This thread might be short-lived, but we have threads on candidates in general, trade ideas, timvp mocks, but not one dedicated to what other teams might do.
More we bandy ideas around, the more I think some teams might like to leap up and nab a player or two. Right now, Clingan and Castle. Risacher and Sheppard, too, although they seem firmly as the 3 or 4 picks and Detroit would probably grab Risacher or Sheppard at 5 if possible.
Clingan, Castle, and Sheppard would be especially attractive to the late lottery teams who are in contention or in the playoff mix.
For example, Memphis just lost Steven Adams, a really good archetype for them. Might they want Donovan Clingan? OKC might like Clingan, to give them much-needed size, or Buzelis, who is the long, mobile type they like. Both of these teams might not see what they like where they are currently.
Memphis, by the way, is one of the biggest losers of the lottery. After not tanking, they were repaid cruelly by the basketball gods by falling spots.
While I think the Spurs will grab Risacher if available, and won't do anything to help rivals, trade possibilities are there - to me, for certain players.
This might be a place to figure out whether the Rockets or the 4-7 teams might want to move around with trades, too.
Memphis is the real interesting one here. They might be in no-man's land looking at a Cody Williams, although a Dalton Knecht could be excellent.
And then the Thunder. They have enough assets to get what they want. Is it worth it in this draft? They could throw a few baubles to ensure they get a Buzelis if they wanted and still have a huge stash.
This is a terrible draft to trade into or up in. There isn’t even one complete player in it. Everyone has at least one big hole in their game. I think if there were one honest to god high level 3&D wing,no creationskillsneeded,they would go #1 overall. It seems,though, that the good to great defenders can’t shoot, and the shooters are abysmal on defense.
That being said, I wouldn’t mind seein OKC flush a few more picks down the toilet like they did with Dieng.
It may be a terrible draft to trade up into generally. At least that's the common narrative. It may not be a terrible one in specifics. Like I'm trying to point out, there are some pearls in here. And then, I think, things start falling off around 8 or 9 a bit, at least in my estimation. I'm not talking using a future first to leap way up there. I'm talking teams in range that might want to ensure they get a key player.
Like the Spurs. I'm starting to like Reed Sheppard at 4, for example. Seeing if Detroit would want to move down with a basket of second round picks could secure Castle. That would be a great ing deal if they don't see a needed shooter.
Why is Clinger rated so much higher then Edney?
He's classy.
I mean by teams other then Gregg Popper.
Clingan played in a high degree of difficulty motion offense, and had the IQ to do so. If you haven’t watched any breakdown of the UConn system, you probably should.
I wonder how Edey will go with some good coaching / good offense.
Clinger had much better teamates and strategies imo.
Yeah, I think Clingan is very good at what he does. He can be an anchor and was massive in the NCAAT.
Which means he has a head start, and that’s why he’s rated higher.
That is the intent of this thread,
https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303760
Thanks, I lost sight of that one.
I get that we shouldn't help other teams with some favorable trades, but if it helps us more, well that's another story. for example:
Trade the #8 to OKC for Josh Giddey and the #12. They probably end up getting a big that they like, we get Giddey and possibly a guard like Devin Carter at 12. Both teams get what they need to move forward. Seems like a win win.
Trade the #8 and Bassey to Memphis for Brandon Clarke and the #9 pick. Not sure the numbers work out, but they get to possibly draft Clingan (if he hasn't been taken yet) to replace their center. Not sure that they fall for that one but sometimes teams get desperate for a certain player.
Point is that it's tough for us to draft 2 rookies and get decent production out of both, even if they are top 10 picks. One pick yes, two picks, I'm not so sure. I'm for trading the latter pick for an established player who would definitely play and a rookie for Austin development as opposed to just a rookie who will probably just watch from the sidelines. We can't afford to make mistakes, not in this draft where we have two fairly important picks for our future.
Houston's strategy could be
1) to get more size if Clingan is there at 3
2) BPA (which is debatable to no end) and take Risacher, Sheppard, Castle or whoever their GM likes
3) Kill the Spurs chances of getting the player we want (Castle, Topic, Risacher, Dillingham)
4) Some combo of the above
Historically, the Rockets have had some interesting dealings with the Spurs.....Scola, anyone? Remember Jackie Butler. This could be their chance to get back at SA for Wemby and his obvious joy in landing with us vs HOU.
Maybe this is just my fear, but, it's a possibility that they really make this tough for us.
Better IQ ( especially in the passing game), younger, better defender imo
DET is interesting. Their fans want shooting, so much so that’s they’re entertaining Kencht at 5 (which is a reach given his age). What would they give up to move up to 4 if one of ZR or Shepard are there?
The other super interesting scenario is if Clingan is there at 4. I wouldn’t want both 7 AND 14 from Portland (don’t need 3 picks in this draft tbh). But, what about 7 and a 2026 protected 26 FRP?
Same. We have way too many young players to figure out PLUS needing to get Cissoko into the rotation. Two lotto picks and Sidy are like three rookies.
That said, I don't think Portland goes for Clingan or would value him so much to move up. Seem to be targeting wings.
Memphis might be the play to move up. Their SRP situation is confusing. They've traded all theirs away for the rest of the decade but have others coming in elsewhere.
Edey is getting nibbles in the top 10, too, so any of the Clingan-curious teams might be Edey-curious, too, so might not worry about waiting.
Portland’s pick is locked by trade through 2028, so their earliest trade able pick would be 2030.
Mainly because for bigs, the ability to anchor a defense > post offense
Just like for guards, the ability to be an offensive engine > perimeter defense
Can't really argue with geometry; bigs are at the center of the court, so they can guard a higher percentage of high value shots compared to perimeter guys, and you can build a legitimately elite drop defense around Clingan's rim protection
Also, people are still underselling how good Clingan can be if he stays healthy. His combination of shot blocking and passing feel are very very unusual. Look at all the guys 6'10"+ with >10 AST% and >10 BLK% (Clingan is at 13 and 11, respectively) in the last 18 years, and you get 7 guys. Of these 7 guys, only 5 are not seniors: Clingan (So), Embiid (Fr), KAT (Fr), Rob Williams (So), and Luke Kornet (Jr). Clingan's got the highest BPM and by far the lowest turnover rate of all 7 guys. A potential all defense guy who can lock down the paint on one end and potentially drive a DHO offense on the other end - that's very valuable player, especially in the coming new age of bigs.
Will be interesting to see if Presti makes a move to get Clingan or someone similar. He likes to play with his draft picks like Dark Helmet with his actions figures, so I don't know.
Clingan doesn't seem to make sense for the heavy drive and kick / 5 out system that OKC is running. He's a really good player, but it seems like it'd stifle their offence. Getting better rebounding at the Giddey spot and having shooting there (I mean, Lauri Markannen makes a ton of sense there if OKC is willing to trade picks and Utah accepts their offer at the deadline). I think they'd be looking at Tyler Smith / Filipowski as 4's that for the mold in the draft, Ousmane Dieng stepping into some big wing minutes, or a FA move.
At the other end of the draft, I think Minnesota (27th) makes some sense as trade up candidates from 35 (with Cash and / 48). Tax is looming large for Minnesota, moving down to the second round (if they sign that prospect to a second round minimum / two way) could save them a decent chuck of money. Not sure what their ownership is(lols) and how willing Taylor / A-Rod and Lore are to pay tax.
The Thunder may need to be flexible in their game style. The 5 out thing can rack up tons of regular season victories, but may be trouble every postseason. They were getting creamed by a rookie Lively and good but not fantastic big men. I'm not going to say their playoffs were a disappointment - first time, made the second round - but it raised a ton of questions to me.
Not just that Giddey is suddenly a problem. But they need to solve this issue with bigs. If they faced the Lakers in the first round, I'm not sure they would have made it. , if Zion wasn't brittle as a bone bleaching in the sun, they might have had trouble there, too. They suddenly look further away than I thought they were and I'm not sure experience alone will do it.
Interesting thought on Minnesota.
In terms of team needs
Atlanta - C and wing. Sarr is best fit and most likely, I could also see Risacher but only a 30% chance. Don’t think they will consider anyone else with this pick.
Washington - C, big guard. Worst defensive rebounding team in the league last year by DRB% metric. 3rd worst defensive team in the league also. Clingan is logical pick. Some people say they need a PG but I don’t see it, I think they’ll play Poole at the 1 since he excelled their in the last 30 games of the season and they have a big investment in him. So they also need secondary playmaking with a big guard or wing. I could also see them taking Risacher as BPA and make the fit work with Avdija and Coulibaly but there will be some cannabilsm of development there. My dark horse would be Stephon Castle.
Rockets - Rim protecting C, shooting. 8th worst 3 point shooting team last season. I could see Clingan here if he falls. I could also see a shooter either Reed Sheppard or Risacher.
Spurs - Shooting, playmaking, defense at the 3 and 1 positions. Risacher would be the spurs preferred pick if available imo, followed by daylight, followed by one of Castle or Reed Sheppard. I like Holland but just can’t see Pop taking on a brash, emotive player like that.
Pistons - Shooting, stretch 4. They would love Risacher. Also think they’d take Sheppard and then ship Ivey out. Could see them taking a swing on Buzelis if the aforementioned two are off the board. Could also see them taking Dillingam and shipping Ivey out.
Hornets - Big guard. Rim pressure. Last in league in FTA. Castle or Ron Holland will be the pick here I think.
Portland - Big wing easily. Ron Holland goes here if available. Cody Williams dark horse.
Spurs - Same as above. I think Dillingam could fall here. If they take a wing at pick 4 then I think Dillingam or Topic is the pick here. If they take Castle or Sheppard at 4 then I think it’s Cody Williams here or Salaun.
Memphis - C and big wing. No point looking at their strengths and weaknesses from last season as they played without Morant and Bane. Clingan is the easy pick here if he falls but don’t think he will. In that case it will be a big wing either Holland or Cody Williams.
Utah - Worst defensive team in the league last season. If Kessler and Hendricks get more minutes next season that will partly solve that problem. I think Jazz go BPA and take Nikola Topic if he’s here. This is the Topic floor I think. Other option may be Cody Williams if available or Knecht.
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