Xist's Draft Review - A Thin Line
Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2024 12:13 pm
'Sup. It's good to be back. Gonna try something a little different for the coverage this time...
#1 - Golden State Warriors Draft A'Ja Wilson (Dennis Lally)
Love - Greeple's RFA flexibility. The Warriors have a LOT of youth on their roster, but it's about to get real expensive really quick. Kevin Cross, Hershal Gilmore, and JR Smith Jr. are all RFAs, and with Ramos already there and expecting a new contract soon, drafting a small forward in Wilson opens up so many options for Greeple. Now instead of having to look at paying all three, Greeple can comfortably go with only retaining two, or even just one, using sign-and-trades to fill in the other holes on his roster.
Hate - A'Ja as a prospect. Not all purples are created equal, and A'Ja has some question marks that makes me wonder about her development. She's athletic AF for her size, which is probably the biggest reason that she has purple potential. Other than that, though...she only has 3 A potentials and 2 Bs. Unless the 4 Cs she has pop in TC (preferably PRD and PSD), she's not going to be anything more than an elite scorer. Which hey, is great and all, but purple potential comes with a hefty price tag, and someone this one-dimensional probably shouldn't take up that much of your cap unless they're dropping 30 a night (which she could very well do). Wilson's one of those purples you almost wish would take a little hit in TC just so she can get a little work put in her.
#2 - Utah Jazz Draft Clyde Cummings (Garret Bristow)
Love - The potential fit with last year's #1 pick, Benny Bridesmaid. Now I know that when looking at Clyde, one goes "Ooh! 6'11" small forward!", but I'd actually put him at center. Why? Well, Bridesmaid's ultimately going to excel at power forward. Despite his size, he'll be abnormally quick at that position, which makes the idea of pairing him with an equally-quick (and normally-sized) center a very intriguing one. Clyde has the skillset for it too, as he specializes in rebounding and defense, though he could definitely use more development in the blocks department. His lack of scoring ability could be a problem, but Bridesmaid and Saunders are going to be good enough on that end to where slow development in that area won't significantly impact the team negatively. There's serious potential here for a totally unique rotation built around speed with Clyde starting at center, and size with Clyde alongside the reserves at small forward.
Hate - What Clyde's name means for future articles and memes. If you thought dick jokes were bad last season, just wait until the Jazz start winning games again...
#3 - Memphis Grizzlies Draft Desmond Bane (Abe Thomas)
Love - Bane's physical profile. This guy is 6'6" with 90 QKN and 88 JMP. It's really a shame that his miserable handles will keep him from utilizing his court vision as a full-time point guard, because he'd be an absolute menace at that position. As it is, he's going to be a major problem to defend for other shooting guards.
Hate - His wishy-washy skillset. He can pass, but can't handle the ball. He can get steals, but can't actually defend on-ball. And he's so horrifically bad in the areas he's lacking that investing in them could take too long to be worth it. His age helps, and it's not like Memphis has anyone else (other than Rainwater) to insure, so it's worth looking into as an option regardless, but man, it sure would be nice if those were Cs instead of an F and a D.
#4 - Toronto Raptors Draft Jizzle James (Isiah Heady)
Love - That 99 JMP, baby. Having a high JMP rating basically guarantees that you'll be able to put up points in the right situation.
Hate - The fit with Kamari Brown. Kamari's basically grown-up Jizzle, they're almost the exact same player - pure shooting guards. Obviously Jizzle's age makes it more likely that he'll be Kamari's replacement as opposed to his partner, but going for a small forward probably would've been a better choice as far as building a complete team goes.
#5 - New Orleans Pelicans Draft Dick Bender (Daniel Tamez)
Love - A new GM addressing an area of need. Sounds weird, but seriously, as a long-time GM, it can be frustrating watching new GMs come into the league and spend the first few seasons continually fumbling the bag. I wasn't a big fan of last season's Cottrill pick for that reason, it wasn't a pick that really made sense outside of "BPA." Bender was 100% the right pick for the Pelicans, and I'd strongly advocate for him to be the guy they build around.
Hate - The fact that I think Digiskunk may have started a trend. Don't think I haven't noticed.
TRADE ALERT
Wizards trade #6 to the Magic for #9, #12, and #16
TRADE ALERT
Love - The Magic going out and securing another blue potential prospect after shuffling the deck last season. They did a similar thing last year, and it's a good strategy. Sometimes it's best to just go out and get a top-rated prospect rather than gambling on a TC boost for a lower one, which...is what the Wizards are doing. In my case, I always look to see if I can get a better deal for my pick if possible. One of the best deals I ever made was passing on a g/b PG at #4 for a y/b and another y/b at #9.
Hate - That not only am I so cheap that I'd rather trade down to avoid paying extra to rename a guy (I'm comfortable with the selection anyway, but still...), but also the fact that I deliberately tanked just to only end up at #6. Why. Just...why.
#6 - Magic Draft Dyson Daniels (Stefan Murphey)
Love - His potential. Daniels could end up being the best player in this draft. This guy has one potential lower than C. One. I really think Nick might have found the future star he's looking for. The only negative I see is his middling athleticism, but he's so much of a blank slate in skillset that it's probably better to just stack up paid boosts in TC and let him grow into whatever you want him to be. To tell you the truth, I probably messed up trading this pick. Daniels is gonna be a good one, maybe even a potential purple.
Hate - The timeline. Dyson could go from good to great really fast, but it will take him a while to get good. Until then, it's probably best for the Magic to try and compete so that they can gain the points to build up Daniels. They're not really built for that though, even with Clauer likely coming back. Suddenly Flagg, Gupton and Marshall no longer project as the future core, now looking more like supporting pieces for Daniels once he matures or trade bait to secure a co-star for him. It's going to be interesting to see how Nick chooses to move forward from here.
#7 - Miami Heat Draft Lester Quinones (Chris Steele)
Love - The fact that the future's slowly starting to take shape in Miami. Truthfully there's not much to say about Quinones, who's a pretty basic scoring shooting guard all things considered. But it's nice to see Mike Lowry pick up another young talent regardless.
Hate - The fact that Quinones is pretty mid. There's literally nothing intriguing about his skillset at all.
#8 - Brooklyn Nets Draft Jeremy Roach (Bobby Moore)
Love - That A in PRD. A guard who can play defense, what a novel concept! Roach actually has one of the highest JMP ratings in this draft, so a future as a reliable bench sparkplug/spot starter seems pretty likely.
Hate - The fit. The main reason why I pegged Roach as a future backup is because that's as far as he's gonna get on this roster. At 6'4" with no point guard skills, Roach is a true shooting guard..,which means that he'll be buried behind Fly and Supreme for the foreseeable future. I feel like taking a stretch 4/tweener here would've been better overall, as Bones doesn't quite have the help that Fly does.
#9 - Washington Wizards Draft Anikulapo Dia (Murray Lockwood)
Love - The simplicity of his skillset. Dia is a power forward, and he has As or Bs in everything a power forward needs, with an additional bonus in PAS. The only thing I should probably think about improving is his athleticism. He's not exactly slow, but as a general rule, the smaller you are as a big, the faster you'll have to be. There's a growing amount of fast power forwards in the league, and if Dia is to become anything more than a solid backup, he's going to need to keep up.
Hate - You really couldn't have had at least 40-45 QKN breh?
#10 - Portland Trail Blazers Draft Philip McMurray
Love - 6'6", 86 QKN, 85 JMP. That's pretty dope.
Hate - D INS? That's pretty lame considering his physical profile. Also, it's another case of "Why draft a guard when I already have a really good one and could use more help down low or at small forward?"
#11 - Atlanta Hawks Draft Benny Phillips
Love - His readiness. Last season we had William Lindsey, a g/g rookie big who was able to step in and immediately contribute to a playoff-bound team. Lindsey's early success proved the value of drafting a ready-now player over a project if your team could use it. As a team who's been willing but unable to move franchise cornerstone Phil Smith, it doesn't really benefit them as much to pick a project player as opposed to someone who can come in and contribute to winning games right away.
Hate - His immobility. I actually think Phillips has a little bit more to offer than Lindsey skill-wise, even if those skills aren't fully league-ready just yet. But there's one thing Lindsey definitively has over Phillips, and that's mobility. Phillips is a slow, unathletic, lumbering big who is completely and utterly unable and unfit to play his listed position of power forward. It's fine, he can just be a center instead, but I can definitely see his lack of athleticism keeping him locked to a 12-15 minute average for his career.
#12 - Washington Wizards Draft Americo Bermejo (Eli Hannon)
Love - His potential. Only 3 ratings below a C, none of which matter for a combo guard. 84 JMP, which is just above elite given that 81 is the highest it can be manually trained. There's even a glimmer of hope that he can develop ballhandling skills serviceable enough to moonlight as a point guard. I took a flyer on o/y Darrell Castaneda a while back, and while he hasn't popped off or anything, he looks to develop into a serviceable point guard in the future. I'm reaching way back here, but o/y Steven Garcia (renamed to Winston Kelly) developed into an irreplaceable role player for me. 2-time Champion and 5-time All-Star Ken Dirks was drafted as an o/y. If the potential is there, anything can happen.
Hate - The fact that I can fall in love with risky picks enough to where I make a calculated decision to trade one pick for three, look through the draft prospects again just to make sure I'm not being too hasty, and then go "Nah, I still like this guy." Even if there were better, more conventional choices whom I will discuss later.
#13 - Phoenix Suns Draft Albert Smalley
Love - 3 As in offense. When it comes to player potentials, I find Cs intriguing, but I also find As reassuring. In my mind, C is "They might be able to do this", B is "They should be able to do this", and A is "They can do this". Smalley will be a knockdown shooter in time, no doubt. The other Cs are just tantalizing glimpses of a more well-rounded future.
Hate - 68 QKN at 6'3" is naaaaaaaaaasty work. If you've looked at Smalley, you might have noticed that he looks kind of like a better version of Bermejo. Surprise! He was one of the other guys on my list. His low quickness is the primary reason why I didn't go with him. 1.5 trainings to get him to a respectable 81 was better than 2.5 trainings in my book. Even without that, Bermejo might be able to do a little something at 73 QKN, even if he's only 6'2". 68 QKN is a complete non-starter. Looking forward to seeing what he'll do once he gets trained though.
#14 - Charlotte Bobcats Draft Alexis Burr
Love - Everything about his potential skillset. Burr has a lot more to his game than just being a power forward, as he has the potential to not only be a point forward, but to be a complete defender down low.
Hate - Everything about his athletic profile. Burr is short, slow, and can't really jump. He's going to need to hit on every one of his C potentials to even have a prayer of keeping up as a power forward in this league. Fortunately, the center position is right there for him.
#15 - Denver Nuggets Draft George Gardener
Love - His versatility. As a wing, Gardener doesn't have many projected weak spots. Even his one glaring flaw (mediocre athleticism) is papered over by being 6'7" and thus not locked to a position due to size. Only 3 ratings below a C (in areas that don't really matter) makes for a blank slate who can be molded into quite a few things.
Hate - The uncertainty. Like I said, I like Cs, love them even, but they're an indicator of a "might" or a "could". Gardener may have only three ratings below a C, but he only has one above a C as well. You can definitely build him up to make sure he'll become a good player, but leaving him to his own devices could very well end in mediocrity.
#16 - Washington Wizards Draft Gil Seawright
Love - A in HND and B in PAS. Yeah I know I gave Castaneda a shout-out earlier, but he's still cooking. Seawright's already a better floor general than Castaneda, and 59 in PAS is so close to the training limit that I feel like there's a good chance it goes to A before his rookie deal is up. Having a reliable ballhandler can really enhance a team, even elevate one if the player's exceptional. Seawright and Castaneda together should provide just enough stability to where I can really focus on building up the other positions.
Hate - The fact that I'm more excited about coming out of the draft with a y/g, an o/y, and a y/y than I would've been with a y/b, or even 3 y/g players. What is wrong with me?
#17 - Sacramento Kings Draft William Clapton
Love - The fact that SuperDog picked up another big. I love the fact that they're addressing an area of need right after finally going on a big playoff run. Clapton's one of the more interesting prospects and could actually end up being a steal. 6'10", solid athleticism, isn't missing any important potentials. Right now there's a little bit of uncertainty about the Kings' frontcourt, so picking up a combo big with legitimate upside is a really great move.
Hate - That PSD is loooooooow. 28? Bro would've been taken at least 5 spots higher if that was more respectable.
#18 - Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Jason Healey
Love - That JNR's back in the saddle. Healey's okay. Solid potentials, athleticism, and size. He should have a future as a respectable backup big. It's also another position of need, as their frontcourt is aging.
Hate - D ORB? Lame.
#19 - Milwaukee Bucks Draft Melvin Armentrout
Love - HIs physical profile. 6'8", 62 QKN, 59 STR, 78 JMP. Not bad.
Hate - His skillset. Don't get me wrong, he has some nice potentials, but he's missing the handles to really thrive at small forward. On the other side, his rebounding skills are one-sided, and his PSD is poor. Looks like we might have a classic tweener here.
#20 - Charlotte Bobcats Draft Tony Cole
Love - Continuing to address an area of need. The Bobcats really needed legitimate frontcourt talent, and even though Burr and Cole aren't ready now, they're still bodies that can be thrown out there to hold down the fort.
Hate - Cole/Burr might not be a good pairing. Cole can play power forward but will probably excel as a center, and Burr should be a power forward but will probably end up as a center. Yeah, one can serve as insurance for the other, but wouldn't it have been nice to have a legit combo to look forward to?
#21 - San Antonio Spurs Draft - Hey wait, are we through with the greens? Heck yeah!
!SPEED ROUND!
#21: Spurs Draft Bennie Grice - A pretty intriguing player, though his athleticism will serve him better as a power forward than as a small forward.
#22: Cavs Draft Gregory Batchelder - Why the hell does a 7'1" center have a B in PRD and a D in PSD?
#23: Heat Draft Frederic Claytor - Will probably never go above 20 minutes on a gameplan, but will make the most of the limited time he's given by providing great defense and rebounding.
#24: Nets Draft Jason Garay - Having a B in PAS will pretty much always get you drafted unless you're literally the worst everywhere else. Garay's not that. He actually has some offensive potential. Too slow to be that short though.
#25: Rockets Draft Gerald Burleigh - Double Bs in INS and JPS, so he can score a little. Nothing else of note though.
#26: Bobcats Draft James Crumley - Probably won't be any good as a PG, but has a solid career ahead of him as a 15 mpg perimeter defender.
Round 2: #1 - Golden State Warriors Draft Morgan Dyson
Okay, okay, that was a little mean. Obviously greeple was very excited to add Morgan Dyson to his squad, so I should at least respect that and give him a full review. Dyson's honestly a pretty good prospect, one that I probably would've taken over every post-green not named Grice. Dyson comes in with only 3 potential ratings under C, 1 A, and 3 Bs. Most of those good potentials are in his scoring abilities, with the odd one out being in PRD. That's honestly pretty great, as it means he can instantly provide real, tangible value in spot minutes right away. 81 QKN is okay for 6'2", and his athleticism isn't winning any awards in other areas, but I like this guy. I'd definitely keep an eye on his TC progression. If he ever goes green, he might be worth investing in. If you can't draft or sign a PG, why not build one?
-FIN-
#1 - Golden State Warriors Draft A'Ja Wilson (Dennis Lally)
Love - Greeple's RFA flexibility. The Warriors have a LOT of youth on their roster, but it's about to get real expensive really quick. Kevin Cross, Hershal Gilmore, and JR Smith Jr. are all RFAs, and with Ramos already there and expecting a new contract soon, drafting a small forward in Wilson opens up so many options for Greeple. Now instead of having to look at paying all three, Greeple can comfortably go with only retaining two, or even just one, using sign-and-trades to fill in the other holes on his roster.
Hate - A'Ja as a prospect. Not all purples are created equal, and A'Ja has some question marks that makes me wonder about her development. She's athletic AF for her size, which is probably the biggest reason that she has purple potential. Other than that, though...she only has 3 A potentials and 2 Bs. Unless the 4 Cs she has pop in TC (preferably PRD and PSD), she's not going to be anything more than an elite scorer. Which hey, is great and all, but purple potential comes with a hefty price tag, and someone this one-dimensional probably shouldn't take up that much of your cap unless they're dropping 30 a night (which she could very well do). Wilson's one of those purples you almost wish would take a little hit in TC just so she can get a little work put in her.
#2 - Utah Jazz Draft Clyde Cummings (Garret Bristow)
Love - The potential fit with last year's #1 pick, Benny Bridesmaid. Now I know that when looking at Clyde, one goes "Ooh! 6'11" small forward!", but I'd actually put him at center. Why? Well, Bridesmaid's ultimately going to excel at power forward. Despite his size, he'll be abnormally quick at that position, which makes the idea of pairing him with an equally-quick (and normally-sized) center a very intriguing one. Clyde has the skillset for it too, as he specializes in rebounding and defense, though he could definitely use more development in the blocks department. His lack of scoring ability could be a problem, but Bridesmaid and Saunders are going to be good enough on that end to where slow development in that area won't significantly impact the team negatively. There's serious potential here for a totally unique rotation built around speed with Clyde starting at center, and size with Clyde alongside the reserves at small forward.
Hate - What Clyde's name means for future articles and memes. If you thought dick jokes were bad last season, just wait until the Jazz start winning games again...
#3 - Memphis Grizzlies Draft Desmond Bane (Abe Thomas)
Love - Bane's physical profile. This guy is 6'6" with 90 QKN and 88 JMP. It's really a shame that his miserable handles will keep him from utilizing his court vision as a full-time point guard, because he'd be an absolute menace at that position. As it is, he's going to be a major problem to defend for other shooting guards.
Hate - His wishy-washy skillset. He can pass, but can't handle the ball. He can get steals, but can't actually defend on-ball. And he's so horrifically bad in the areas he's lacking that investing in them could take too long to be worth it. His age helps, and it's not like Memphis has anyone else (other than Rainwater) to insure, so it's worth looking into as an option regardless, but man, it sure would be nice if those were Cs instead of an F and a D.
#4 - Toronto Raptors Draft Jizzle James (Isiah Heady)
Love - That 99 JMP, baby. Having a high JMP rating basically guarantees that you'll be able to put up points in the right situation.
Hate - The fit with Kamari Brown. Kamari's basically grown-up Jizzle, they're almost the exact same player - pure shooting guards. Obviously Jizzle's age makes it more likely that he'll be Kamari's replacement as opposed to his partner, but going for a small forward probably would've been a better choice as far as building a complete team goes.
#5 - New Orleans Pelicans Draft Dick Bender (Daniel Tamez)
Love - A new GM addressing an area of need. Sounds weird, but seriously, as a long-time GM, it can be frustrating watching new GMs come into the league and spend the first few seasons continually fumbling the bag. I wasn't a big fan of last season's Cottrill pick for that reason, it wasn't a pick that really made sense outside of "BPA." Bender was 100% the right pick for the Pelicans, and I'd strongly advocate for him to be the guy they build around.
Hate - The fact that I think Digiskunk may have started a trend. Don't think I haven't noticed.
TRADE ALERT
Wizards trade #6 to the Magic for #9, #12, and #16
TRADE ALERT
Love - The Magic going out and securing another blue potential prospect after shuffling the deck last season. They did a similar thing last year, and it's a good strategy. Sometimes it's best to just go out and get a top-rated prospect rather than gambling on a TC boost for a lower one, which...is what the Wizards are doing. In my case, I always look to see if I can get a better deal for my pick if possible. One of the best deals I ever made was passing on a g/b PG at #4 for a y/b and another y/b at #9.
Hate - That not only am I so cheap that I'd rather trade down to avoid paying extra to rename a guy (I'm comfortable with the selection anyway, but still...), but also the fact that I deliberately tanked just to only end up at #6. Why. Just...why.
#6 - Magic Draft Dyson Daniels (Stefan Murphey)
Love - His potential. Daniels could end up being the best player in this draft. This guy has one potential lower than C. One. I really think Nick might have found the future star he's looking for. The only negative I see is his middling athleticism, but he's so much of a blank slate in skillset that it's probably better to just stack up paid boosts in TC and let him grow into whatever you want him to be. To tell you the truth, I probably messed up trading this pick. Daniels is gonna be a good one, maybe even a potential purple.
Hate - The timeline. Dyson could go from good to great really fast, but it will take him a while to get good. Until then, it's probably best for the Magic to try and compete so that they can gain the points to build up Daniels. They're not really built for that though, even with Clauer likely coming back. Suddenly Flagg, Gupton and Marshall no longer project as the future core, now looking more like supporting pieces for Daniels once he matures or trade bait to secure a co-star for him. It's going to be interesting to see how Nick chooses to move forward from here.
#7 - Miami Heat Draft Lester Quinones (Chris Steele)
Love - The fact that the future's slowly starting to take shape in Miami. Truthfully there's not much to say about Quinones, who's a pretty basic scoring shooting guard all things considered. But it's nice to see Mike Lowry pick up another young talent regardless.
Hate - The fact that Quinones is pretty mid. There's literally nothing intriguing about his skillset at all.
#8 - Brooklyn Nets Draft Jeremy Roach (Bobby Moore)
Love - That A in PRD. A guard who can play defense, what a novel concept! Roach actually has one of the highest JMP ratings in this draft, so a future as a reliable bench sparkplug/spot starter seems pretty likely.
Hate - The fit. The main reason why I pegged Roach as a future backup is because that's as far as he's gonna get on this roster. At 6'4" with no point guard skills, Roach is a true shooting guard..,which means that he'll be buried behind Fly and Supreme for the foreseeable future. I feel like taking a stretch 4/tweener here would've been better overall, as Bones doesn't quite have the help that Fly does.
#9 - Washington Wizards Draft Anikulapo Dia (Murray Lockwood)
Love - The simplicity of his skillset. Dia is a power forward, and he has As or Bs in everything a power forward needs, with an additional bonus in PAS. The only thing I should probably think about improving is his athleticism. He's not exactly slow, but as a general rule, the smaller you are as a big, the faster you'll have to be. There's a growing amount of fast power forwards in the league, and if Dia is to become anything more than a solid backup, he's going to need to keep up.
Hate - You really couldn't have had at least 40-45 QKN breh?
#10 - Portland Trail Blazers Draft Philip McMurray
Love - 6'6", 86 QKN, 85 JMP. That's pretty dope.
Hate - D INS? That's pretty lame considering his physical profile. Also, it's another case of "Why draft a guard when I already have a really good one and could use more help down low or at small forward?"
#11 - Atlanta Hawks Draft Benny Phillips
Love - His readiness. Last season we had William Lindsey, a g/g rookie big who was able to step in and immediately contribute to a playoff-bound team. Lindsey's early success proved the value of drafting a ready-now player over a project if your team could use it. As a team who's been willing but unable to move franchise cornerstone Phil Smith, it doesn't really benefit them as much to pick a project player as opposed to someone who can come in and contribute to winning games right away.
Hate - His immobility. I actually think Phillips has a little bit more to offer than Lindsey skill-wise, even if those skills aren't fully league-ready just yet. But there's one thing Lindsey definitively has over Phillips, and that's mobility. Phillips is a slow, unathletic, lumbering big who is completely and utterly unable and unfit to play his listed position of power forward. It's fine, he can just be a center instead, but I can definitely see his lack of athleticism keeping him locked to a 12-15 minute average for his career.
#12 - Washington Wizards Draft Americo Bermejo (Eli Hannon)
Love - His potential. Only 3 ratings below a C, none of which matter for a combo guard. 84 JMP, which is just above elite given that 81 is the highest it can be manually trained. There's even a glimmer of hope that he can develop ballhandling skills serviceable enough to moonlight as a point guard. I took a flyer on o/y Darrell Castaneda a while back, and while he hasn't popped off or anything, he looks to develop into a serviceable point guard in the future. I'm reaching way back here, but o/y Steven Garcia (renamed to Winston Kelly) developed into an irreplaceable role player for me. 2-time Champion and 5-time All-Star Ken Dirks was drafted as an o/y. If the potential is there, anything can happen.
Hate - The fact that I can fall in love with risky picks enough to where I make a calculated decision to trade one pick for three, look through the draft prospects again just to make sure I'm not being too hasty, and then go "Nah, I still like this guy." Even if there were better, more conventional choices whom I will discuss later.
#13 - Phoenix Suns Draft Albert Smalley
Love - 3 As in offense. When it comes to player potentials, I find Cs intriguing, but I also find As reassuring. In my mind, C is "They might be able to do this", B is "They should be able to do this", and A is "They can do this". Smalley will be a knockdown shooter in time, no doubt. The other Cs are just tantalizing glimpses of a more well-rounded future.
Hate - 68 QKN at 6'3" is naaaaaaaaaasty work. If you've looked at Smalley, you might have noticed that he looks kind of like a better version of Bermejo. Surprise! He was one of the other guys on my list. His low quickness is the primary reason why I didn't go with him. 1.5 trainings to get him to a respectable 81 was better than 2.5 trainings in my book. Even without that, Bermejo might be able to do a little something at 73 QKN, even if he's only 6'2". 68 QKN is a complete non-starter. Looking forward to seeing what he'll do once he gets trained though.
#14 - Charlotte Bobcats Draft Alexis Burr
Love - Everything about his potential skillset. Burr has a lot more to his game than just being a power forward, as he has the potential to not only be a point forward, but to be a complete defender down low.
Hate - Everything about his athletic profile. Burr is short, slow, and can't really jump. He's going to need to hit on every one of his C potentials to even have a prayer of keeping up as a power forward in this league. Fortunately, the center position is right there for him.
#15 - Denver Nuggets Draft George Gardener
Love - His versatility. As a wing, Gardener doesn't have many projected weak spots. Even his one glaring flaw (mediocre athleticism) is papered over by being 6'7" and thus not locked to a position due to size. Only 3 ratings below a C (in areas that don't really matter) makes for a blank slate who can be molded into quite a few things.
Hate - The uncertainty. Like I said, I like Cs, love them even, but they're an indicator of a "might" or a "could". Gardener may have only three ratings below a C, but he only has one above a C as well. You can definitely build him up to make sure he'll become a good player, but leaving him to his own devices could very well end in mediocrity.
#16 - Washington Wizards Draft Gil Seawright
Love - A in HND and B in PAS. Yeah I know I gave Castaneda a shout-out earlier, but he's still cooking. Seawright's already a better floor general than Castaneda, and 59 in PAS is so close to the training limit that I feel like there's a good chance it goes to A before his rookie deal is up. Having a reliable ballhandler can really enhance a team, even elevate one if the player's exceptional. Seawright and Castaneda together should provide just enough stability to where I can really focus on building up the other positions.
Hate - The fact that I'm more excited about coming out of the draft with a y/g, an o/y, and a y/y than I would've been with a y/b, or even 3 y/g players. What is wrong with me?
#17 - Sacramento Kings Draft William Clapton
Love - The fact that SuperDog picked up another big. I love the fact that they're addressing an area of need right after finally going on a big playoff run. Clapton's one of the more interesting prospects and could actually end up being a steal. 6'10", solid athleticism, isn't missing any important potentials. Right now there's a little bit of uncertainty about the Kings' frontcourt, so picking up a combo big with legitimate upside is a really great move.
Hate - That PSD is loooooooow. 28? Bro would've been taken at least 5 spots higher if that was more respectable.
#18 - Minnesota Timberwolves Draft Jason Healey
Love - That JNR's back in the saddle. Healey's okay. Solid potentials, athleticism, and size. He should have a future as a respectable backup big. It's also another position of need, as their frontcourt is aging.
Hate - D ORB? Lame.
#19 - Milwaukee Bucks Draft Melvin Armentrout
Love - HIs physical profile. 6'8", 62 QKN, 59 STR, 78 JMP. Not bad.
Hate - His skillset. Don't get me wrong, he has some nice potentials, but he's missing the handles to really thrive at small forward. On the other side, his rebounding skills are one-sided, and his PSD is poor. Looks like we might have a classic tweener here.
#20 - Charlotte Bobcats Draft Tony Cole
Love - Continuing to address an area of need. The Bobcats really needed legitimate frontcourt talent, and even though Burr and Cole aren't ready now, they're still bodies that can be thrown out there to hold down the fort.
Hate - Cole/Burr might not be a good pairing. Cole can play power forward but will probably excel as a center, and Burr should be a power forward but will probably end up as a center. Yeah, one can serve as insurance for the other, but wouldn't it have been nice to have a legit combo to look forward to?
#21 - San Antonio Spurs Draft - Hey wait, are we through with the greens? Heck yeah!
!SPEED ROUND!
#21: Spurs Draft Bennie Grice - A pretty intriguing player, though his athleticism will serve him better as a power forward than as a small forward.
#22: Cavs Draft Gregory Batchelder - Why the hell does a 7'1" center have a B in PRD and a D in PSD?
#23: Heat Draft Frederic Claytor - Will probably never go above 20 minutes on a gameplan, but will make the most of the limited time he's given by providing great defense and rebounding.
#24: Nets Draft Jason Garay - Having a B in PAS will pretty much always get you drafted unless you're literally the worst everywhere else. Garay's not that. He actually has some offensive potential. Too slow to be that short though.
#25: Rockets Draft Gerald Burleigh - Double Bs in INS and JPS, so he can score a little. Nothing else of note though.
#26: Bobcats Draft James Crumley - Probably won't be any good as a PG, but has a solid career ahead of him as a 15 mpg perimeter defender.
Round 2: #1 - Golden State Warriors Draft Morgan Dyson
Okay, okay, that was a little mean. Obviously greeple was very excited to add Morgan Dyson to his squad, so I should at least respect that and give him a full review. Dyson's honestly a pretty good prospect, one that I probably would've taken over every post-green not named Grice. Dyson comes in with only 3 potential ratings under C, 1 A, and 3 Bs. Most of those good potentials are in his scoring abilities, with the odd one out being in PRD. That's honestly pretty great, as it means he can instantly provide real, tangible value in spot minutes right away. 81 QKN is okay for 6'2", and his athleticism isn't winning any awards in other areas, but I like this guy. I'd definitely keep an eye on his TC progression. If he ever goes green, he might be worth investing in. If you can't draft or sign a PG, why not build one?
-FIN-