iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Yeh I don’t dislike college ball I just prefer watching the best of the best.
Theres kind of a rumor going around that Julian Phillips will hit the transfer portal and play for Auburn next season. But maybe thats just Auburn fans still bitter from not landing him in recruitment.Tankathon's mock draft has the Kings taking Max Lewis, Brandin Podziemski, and Adama Sanogo with the 24th, 37th, and 54th picks respectively.
I wouldn't mind that draft.
But given who is on the board in their scenario I'd actually go:
#24 Colby Jones or Sidy Cissoko (maybe even James Nnaji)
#37 Julian Phillips
#54 Jordan Walsh
Podziemski is such a damn excellent fit next to Davion Mitchell, I'm just glad we get to entertain the possibility we can somehow get him.
Honestly when I first made the posts about Podziemski I wasnt even aware he x-ferred to Santa Clara til right about then, I knew of his recruitment from a year or 2 back, at one point he was quite a hot commodity and I watched footage of him it was easy to see why lots of the big schools were interested. I recall him being compared to Tyler Herro.
But yeah I sure did get a good chuckle when I realized "this is who they replaced Jalen Williams with?!" brilliant move, obviously Podziemski made a really bad choice to go to Illinois, and now he made a great choice to go to Santa Clara. This is a great story for the portal / x-fer system.
I do hope he continues to climb the boards.. We dont need a pure point guard, so these flamethrowing combo's like Kobe Bufkin and Podziemski who also have some degree of playmaking ability, to me, make a lot of sense.
I believe this kid should be in this draft. Im unsure what exactly he's got to prove at the college level, he's been spectacular from what I've seen. One of the most exciting players in the nation hands-down.
Podziemski and Monk can work in the backcourt too, both very far from pure PG's but combined I say they can do enough.
He's a better prospect than former lottery pick Trey Burke ever was far as I'm concerned. He's got a devastating step back J, one of the best in this draft, the most important move for any perimeter player. He's also got a devastating array of floaters. He's been dribbling so much that hwen he catches the ball he almost always gives a hard jab step or a shot fake, looks like a pro to me.
Why is Trayce Jackson Davis not a first round pick? Good size, athletic, rim projector, really good passer, good on the boards. Efficient. He is 23, doesn’t shoot threes and not great from the line but I’m intrigued by him.
The thing is that big men are so undervalued at this point (see EJ Liddell dropping all the way down into the second round despite lots of projections of him having lotto talent in last year's draft) that I think I'd gamble on TJD being around at pick 37 rather than using the 24 on him instead of a wing prospect that probably won't last until the second round.In my eyes, TJD is massively underrated. I'm sure that the knock is that he doesn't shoot jumpers, but he's so good around the basket, why should he? Great rebounder, great post player, has flashed some excellent defense. I think whoever drafts him gets a bargain, and a bargain that is more or less ready to contribute, not a project. I know there are a lot of ways we can potentially go with #24 but TJD would not upset me at all.
Many of those things can be said about Richaun Holmes though, right? and he's our 4th string C, basically an $11,000,000/per season cheerleader. I think that tells a bit of the story.Why is Trayce Jackson Davis not a first round pick? Good size, athletic, rim projector, really good passer, good on the boards. Efficient. He is 23, doesn’t shoot threes and not great from the line but I’m intrigued by him.
I think your onto something. I'd genuinely love to see how his career could play out starting in Sacramento. Hands-down my favorite guard in college to watch this season. On offense, what more can he even do? ya know, it's like he's way overqualified to be a hot hand off the bench for some NBA team.Been watching some Podziemski tape and oh my does he look absolutely perfectly in the DHO with Domas or being an elite C&S spacer if asked or being a secondary creator kind of like how Monk and Huerter currently are for us. Really surprising how sophisticated his offensive game is; like you said, dude looks like a pro out there with a go to move for just about any scenario. The stat profile is incredible on him too with an elite TS% for a big USG rate, he protects the ball, he's seemingly an excellent passer that looks to get his teammates involved. .313 FTr isn't bad at all for a dude who takes as many 3's and jump-shots as he does. Absolutely love to see the 8.8 RPG and the 13.7% TRB for a guard too. Shows a real knack for the ball and not afraid to mix it up inside. That's a real weakness the Kings have too, outside of Domas.
Doesn't address any of our team defensive concerns, but he looks like he can be a pretty good offensive player and a seriously elite shooter. I think he could really thrive in a secondary offensive role in our system; where he probably starts to struggle is if you ask him to take a similar workload that he did with Santa Clara.
Many of those things can be said about Richaun Holmes though, right? and he's our 4th string C, basically an $11,000,000/per season cheerleader. I think that tells a bit of the story.
The idea we solve the Richaun Holmes issue with another C whos the exact same size and length as Holmes, seems like pure madness to me. Sabonis has a very strong core n is able to put his body into players to help him grab boards, n he led the league in rebounding, but that doesnt mean he's like David Robinson in 1991 dominating all matchups on the boards. We should have more players here with elite length to surround/sub in for Sabonis. Trying to win a championship is hard enough, trying to win it with a bunch of C's that have PF-like wingspans is surely even harder.
TJD doesnt help us with Ayton, doesnt help us with Jaren Jackson Jr., with Jokic, with Steven Adams, players like that have built their careers demolishing smaller C's like TJD. As strong as TJD is, surely theres NBA starting C's who will be quite unimpressed with his functional strength. IDK, maybe I'm wrong, but I dont see the pro-TJD posts here making those claims, which worries me.
There's been a decent amount of pro-TJD posts in this thread but I cant recall a single one of them saying "He's a starting C" in the NBA. If he's strictly a backup, that means u need to have a tailor-made situation for him, which I really question if thats the case here with the Kings, I'd lean towards NO.
I mean he's pretty close to the first, he's only got decent length, If his arms were as long as James Nnaji's he'd be in everyones first rds, or who knows if he'd needed 4 years of college to get drafted.
Jackson-Davis is a player I truly belive needs to land on a team that can plug him in right away. He's the same age as Goga Bitzade, who went 19th in the 2019 draft and was cut this year n the Magic picked him up off the scrapheap. There sorta has to be some urgency to select TJD in the first.
I personally like that ESPN has 18 year old James Nnaji higher than him, Nnaji is actually 4 and a half years younger than TJD, I think he's actually safer, but who knows. They also have GG Jackson projected 29th these days, do you really prefer the 23 year old 6'9 C over the 19year old 6'9 PF who runs liek the wind? Not me.
Nnaji is similarly sized but longer, similarly if not more athletic(I think Nnaji moves better laterally down in a defensive stance), rim protector. Nnaji had a 3:1 ast:to ratio in ACB play. He shot better %'s vs grown men than TJD did against mostly younger competition in college(albeit on much less attempts).
For me personally too I'd say that TJD is just too similar to Sabonis, I want Coach Brown to have different looks to throw at opponents, I dont think TJD really offers that. I'd say Leonard Miller looks like a way better/spicier fit here in the frontcourt than TJD, though they play different positions and it seems Miller might end up out of range.
Its a moot point because Donovan Clingan isnt gonna be in this draft but to take TJD over Clingan, I think you'd be crazy to do such a thing, its not quite as bad as taking Papagiannis over Ivica Zubac but I'd be worried.
Interesting decision. Felt like there were teams that would’ve dropped an FRP on him this season but I’m never gonna get mad at a kid for wanting to stay in school.
I think your onto something. I'd genuinely love to see how his career could play out starting in Sacramento. Hands-down my favorite guard in college to watch this season. On offense, what more can he even do? ya know, it's like he's way overqualified to be a hot hand off the bench for some NBA team.
Honestly I feel like he could turn into a sort of Dan Majarle type fan-favorite figure for us, he's got some Ben Gordon to his game, I love the way he shoots those floaters.. (terrible to see the recent Ben Gordon news just days after UConn wins the championship, seems he's really struggling with mental health).
I also dont think he's sort of caught in-between positions as much as Nico Mannion was for example. He's a solid 6'5 with very real combo skills.
N yeah so he's got some defensive limitations but its not for lack of toughness or effort, he's out there ready to mix it up, there's no way u can put up stats like that and be in anything less than great cardio shape..
Podziemski's gonna shoot the damn lights out for teams in private workouts.. I'm worried he shoots so well in private workouts he gets a promise and leapfrogs up the board, n things go radio silent from his camp, I wouldnt rule it out.
He just turned 20 in February too. Can't even imagine the hell this kid would raise out there on the west coast if he had to keep playing college ball next 2 seasons, he'd be in the running for the NPOY.
to me, you give this kid Dellavedova's roster spot, thats a major upgrade in my eyes. He fits next to Davion really well. Him and Monk can play together. He obviously fits next to Fox but who doesnt. To me you might even be able to get away with him at PG, Huerter at SG, Keegan at SF for playing a really tall lineup. IDK, i sorta refuse to believe he steps on anyones toes around here, his skillset seems to be right in the middle of what we've got.
spectacular highlights. the kid is a highlight factory. I'll always sing the importance of the step-back J in todays NBA, n this kid has one of the best in this draft if not the best, he's very good at using his eyes to set up clean looks, for headfakes or he'll act like he's looking at a teammate to pass n just pull up. sign me up!
This also has crazy implications for the 2024 draft! wow! Mackenzie Mgbako (possible top10 pick) has asked to be released from his LOI over this! what a bombshell.a bit of a bummer for us as that pushes all the prospect in the 20s up a spot
Tankathon's mock draft has the Kings taking Max Lewis, Brandin Podziemski, and Adama Sanogo with the 24th, 37th, and 54th picks respectively.
I wouldn't mind that draft.
But given who is on the board in their scenario I'd actually go:
#24 Colby Jones or Sidy Cissoko (maybe even James Nnaji)
#37 Julian Phillips
#54 Jordan Walsh
This also has crazy implications for the 2024 draft! wow! Mackenzie Mgbako (possible top10 pick) has asked to be released from his LOI over this! what a bombshell.
Yep the depth thins a bit, It stinks in the sense that maybe we could've gotten him too.
I'm a big Max Lewis guy. Of that group the only one I would consider taking over Max is Colby, who is more ready to play right now, but Lewis has the highest ceiling of any of them, and already has great ballhandling skills. He's able to create his own shot, and can get to the basket at will. Plus, he's an elite athlete. I like the others, but Nnaji is probably a couple of years away from being able to contribute meaningful minutes in the NBA, and Sidy's 3pt shot is still a work in progress.
I do like Phillips, but he needs to get stronger. Walsh is one of my favorite players in the draft. If he ever develops an outside shot, watch out! I have around 6 or 7 players that I like for the Kings at 24. But there's no way to predict who will be there. But just off the top of my head some of the players that I would like are, Max Lewis, Julian Strawther, Colby Jones, Leonard Miller, Dariq Whitehead, and Brandin Podziemski. Of course there are others that I like as well, but I don't think they have a chance in hell of dropping down to us.
There are some rumors that Dallas would be interested in trading their 1st rd pick for more immediate help. Right now if they end up with it, it would be the 10th pick in the draft if I'm not mistaken. So if the pick comes up and Taylor Hendricks is sitting there, would you be willing to trade our 1st rd pick and ? for the 10th pick? Probably the only player on the team that's not untouchable that they would want is an unrestricted free agent. I'm referring to Barnes of course. And he would certainly help their team. But it would have to be a sign and trade. Anyway, just a thought!
They're saying Louisville or North Carolina for Mgbako now, both are really solid spots for him to star.Yep, I have to admit that I was surprised and I'm not sure what the brain trust at Duke was thinking. When Calipari has a big man recruit coming in for the next season, he'll usually encourage whose ever holding down that spot from the current season to enter the draft. Mgbako's actions don't surprise me. He wants minutes, and there's no doubt that those minutes would have been reduced with Filipowski there. If nothing else, I thought he would attend the combine and get feedback from the teams about where he might go in the draft. Hell, he might have even gotten a promise.
I understand Proctor and Mitchell returning. Both were going to be 2nd rd picks and by returning, they might be able to get bumped up into the first round next year. I like Mitchell and he didn't get a chance to show off all his skills this season.
The thing is too, in the case of Mgbako, its completely ridiculous to try and hold back his playing time at the college level of play, its in his best interest to find a place to showcase as a potential top3 pick. 6'8" tough wing with a big frame n a soft touch on the jumpshot, In a draft with not much of a heirarchy at the top established he'd be crazy not to be in a position to stake his claim.Calipari is typically recruiting over his players and has built his rep on being an NBA pipeline. I know that Duke has been the same in the modern era but I was in my mid 20s the first time Coach K had a player leave early, I imagine some kids come to the school thinking like Flip. You can't really tell a kid to leave? You also can't promise the kid that stays the starting job if the new kid is better.
Tough situation all around, I imagine NIL money compounds this. The modern landscape never fails to astound me, particularly with the transfer portal and 4 and 5* guys that come to big programs and play like 3* guys and bail for mid-majors.
I think your onto something. I'd genuinely love to see how his career could play out starting in Sacramento. Hands-down my favorite guard in college to watch this season. On offense, what more can he even do? ya know, it's like he's way overqualified to be a hot hand off the bench for some NBA team.
Honestly I feel like he could turn into a sort of Dan Majarle type fan-favorite figure for us, he's got some Ben Gordon to his game, I love the way he shoots those floaters.. (terrible to see the recent Ben Gordon news just days after UConn wins the championship, seems he's really struggling with mental health).
I also dont think he's sort of caught in-between positions as much as Nico Mannion was for example. He's a solid 6'5 with very real combo skills.
N yeah so he's got some defensive limitations but its not for lack of toughness or effort, he's out there ready to mix it up, there's no way u can put up stats like that and be in anything less than great cardio shape..
Podziemski's gonna shoot the damn lights out for teams in private workouts.. I'm worried he shoots so well in private workouts he gets a promise and leapfrogs up the board, n things go radio silent from his camp, I wouldnt rule it out.
He just turned 20 in February too. Can't even imagine the hell this kid would raise out there on the west coast if he had to keep playing college ball next 2 seasons, he'd be in the running for the NPOY.
to me, you give this kid Dellavedova's roster spot, thats a major upgrade in my eyes. He fits next to Davion really well. Him and Monk can play together. He obviously fits next to Fox but who doesnt. To me you might even be able to get away with him at PG, Huerter at SG, Keegan at SF for playing a really tall lineup. IDK, i sorta refuse to believe he steps on anyones toes around here, his skillset seems to be right in the middle of what we've got.
spectacular highlights. the kid is a highlight factory. I'll always sing the importance of the step-back J in todays NBA, n this kid has one of the best in this draft if not the best, he's very good at using his eyes to set up clean looks, for headfakes or he'll act like he's looking at a teammate to pass n just pull up. sign me up!
Brice Sensabaugh scoring output is real intriuging. Has that huge 235 pound frame at 6'6 and looks like a huge wingspan too (although can't seem to find it anywhere). Just an absolute flamethrower and dude is not shy at all. What I do like is he's honestly one of the better 3-level scorers in the draft; I don't see any real weakness on the floor that he can't score from. He'll also give you self-creation in addition to being a pretty great C&S spacer. Something that should succeed well in our system. Maybe Big Dog 2.0 as a ceiling comp for him?
In terms of the stat profile, the scoring numbers are really insane for a 19 year old freshman
35% USG (Holy)
58.7% TS (very good with his shot volume)
40.5% 3 on 4.5 3PA
12.8% TOV
12.8% TRB
11% AST
Another thought is he kind of has the old man Harrison Barnes scoring game too, but with that "#1 option" scorers mentality. He's not near the high flyer that prospect Barnes was, but in terms of having a good handle, big frame and being able to adapt to different scoring roles on the floor.
Defensively... oof. Just not impressive. Lots of little lapses, lack of effort, gets beat and doesn't use his frame to his advantage. I think this is the risk with him; there's a lot of work for him to become a good defender at the NBA level. Or even a passable one. But he does have the physical tools to do so (imo), which could make him a steal if he's picked in the mid-late first.
I passionately hate Duke so I ain't mad.The thing is too, in the case of Mgbako, its completely ridiculous to try and hold back his playing time at the college level of play, its in his best interest to find a place to showcase as a potential top3 pick. 6'8" tough wing with a big frame n a soft touch on the jumpshot, In a draft with not much of a heirarchy at the top established he'd be crazy not to be in a position to stake his claim.
The story of Wendell Carter being recruited as "the guy" for Duke, then they add Marvin Bagley who they aslo recruit as "the guy" n step on Carters toes has made the rounds n I'm glad for Mgbako he's gonna find a more appropriate spot than do that dance.