The official NBASupes 2021 NBA Draft thread

[lynred]

On 7/6/2021 at 5:20 PM, ATLHawks3 said:

This is a really deep draft. The options at 20 are tremendous. Here's another guy I think we should have serious eyes on.

 

 

6'3 Combo Guard with a 6'9 wingspan. He can shoot and doesn't lack confidence.

Love this guy as a potential "new" Lou Will. Can really stroke it as you said and can create his own offense - attributes that we really need off the bench.

[NBASupes]

E.J. Onu is probably my favorite prospect right now. I would even consider him at 20. 

You just don't see guys like him. 

I would say just from the tape, he compares to Nerlens Noel but not as polished defensively. 

His post defense will have to adjust to the talent difference. 

But his rim protection and paint protection is real. It translates. 

His length is real. 

His athletic ability is real. 

His lateral quickness needs work. He isn't the most quick at reactions off the ball. 

His strength could improve but he's functional. 

His three point shot is legit. It's completely real and that's nearly impossible to find for someone of his size. It's like he was created in 2k. 

His screening isn't awful, the effort is there but he has to stick it better. He needs to watch how Noel screens for a skinny dude. 

His movement off the C&S is f***ing gold. You see this from a lot of NAIA guys in 2021 but usually, they don't have this size and athletic ability in a package. 

He doesn't have a repertoire of moves but he does love the spin into an one legged shot extremely similar to Embiid and makes it like Embiid. That's an unstoppable shot on any level and translates. 

He just translates. It's that simple. I can watch tape of productive college bigs all day and nan one of them translate sometimes but this kid is skillful and fundamentally sound. His passing is nonexistent. He's averaging .5 APG. That said, he's used mainly as a finisher. They don't force him into a lot of roles. He does what he does like a NBA player. Not typical of college prospects especially D1 where they do a lot they wouldn't do in the NBA. 

This is a quote from the Thunder Reddit forum. 

 

Quote

 

What's even crazier is his athleticism isn't even what stands out. It's his skillset and playability that stands out the most. Even when he is clearly playing against smaller talent he is not using his athleticism to score, he is using fundamental skill sets and being in the right place at the right time - - evidence that he is just focused on his development. You see more evidence of focusing on growth in skillset in his role because he didn't take the most shots on the team but instead took the second most shots - - meaning he wasn't just abusing lower level talent and stat padding his way to a title; but instead playing in a system and sitting comfortably in his role @ around 10 shots per game.

From 2019/20 to 2020/21 he increased his fg% from 45% to 57% and increased his 3pt% from 27% to 40%(!) - - so it's not a fluke either because he only added 0.5 3pt attempts per game, and an additional 1.3 fg attempts to his entire shot selection. So he stuck with the same role, figured out how to knock down the shots better, and probably found an additional transition bucket per game just to help the team win.

That's consistent development and without full time professional coaches to help him through it night in and night out. Tho, I guarantee he had pro trainers, however those guys are seasonal at best and usually just a few weeks at a time.

Makes you wonder how many D1 scholarships he turned down just so that he could focus 200% on his own personal basketball growth at his modern/niche position.

All of this tells me he isn't slipping out of the draft.

I guarantee the pros know his name. He's probably taken many basketball camps with big names over the years (because that's the only way to get real training as a prospect, but nobody tell Ben Simmons that) and being around that kind of competition is why he can make the most out of his training in a small school environment without being a high usage statpadder against lower competition.

 

 

[NBASupes]

Yeah, I want him at 20. I haven't been too impressed with none of these guys in general, they all got along way to go. At least this kid is worth it. He's not a Giannis where he's a superstar waiting to happen. He's not that but he's a rare prototype that most teams could use but a team like Atlanta really could use. Especially with Okongwu in the wings. 

 

EJ ONU

"At 6’11” with a 7’8” wingspan, he averaged over 5.1 blocks per game over the past 2 seasons. A high school state finalist in the 400m, he runs the floor like a guard. At 40% from three this season, he’s possibly the best shooting big in the draft. "- Beyond Athelete Management

EJ ONU G League Elite Camp Measurements

Height without shoes6'9.75

Height with shoes6'10.75

Wingspan7'8.5

Standing reach9'6

Weight231.6lbs at 6.5% body fat

STRENGTH AND AGILITY INFORMATION OF EJ ONU

vertical jump27

max vertical leap30

3/4th court sprint3.025

lane agility12.14

lane shuttle3.494

NBA DRAFT COMBINE STRENGTH AND AGILITY INFORMATION - ALL PARTICIPANTS

STANDING REACH

Neemias Queta 9'4.5''

Makur Maker 9'4.0''

Ariel Hukporti 9'3.5''

Kai Jones 9'2.5''

JT Thor 9'2.0''

WINGSPAN

Neemias Queta 7'4.0''

JT Thor 7'3.25''

Jericho Sims 7'3.25''

Charles Bassey 7'3.0''

Isaiah Mobley 7'3.0''

STANDING VERTICAL LEAP

Keon Johnson 41.50

Jericho Sims 37.00

Scottie Barnes 36.00

Yves Pons 36.00

Jaden Springer 34.50

MAX VERTICAL LEAP

Keon Johnson 48.00

Jericho Sims 44.50

Yves Pons 42.50

Scottie Lewis 42.00

Joe Wieskamp 42.00

LANE AGILITY

Scottie Lewis 10.45

Nah'Shon Hyland 10.53

Ziaire Williams 10.69

Joe Wieskamp 10.70

McKinley Wright IV 10.76

SHUTTLE RUN

Greg Brown III 2.98

Corey Kispert 2.99

Scottie Barnes 2.99

Aaron Wiggins 3.00

AJ Lawson 3.01

THREE QUARTER SPRINT

AJ Lawson 2.98

Scottie Lewis 2.98

Daishen Nix 3.00

Keon Johnson 3.00

David Johnson 3.03

STRENGTH AND AGILITY INFORMATION - CENTERS

STANDING REACH

Neemias Queta 9'4.5''

Makur Maker 9'4.0''

Ariel Hukporti 9'3.5''

Charles Bassey 8'11.5''

Luka Garza 8'11.5''

HEIGHT W/O SHOES

Neemias Queta 6'11.25''

Ariel Hukporti 6'10.75''

Makur Maker 6'10.25''

Luka Garza 6'10.0''

Charles Bassey 6'9.25''

WINGSPAN

Neemias Queta 7'4.0''

Jericho Sims 7'3.25''

Charles Bassey 7'3.0''

Ariel Hukporti 7'2.5''

Makur Maker 7'1.75''

STANDING VERTICAL LEAP

Jericho Sims 37.00

Charles Bassey 33.00

Sandro Mamukelashvili 30.50

Neemias Queta 27.00

Makur Maker 25.50

MAX VERTICAL LEAP

Jericho Sims 44.50

Sandro Mamukelashvili 36.50

Charles Bassey 36.00

Neemias Queta 33.00

Ariel Hukporti 31.00

SHUTTLE RUN

Makur Maker 3.28

Sandro Mamukelashvili 3.30

Charles Bassey 3.33

Luka Garza 3.38

Jericho Sims 3.38

LANE AGILITY

Jericho Sims 11.59

Sandro Mamukelashvili 11.63

Neemias Queta 11.85

Makur Maker 11.87

Luka Garza 11.90

THREE QUARTER SPRINT

Jericho Sims 3.05

Ariel Hukporti 3.12

Charles Bassey 3.13

Sandro Mamukelashvili 3.21

Neemias Queta 3.29

SIMILARITY BY MEASUREMENTS TO NBA PLAYERS

EJ ONU NCAA Season Stats

https://basketball.realgm.com/player/EJ-Onu/Summary/126440

https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/219020/e-j-onu

EJ ONU Scouting Report

https://theanalyst.com/na/2021/05/ej-onu-2021-nba-draft-prospect-profile/

https://www.ridiculousupside.com/2021/6/17/22539282/an-introduction-to-ej-onu-shawnee-state-nba-draft-2021

http://jtmbasketball.blogspot.com/2021/01/scouring-nation-part-2-ej-onu.html 

EJ ONU Videos

EJ Onu Backround & Introduction https://twitter.com/beyond_am/status/1403441451086798854

EJ Onu 2021 Mixtape

EJ ONU Links

https://www.si.com/nba/2021/06/14/2021-nba-draft-sleepers-jason-preston-raiquan-gray

https://www.reddit.com/r/bostonceltics/comments/nv5rc3/grenham_naia_allamerican_ej_onu_is_among_the/

https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2021/06/08/celtics-reportedly-working-out-ej-onu-potential-sleeper-stretch-big-man/

https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/transfer-portal-names-to-know-naia-all-american-ej-onu/

http://www.ssubears.com/article/4784.php

https://wreckemred.com/2021/04/30/texas-tech-basketball-intriguing-big-man-transfer-watch/

 

EJ Onu Background & Introduction https://twitter.com/beyond_am/status/1403441451086798854

EJ Onu 2021 Mixtape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xijdzhi3n3k

EJ Onu 2021 Next Ones Mixtape https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gPQKP4g7Xo&t=8s

EJ Onu 2019-2020 Season Highlights https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccZciT_RKNQ

EJ Onu Scouting Video April 6 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEFyGzvG8-g

EJ Onu 60 second interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRKMolFMdU0

EJ Onu G-League Elite Camp 30 second contribution in 11 seconds
https://twitter.com/ZachFleer270/status/1407392995050242052

G-League Elite Camp w/ EJ Onu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xh-pfOACxU&t=904s

[NBASupes]

Onu compares favorably with Gobert measurements and athro wise. 

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=HAND_LENGTH&dir=1&SeasonYear=2013-14

 

Within his own class, he's ahead of Thor but behind Johnson (SG)

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-strength-agility/?sort=LANE_AGILITY_TIME&dir=1

Gobert also had an impressive shuttle run 3.19 while Onu had a poor shuttle run at 3.494

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-strength-agility/?sort=MODIFIED_LANE_AGILITY_TIME&dir=-1&SeasonYear=2013-14

His sprint is world class at 3.025

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-strength-agility/?sort=THREE_QUARTER_SPRINT&dir=-1

Gobert sprint was the 2nd worst 3.57

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-strength-agility/?sort=THREE_QUARTER_SPRINT&dir=1&SeasonYear=2013-14

Both had the lower end verticals in their classes but they are both explosive athletes so it's not that big of a deal if you can't jump that high. What matters is, how quickly, do you have a load time, etc. 

 

EJ ONU G League Elite Camp Measurements

Height without shoes6'9.75

Height with shoes6'10.75

Wingspan7'8.5

Standing reach9'6

Weight231.6lbs at 6.5% body fat

STRENGTH AND AGILITY INFORMATION OF EJ ONU

vertical jump27

max vertical leap30

3/4th court sprint3.025

lane agility12.14

lane shuttle3.494

 

 

 

 

[NBASupes]

I don't have enough research on the shuttle run but 3qt sprint does translate for bigs. The thing is, the bigger you are, the better. If you are 200-210, you can be fast but it's not as valuable. Dwight had a 3.18 but he was 250. That's valuable. Speed+Weight = Advantage. 

[niremetal]

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Yeah, I want him at 20. I haven't been too impressed with none of these guys in general, they all got along way to go. At least this kid is worth it. He's not a Giannis where he's a superstar waiting to happen. He's not that but he's a rare prototype that most teams could use but a team like Atlanta really could use. Especially with Okongwu in the wings. 

He sounds awesome, but do you really think there are other teams out there that will be so high on him that they would spend a first-round pick on a NAIA guy? I'm no insider, but considering the lack of track record of guys successfully going straight from NAIA to the pros in the last 30+ years, that seems like it would be a pretty out-there move. Is there a real risk that he won't be available in the early second-round? If not, seems like it would be fairly easy to move up to take him by packaging one of the gazillion stockpiled future-second rounders with the #48. I'm guessing that's one of the reasons why those future seconds were stockpiled in the first place...

[NBASupes]

Watching the full draft combine game with Onu. He's not in NBA conditioning but intriguing. Clearly possible at #48. 1st round is way too high, he needs a full g-league year and some NBA reps. 

[NBASupes]

2 hours ago, niremetal said:

He sounds awesome, but do you really think there are other teams out there that will be so high on him that they would spend a first-round pick on a NAIA guy? I'm no insider, but considering the lack of track record of guys successfully going straight from NAIA to the pros in the last 30+ years, that seems like it would be a pretty out-there move. Is there a real risk that he won't be available in the early second-round? If not, seems like it would be fairly easy to move up to take him by packaging one of the gazillion stockpiled future-second rounders with the #48. I'm guessing that's one of the reasons why those future seconds were stockpiled in the first place...

I stopped watching the game for now. Idk, maybe, I would say Sims and some others were far more impressive at the combine but he's the most impressive I seen at this venue. 

What I like is 

Game 1

His screens are massively better here than it was on film. He's setting excellent screens and they are legit.

He has a good roll instinct. He roll exactly where he should each time. 

His frame is better than I thought. He could put on another 20 pounds without losing athleticism. 

His closeout speed and use of length is special. 

He's really good at boxing out. Very fundamentally sound. A lot like Brook Lopez.

I actually though he was pretty aware on offense. 

What I don't like

His awareness on defense is not low but it's clearly average. 

His conditioning needs work. For someone with a high motor, he didn't play like it here. 

He has no feel for rebounding. 

I didn't see his elite open court speed on display 

Airballed his first shot but I liked the confidence he displayed. He shot it like this is what I do. I just missed one, okay. 

He spends a lot of time on the perimeter if he's not setting screens. No real action for postups. 

I wonder if he gonna need time on post defense. 

Mac Mcclung took it to his chest and scored. Impressive but I wonder if Onu seen this level of skill before in a real game setting. 

Neither team is doing a good job of getting the bigs involved, especially Team 2. 

 

I didn't get the feel that he's high motor. I did see intelligence. I do wonder if his conditioning needs to be better. I actually thought he looked fine but clearly not a 1st rounder. There is levels to it. He's clearly a G-Leaguer but his ceiling is unique and freaky. 

[JeffS17]

18 hours ago, NBASupes said:

I would say that was a three player draft. There was a tier 1, two tier 2 guys. Zion, Ja, and R.J. deserved to be the top guys. 

Reddish was a tier 3.5 and Hunter was a tier 4 prospect. The difference is, Hunter and Reddish ceiling is much higher than people though, especially Hunter. Hunter is able to create off the drive, something he didn't show at Uva. He showing that he's a legit 3 level scorer with exceptional defensive versatility which we all knew he had that as a prospect. Smart people always saw Cam's potential but didn't know if it was going to be realize, hell, even right now, we still don't know for sure but we are confident. 

I agree! 

 

He doesn't showcase the physical potential that Hunter did and he's similar sized and frame to Klay, just longer than Klay. I don't think he will be able to defend the 4 in the NBA as he did in the WCC. 

I haven't had a chance to watch him play yet. (Preston)

 

 

This is kind of my point though.  I think the confidence people exude around the draft picks is really what I find amusing.  There's a phenomenon for people in graduate school where they essentially become less and less confident the more they know about a really narrow subject.  So you can typically tell students who are first years and are overly confident versus professors or older students who are much more hesitant and balanced with their opinions.

For draft picks, there's never actually a clear tier of players imo because you really have no idea who is going to pan out or not or to what degree.  And guys that have a ton of potential aren't always the guys labeled as having a ton of potential.  I understand the need for scouts to rank the prospects and segment them in a way that is easier to digest for front offices to make decisions but they're never really that accurate.  Obvious guys that are borderline generational talents will always be easy to pick out (Lebron, Zion, etc) but there are really no guarantees with anyone else.

[RandomFan]

https://theathletic.com/2694200/2021/07/08/nba-draft-confidential-coaches-execs-discuss-cade-cunningham-debate-jalen-green-vs-jalen-suggs-sleepers/

David Aldridge put up his comments on Guards today. For those that don't know how he does this: 

-- David Aldridge -- When I first started “The Morning Tip” for NBA.com in 2009, I made it plain: The column that followed was going to be a blatant rip-off of Peter King’s “Monday Morning Quarterback,” the catchall NFL column that packed so very, very much into every week’s offering. There was news, Q&As, opinion, analysis, stuff about other sports, stuff that had nothing to do at all with sports — all jammed into several thousand words. I wrote the Tip in that spirit for nearly a decade.

In similar spirit, the column that follows is a blatant rip-off of Bruce Feldman’s NFL Draft Confidential — his yin to the yang that is Dane Brugler’s annual pre-draft epic, The Beast. As Feldman complements Brugler, I hope to provide some ballast to Sam Vecenie’s year-long, exhaustive prep work that leaves you better prepared for the NBA Draft than anything else you’ll read.

I’ve spent much of the last month talking to a few dozen NBA personnel men, scouts, execs and multiple college coaches who’ve either seen or whose teams coached against the blue-chip prospects who should go in this year’s draft. The goal was not to produce anything resembling a mock draft, most of which are an affront to man and God. It is not a critique of the people who work so very hard to predict what will happen in a given year that almost everyone who tries a mock is comically, crazily wrong. They are being lied to, professionally — mostly by agents who insist each of their clients will go top half of the first round, then forget to text back on draft night as their guys go through the floor.

This, then, is not a mock draft.

This is just a cross-section of opinions from people who I’ve come to trust over the decades — people who aren’t in the business of lying. They tell me the truth — sometimes, a cold truth — and I don’t name them. It’s been a fair exchange over the years. They tell me what they like and don’t like about the prospects, if the young men are coachable or not, who they think their games pattern after, and so on. As basketball has evolved, so have the position definitions. There aren’t “ones” or “twos” any more; there are just guards, wings and bigs. We will, then, start with guards, to be followed by wings and bigs before the July 29 draft.

 

-- RandomFan -- so that's where his comments come from. I'm leaving out a big chunk of the article about the top draft picks that don't pertain to us, and focusing on the ones around the general area where we are picking at #20. 

-- DA -- Who’s the Fourth Supreme?

We know Cunningham, Suggs and Green will be the top guards taken, but who will go next amongst the guards? Multiple mocks have multiple guys in the late lottery, but four seem to be jockeying with one another: Connecticut sophomore James Bouknight, Baylor junior Davion Mitchell, Arkansas freshman swingman Moses Moody and Tennessee freshman Keon Johnson — who obliterated the previous draft combine vertical leap record two weeks ago with an astonishing 48-inch jump. This might be the order they go in; at the least, it’s hard to see either Bouknight or Mitchell lasting into the teens.

-- (First?) Rounding into Shape

Several guard prospects have first-round grades from teams, including Auburn’s Sharife Cooper, who was in the U.S. U-19 camp before his one season at Auburn; Tennessee’s Jaden Springer, Louisville’s David Johnson, Florida sophomore Tre Mann, Arizona State freshman Josh Christopher and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu.

Sharife Cooper

Eastern Conference executive 3: Into getting the swag bag. “I’ll get the USA gear but I’m not into this other shit.”

Eastern Conference executive 5: He’s got great leadership. You look at the way Auburn played without him. … when Sharife came on, the way the team played was just night and day. … Here’s what this team looks like with a real guard, someone really spraying the ball around, great at setting his teammates up, understands pace. He’s got the vision and the point guard skills. Sometimes he can be a little loose with the ball, get overconfident with it, like a Tre Mann, Trae Young, Steph Curry — they’ll get a bunch of assists, but they’ll have like seven turnovers.

The biggest concern for him is his shooting off the bounce. He just was really inconsistent all throughout the season. That’s probably the No. 1 thing that turned some of our guys off. Can he take care of the ball and can he consistently get shots? His dad did a fantastic job framing the pitch (on his pro day). He didn’t take a single shot off the bounce in the whole hour of his pro day that he had. But he was able to hit catch-and-shoot jumpers. They didn’t do any movement. Everything they did was with his feet set. They really set him up to succeed, and he did really well. The one thing you saw at his pro day is that he works extremely hard.

David Johnson

College assistant coach 2 (his team played Louisville last season): Maybe I’m wrong. The smart thing to say about him was Carlik Jones (who made First Team All-ACC last season) kind of took his thunder. When he was at Duke his freshman year he played really good. Played in pick-and-roll and made good decisions. He’s a 6-foot-5 point guard. He didn’t have a great year. Didn’t have a bad year, but their team didn’t have a good year. With Carlik you had two good guards and maybe they didn’t get a chance to coexist. I anticipated him being a guy who was going to be a real problem, and he just wasn’t.

College assistant coach 3 (his team also played Louisville): David Johnson can play some point for you. … This year they had Carlik Jones; he played point. For (Leonard Hamilton, the Florida State coach), any of them dudes could bring it up. Scottie (Barnes) brought it up; RaiQuan Gray brought it up some. You’re talking wingspan, ball skills, positional size (with Johnson). He’s got it.

Jaden Springer

Western Conference executive 3: Overall, he’s really, really skilled. He can dribble, he can pass, and he can shoot. I believe he shot 40 percent from 3 (Editor’s note: it was 43.5 percent). And I know it was not on a lot of attempts, but you know he’s going to improve as an NBA player, because they shoot 500 shots in practice every day. He can play multiple positions, point guard and off guard. And he can defend multiple positions. High basketball IQ. The athleticism, he’s going to have to figure out a little bit. He’s a good athlete; he’s not a great athlete. But I think the three things he does transfer well. If the moon and the stars lined up, he could be Malcolm Brogdon. And I think Malcolm Brogdon signed a pretty good second contract.

Josh Christopher

Eastern Conference executive 5: It really comes down to his shooting. Do you believe his shot can get better? There’s no doubt the kid’s a scorer and he’s competitive and he can play and he’s tough. So many of the guards who didn’t participate (at the combine) were considered below him, or around his space, and he still went out and competed. He was probably the highest-profile guy that actually played at the combine. We talked about that as a group. We instantly respected that he went out and competed like that.

There’s going to a contingent of people that looked at that and say, “you know he’ll go out and play every day.” He’s not going to sit out. He’s no chump. Whatever he can give in a playoff, he’s not going to back down; he’s going to stand out there and compete.’ Kind of reminds me of a Talen Horton-Tucker coming in. You know this guy’s got talent. You know he’s going to compete. You know he’s confident. But he doesn’t shoot efficiently. I wish he were a little bit quicker. Things like that. … I think he still goes in the first round.

Tre Mann

College assistant coach 4 (his team played Florida last season): Tre Mann obviously showed me some things, scoring wise. But Tre’s shots all came in the corner — I’m wide open, I’m gonna shoot it — or athleticism moves. Had some great tip-ins.

Eastern Conference executive 5: The shooting, I think, is legit. You saw that jump from his freshman year to his sophomore year. I was shocked he shot that poorly his freshman year. When I saw him in practices his freshman year, I thought he was going to have a season (then) that he had this year. … A lot of it was adjusting to the game and getting his body strong. I think some of that was butting heads a little bit with Andrew Nembhard (who transferred to Gonzaga last year). Once Andrew left and it solely became his show, and Scottie Lewis was a little bit more willing to take a back seat, Tre really shined.

He does have that versatility to play on and off the ball. Good handle. The main concern with him is defense, just holding his position, containing drivers. Thin legs. Doesn’t have a defensive toughness. I don’t see that floor leadership as far as really leading a team. He checks a lot of boxes as far as his craftiness with his handle, he changes gears, can play in pick-and-roll, make a variety of pick-and-roll passes, he can shoot a variety of shots off the bounce. He can shoot behind the line to keep you honest. I think he’s more geared to score coming off of ball screens. But he can complete the pass. He may not see it regularly, because he is geared to score, and that’s one of the things he has to work on. But a lot of teams like lead guards who put pressure on the defense first and can make a play for others second.

Ayo Dosunmu

Western Conference executive 3: Not sure why he isn’t getting more love.

Western Conference executive 1: Has improved dramatically by staying three years. Combo guard who can defend multiple positions. Explosive athlete who is really tough in transition. Can score at all three levels — 3-point line, midrange and at the rim. Versatile two-way player. Think Terance Mann with an off-the-bounce dribble jumper. Serious young man who was a great interview. Leadership potential.

The Fabulous Baylor Boys

If Mitchell is certain to go in the lottery, what of the other two-thirds of Baylor’s national championship, three-headed guard monster, Jared Butler and MaCio Teague? Butler’s draft status is up in the air after he was referred to the NBA’s Fitness to Play Panel, which will determine if the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player will be cleared medically to be drafted or to play in the league. Talent isn’t the issue with Butler, who shot 42 percent behind the arc last season. Teague shot almost 40 percent on 3s, but he turned 24 last month, an advanced age for an NBA rookie to be.

College assistant coach 1: We tried to crowd Butler and not give him any space. He’s good at playing in space. He’s really crafty with the ball, he can separate. Doesn’t have a high release point on the shot. If you give him room, he really can create in space, and he’s crafty with the ball where he can just step back and shoot it. We tried to just crowd him and stay attached to him as much as possible. He’s really deceptive with the ball, he changes speeds well. I don’t necessarily see him as a point guard; he’s just a guard that can score it. He can play in the league if he’s allowed to shoot without a lot of pressure. I think if people crowd him and get in him, then he has some problems. But I’m also saying he’s still good enough that he can get to the basket and finish. He’s deceptive that way.

College head coach 3: He’s a problem in that he can make hard shots. Got an in-between game and can get into the paint.

Eastern Conference executive 4: He’s a guard. He’s not a point guard, not a shooting guard. He’s a combo guard. Jared’s a pretty talented kid.

Promises, promises?

LSU freshman Cameron Thomas withdrew from the Chicago combine. That almost always means a team has promised a prospect they’ll take him in the first round. The logic is simple: What else do you have to prove — or potentially lose — when you already know you have a guaranteed first-round spot? (Wonder if it's our Hawks? Doubtful)

College assistant coach 4 (his team played LSU last season): He’s Lou Williams all over again. Professional scorer. You wasn’t rattling Cam. … Today’s game is they’re going to find you if they can’t defend. He’s strong. He’s a strong kid. Offensively, he’s elite. He got better this year letting other people play with his toys in the sandbox. He’s going to have to play with some stars, where he can come in with the second group and do his thing. His legs are like oak trees. He don’t get fouled because he puts his head down; he knows how to get fouled. The rip through. He was shooting 10 free throws a game. He’s great at getting to his spots. Ropes in practice. He can shoot it from the (Damian Lillard) line. If you put him with the second team, he can get buckets like Cam Payne does. Cam brought the midrange back in college.

 

-- It is a big huge article, if you have a sub give it a read. What I posted is only a fraction. 

[RandomFan]

I'm leaning towards Cam Thomas or Sharife Cooper if he's still available. It really depends on what the Hawks want out of a backup PG, ball handling and passing (Cooper), or a scoring replacement for Lou. 

[NekiEcko]

I was going to do Sharife Cooper as our pick too but I was looking at Kevin Pangos tapes and he is very very good.  If we get lucky and get him then we can use the pick on anything including traded it.

[sturt]

To no one in particular...

[ATLHawks3]

It seems like every other day, it's a new prospect for me. Chris Duarte, definition of 3 & D with a little shot creation ability. 

 

17.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.7 apg on 53.1 FG% and 42.4 3FG %.

 

He's an NBA ready contributor and a potential replacement for Huerter if we aren't able to resign him.

 

 

[Blunt91]

Finally some Hawks Pre draft News:

 

via Twitter ChrisKirschner

 

Chris Kirschner: Prospects (so far) I’ve heard Hawks have/will work out: Ayo Dosunmu Daishen Nix Kessler Edwards Cam Thomas Jeremiah Robinson-Earl Josh Christopher Joel Ayayi David Duke Joel Wieskamp Luka Garza Moses Wright Justin Champagnie Sandro Mamukelashvili John Petty JT Thor Carlik Jones

 

[RandomFan]

Cam Thomas please, and thank you.

[nathan2331]

Serious question: What do y'all envision Trae's backup long-term being? I honestly don't like Lou Williams fit on this team as much as I appreciate the person he is. A microwave scorer can win you some games here and there, but I'd rather have a more efficient guard with size that can actually share minutes with Trae while playing defense. Just curious if y'all see our needs differently.

[AHF]

8 minutes ago, nathan2331 said:

Serious question: What do y'all envision Trae's backup long-term being? I honestly don't like Lou Williams fit on this team as much as I appreciate the person he is. A microwave scorer can win you some games here and there, but I'd rather have a more efficient guard with size that can actually share minutes with Trae while playing defense. Just curious if y'all see our needs differently.

I'm envisioning us drafting his long-term backup this year.  As a reserve, could take different forms given they will be paired with some combination of Cam, Huerter and Bogi who have enough offense and passing ability to make different skills work.

[nathan2331]

20 minutes ago, AHF said:

I'm envisioning us drafting his long-term backup this year.  As a reserve, could take different forms given they will be paired with some combination of Cam, Huerter and Bogi who have enough offense and passing ability to make different skills work.

I guess after several years of substandard backup PG play, I'm just skeptical of the kind of guard we need to be drafting. With the way we stagger Collins and Capela throughout the game with Gallo and Okongwu, I think the backup PG has to be able to make plays with the PnR. Cam Thomas and Hyland are guys I've seen fans suggest the most and I really don't see it. I think they're talented and could do great things in the league, but I don't think iso-scoring should be the skill we're prioritizing.

 

All that being said, I also hope we get Trae's backup whoever it is. There are a lot of talented guards that'll be available at #20.

[sturt]

Answering the question, I envision the long-term BU PG being a veteran free agent or trade pick-up... certainly not a rookie selected @ #20--that is, for a team that is convinced they're a legitimate contender for the trophy...

Or, if a rookie, then must be one that was someone projected to go top 10 by many if not most... must be a gen-u-wine offensive asset both in terms of scoring and distributing, as proven as one can get at that level... and it's less important, but much preferred if it's an older player.

There is one who is plausible, and even in his case, it's likely you'd have to jump up a few slots to get him... can't see him getting past #15. That's Davion Mitchell (Baylor).

Failing that, if Schlenk uses the #20 on a PG, then it should be for the third team PG that he intends to develop to maybe assume the BU PG job in 22-23 or 23-24 (and signing an older guy, probably Mills or Rose).

That's a waste of the draft slot, of course, because you've effectively agreed to a truncated rookie deal where you're foregoing the benefit of that asset's first season, and maybe a second as well.

So, ideally, find a trading partner and punt the pick for another team's future FRP; or, find a trading partner and trade back into the 2nd round looking for multiple picks that can get you the best of the crop of Euro stashes so you're able to develop players independent of the rookie contract timeline; or, use it in a trade that gets you a significant 21-22 asset for the assault on our first championship... hard to find anyone who would better fit than Derrick White (San Antonio).

Oh. And the best option... all around skills, experience, and cost... is Kevin Pangos. But don't take my word for it. Investigate him for yourself.