2024 NBA Draft Thread

[NASpurs]

Hope CHA or POR takes him before we get a chance to. He’s an extremely raw project of a player who can’t defend. Hard pass tbh.

"With the 4th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft..."

[BatManu20]

"With the 4th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft..."

ST would go into full meltdown mode. Would be worse than the Primo draft tbh.

[ace3g]

[Knoxxx]

Considering Portland finished 4th and drew 7th, and we finished 5th and drew 4th, I’m loving that win about now. Also still loving losing the coin flip to Houston last year.

pwned!

[MultiTroll]

It most likely would not be entertained, however IF another team was willing to accept it.....
Would you trade #8 '24 Spurs pick to another team for their top 2025 draft pick?
Same Q #4.
Since the '25 draft is supposed to be so much better.

Of course it would have to be to a team that was highly, i mean extremely likely to finish with a suck record thus be not only lotto, but preferably top 5 lotto chance.

Is the 2025 Lotto so much stronger that ya you would consider that. *If a team was willing to trade this draft.

[ace3g]

[Mr. Body]

Totally see something like Castle at 4, Devin Carter at 8.

[Knoxxx]

Can we talk about Dalton Knecht for a minute?

At first blush, I was completely out on a 23 year old until I found out the dude grew 5 inches since high school, and subsequently moved up from the lowest ranks of college basketball into big time D1. I have to think twice about his being maxed out at 23, when his growth as a player is probably more appropriately attributed to his actual physical growth vs just being older/stronger/more experienced than his counterparts. His background sounds nearly identical to Derrick White's, except he's probably slightly more athletic (see 39" vertical at the combine). The fact that he's had to work his way up from nothing is also appealing in the, "does he check off the box of being over himself" way, I think he's big enough and athletic enough to not be a complete liability on defense, and there's no question about his shooting and scoring chops. I wouldn't be too upset to see him at 8, especially if they took someone with a worse shooting profile like Castle or Topic at 4.

With the spectre of a possible non shooter choice at 4 looming, I did the math and saw a potential best shooter option of Knecht at the 8 as somewhat comforting. Nothing wrong with a Castle + Knecht combo for example. The math indicates we will be choosing from 3-4 of Knecht/Holland/Williams/Salaun at the #8. You can see why I’d consider Knecht the safest option but Williams is actually the upside play I like due to his length, 3 PT shooting potential, and bloodline.

And think of it this way. Keldon is actually a valued 6th man at this point. He makes some impact despite his main flaws of traffic cone defense and too low 3 PT shooting %. Knecht seems like a clear upgrade, even if he is similarly bad on defense, so that’s a nice upgrade at the 8 spot and cheaper too on a rookie deal.

[ace3g]

[ace3g]

[Knoxxx]

Assuming a top 5 of Sarr, Risacher, Castle, Sheppard, Dilly. Who is your top 3 players to target at pick 8 to couple with ONE of those 5 and why?

[mo7888]

Assuming a top 5 of Sarr, Risacher, Castle, Sheppard, Dilly. Who is your top 3 players to target at pick 8 to couple with ONE of those 5 and why?

Ok, I'll play. I'll assume Sheppard at #4 and I'll go Buzelis at #8. The reasoning is that I think Matas has enough court vision and will have enough handle to be a secondary playmaker to balance out with Sheppard.

[Knoxxx]

Ok, I'll play. I'll assume Sheppard at #4 and I'll go Buzelis at #8. The reasoning is that I think Matas has enough court vision and will have enough handle to be a secondary playmaker to balance out with Sheppard.

Good choice I like Buzelis’ size and attacking and protection of the rim.

[Uriel]

So I looked at a bunch of big boards and compiled this consensus ranking of the top 10 prospects available, based on a simple average of each prospect's ranking on the big board. Take note, this is a ranking, not a mock draft, and this is current as of May 30:

1. Alex Sarr
2. Zaccharie Risacher
3. Stephon Castle
4. Reed Sheppard
5. Ron Holland
6. Nikola Topic
7. Matas Buzelis
8. Donovan Clingan
9. Rob Dillingham
10. Dalton Knecht

Notes:
1. It's interesting that Castle has now risen to become the consensus #3 after Sarr and Risacher. This makes me even more convinced he will be our selection at #4 if he's available, assuming Sarr and Risacher are off the board.
2. Topic being ranked ahead of Dillingham is also interesting. Combined with intel from timvp that the Spurs haven't shown much interest in him (perhaps to disguise their interest), him being our selection at #8 is not out of the question, especially if he's medically cleared.
3. Sheppard and Holland get a lot more credit from the pundits than they do on this board. Holland, in particular, is a polarizing prospect, with some ranking him as high as #1 and others as low as #11.
4. The consensus ranking for wings appears to be Risacher, Buzelis, Knecht, Williams (who's not shown here but is #11 in the consensus), and Salaun (#12).
5. Given that, I see the most likely scenario being that we draft Castle at #4. If we view him as a wing, we will probably pick one of Topic or Dillingham at #8, whoever is available. If we view him as a PG, we will most likely pick one of Buzelis, Knecht, Williams, or Salaun.

[Mr. Body]

I didn't realize 2016 and 2017 had the same exact draft order for the first four picks. I guess I wasn't paying attention those years. That's wild.

1. Philadelphia Sixers
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Boston Celtics
4. Phoenix Suns

Do you remember who those picks turned out to be? Philly's 'Process' was getting rave reviews, filling in the slots after Embiid was selected a couple years before. LA Lakers picked two near-stars who seemed destined to never be great, who would be traded for Anthony Davis. Boston Celtics got their two centerpiece players, who may finally, seven years later, get them a highly tarnished ring. And the Phoenix Suns, well, they truly the bed.

Sixers. They picked Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. Simmons, a guy too lazy and disinterested to get his LSU team into the tournament. Fultz, who lead his Washington team to a 9-22 record.

Lakers. Picked Brandon Ingram and then Lonzo Ball. Good picks.

Celtics. Picked Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who have dominated an absolutely terrible Eastern Conference for years and only now are getting their second Finals berth. Good picks overall, though.

Suns. Just amazing stuff. Dragan Bender and Josh Jackson. Neither player is even in the league anymore. Wild swings. Draft graders loved them also picking Marquisse Chriss the Dragan Bender year. Somewhat interesting that Jackson shot .378 from three his single college year but only .566 from the line.

Don't think there's anything necessarily to take from these except just don't be the Suns. Always amazing to look back both at draft selections and then draft grades and how many guys you just don't remember at all. The Ben Simmons year was fairly bad overall, but a number of the players eventually got good. The ROY that year was 2nd round pick Malcolm Brogdan.

[DAF86]

I think the Spurs swing hard on this guy at 8. They’ll take Castle or Topic at 4.

It’s still a month until the draft, and I bet the media will lever up Topic hard once he’s able to practice again.

Man, Castle and Salaun would be such a risky draft, and one that I don't see panning out at all. PATFO can't strike out on both top 10 picks, they just can't. If they do, some heads need to roll, tbh.

[DAF86]

With the spectre of a possible non shooter choice at 4 looming, I did the math and saw a potential best shooter option of Knecht at the 8 as somewhat comforting. Nothing wrong with a Castle + Knecht combo for example. The math indicates we will be choosing from 3-4 of Knecht/Holland/Williams/Salaun at the #8. You can see why I’d consider Knecht the safest option but Williams is actually the upside play I like due to his length, 3 PT shooting potential, and bloodline.

And think of it this way. Keldon is actually a valued 6th man at this point. He makes some impact despite his main flaws of traffic cone defense and too low 3 PT shooting %. Knecht seems like a clear upgrade, even if he is similarly bad on defense, so that’s a nice upgrade at the 8 spot and cheaper too on a rookie deal.

Dillingham will be there at 8 if you want shooting. I do like Knecht, though.

[DAF86]

I didn't realize 2016 and 2017 had the same exact draft order for the first four picks. I guess I wasn't paying attention those years. That's wild.

1. Philadelphia Sixers
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Boston Celtics
4. Phoenix Suns

Do you remember who those picks turned out to be? Philly's 'Process' was getting rave reviews, filling in the slots after Embiid was selected a couple years before. LA Lakers picked two near-stars who seemed destined to never be great, who would be traded for Anthony Davis. Boston Celtics got their two centerpiece players, who may finally, seven years later, get them a highly tarnished ring. And the Phoenix Suns, well, they truly the bed.

Sixers. They picked Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz. Simmons, a guy too lazy and disinterested to get his LSU team into the tournament. Fultz, who lead his Washington team to a 9-22 record.

Lakers. Picked Brandon Ingram and then Lonzo Ball. Good picks.

Celtics. Picked Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, who have dominated an absolutely terrible Eastern Conference for years and only now are getting their second Finals berth. Good picks overall, though.

Suns. Just amazing stuff. Dragan Bender and Josh Jackson. Neither player is even in the league anymore. Wild swings. Draft graders loved them also picking Marquisse Chriss the Dragan Bender year. Somewhat interesting that Jackson shot .378 from three his single college year but only .566 from the line.

Don't think there's anything necessarily to take from these except just don't be the Suns. Always amazing to look back both at draft selections and then draft grades and how many guys you just don't remember at all. The Ben Simmons year was fairly bad overall, but a number of the players eventually got good. The ROY that year was 2nd round pick Malcolm Brogdan.

You know what the Suns did? Draft supossedly high upside guys with defensive and playmaking abilities but questionable shooting, at number 4. What does that sound like?

[Mr. Body]

You know what the Suns did? Draft supossedly high upside guys with defensive and playmaking abilities but questionable shooting, at number 4. What does that sound like?

Maybe. Jackson's main problem is that he didn't know how to play basketball. Dragan Bender was a massive reach through and through.

[CGD]

So I looked at a bunch of big boards and compiled this consensus ranking of the top 10 prospects available, based on a simple average of each prospect's ranking on the big board. Take note, this is a ranking, not a mock draft, and this is current as of May 30:

1. Alex Sarr
2. Zaccharie Risacher
3. Stephon Castle
4. Reed Sheppard
5. Ron Holland
6. Nikola Topic
7. Matas Buzelis
8. Donovan Clingan
9. Rob Dillingham
10. Dalton Knecht

Notes:
1. It's interesting that Castle has now risen to become the consensus #3 after Sarr and Risacher. This makes me even more convinced he will be our selection at #4 if he's available, assuming Sarr and Risacher are off the board.
2. Topic being ranked ahead of Dillingham is also interesting. Combined with intel from timvp that the Spurs haven't shown much interest in him (perhaps to disguise their interest), him being our selection at #8 is not out of the question, especially if he's medically cleared.
3. Sheppard and Holland get a lot more credit from the pundits than they do on this board. Holland, in particular, is a polarizing prospect, with some ranking him as high as #1 and others as low as #11.
4. The consensus ranking for wings appears to be Risacher, Buzelis, Knecht, Williams (who's not shown here but is #11 in the consensus), and Salaun (#12).
5. Given that, I see the most likely scenario being that we draft Castle at #4. If we view him as a wing, we will probably pick one of Topic or Dillingham at #8, whoever is available. If we view him as a PG, we will most likely pick one of Buzelis, Knecht, Williams, or Salaun.

Very useful.

I think when it’s all said and done, Topic is going to get levered up again by the media and be firmly in the Top 5. Same way as how ZR is now “clearly” a top 2 pick despite his limitations.