Looking ahead to the 2022 Draft

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#61

Patrick Baldwin Jr. took a different route and skipped on Duke and Georgetown to play for his dad at UW-Milwaukee. That means you probably won't get a ton of chances to see him on TV, but he's likely to fall in that 10-15 range where the Kings will probably pick. He has legit wing size at 6-9, but probably isn't the greatest athlete (he's also recovering from an ankle injury so that may affect his burst). The major attraction here is that he has a Steph-level beautiful jumper, and with his height and length he will easily be able to get if off at the next level. Looks to make good, quick decisions on offense. I'm pretty sure he's going to be in the discussion for the Kings this year.
I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell that Baldwin falls into that range but I never thought Haliburton would last past 6 in his draft so I like your thinking.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#62
I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell that Baldwin falls into that range but I never thought Haliburton would last past 6 in his draft so I like your thinking.
Yeah, it's hard to say, especially without me having yet seen many players this year. It seems to me that right now there are at least 6 guys that are almost sure to come off the board before Baldwin in some order (Banchero, Holmgren, Hardy, Jabari Smith, Ivey and Duren) and it's not at all impossible to see another three+ guys jump in front to put him into that 10 range, especially with his lower exposure and possible questions on elite athleticism. That J though!

By the way - right now it looks like Milwaukee will only play one game (not on the pay-extra ESPN+) for the remainder of the regular season: This Friday Dec. 10th at 6:30 against Colorado, which will be on Pac-12 Mountain. So for anybody who gets the Pac-12 suite, this may be your last shot to see him in a full game until the Horizon conference tourney, which should be on somewhere. It's also an interesting matchup as he'll likely match up against 6-8 sophomore wing Jabari Walker, who is also slated for mid-late lottery right now.
 
#63
Yeah, it's hard to say, especially without me having yet seen many players this year. It seems to me that right now there are at least 6 guys that are almost sure to come off the board before Baldwin in some order (Banchero, Holmgren, Hardy, Jabari Smith, Ivey and Duren) and it's not at all impossible to see another three+ guys jump in front to put him into that 10 range, especially with his lower exposure and possible questions on elite athleticism. That J though!

By the way - right now it looks like Milwaukee will only play one game (not on the pay-extra ESPN+) for the remainder of the regular season: This Friday Dec. 10th at 6:30 against Colorado, which will be on Pac-12 Mountain. So for anybody who gets the Pac-12 suite, this may be your last shot to see him in a full game until the Horizon conference tourney, which should be on somewhere. It's also an interesting matchup as he'll likely match up against 6-8 sophomore wing Jabari Walker, who is also slated for mid-late lottery right now.
I think it is unlikely Hardy and Ivey come off the board before Baldwin.

Haliburtons year we were all hoping for Williams and Vassell and both went off the board before Haliburton. The next year Barnes, Giddey, Wagner and Kuminga all went before Mitchell and Williams went before Bouknight. Suggs fell below Barnes.

the need to have long wings is so great a wing with potential have consistently gone before a 6’ 5” or shorter guard. Both Hardy and Ivy are 6’ 4” guards that will likely fall unless they grow to 6’6” or 6’7”. 6’ 7” plus wings have consistent outperformed their draft expectations and 6’ 5” minus have underperformed their draft expectations.
 
#64
Watched the Santa Cruz Warrior/G-League Ignite game, and was blown away by a 17 year old player who isn't draft eligible until the 2022 draft. So he'll be playing for the Ignite team for the next two years. Somehow they need to find an exception to the rule, because this kid can play in the NBA right now. His name is Scoota Henderson, a 6'3" PG with the speed of Fox and a explosive first step. He plays with an attitude on both ends of the court. He scored 31 points, had 5 assists and 6 rebounds along with 3 steals. The Warriors put Kuminga on him and he ate Kuminga alive.

Speaking of Kuminga, he was God awful turning the ball over 8 times. he had 12 points on 4 of 16 shooting, and played like a crazed bull in a china shop. By comparison, Moody who played 10 less minutes than Kuminga, scored 17 points on 5 of 10 shooting overall while going 3 of 7 from the three, while adding 5 boards. Moody closed out the game by blocking the final shot that would have either tied or won the game. I couldn't see if he was inside the 3 pt line or not.

I liked some of what I saw from Jaden Hardy. He has a lot of twitch to his game and a explosive first step. Took some bad shots, and forgot to defend a couple of times, unlike Henderson who is a tenacious defender. Michael Foster had a nice game and is a presence around the basket defensively. However that probably needs to be taken with a grain of salt since the Warriors played with essentially no bigs in the game. So Foster was one of the tallest players on the floor at 6'8".

Bottom line, write down the name Scoota Henderson because your going to be hearing it a lot in the future!
Yeah the athletic did a special on the kid. Generational talent.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#72

Duren has been getting a bad rap because Memphis is struggling but I still really believe in him as an NBA player. That length and bounce is real and his defensive instincts are really good. On offense, it's really hard to tell how good he is at the college level because the Tigers have been an absolute mess (Emoni Bates has looked like NBA Jimmer at times) but he shows flashes of being able to pass and create.

Physically, though, the dude looks ready to contribute in the league from day one.
 
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#73

Duren has been getting a bad rap because Memphis is struggling but I still really believe in him as an NBA player. That length and bounce is real and his defensive instincts are really good. On offense, it's really hard to tell how good he is at the college level because the Tigers have been an absolute mess (Emoni Bates has looked like NBA Jimmer at times) but he shows flashes of being able to pass and create.

Physically, though, the dude looks ready to contribute in the league from day one.
I'm a big fan of Duren. He has the potential to be an elite glue guy. You really can't teach his strength and athleticism. To know that he'd be a day 1 contributor, while also being the youngest player in the draft... he's locked in the top 5 for me.
 
#74
I've began watching a bunch of random guys, and this appears to be another year of good prospects all over. It could easily end up being one of those rare times where a random pick at #13 turns out being the best player. This is not the year to trade away our pick.
 
#76
Took a look at some Jabari Smith film and holy crap, this kid is an impressive prospect. You don't really realize he's 6'10 when you first start watching him with how impressive of an athlete he is and how fluid he can move laterally on the court. He's maybe a little slender right now, but have to remember he's still only 18 and I think his frame is more than capable of adding weight (whereas I do think that could be a concern for Chet moving forward.) But just the fluidity of his offensive skill-set being able to create off the bounce, work in the post and be a knock down shooter. The release may be a tad slow vs NBA defenders? But the mechanics look good and I think he'll at the very least be a real C&S 3pt shooter pretty early in his career.

Defensively, he shouldn't have any problem defending on the wing. I think you slide him in at the 4, but there's absolutely potential to put him on a wing, or small-ball C at the 5. Works hard on that end and his frame/lateral quickness give him such a nice advantage when he's matched on the perimeter.

But yeah, count me in. 3/4 flex wing with great athleticism/upside shooting as a base while showing potential elite shot creation skills. This dude was crafted to play in the modern game.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#77
we need Baja to come out of his shed and start giving us his top 12 NBA prospects breakdown one by one with videos
Its coming! I've been doing a lot of watching this year before commenting. Right now if I had the first pick in the draft I would take Jabari Smith. Very very impressive player. Not without a couple of things he needs to improve on, but on the whole, I think his upside, along with his already established skill set, make him the best player out there. In my very humble opinion. More is coming.....
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#79
Jaden Ivey: PG/SG, 6'4", 200 Lb's, Sophmore, Purdue.
28.9 mpg - 16.9 ppg - 52.8% fgp - 46.2% 3pp - 72.7% ftp - 5.4 rpg - 3.3 apg - 1.5 stl's

I think Ivey has a chance to be a top five player in this coming draft. The league likes 6'4" combo guards and Ivey fits that description. He can play on or off the ball equally well. He loves to attack the basket where he either finishes, or dishes the ball for a dime. He's an excellent 3 pt shooter averaging 46.2% from beyond the arc. What makes him even more attractive is his ability to defend. He's a very good athlete, and some scouts have compared him to Westbrook with a shot.

While I think Ivey is an excellent athlete, I don't think he's quite in the same universe with Westbrook or Fox. Nor does he have to be with his skill set. I know the Kings don't need another guard, but if they did, Ivey is the kind of guard you'd like to see along side of Haliburton if for some reason Fox is gone. Purdue is one of the top teams in college this year and Ivey is one of the main reasons.

 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#80
Marjon Beauchamp: SF, 6'7", 199 Lb's, 20 yr's old, G-League Ignite
36.6 mpg - 15.1 ppg - 57.1% fgp - 24.2% 3pp - 65.0% ftp - 7.3 rpg - 2.3 apg - 1.6 steals

Beauchamp hasn't been getting the buzz that players like Hardy and Foster etc. have been getting, but there have been multiple games that Marjon has been the best player on the G-League Ignite team. Beauchamp is an elite athlete loaded with intensity and energizer bunny batteries. He's an excellent defender, runs the floor like a deer and can jump out of the building. You watch him play, and you see what could be. Yes, he's not putting up great stats from beyond the arc, but he shot right around 40% in highschool.

While he's shooting only 65% from the free throw line overall, he shot around 80% in Nov. The form on his jumpshot looks fine, so I would expect that his perimeter shot will improve in the years to come. Beauchamp has sort of flown under the radar a bit due to his changing highschools 4 times, twice to follow his coach. At one point he decided to turn down college scholarships to go play for the G-League Ignite team, and then Covid hit, and everything went on hold. So to some extent, he lost a year of competition and the improvement that would have come from that competition.

I really like this kid, and think that whoever drafts him is going to get a very good, maybe great basketball player. I'm not quite ready to go all in on him, but if he's sitting there when the Kings pick, I'd have to think long and hard about grabbing him.

 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#82
Jabari Smith absolutely my number 1 right now too. He has legit superstar talent, his skillset with his size and athleticism is special.
To me, it’s not even a question at this point. He’s like a modern Chris Webber. Probably not as great a passer but has legitimate guard skills in a big man body with fantastic lateral quickness on defense that’ll allow him to guard down onto wings and even some guards. He shoots like a shooting guard too. Really not sure where this came from because his dad absolutely had none of these traits.
 
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#83
To me, it’s not even a question at this point. He’s like a modern Chris Webber. Probably not as great a passer but has legitimate guard skills in a big man body with fantastic lateral quickness on defense that’ll allow him to guard down onto wings and even some guards. He shoots like a shooting guard too. Really not sure where this came from because his dad absolutely had none of these traits.
Webb is a pretty good call, but my first instinct was he's the closest skillset I've ever seen to KD. The length/athleticism/guard skills with on-ball shot creation and a lights out shooting stroke. That'd obviously be the absolute 100% ceiling scenario, but the fact that's even in the cards is pretty crazy
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#84
Webb is a pretty good call, but my first instinct was he's the closest skillset I've ever seen to KD. The length/athleticism/guard skills with on-ball shot creation and a lights out shooting stroke. That'd obviously be the absolute 100% ceiling scenario, but the fact that's even in the cards is pretty crazy
yeah I didn't want to go too overboard and call him a KD level talent or say that he's a taller Devin Booker or PG or something (skillset wise though, he's got a lot in common with wings like them more than he does with a lot of players at his size) so I merely went with the best player in Sacramento Kings history.

Barring something going horrible wrong or terribly right, I don't see us being in the position to draft him (even if he did last past first or second overall) but he's definitely my favorite prospect in this class. (Should probably note that I've never been as high on Chet as most other people.)
 
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Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#85
the thing that excites me the most about Jabari is his perimeter defensive ability as a 6'10" big.

Here he is switching onto and absolutely stealing the soul of a smaller guard.

And here he is forcing a guy into an uncomfortable drive with his lateral speed and length


And here he is closing out on a guy and using his hands to create a turnover.


These are all great defensive plays for a wing, let alone a 6'10" forward with a plus wingspan.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#89
This may as well become a Jabari Smith appreciation thread (and other guys who may enter the draft). Dude is so good
I love Smith and think he could be a franchise changer, but the only way the Kings even get a shot at him is to go into a full tank, and then hope for luck in the lottery. None of that is likely to happen, so I'm moving on to players we actually might have a shot at.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#90
Bennedict Mathurin: SF/SG, 6'7", 210 Lb's, Soph, Arizona
30.8 mpg - 17.4 ppg - 49.3% fgp - 38.5% 3pp - 78.9% ftp - 6.5 rpg - 1.8 apg - 1.0 stl's

Mathurin is a player that's likely to be around when the Kings pick. I see him going somewhere between 12 and 20. He's a very good athlete who can play above the rim. Runs the floor well and shoots the three well, particularly on the catch and shoot. He moves well off the ball and has a good nose for the ball when rebounding. He also shows promise as a defender. In the games I watched he played hard and with an edge.

He needs to improve his handles. At the moment he's more of a straight line driver to the basket, and while he has a little shot creation in his bag, better handles would expand his game in that area. While he's not a black hole, he's not someone, at least at the moment, who will make the players around him better. At the same time, he seems to know his limitations and sticks to the simple pass. I like the kid and think he's a player that could eventually be a solid rotational contributor in the future, and perhaps a starter.