Oh yea. Definitely. It would give us a chance to have a top 10 defense without making other defensive upgrades.

BPA is what I'm thinking as well because I see Sochan being the D wing and oh man if he could develop any sort of a shot it'll be so beneficial. Long term I agree with you on the lineup, I'm not thinking of wholesale changes immediately but I think Tre is completely serviceable until we get the right PG on place and if the other parts are filled in, no issues whatsoever.

Whoever we take has to be able to shoot. No more athlete projects who can't hit worth a damn from the field.

Unless somehow we can hire Chip back from OKC.

https://basketnews.com/news-203797-matas-buzelis-challenges-zaccharie-risacher-to-1-on-1-nba-pre-draft-workout.html

Maybe Matas Buzielas with that Toronto pick if it conveys. I like this fire.

Quote:

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"Of course, I want to see him one-on-one. He just doesn't want to do that with me. His agent will not do that with me, and I know he won't. It's a business decision," Buzelis responded to BasketNews when asked if he would like to challenge Risacher in the NBA pre-draft workout.

"My advantage is that I have everything over him," he added when asked about his main advantage that would enable him to win this duel.

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He is challenging Risacher to a 1-on-1 game during pre-draft workouts.

FTAG 2000 said:

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Whoever we take has to be able to shoot. No more athlete projects who can't hit worth a damn from the field.

Unless somehow we can hire Chip back from OKC.

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Need shooting and defense and playmaking.

Topic can't shoot but is a playmaker.
Sarr can pass and defend, but his 3pt shooting is iffy.

The only guys that can undoubtedly fill it up shooting are Reed Sheppherd, Rob Dillingham, and Knecht. Reed may be a Kerr, may be FVV with a shot. Dillingham is probably Collin Sexton - can fill it up, but can't defense a middle school girl. Knecht can hit threes all day, but isn't going to do much else. I'd rather have multi-talented players with high picks. It's not like having Doug McBuckets made us a ton better.

Exactly on the Dougie comparison for Knecht for purposes of our team. I would want Sheppard out of those three for sure. Addresses shooting with some high iq/potential play making upside, while not being a negative on defense.

Toronto is determined to keep that pick. 11 game losing streak active

Ag Natural said:

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Toronto is determined to keep that pick. 11 game losing streak active

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I think Toronto ends up 6th worst which gives the Spurs a better than 50% chance to get the pick.

Assuming Toronto loses out, to definitively (not including coin toss tie breaker) fall further, the Blazers have to go 5-5 to finish the season which is highly unlikely. Hornets would have to go 7-4, even more unlikely.

The real thing to watch is whether the spurs will fall out of the bottom 3. I think that is more likely.

Edit: I actually think this is the best case scenario for the Spurs. It maximizes their pick quality in this draft which would be better for roster management than receiving next year. But if we lose it, we get a lottery pick in 2025 or 2026 which will be better drafts. If I was Toronto I would punt on this draft but that became unlikely when Poeltl and Barnes went down and got worse with RJ's personal leave.

If the Spurs end up with the first pick, do you think they would trade it to a team(Wash) that really wants Sarr? And if so, what assets could they pick up?

jteagle said:

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If the Spurs end up with the first pick, do you think they would trade it to a team(Wash) that really wants Sarr? And if so, what assets could they pick up?

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I don't know that anyone REALLY loves Sarr, so I don't think we could get a Chris Webber type deal (#1 for #3 plus 3 firsts) from any team.

Washington has their first rounder tied up for the next three years with heavy protections, but that means they can't trade a pick until 2027. Their only players I would be interested in are Bilal and Deni, but I think their plan is to build around those two and tank until Jordan Poole and other baggage falls off.

Detroit has Stewart and Duran, so don't know that they want to add Sarr to them. I'd be interested in Ausar Thompson. Detroit can't trade a first until 2028, and doesn't have any extras.

Charlotte: LaMelo misses about 50% of his games every season and has a max contract. As much as they need Sarr, I don't think they would trade Brandon Miller for him.

Portland: Has Ayton, Rob Williams, and Jeremi Grant. They would have to think that Risacher is the missing piece. And to be honest, Ayton, Grant, Risacher, Simons, Scoot with Brogdon, Sharpe, Thybulle, Kris Murray, and Rob off the bench looks like it could be fairly good. I don't want the Ayton, Grant, or Simons contracts.

Toronto: They have their own pick and some Indiana Picks. Assuming Scottie Barnes is off the table, no one else really interests me. Quickly would have to be S&T. I like Bruce Brown a lot, but he is more of a final piece, and we aren't there.

Memphis. We obviously have positions of need where Ja Morant, Desmond Bane, and JJJ play, but I doubt they move any of those players. They have all their own picks, but no extras.. How much do you like Luke Kennard and future Memphis picks?

Brooklyn: can't tank bc Houston owns their picks. I'm not that interested in future Phoenix or 76ers picks. Cam Johnson is nice, but can't rebound. Cam Thomas is a SG only. They aren't trading Bridges for Sarr, and since they can't tank, doesn't make sense.

Utah: Give me Kessler and Keyonte George and call it a day.

ATL: I can't see any trade they do with us that doesn't involve getting Trae Young. Would you trade #1 overall for DeJounte Murray? His contract is 17-18% of the cap. I do like Kobe Bufkin, but again, SG.

Chicago: #1 overall for Caruso. Done. They also have 6'5 combo guard Ayo Dosunmu, and if I know anything, Pop loves 6'5 combo guards more than wine. I don't think Chicago would trade Coby White and I think Patrick Williams is not a good basketball player.

Houston: They could use Sarr next to Sengun, but they already got Steven Adams for next year. The guy they want to get value for is Jalen Green, and he is worthless to us. How much do you like Jabari Smith and Brooklyn picks? I don't really see a deal here.

GSW: Their future picks are a mess. I dont see a trade here.

Lakers: They have AD.

That's the lottery teams. I just don't think a lot of teams value Sarr or Risacher that much for us to get a great value back.

I agree. There's not going to be a lot of value in a trade of a top pick in this year's draft. I think a lot of teams will have wildly different lists of targeted players, many of which could be obtained later in the draft. I almost think the return (relative to the first pick position) on a trade for a late lottery to early twenties first rounder could be better.

Few draft notes from Hollinger. Only bright ones from players we talk about

Castle as the point of attack defender with Wemby backing him is intriguing.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Castle as the point of attack defender with Wemby backing him is intriguing.

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Castle and Sochan on the premier sounds nice.... Defensively

Guitarsoup said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Castle as the point of attack defender with Wemby backing him is intriguing.

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Castle and Sochan on the premier sounds nice.... Defensively

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It does. The piece we would still miss is someone to open things up for Victor on offense and shooters to keep defenses honest. Hopefully that would come with time.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Guitarsoup said:

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Enzo The Baker said:

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Castle as the point of attack defender with Wemby backing him is intriguing.

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Castle and Sochan on the premier sounds nice.... Defensively

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It does. The piece we would still miss is someone to open things up for Victor on offense and shooters to keep defenses honest. Hopefully that would come with time.

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All Castle's shooting numbers are similar to or better than Kawhi at SDSU.

If Risacher is gone by our first pick, I am coming around on Castle and then using our second pick on like a Knecht/Walter shooting wing assuming it conveys. Having a big switchable tenacious defender as your lead ball-handler should kick our defense up a notch and help lift us into the top half on that end next year, and one of the biggest indicators of success for me is hustle and work ethic which he has in droves. Seems to have a lot of traits of a typical Spurs pick ie humility/coachability, and if his shot comes around then he has All Star level potential.

Could easily see that being the direction the FO decides to go, and would put some pressure on Sochan to either develop a consistent jumper or find himself as the first sub off the bench. That wouldn't be the worst outcome to me either, because a bench led by Sochan/Keldon/Tre sounds a hell of a lot better than the sh*tshow we've seen this year. But best case scenario you have 4 starters in Wemby/Devin/Sochan/Castle, which sounds like a good defensive backbone to me.

The Ringer's Draft Big Board was updated, and I feel like they have been reading this board for ideas.

Sarr
Castle
Risacher
Sheppherd
Topic
Williams
Dillingham
Clingan
Walter
Buzielas
Holland
Salaun
Devin Carter

https://nbadraft.theringer.com/

Great road win. Victor with some really nice defense to end the game. He was fired up and wanted to win badly. Malaki looked like the player we thought he would be after last year. For once. Zach Collins leading the charge off the bench with the only negative +/-

Devin and Sochan balled out last night, Julian too. Sochan only ended up with 9 boards but it felt like he was extremely active there. Can't say enough about the game Dev had; he had a gorgeous wraparound pass up to a three point shooter at the top of the key on one of his drives. I can't remember who it was against, but he also had this dope little halfcourt chasedown block where the driver was completely surprised that he was able to end up in the picture. I also thought the team played with good situational awareness. If somebody made a dumb play, they weren't trying to force things but rather earn back the right to play on-ball by being active in other ways. Except Collins.

The more I see his highlights, the more I like Castle. The guy just moves different. You can see it. He gets to his spots at his own pace and has really good footwork. Good size and defensive tenacity. He's an alert passer and can put passes in the shooters' pocket and place it perfectly for a lob. He'd be a major upgrade over Tre, who still struggles to put it in Victor's spot. If Castle develops a good jumper, that dude could be awesome for years to come. If not, he will still be an nba player.

Edit: Looking forward to see him play today.

Enzo The Baker said:

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The more I see his highlights, the more I like Castle. The guy just moves different. You can see it. He gets to his spots at his own pace and has really good footwork. Good size and defensive tenacity. He's an alert passer and can put passes in the shooters' pocket and place it perfectly for a lob. He'd be a major upgrade over Tre, who still struggles to put it in Victor's spot. If Castle develops a good jumper, that dude could be awesome for years to come. If not, he will still be an nba player.

Edit: Looking forward to see him play today.

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I agree.
In a year when there is no clear cut favorite, he is becoming one of mine. Doesn't hurt that he comes from a winning program.

Listening to a podcast that said he was a notoriously poor defender in high school. The way he turned that narrative in less than a year to the opposite end of the spectrum is wild.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Listening to a podcast that said he was a notoriously poor defender in high school. The way he turned that narrative in less than a year to the opposite end of the spectrum is wild.

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Bruce Bowen was considered much more of a scorer than a defender when he was coming out of college IIRC.

Castle with 16 points and 11 boards for Connecticut. He literally does everything well except shooting the three ball. He's got a nastiness to him. Plays within himself. I like him.

Enzo The Baker said:

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Castle with 16 points and 11 boards for Connecticut. He literally does everything well except shooting the three ball. He's got a nastiness to him. Plays within himself. I like him.

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I also like him because UCONN likes to share the love with ball handling, and he has shown he can play without the ball as well.

The Hawks are 10-7 while Trae has been out. Will be curious to see if they view DJ as the piece they want to keep or if they are hoping this will boost his trade value in the offseason with the hawks keeping Trae. I would guess it will be the latter.

Enzo The Baker said:

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I also like him because UCONN likes to share the love with ball handling, and he has shown he can play without the ball as well.

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In general, I tend to like guys that played for better college coaches. That's also why I am not as high on GLeague guys, because I've watched a couple GLeague games, and they are prepared less than if they just played in Rucker Park for a year.

Enzo The Baker said:

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The Hawks are 10-7 while Trae has been out. Will be curious to see if they view DJ as the piece they want to keep or if they are hoping this will boost his trade value in the offseason with the hawks keeping Trae. I would guess it will be the latter.

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They should trade both.

But over his last 11 games, DJ is at 29p, 9 assists, 5r, 2.5s. and +/- of 2.5. 47/41/78 shooting.

Tyler Smith is a guy that hasn't been mentioned a lot and I think is an under the radar prospect if we get a pick in the 7-10 range. I like what I have seen of him on tape and he's been the Ignite's most consistent player.

Sher Thing said:

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Tyler Smith is a guy that hasn't been mentioned a lot and I think is an under the radar prospect if we get a pick in the 7-10 range. I like what I have seen of him on tape and he's been the Ignite's most consistent player.

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KOC's write up. He has him at 24th.

SHADES OF
Charlie Villanueva




PLUSES

• Smooth shooter with good footwork and a quick release, making over 40 percent of his 3s. He's more of a standstill threat at this point, though.
• Solid post player. He can hit face-up jumpers by shooting over defenders and he has a hook shot using his right hand.
• Potential versatile weapon in the two-man game. The Ignite use him to dribble into simple handoff actions. He's an effective roller, catching lobs and occasionally dunking over defenders. He could also develop the ability to play pick-and-pop or attack off the dribble.
• Has the body to become a multipositional defender. With athletic leaping ability and a long wingspan, he can defend the rim. And with his quickness, he could offer switchability on the perimeter.

MINUSES

• Nonfactor on defense who often looks lost out there. There are times when he freezes while defending pick-and-rolls, not even moving his feet or reacting to the ball. Aside from lacking strength, he also lacks a degree of toughness when it comes to battling on the interior.
• If he's not dunking, he struggles to score at the rim. He can't handle any contact and he lacks touch. He's made only 43.1 percent of his layup attempts at the rim, according to Synergy.
• How good of a shooter is he really? The Ignite don't use him off of movement and he struggles when pulling up from midrange. It's also possible his current 3-point percentage is an outlier: In two Overtime Elite seasons, he made 35.6 percent and 30.8 percent of 3s, respectively. He's also a below-average free throw shooter (69.6 percent this season, in line with his lifetime average).

I think I might like Daron Holmes from Daytona more. I'm kind of biased against GLeague Ignite players in general. I also don't know anything about Tyler Smith other than with that name, I was surprised he wasn't a white kid from Utah or something.

WHO IS GUARDING BRUNSON GOOD GOD