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2024 Draft Prospects Thread

Discussion in 'Lakers Discussion' started by JSM, Mar 2, 2024.

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JSM - Lakers Legend -

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Bron won't pay for Apple music and uses illegal sports streaming sites so he doesn't have to pay. Ain't no way he's taking one penny less than the max. With him angling to buy a team, he's really going to pinch those pennies.

Either Ishbia is insane or James Jones is doing Bron a favor. I'm not sure which is more probable at this point.

If Suns take Bronny, KD should demand another trade. They have too many immediate needs.

JSM, May 28, 2024

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abeer3 said: ↑

agree. doesn't matter. 95% failure rate. and yet people are so upset about it.

excellent pick. wasn't available to us. i'm pretty sure we'd have taken him at 17 if he was.

also worth noting that lively looks great in part because he's playing with the best lob generator in the league. he'd be good anywhere, but his (right now rudimentary) offensive skills are highlighted on that team. but yeah, i'd have him at #4 on my rookie board, behind wemby/chet/miller, and not that far behind the latter two, tbh.
Click to expand...

where is Jaime Jaquez on that list? I would have taken him over that guy not named Cam.

Wino, May 28, 2024

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Wino said: ↑

where is Jaime Jaquez on that list? I would have taken him over that guy not named Cam.
Click to expand...

for me: after wallace and podziemski and right ahead of whitmore. but all of them would be after amen thompson, who quietly had a solid rookie year.

so in a redraft:

wemby
miller
lively
wallace (i'm just a fan here)
thompson
podz
jaquez
whitmore
gg jackson?

for all the jhs hand-wringing, imagine taking scoot henderson third overall. and like with jhs, i haven't given up on scoot. note that no pgs are on the list above (wallace isn't really a pg for me, nor is podz--but he's closer).

it's easier to have quick impact as a wing than as a center or pg. historically, they take longer to develop. anthony black looked as bad as jhs. and there were raw wings like coulibaly and tweeners like walker and hendricks who might also take some time to find their footing.

i'm guessing the list i made above will look different two years from now, too. wouldn't be surprised if clowney, whitehead, murray, etc. surpass the current darlings that went just after jhs.

abeer3, May 28, 2024

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JSM - Lakers Legend -

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Cormac workout

Some college footage

Interesting path. He'll be 25 his rookie season and has played for Stanford, Notre Dame and UNC.

JSM, May 28, 2024

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Really quick and nice looking shot.

LTLakerFan, May 28, 2024

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I bet JJ would know how to use him....

sirronstuff, May 29, 2024

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Bronny James entered the NBA draft combine this month in Chicago ranked 98th in ESPN's Top 100 draft prospects. After a strong few weeks of measurements, drills and scrimmages, James climbed 44 spots to No. 54 in the Top 100. He likely will rise more, as several players ranked ahead of him are expected to withdraw from the 2024 NBA draft at the NCAA (11:59 p.m. ET) and international (June 16) early-entry deadlines.

Thus, it might not come as much of a surprise to learn James has elected to keep his name in the June 26-27 draft in New York, his agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN.

James has helped his draft stock considerably since announcing he'd enter the draft, first by quickly getting cleared by the NBA's fitness-to-play panel for full activity, an important step that allowed him to be a full participant in on-court activities during the combine.

Enrolling in college as a McDonald's All American, the 19-year-old's freshman campaign as a guard on the USC team did not go as planned.

In a summer workout before his freshman year even began, James went into cardiac arrest and had a procedure to repair a congenital heart defect. He missed more than four months of on-court action.

After James was medically cleared late last November, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19 minutes per game on pedestrian efficiency numbers, leaving him on the outside looking in on draft projections.

But James has done well to remind NBA scouts of what made him such a highly regarded prospect entering college, making clear strides with his frame and conditioning and showing improvement as a perimeter shooter.

James had an excellent first day at the draft combine, testing as one of the fastest and most explosive athletes in the draft with his 40½-inch vertical leap and 3.09 three-quarter-court sprint time. He also shot the ball with impressive precision, converting 78% of his attempts in the side-midside 3-point shooting drill (which ranked second best among 71 combine prospects), and he shot 19-for-25 in the 3-point star drill, also ranking second best.

The 5-on-5 scrimmaging at the combine showed the areas James needs to continue to improve, and the role that best suits him at this stage of his development as a 3-and-D off-guard. James -- whose height was measured at 6-foot-1 ½ barefoot -- struggled in his first game in an on-ball role where he was asked to create offense for himself and others. He lacked assertiveness and looked uncomfortable as an initiator, picking up his dribble, being late with his reads, and making poor decisions both in transition and the half-court.

In the second game, he looked more comfortable operating off the ball alongside a bigger guard in A.J. Johnson, hitting a pair of open 3s, getting out in the open court and showing some secondary playmaking ability to go along with his usual intense one-on-one defense.

James had a significant platform the following week at the NBA's California pro day (May 21-22), hosted at the Los Angeles Lakers' practice facility. High-level decision-makers from all 30 NBA teams were in attendance to watch James and 56 other prospects work out over the course of two days.

James conducted a 40-minute one-on-zero workout where he again displayed his physical ability with explosive dunks and improved perimeter shooting -- making a barrage of 3-pointers from all over the court. NBA executives expressed varying views to ESPN as to the importance of such showcases as an evaluation tool, but James certainly did not hurt his standing among team officials, who have warmed up to view him as a legit NBA prospect over the past few weeks, especially seeing how he performed compared to his peers.

With James' decision to keep his name in the 58-pick draft, it's likely he will be in the NBA next season in some capacity, either on a two-way contract or on the end of some team's roster.

Dozens of NBA executives have expressed to ESPN a wide array of views on how they see James in the short and long-term. James is a polarizing prospect, like many are in this draft from the lottery portion to the end of the second round, but he has done well to position himself and show what makes him interesting.

James is a Gabe Vincent or De'Anthony Melton type role-player who makes open 3s, gets out in the open court, defends either guard position, rebounds, keeps mistakes to a minimum and generates turnovers with his intensity and strong instincts. At the combine, James compared his game to players such as the Boston C Bags' Jrue Holiday and Derrick White or the Sacramento Kings' Davion Mitchell for the way they influence winning.

Continuing to improve his ballhandling ability, assertiveness and shooting consistency will be keys for carving out a long-term niche, likely via the G League to start, as it's clear James could have used another year or two of college seasoning to enter the NBA more readily available to contribute.

Regardless, there's certainly the outline of a valuable role player here for a team willing to be patient enough to develop him.

Paul told ESPN his client is still in the process of scheduling workouts and determining how many teams to audition for over the next month.

"Many teams have called," Paul said. "It's a matter of hashing out workouts. I need to figure out who is real and who is not. How many workouts will we do? As many as necessary through serious conversation that gives me insight into that team's thinking. It could be 1, 2, 3, 10 -- I doubt it's 10. We're still determining that."

Paul says James' draft range is wide with room for growth, and he's not too concerned with where he gets drafted but more focused on fit and long-term outlook.

"It only takes one team. I don't care about where that team is in the process of the draft. It can be No. 1 or No. 58. [But] I do care about the plan. The development. The team's strategy, the opportunity and the financial commitment," Paul said. "That's why I'm not doing a two-way deal. Every team understands that. There are only two-to-three teams that might take him. That's how I am going to approach that."

What if James, despite his move up draft boards, doesn't get picked?

Paul is quick to say: "I don't see him going undrafted. But if it got to a point where the situations didn't make sense, and we needed to go undrafted, that's fine. I've been through this process enough to tell who is serious. If teams say they don't know him well enough yet to tell me how they view him, when they get better insight, we'll circle back.

"I'm not putting unrealistic expectations on Bronny. He's far from a finished product. But he has a hell of a start. He's positioned well."
Click to expand...

JSM, May 29, 2024

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Cam is staying in

JSM, May 29, 2024

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backcourt bros

do it

sirronstuff, May 29, 2024

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If you've got the time to read 3000 words on Bronny, here's a good write up

I'll share the the projection portion, for the rest click on the above

NBA Draft Projection
It’s undeniable that being an all-time great’s son will help James Jr.’s draft stock. At least in terms of the value he has off the court. However, purely focusing on his NBA game, there's a solid role player in him in the long run. And those can go all the way in the first round.

As a defender, it’s crystal clear that the words of his father that he “can play right now” are justified. His screen navigation is a plus, despite some areas of development. But his strength, feel for the game and great off-ball defensive abilities against cutters make him an NBA-ready defender.

His offense makes it tricky. He’s a shooting-heavy prospect that avoids getting downhill and plays within control more often than not. Those don’t end up contributing well to a team’s offensive rating. Knowing that LeBron James will be a free agent this summer, it’s likely that he’ll sign a two-year deal on his next team if the Lakers don’t resign him. Therefore, it’s likely that a team will want to stay flexible in terms of adding James Jr.

His defensive value makes a late first-round pick justified. However, the lack of readiness in terms of his offense gives too much uncertainty to James Jr. needing more reps to unleash his offensive creativity. Especially since he avoids the rim as much as he does.

Therefore, I project James Jr. to be an early second-round pick on draft night, with the likeliness of having a long-term NBA career if his offensive game improves at the next level
Click to expand...

.

JSM, May 30, 2024

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Well..a lot of folks around here have declared, that he's only a prospect because of who his father is. We shall soon find out, exactly what young Bronny is made of.

Slick2021, May 30, 2024

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I just don't care honestly.

sirronstuff, May 30, 2024

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I just don't want to use the 17th pick on him. i'm good with drafting him, and if forced to bet, i'd say he'll stick in the league as a gpII type.

abeer3, May 30, 2024

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Irwin on his pod tonight: he's heard there's potential intrigue in Christie.

Not sure where. That would require trading up in round 2.

f*** it. Let's go full Lakers mode. Full nepo draft. Trade out of 17, get yourself an end of the 1st/ early 2nd (+player) and then buy your other 2nd round move up... Christie #2 and Bronny.

JSM, May 30, 2024

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JSM said: ↑

Irwin on his pod tonight: he's heard there's potential intrigue in Christie.

Not sure where. That would require trading up in round 2.

f*** it. Let's go full Lakers mode. Full nepo draft. Trade out of 17, get yourself an end of the 1st/ early 2nd (+player) and then buy your other 2nd round move up... Christie #2 and Bronny.
Click to expand...

Package the 17 to Utah for Sexton and #32

52years, May 31, 2024

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JSM, May 31, 2024

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carter, da Silva, Collier all could be good picks at 17.

abeer3, May 31, 2024

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I saw a mock yesterday that didn’t have Edey in its top 30 breakdown.

LTLakerFan, May 31, 2024

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If they can’t trade this pick to upgrade the roster this draft will probably be a failure.Not to say they can’t draft a decent player just that this team as currently constructed is in a win now situation

52years, May 31, 2024

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now that the 1st round pick is ours, I would not be surprised if the Lakers use it on Bronnie.

Not saying they should, but I won't be surprised if that is what happens.

sirronstuff, May 31, 2024

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