Yeah, that second tier of wings, to me, is not as differentiated from the top guys as is being suggested. Like, the potential draft slot for AJ Griffin, Trevor Keels, and Ochai Agbaji vs that of Mathurin/Sharpe, I think, overstates the gap. I know this board loves Mathurin (I think partly because we all saw him go super-sonic against us), but if you told me I could get Agbaji or Keels 15 spots lower, I’d raise my eyebrows. (I’m like 90% sure Agbaji can be the good pro version of Gary Harris)
I mean, that’s exactly my rationale for not drafting Murray.
This is why I’m saying that we should be trading the pick if Ivey doesn’t fall. There are good options outside of the top 5.
What do you like about Keels compared to Mathurin? Agbaji is fine but he’s two years older than Mathurin and pretty much maxed out.
AJ Griffin is probably going to go like 2 picks behind Mathurin, right?
If I’m not mistaken I saw that Agbaji tested out as one of if not the most athletic player in the draft. That might leave some room for future improvement.
I think Griffin is a better shooter (mildly), and I like his bigger body (not fat, but he packs like 20 more pounds on his frame now at the same height, and I think will always be stronger than Mathurin), and I like his defense more. I think Mathurin has a higher upside (why he’ll go higher) but I think there’s a very very strong chance he’s no better.
Don’t get me wrong - I’d draft Mathurin over Agbaji.
But is the gap worth like 15 slots in my mind? eeeehhhhhh…
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My point is that the valuation difference between the two is incredibly small.
Yeah, true. I just think Mathurin is universally (a little) higher, and I like him less in an absolute sense.
Vs. Keels and Agbaji, I think Mathurin is better, but given how much further down the draft you can (theoretically) get those two…
FWIW - Duncan did his Keegan Murray scout.
They actually entertain the idea he’s better than Jabari (they are sort of skeptical on all of Jabari’s potential outside of shooting).
In essence, the view is similar to what we’ve said - a solid switchable 4 on defense, and a multi-faceted offensive weapon that can do lots of stuff without maybe being great at any. The liked his offensive rebounding, his cutting, his floor running and noted he’s a guy that could get you 10-12 points from this before you even tried to involve him on offense. Basically - high floor, lower ceiling, but because he’s a top-tier finisher and a smart player, the sort of player, they said, that as your 3rd or 4th guy could take a good offense to great.
Their ranking now is: Banchero, Chet, Murray, Smith, Ivey
Love agbai
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I think if you combine the athleticism numbers, his experience, his familiarity with winning at high levels, his overall character/intelligence…I’m a big fan.
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Small pet peeve. They keep referencing his body fat percentage like it’s a good thing. As it’s been discussed, it isn’t humanly possible nor healthy to have that little. It’s silly to keep including it as they do.
Anyway, back to my rocking chair.
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Yeah, and even if it weren’t so low as to be a negative, it sort of highlights one of the challenges he’s going to have in that he’s so skinny that defending bigger guys will be an issue.
It cracks me up that this projection site calls itself “DARKO” of all things.
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it’s completely great. i wonder if it’s an ode to Free Darko?
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Based on the rumors, it seems like teams are desperately calling the Kings to move up to #4 for Ivey and if I’m reading in between the lines, Pistons probably has Ivey (and/or Murray) as their target and the Pistons are drumming up their interest on Murray in hope that the Kings or whoever trades up take him at #4. I could be wrong but that’s what I’m looking at the moment.
Also, it sounds like Shaedon Sharpe may not get drafted at top 10 because he had poor interviews and didn’t wow anyone in team’s workouts. At this point, it’s safe that the top 4-5 will be the big 3 plus Ivey and maybe Murray depending on how the draft shakes out.
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Interesting. Really says something about the demand for bigs.
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FWIW. Can’t say I can intuit what the particular drivers are here other than the super obvious stocks + age thing. Prob needs a positional replacement level adjustment or something, I dk.
It’s funny because I’ve asked myself “what does Jeremy Sochan do on a court that indicates he’s even a survivable offensive player in the NBA?”
Would also note he has a 6’7”, 275 pound center in the top 5.
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