I only suggest this because they do need another ball handling guard and he would definitely be a change of pace player for them
stupid NIL and then teams forming sensible consensus on big board stuff is dampening my once strong 25th pick enthusiasm! when the process started, i thought we could be looking at a carr or cenac or johnson, and now all of them are late lotto projected, and a lot of guys that were being mocked higher than i thought they should be are falling. ejiofor and jefferson both still interest me and are consistently available at 25 according to many, as is veesaar (whom i like but don't love). i've seen quaintance dropping some, same with koa peat (though i'm not sure i see his nba future, despite his frame and athleticism). duke's evans and meleek thomas are also pegged around us, but i'm not super jazzed about either (more evans than thomas, but both meh for me). probably rather reach for onyenso than either of those guys.
I feel the same on draft excitement, though there may be a possibility Swain drops to us. I was just thinking if the Lakers do throw a curveball it's probable going to be Koa Peat. He's Klutch, a pretty good athlete and is one of the youngest players in the draft. Tin foil hat on--this whole strange story about him changing his jump shot (which midrange was pretty decent at Arizona) and not letting teams know before the combine could have been a Klutch/Rob scheme to tank his value and make sure he's there at #25. He's a winner and was a lottery level talent before the season started. I didn't watch Aaron Gordon much but their 1 and done season averages and advanced numbers aren't so far from each other. I think Peat can stick in the league, he's a good athlete, can catch lobs, handle a bit, post a bit, good screener and given how young he is the jumper will come around. I could see his fit as a dirty work-type/glue guy complement to Adou. Quaintance injuries scare me. Seems he's a super young Robert Williams III, whom we could just sign and get the immediate impact if we wanted. I want guys who are available. If we want to use the #25 in a trade (I like the Jones/Missi idea) then we could probably get Onyenso in the early 2nd rd. That be great value. Edit: The UDFAs should be pretty good too, guys like Tobi Lawal (elite athletic wing still raw, Raphael Castro (nice center prospect), Bryce Hopkins (3-D wing), Tre White (Kansas wing), Tobe Awaka (crazy offensive rebounder, not much else) Udeh Jr (rim protector, lob threat), Okpara (nice center prospect)
hadn't thought of that and didn't know he was klutch. big difference between him and gollege gordon was the ballhandling/passing. gordon actually looked like a potential point forward (and he ended up being a solid connector type), but i never saw that from peat. he's most certainly got an nba body and athleticism, though. i wouldn't be mad if we got him; i just think he'll take a bit. yeah, terrifying. i'm not sure williams will be available at a low price, though, so i'd almost flip it and say if you can get the 40 games of williams from quaintance at likely 20% of the cost, why not? potentially--i only saw a couple teams in the 30s who seemed like trade-out candidates, though. i watched a lot of zona and awaka seems like a guy who's going to make nba rosters on sheer will. he's going to be tougher than most nba players and has a nose for the ball. could end up being a modern chuck hayes type, where you have no idea how but he's a 15mpg player on a good team. the other guy who stood out to me and projects as undrafted was sharpe in houston. every time i watched him he was just nails from the perimeter. and he's built like a running back. 89% from the ft line and deeeep range, very competitive defensively. short for a sg with short arms, but i'd give him a camp invite for sure.
I feel like we will move the pick, but i have Brazile and Onyenso at the top of my big board. Defensive 4's are exceedingly rare around the league. Not all teams need them, but we do because we have a weak defensive 1 and 2. The other three positions must be defensive players. Lebron is a good bridge for the short term, as he is passable at defense due to his transition to the off-ball role where he conserves his energy. But is Rui the ideal long-term option at defensive 4? Obviously not, because he is not a defensive player. Thiero could be the long-term answer here, but Redick has been hesitant to play him, and it remains to be seen if he will develop his shot. I like Brazile, because he is excellent defending in space, switching, weak-side rim-protection on the defensive end, while at the same time being an elite lob-threat on the offensive end, and his jumper is much further developed than Thiero's. Brazile could theoretically be plugged in behind Lebron at that backup 4 role for the 26-27 season. He is a rookie, but he is an older rookie, and is more polished than Thiero. Even if Thiero never does develop a jumper, Brazile's ability to shoot makes it possible to play both of them in the front-court together. They both could arguably guard 1 thru 5. Imagine a second unit with Thiero, Hayes, and Brazile? I like Onyenso because he is likely to be one of the best rim-protectors in the NBA for years to come. Like Brazile, he is more NBA ready, although it is a bit concerning he hasn't logger many minutes in his 4 years. But I liken him to a Derek Lively, who was in the rotation for the Mavs in his rookie year. He was much younger than Onyenso too. Onyenso is also an elite lob-threat. Ideal big for Luka. Check out the videos. I lean Brazile over Onyenso though, because of the scarcity of 3 and D bigger wings. Although Onyenso has an elite defensive skillset and an ideal offensive game for Luka, rim-protecting bigs who could rim-run are far more common. You could grab a Mitch Rob, TimeLord, or Richards in free agency or trade into the 2nd round and draft an Okpara, Castro, Backo, or Bittle.
I'm also high on Brazile in the 2nd round. He looked really fluid out there in the combine scrimmages and his athleticism and versatility at his size is too much to pass up. I think he's a bit of a knucklehead but playing with Luka and Reaves would drastically simplify things and amplify his strengths. What a scary sight of Swain, Adou and Brazile filling the lanes on the break. Sign me up!
Awaka could definitely make it on hustle, add in the rebounding and screen setting and he's set. If he could just develop one go to move, like that Hartenstein push shot... I liked all of Houston's guards this year. Sharpe is tough hell but a bit of tweener. Maybe he could fashion himself like a Marcus Smart-lite or Eddie House?? Uzan gets a lot of Andrew Nembhard comps but I don't thing his jumper is as good. I do like the idea of big point guards, especially if Bronny will be part of the rotation. Last I looked, we brought Cenac in for a workout so maybe we might keep #25 after all.
If I was Mark .... I'd want to see if Bennett and his shadow force scouts are keepers ... and start building that "farm system". Actually if I was Mark I might be out playing somewhere in nicer weather in one of these.
