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NBA Draft 2021 Discussion

Discussion in 'Lakers Discussion' started by TIME, Jun 4, 2021.

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The real Mini Mamba.

LTLakerFan, Jul 31, 2021

#221

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abeer3 said: ↑

i agree; it makes you wonder why we don't hear about this more. once round 1 is over, all the top guys just drop out and pick their teams like FA.

my guess is the withdrawal is informal, so a team could still draft a guy if they wanted. but in the second round, it's not as important to teams to get a specific player.

but imagine if gilbert arenas or carlos boozer (well-known players at the time who inexplicably slipped into the second round) had been like: don't draft me, i'm joining the shaq/kobe lakers...
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's so odd. I think it's the first time I'm reading it. For sure, Silver would do something if it was that easy

As always, I'm hyped about these 3 kids. Don't know them, never saw a single second of them playing but will go out of my way standing up for them in arguments with friends. These kids are for real and at least one will be in the rotation in the end of the year

pika1708, Jul 31, 2021

#222

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I think @Savory Griddles will agree with me here that 18 1/2 minute video above for a sports piece is really well done. The camera work and scenes selected take nothing from, in fact add to the story. The people giving their remembrances are likable and believable and the selected clips are pretty jaw dropping. It's repeat watchable for me anyway. A new Kid to root for.

LTLakerFan, Jul 31, 2021

#223
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LTLakerFan said: ↑

I think @Savory Griddles will agree with me here that 18 1/2 minute video above for a sports piece is really well done. The camera work and scenes selected take nothing from, in fact add to the story. The people giving their remembrances are likable and believable and the selected clips are pretty jaw dropping. It's repeat watchable for me anyway. A new Kid to root for.
Click to expand...

Count me in on the Mac train.

Cookie, Jul 31, 2021

#224

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Would love to for real Cookie.

We could talk projectors.

LTLakerFan, Jul 31, 2021

#225

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Mac=Baby Eagle lol

Khmrp, Jul 31, 2021

#226

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Garcia broke down tape on these two in his articles. Worth a read.

JSM, Aug 1, 2021

#227

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great to hear that mike likes these guys.

abeer3, Aug 1, 2021

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Why, who’s Mike Garcia? Taking your word for it though and gave you a like.

LTLakerFan, Aug 1, 2021

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LTLakerFan said: ↑

Why, who’s Mike Garcia? Taking your word for it though and gave you a like.
Click to expand...

he's a guy who posts at LG, mostly about the draft and has done so for years. i think he pods and blogs and such about it. i just know he's got a pretty decent track record in terms of projecting success from the draft.

abeer3, Aug 1, 2021

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The Athletic ran "what you're getting" pieces for each Ayayi, Brown Jr, and Reaves

CJ Holmes on Ayayi

Joel Ayayi wasn’t ready to play Division I basketball when he first arrived at Gonzaga as a 17-year-old early enrollee in 2017-18. “He wasn’t even close,” Zags coach Mark Few said. But the Frenchman never stopped working. He kept learning. And he never stopped believing in himself. Eventually, the 6-foot-5 Ayayi evolved into Mr. Reliable for Gonzaga. He became a model of consistency, someone Few could depend on to do little things conducive to winning and a player that could impact the game in a variety of ways.

Ayayi went from a youngster who struggled to get on the floor to an All-West Coast Conference first-team selection and an AP All-American honorable mention as a redshirt junior last season. Now Ayayi, who agreed to a two-way contract with the Los Angeles Lakers after going undrafted Thursday night, is looking to continue his ascension on the game’s biggest stage. From humble beginnings, now he’ll be competing against the best players in the world.

“He’s a jack of all trades,” Few said. “He really became a guy that would just make those little winning plays. He’s got a nose for the ball. He’s an excellent rebounder for a guard. He’s the best cutter we’ve ever had in our program — very timely cuts, reads them right and he’s able to finish them. And he got better and better at making his reads in ball screens and improved his shot over the years. I’d say he’s right up there with the top two or three guys in being the most improved we’ve ever had in our program from where he was when he first got here.”

Originally from Bordeaux, France, Ayayi grew up in a household surrounded by athletes. His father played professional basketball in France and for the Beninese national team. His sister, Valeriane, is a professional player in Russia who started for the France national team in the 2016 Olympics. And his brother, Gerald, plays for Pau-Lacq-Orthez in France. Joel Ayayi impressed while playing for the youth French national team growing up and was seen as a four-star prospect. He chose Gonzaga over a number of high-major suitors because of the program’s success with international recruits.

Ayayi played sparingly as a redshirt freshman, but his minutes, and overall production, increased each season. As a redshirt junior, Ayayi was the fourth scoring option for the top offense in the country, averaging 12 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 31.3 minutes. He shot 68.3 percent from 2-point range (top 30 nationally), 38.9 percent from 3-point range and 78.1 percent from the free-throw line.

While Ayayi didn’t get the same buzz compared to some of his star teammates last season, Few said his leadership was an important factor in Gonzaga’s run to the national championship game last season. “Joel was more like a connector of people and would deeply care about each guy if there’s a guy struggling with minutes or confidence or whatever,” Few said. “Joel was great about having a sense about that and going and reaching out to that guy and helping along those lines.

“Just absolutely engaging and fun. Just an eternal optimist. The energy is always positive when Joel is around. He’s quite a gift.”

While Ayayi isn’t an elite ballhandler for a guard, he is a strong driver who has good touch around the rim. Ayayi isn’t the most explosive player in this year’s class but makes the most out of what he does have athletically. He can play through contact. He’s a strong rebounder for a guard and excels in the open floor. Ayayi isn’t a three-level scorer at this point and struggles at times with shot creation. But he’s a solid shooter off the catch. He’s also a solid defender with room to grow.

Ayayi might not ever be an All-Star, but his floor is high. At the very least, he projects as a solid role player who adds valuable depth and a well-rounded skill set to a team.

“All of us coaches at any level can use guys that can help you win,” Few said. “When given the opportunity, he’ll figure out a way to contribute at the NBA level.”
Click to expand...

Brendan Quinn on Brown Jr

If anything, Chaundee Brown Jr. believes in himself.

Consider his decision last summer. After starting 73 of 84 games at Wake Forest over three years and averaging about 26 minutes per game there, the 6-foot-5 wing decided to transfer to Michigan. Sure, it was a good idea in theory. The program is a regular in the NCAA Tournament, and Juwan Howard knows a thing or two about what it takes to play in the NBA.

On paper, though, the choice was plenty strange. Michigan was set to return both Franz Wagner and Isaiah Livers — what amounted to one of the best wing combinations in college basketball. Without a doubt, a duo set to play 30-plus minutes per game, apiece.

But Brown bet on himself.

And on Thursday, as Wagner went eighth overall and Livers went 42nd, Brown found his own home, signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the Lakers.

Not bad for a guy who spent his final year in college as a sixth man. Not bad for a guy who sacrificed his own playing time to contribute to a team that finished 25-4, won the Big Ten and reached the Elite Eight.

But that, everyone inside Michigan basketball will tell you, is who Brown is. As Howard put it: “You’ve got to commend someone who is all-in, and he’s the epitome of all-in.”

Now the question is, can Brown finagle his way into the Lakers’ plans and carve himself out a spot in the NBA. If he does, it’ll be as a piece who might seem like a poor man’s 3-and-D option, but in fact brings some versatility as a strong, undersized forward who can hit from the midrange and play with a relentless streak.

Brown measured a hair under 6-foot-6 and weighed in at 217 pounds at the NBA’s G League Elite Camp. He isn’t particularly long (6-8 wingspan), isn’t particularly athletic (29.5 inch vertical) and isn’t particularly quick. You’re not going to see him beat anyone off the bounce, and it was a rarity in college for him to dunk the ball. But the sum of his physical parts is outweighed by his variety of intangibles and his appeal as a legitimate two-way player. A sort of proto-type glue guy.

Despite coming in behind Wagner and Livers, Brown ended up being critical to Michigan’s success.

He made 39-of-93 3s (41.9 percent), and among the team’s primary players, he led the Wolverines in effective field-goal percentage at 60.3 percent. Only Hunter d***inson (0.211) produced a higher on-court/off-court total point-per-possession differential than Brown (0.198). Offensively, with Brown on the floor, the Wolverines scored at a 1.14 point-per-possession clip. They were at 1.05 with all other offensive lineups. In one of the season’s critical games, he delivered a season-high 21 points in a second-round NCAA Tournament win against LSU.

“You know what you’re going to get with Chaundee every single day,” Michigan teammate Eli Brooks said. “He brings a lot of energy. It was good to see him make some shots because that smile goes a long way for the team. His energy, his presence — it helps the team. It brings the defense to a higher level.”

That said, Brown does have his limitations. As a scorer, 94.9 percent of his made 3s and 64.7 percent of his made 2s were assisted baskets. In 28 games he made 27 baskets at the rim, a quarter of which came on put-backs. Given his size and strength, you’d want to see him with more than 6.0 rebounds per 40 minutes played.

What Brown does bring, though, is loads of maturity and experience. He’s 22. As a recruit, the Orlando native was a consensus four-star recruit in the Class of 2017 and the 4A Florida Player of the Year. He picked Wake Forest over Kansas. He played college hoops in both the ACC and the Big Ten, appearing in 112 games with 75 starts and 1,101 career points scored. He’s been there, done that, and played a lot of basketball at the highest levels.

With the Lakers, the hope will be Brown can secure a two-way deal and prove that he’s a capable NBA-caliber 3-point shooter who can be an impact defender. He surely believes so.
Click to expand...

CJ Moore on Reaves

It’s rare to find a true three-level scorer in basketball these days, but Austin Reaves is that guy. At 6-5 with an excellent handle, great spacial awareness and a jump shot, he can score at the rim, from mid-range and long range.

The do-it-all senior led Oklahoma this past season in scoring (18.3), assists (4.6) and rebounding (5.5). And while OU’s stay in the NCAA Tournament was short (just two games), Reaves, 23, was one of the most impressive scorers of the tournament, averaging 25 points and putting up 27 against Gonzaga in a game where he showed off the entire scoring package.

“He’s a cross between Kirk Hinrich and Donte DiVincenzo, a guy that can dribble, drive, pass it,” former Sooners assistant Carlin Hartman says. “I know he didn’t shoot a high percentage with us at Oklahoma, but he’s a guy who can make shots, especially with NBA-level players around him. If he’s wide open, he can knock it in.”

The 3-point numbers at Oklahoma could make some skeptical about whether he’s a knockdown shooter. He shot just 27.7 percent from 3 in two years at OU. But he was a high-volume shooter who had to take a lot of shots off the bounce. In catch-and-shoot situations as a senior, he made 11 of 27 attempts. He also shot 45.1 percent from 3 in two years at Wichita State when he played more the role of spot-up shooter. He also made an impressive 47.8 percent of his mid-range jumpers as a senior, and for his career he’s a 84.4 percent free-throw shooter. Free-throw accuracy is often a good indicator of whether a player’s shooting will translate to the NBA.

“With the ball in his hands all the time, he got caught late clock a lot and needed to get shots up,” former Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger says. “We probably wanted him to be a little bit more aggressive looking for shots than what you’ll have to do at the next level. The NBA is more, be aggressive, but you don’t have to force things because you’ve got guys around you who can shoot it well too.”

Reaves played both guard spots in college, but he really took off late in his junior year and that continued into his senior season when OU moved him to point guard. Reaves had some huge scoring outputs during that time, starting with 41 points in the season finale against TCU in 2020. He had four games of 25-plus as a senior. He helps himself as a scorer by getting to the line frequently. He does a good job of changing speed and direction off the bounce, and he has a great pump fake, which led to a stellar 54.1 free-throw rate. Reaves shot 170 free throws in only 25 games as a senior.

His confidence shot up when he arrived at Oklahoma, and his redshirt year allowed him to dominate the ball for the scout team and explore what his game would look like as a primary scorer.

“He worked hard at expanding his game,” Kruger say. “He kind of came in with the reputation of being a catch-and-shoot guy, and I thought during that redshirt year, especially, he really worked on putting the ball on the floor, getting into the paint, creating for others. I thought he really was smart in working to expand his game.”

Reaves could morph back into more of the role he had at Wichita State, where he was relied upon as a spot-up shooter. He is not likely to be a primary scorer for the Los Angeles Lakers, obviously, but he could be a microwave-type guy off the bench on a two-day deal. He has a lot of self belief, and Hartman calls him the most competitive player he’s ever been around.

“The intenseness with which he competes, he’s going to compete to win,” Kruger says. “He doesn’t mind sticking his nose in there, doesn’t mind taking on a challenge. I think that’s his biggest asset, and he’s skilled, of course, but just his competitiveness really stands out.”
Click to expand...

JSM, Aug 1, 2021

#231

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They mention “cross” with Divincenzo and Kirk Heinrich for Reaves. Doesn’t suck. I saw Donte’s name come up too in a comparison for McClung.

LTLakerFan, Aug 1, 2021

#232

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LTLakerFan said: ↑

They mention “cross” with Divincenzo and Kirk Heinrich for Reaves. Doesn’t suck. I saw Donte’s name come up too in a comparison for McClung.
Click to expand...

Kirk Heinrich, hahahhahahhahahahha. The legend of Kirk Heinrich and his upcoming Laker career. That by far was the best one.

OX1947, Aug 1, 2021

#233

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Yeah he and one or two others Laker Fans continued to pine away for long after their expiration date. Ron Ron was a happy exception.

LTLakerFan, Aug 1, 2021

#234

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3 6'5 guys, 1 6'2

Where are my big guys?

KareemtheGreat33, Aug 1, 2021

#235

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If Mac makes the active roster at any point, he's going to be the most electric human victory cigar in the league for a decent stretch of time.

Kobe Bryant 8, Aug 1, 2021

#236

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Austin Reaves has a nickname. Courtesy of LG and DancingBarry

"On his nickname:
Quote:
During my redshirt year, one of the graduate assistants came up to me one day and said: “I figured it out.” I asked him what he was talking about. He said it was my nickname. “Hillbilly Kobe. HBK.” [Laughs] One of my other teammates heard him and it just progressed from there. I said, well, whatever you want to call me, man!

It was cool, though, because my favorite player was Kobe Bryant. I vividly remember watching the final game of his career. It was late at night and my mom was in bed and I was jumping up and down and just yelling. She runs in the room and asks me if I’m okay. She thought something was wrong. But yeah, I’m cool with the nickname. It’s pretty funny and it’s got some meaning behind it. Like, I’m from the middle of nowhere and I grew up on a farm."

LTLakerFan, Aug 2, 2021

#237

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Larry Bird grew up on a farm. No shame in that.

ZenMaster, Aug 2, 2021

#238

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Chad Ford on Ayayi

53rd. Ayayi signed a two-way deal with the Lakers just seconds after the draft. Sources say that, after the 40th pick was made, Ayayi’s agent was actively trying to have him fall out of the draft (agents can do this by being difficult with teams looking to negotiate deals before their draft) with an eye toward having Ayayi signed to join a Lakers roster that’s been depleted, increasing Ayayi’s chances of making the team.

Ayayi could be a nice fit for the Lakers. He can play both backcourt positions, is a good shooter and defender and just needs to add strength. He was the glue guy on a very talented Gonzaga squad last year and could end up playing a similar role in the NBA.
Click to expand...

On Reaves

65th. Reaves was the other undrafted prospect L.A. signed to a two-way deal. He is a tough defender who can guard both backcourt positions. He has a knack for scoring and can create his own shot off the bounce.

His lack of a jumper and elite athleticism hurt his chances of going in the first round, but on a Lakers squad that needs bodies, he’s got a chance to make the roster.
Click to expand...

And he had Brown ranked 78th.

JSM, Aug 2, 2021

#239

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chad ford is still a thing?

abeer3, Aug 2, 2021

#240

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