2023 Draft Thread

[JayBirdHawk]

@KB21

Teams were worried about 'character issues' with Cam Whitmore?

There were multiple reports that there were some medical concerns that had teams shying away from Whitmore, but there were even more reports that there were some questions about his attitude and character. I personally heard from executives on five different teams who were concerned about what was termed “character issues” with Whitmore.

 

– via Sarah Todd @ deseret.com

 

 

In each case, I was told that Whitmore was still expected to be a very high-level NBA player and there wasn’t anyone I talked to who thought Whitmore was a bad person. There were just some questions about his motivations, his level of care, his attitude.

 

– via Sarah Todd @ deseret.com

[sturt]

Spare me, Landry. Spare me. Please. I'm the optimist around here, but you make it so hard when you so explicitly invite cynical rolling eyes.

 

 

[sturt]

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Numbers:

 

 

[RedDawg#8]

19 minutes ago, sturt said:

Spare me, Landry. Spare me. Please. I'm the optimist around here, but you make it so hard when you so explicitly invite cynical rolling eyes.

 

 

Landry’s quote was that the process starts on every prospect going back to HS for many of them.

The reporter spun it to make that statement be about our 3 draftees specifically.

Landry never said we explicitly wanted these exact 3 guys for the past 3 years.

[sturt]

6 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Landry’s quote was that the process starts on every prospect going back to HS for many of them.

The reporter spun it to make that statement be about our 3 draftees specifically.

Landry never said we explicitly wanted these exact 3 guys for the past 3 years.

To be fair to Lauren, she didn't say any different than that. She said the process began years ago to identify the key factors in players they want to draft, and that the 3 draftees are the product of that work. Right?

 

I spose my remark has more to do with "targeted early." And maybe I need to be fair that there's some room to argue what constitutes "targeted"... like, targeted specifically, or just as part of a pool of targets... and "early"... like, how early is early?

 

I get it. What else ya gonna do? You're up there to put on a hype show practically by definition. No one's going to be all that happy with complete transparency. But, yeah, the words chosen too easily lead to takeaways that oversell the situation to be something it isn't. So, maybe a better choice of words that are positive, but within some clearer boundaries.

 

As to the conversation about "the process"... I haven't watched the presser just yet, but that sounds like another way of attempting the "Hawks DNA" theme that Ressler and Fields started pumping last February or so. I'm sorry, but for now count me a skeptic that there's some special psychographic-slash-statistical formula that the Hawks have discovered that will allow them special success. Of course, it's one of those things I'd love to be proven wrong about.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[kg01]

40 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

Numbers:

 

 

Landry up there like, "Where my jersey at?  I can still hoop."

 Yeah but the assistant GM is a better player .... and GM (ohhhhhhh).

12 minutes ago, JayBirdHawk said:

 

"Yeah but dey star player ain't got no humbility!" - you know who 

[bleachkit]

1 hour ago, sturt said:

Spare me, Landry. Spare me. Please. I'm the optimist around here, but you make it so hard when you so explicitly invite cynical rolling eyes.

 

 

One thing I liked about Schlenk was his candor. None of the usually BS lines.

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[Gray Mule]

It sure would be dumb if they didn't scout high school kids.  This must be one of the jobs of the scouting department.  There are many things, I'm sure, that they look for.  They all have some skill or they wouldn't be playing.  The more skill, the more they take the eye of the scout.  But it doesn't end there.  Personality!  Smart Aleck, know it all.  Don't need him.  A troublemaker.  Yep.  That kills coachability.  And that's necessary.

A kid with skill, willing to listen and has the ability to get along with his team mates, his coaches and teachers.  One who stays away from strong drink and drugs.  Oh, yes.  High school kids face this all the time.

I'll bet that most players entering college this fall already have Hawks scouts watching them.  They know all about them.  This is their job and I'm sure they do it well.

 

[KB21]

The thing with Landry is that he comes from the Popovich philosophy on evaluating players, and Pops absolutely had traits he looked for to define the player's character:  Values-Based Coaching in the NBA | Oak and Reeds

Quote

Over in San Antonio, Gregg Popovich is heralded as the coach who knows how to spot and develop “character” in the players he coaches. When pressed on how he’s able to identify a strong “character” in a young player, he bristles, saying that character is really a collection of specific, valuable traits that he and his staff can identify. For example, he lists Tim Duncan’s sense of humor as one of the reasons he was such a great player to coach: “Having a sense of humor is huge to me and to our staff because I think if people can’t be self-deprecating or laugh at themselves or enjoy a funny situation, they have a hard time giving themselves to the group.”

Humility is another one of Coach Pop’s key values. The Spurs have a phrase they use to evaluate new players, “Has he gotten over himself?”. The answer helps the coaching staff measure a player’s work ethic, humbleness and acceptance of his role. “Getting over himself” means that a player understands how his skills and limitations help or hinder the team’s ability to win. This concepts drives the way the Spurs attract veteran NBA players in free agency. Year after year their roster grows with superstar talents signing for less than maximum money to play a lesser role (fewer shots, fewer minutes, less media spotlight) for the chance to work alongside like-minded teammates devoted to winning an NBA championship.

And here is Landry mentioning one of these traits: 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

[bird_dirt]

Looking ahead to next year

 

[JayBirdHawk]

Just now, bird_dirt said:

Looking ahead to next year

 

Don't like it...means we are a Play-in team again. . 

Don't like it....unless it's the SAC 2024 1st round pick. 

[Spud2nique]

One of my dudes. This kid is gonna be a player.

Folks slept on Maxwell Lewis.

 

 

Maxwell Lewis said his dad grew up in Inglewood and his entire family rooted for the Lakers. Even when they settled in Las Vegas, Lewis said they remained fans of the Lakers and Bryant. “Well, first off, my dad put a Laker Fathead in my room of Kobe, so I always saw that,” Lewis said. “I’ve just always been around just Laker [stuff]. He just always took me on the weekends just to go to L.A. and his old stomping grounds and stuff. Just his mentality. Just how much he works. I watch his motivation videos in the morning sometimes. Just little things like that to keep it installed in my head about how hard he worked.”

 

– via Broderick Turner @ Los Angeles Times

 Maxw

Edited June 28, 2023 by Spud2nique

[NBASupes]

1 hour ago, Spud2nique said:

One of my dudes. This kid is gonna be a player.

Folks slept on Maxwell Lewis.

 

 

Maxwell Lewis said his dad grew up in Inglewood and his entire family rooted for the Lakers. Even when they settled in Las Vegas, Lewis said they remained fans of the Lakers and Bryant. “Well, first off, my dad put a Laker Fathead in my room of Kobe, so I always saw that,” Lewis said. “I’ve just always been around just Laker [stuff]. He just always took me on the weekends just to go to L.A. and his old stomping grounds and stuff. Just his mentality. Just how much he works. I watch his motivation videos in the morning sometimes. Just little things like that to keep it installed in my head about how hard he worked.”

 

– via Broderick Turner @ Los Angeles Times

 Maxw

That 24-45 zone was hotter than fish grease this year aka late 1st to mid 2nd zone.

24    DAL    
Olivier-Maxence Prosper
SF/PF | Marquette
25    DET    
Marcus Sasser
PG/SG | Houston
26    IND    
Ben Sheppard
SG | Belmont
27    CHA    
Nick Smith Jr.
PG/SG | Arkansas
28    UTA    
Brice Sensabaugh
SF | Ohio State
29    DEN    
Julian Strawther
SG | Gonzaga
30    LAC    
Kobe Brown
PF | Missouri

31    CHA    
James Nnaji
C | Barcelona
32    DEN    
Jalen Pickett
PG | Penn State
33    MIN    
Leonard Miller
SF | G League
34    SAC    
Colby Jones
SG/SF | Xavier
35    CHI    
Julian Phillips
SF | Tennessee
36    MIL    
Andre Jackson Jr.
SG/SF | UConn
37    DEN    
Hunter Tyson
SF | Clemson
38    BOS    
Jordan Walsh
SF | Arkansas
39    ATL    
Mouhamed Gueye
PF | Washington State
40    LAL    
Maxwell Lewis
SF | Pepperdine
41    CHA    
Amari Bailey
SG | UCLA
42    WAS    
Tristan Vukčević
PF | Real Madrid B
43    POR    
Rayan Rupert
SG | NZ Breakers
44    SA    
Sidy Cissoko
SG/SF | G League
45    MEM    
GG Jackson
PF | South Carolina
 

I like 15 players potentially being rotational.

I am interested in GG and Vukcevic

Really curious to see if Gueye, Miller, and Nnaji can reach their maximum potential. 

[AHF]

14 hours ago, bird_dirt said:

Looking ahead to next year

 

Since drafting Bronny probably guarantees you a year or two of having LeBron James on your roster, it will be fascinating to see where he gets drafted.  I am remembering LeBron talking about his dream of playing with his son so it seems to me that a lot of teams would be thrilled to give up their #15 pick or something just to get LeBron irrespective of the value of getting Bronny.

[ABH]

Another year I didn't get drafted..

[AHF]

1 minute ago, ABH said:

Another year I didn't get drafted..

I am way past the point of being draft eligible, lol.  No team would want me but I'd be an UFA.