defense caliber player). He also doesnā€™t handle post-ups well when the defender is his size (so, like, every non-small-ball center in the NBA).

He may be able to shoot. He doesnā€™t roll and doesnā€™t have the verticality to do it well. What heā€™s good at isnā€™t valued. And heā€™d be a miserable defender.

It was said upstream but the glaringly obvious comp is Boban - Iā€™m just not sure heā€™s as good an offensive player (not a knock - Boban is a GREAT offensive player).

Like maybe the reason why he has no draft buzz after two phenomenal college seasons is because there isnā€™t a comp - the league isnā€™t interested in his profile.

Bobanā€™s getting old. Thereā€™s a spot in the NBA for HD because everyone loves their break-glass-in-emergency to have a funny bone, or to be laughed at in some way, as we Pistons fans can now do watching Garzaā€™s awkward running style and smooth twitter dad.

The question is whether HD wants to scrap his way into that role via a two-way, or if he wants to stick around and make more money being in the spotlight in Ann Arbor, where every year adds to your legacy and access to post-career Michigan goodness and networks.

1 Like

I havenā€™t seen any comparisons to Kelly Olynyk and I will not stand for any Kelly Olynyk slander. Shout out also to my boy Alex Len.

2 Likes

Houstan 39, Moussa 50, Hunter 85 on Vecenieā€™s latest

2 Likes

Caleb at #23

He is going to get drafted higher than most are assuming, in my opinion.

3 Likes

How does Caleb go from 39 to 23 in five days?

2 Likes

Different people making different mocks

5 Likes

I donā€™t get it. I like Caleb, I think he has a bright future, I think if he gets his road games to mimic his home games plus gets in the weight room he can be a good playerā€¦but #23? If youā€™re the GM of a team with a pick in the late-first, what does your sales pitch look like to the owner?

If Iā€™m the owner, Iā€™ll listen to the pitch and it will probably center around height, age, and shooting. My follow-up questions would be centered around athleticism, defense, other aspects of his game, and how well we expect him to get the shot off at the NBA level. Then Iā€™m going to ask my GM if the upside is worth it since Livers (a similar, though older player) went in the second round and Duncan (a very similar player) went undrafted. Can we get Caleb or someone like him in the second round and use the first for someone with higher upside or more proven performance.

Its tough enough to lose a player early when theyā€™ve played really well for you. Its a kick in the junk when you lose a player who hasnā€™t come close to living up to expectations yet.

2 Likes

Hasnā€™t missed a shot in 5 days.:wink:

1 Like

Once you get out of the lottery you have a big tier of guys who are very similarly graded. Small differences from one analyst to the next can easily push a guy from the early second to the late first.

2 Likes

Not all mocks are created equal.

3 Likes

I think it goes something like this doesnā€™t it, and Iā€™m paraphrasing here:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that not all mocks are equal, but that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these are the right to be wrong, and above all else that they be interesting and time consuming, and even fun, for guys to read and discuss, to pour over, and to fret about.

And it will only heat up as we get beyond March Madness and weā€™re trying to figure out WHAT on EARTH to do with all of our time! :wink: :grin:

3 Likes

If Caleb can play like the 23rd overall pick in the upcoming days, Iā€™d be happy for him to leave.

3 Likes

Not that this is indicative of an NBA future, but has Houstan had a dunk this year?

two dunks on the season for Houstan, both in the same game @Iowa

6 Likes

Both were wide open breakaways too.

1 Like

NBA draft for potential, not necessarily production. Houstanā€™s skillset is shooting. His shooting somewhat lived up to the hype but itā€™s inconsistent as evidenced by home/away split. In NBA, thereā€™s no such thing as too many shooters on the floor.

1 Like