Sleeper of this draft. This years Lively. But with a legitimate 3 point shot. I was high on him coming out of high school. Very disappointed in him last year. Good to see that he starting to live up to his potential. If he is available 6-10, he would be my pick too. 7'7 wingspans on athletic dudes who can shoot the 3 and protect the rim at an elite level are too rare to pass up in this kind of draft.
If the stars aligned, the clouds separated, and luck poured down upon us in the draft lottery, who would you take #1?
Risacher, dude is 18 years old and I think he could already step into the NBA right now and have a rookie Keegan Murray type of impact.
This is probably true. There isn't a clear cut future superstar. However - sometimes these sort of drafts surprise, because there are a number of possible all stars and it will depend on how many possible all stars actually reach close to their ceiling. I have found 5-8 guys in this draft that I think have a reasonable chance of being high end starters.... but you are right, this isn't like the 2023 draft as far as top in talent. What makes it even harder for the Rockets is that their current team is so poorly constructed, that it limits who in this draft can and cannot fit with the existing pieces.
I'd be excited if we were talking about the 2025 draft. watching college hoops all year long hasn't provided me with any team altering impact player. There's a number of potentially good role players in this draft but you won't find me pushing excitement over that. You can find role players at any time. You're pretty much going to see a bunch of Johnny Davis, Agbaji, B Sensabaughs, Jared Butlers whose ceilings are capped and who just try to hang onto a team or some kid projects per usual Cam Whitmore would easily be the #1 pick in this draft if he stayed 1 more year at Nova
Yeah, most of the best players in this draft didn't even play college ball, or if they did, they have warts. I would like to get a long term starting 5 with real length out of this draft - and there are a couple candidates like Alexandre Sarr, but he will be gone in the top 3.... or they will be in the bottom of the 1st round like Ware or the kid from Africa... and those are both likely projects. There are a lot of flawed guards like Holland and Dillingham and Collier but none of them have been all that great. At this point I would be happy with Reed Sheppard, at least he is smart and can really shoot.
I'd be happy if the rockets got rid of Brooks and replaced his spot with D. Knetch. He's one of the rare pro ready games in this draft and he has the size. Shooting is already elite as well and good bball iq. If a playoff team gets the chance to draft this guy, he would be a gift
My Current Overall Top-20 Zaccharie Risacher | Wing/Forward | 6'9" 195 | JL Bourg | France | 19.2 Alex Sarr | Big | 7'1" 220 | Perth | France | 19.2 Rob Dillingham | Guard | 6'2" 175 | Kentucky | USA | 19.5 Ron Holland II | Wing | 6'7" 200 | G-League | USA | 19.0 Nikola Topic | Guard | 6'6" 200 | KK Mega | Serbia | 18.9 Matas Buzelis | Forward | 6'10" 200 | G-League | USA | 19.8 Stephon Castle | Guard | 6'6" 210 | UConn | USA | 19.6 Isaiah Collier | Guard | 6'3" 215 | USC | USA | 19.7 Cody Williams | Wing/Forward | 6'8" 185 | Colorado | USA | 19.6 Reed Sheppard | Guard | 6'3" 190 | Kentucky | USA | 20.0 Tidjane Salaun | Forward | 6'9" 200 | Cholet | France | 18.9 Dalton Knecht | Wing | 6'6" 210 | Tennessee | USA | 23.2 Kyle Filipowski | Big | 6'11" 240 | Duke | USA | 20.6 Tyler Smith | Big | 6'11" 220 | G-League | USA | 19.6 Ryan Dunn | Forward | 6'8" 220 | Virginia | USA | 21.5 Donovan Clingan | Big | 7'2" 275 | UConn | USA | 20.3 Ja'Kobe Walter | Wing | 6'5" 200 | Baylor | USA | 19.8 Kevin McCullar Jr. | Wing | 6'6" 205 | Kansas | USA | 23.6 Kel'el Ware | Big | 7'0" 240 | Indiana | USA | 20.2 Yves Missi | Big | 7'0 230 | Baylor | Cameroon | 20.1 For us specifically, I like Sheppard. Sarr would be the most ideal pick, but he's going Top-2. I'm a fan of Dillingham but he may not be the best fit. Buzelis could work but we'd have a ton of Forward types. Knecht's shooting would help right away but his ceiling isn't super high. Don't love the fit of Cody Williams, Castle, Topic or Holland here. Williams is more raw than people realize, but his brother being JDub helps his case...his 3-ball % is misleading though. Topic is a big ball-handler who isn't a good shooter, and would be awkward with Amen. Holland's shaky 3-ball also fits awkwardly with our core. Castle is talented but raw, and I don't love his fit with Amen either. Sheppard's shooting and ball-movement would help two of our biggest weaknesses, since Amen's a non-shooter and Sengun isn't great, and Cam's tunnel-vision doesn't help ball-movement. And we have the athletes to help make up for his average size/athleticism.
French invasion Zaccharie Risacher | Wing/Forward | 6'9" 195 | JL Bourg | France | 19.2 Alex Sarr | Big | 7'1" 220 | Perth | France | 19.2
At this point I'm burned out on draft picks. Watching this team suck as much as it has lately has left a bad taste in my mouth for anything basketball, especially young, raw, developmental players.
I would. Him and Risacher are pretty much tied up top for me, and his rim-protection is what we need upfront, even if that eventually makes for an odd-man out situation with him, Sengun and Jabari (we could definitely roll with all 3 for a year or two with Sarr off the bench). I was pretty sold on him early on but they've changed up his form and his J has suffered a bit. He can still hit from 3, but it's more awkward, and he's early in his development on both ends. He benefits from Wemby and Chet killing it, and even though he's not at their level, he fits a similar archetype - he just needs a lot of polish.
Since there's no clear-cut super talent at #1, I would consider trading the pick for a star(s) and assets for next year's draft.
Speaking of next year's draft, I just read an interesting story of a kid who already is a unanimous 1st round pick, and he starts college next year at 17. He won't even be 18 until next December. You basketball gurus have probably heard about him, but I don't really follow high school basketball. Cooper Flagg: The Journey Of A Basketball Prodigy October 18, 2023 by NBA Draft Room Before the summer of 2023 Flagg was already considered one of the premier high school players in the land but after dominating on every court he stepped on this summer he has risen from one of the best in his class to now being widely considered the best high school player, regardless of class, and perhaps the best prospect anywhere in the world not yet in the NBA. https://nbadraftroom.com/cooper-flagg-the-journey-of-a-basketball-prodigy/
I heard Kevin O Connor say that Reed Sheppard is actually 6'0. He's listed at 6'3 but he really does look tiny on the court. Yeah he can shoot but a guy that small is always kinds scary. Might be a Troy Daniels or Armoni Brooks situation.
Too early to tell...... the most likely candidates would be Sarr, Risacher, Buzelus and Topic. My guess would be Rishacher or Topic.
That's odd. It's easy for anyone to measure his height and verify if he is 6'3" or not. Almost anything I've read about him says he's 6'3".
