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2021 NBA Draft Safari

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Why is it ironic? He quit IMG, then quit Duke. Why wouldn't that hurt his draft stock? Teams are justifiably questioning his love of the game and/or maturity.

One of the things great players all share is a love of the game, and the love of competition for its own sake. So he wouldn't be playing because he owed Duke anything. He'd be playing just because he wants to play basketball.

I cannot imagine a guy who truly loved just playing the game of basketball making choices that resulted in him playing only 22 games in two years. Something is missing.
Ironic in the sense that he left the team because he thought continuing to play or his lack of a role was hurting his draft stock, but in turn quitting is what's hurting his draft stock. Maybe double-edge sword is better to use? Sure, I'd love for him to have Kobe's or Sexton's, drive and competitiveness, but I think his issues aren't any more concerning than Cade's lack of explosive athleticism, Mobley's weight, or Scottie Barnes shooting. If I'm picking anywhere from #6 on, even with whatever immaturity issues he may have, he'd legitimately be in the conversation for the pick because I think he has top 3 talent.
 
Reading more of the Vecenie draft guide (thanks @kriegs ), he provides half court at-the-rim numbers for some others:

Mobley -- 69.1% (let's just get him, please)
Suggs -- 56.4%
Green -- 57.8% (what do we make of this in the G-League? open space means easier? but better talent means harder? idk)
Kuminga -- 52% (Y I K E S)
Sengun -- 74.7% (my word, @Nathan S , rejoice)
Moody -- 52.9% (woof)
Bouknight -- 62.7% (I don't really care about him, but noting that this number is very similar to Cade, but instead of "tremendous," Vecenie calls it "well-above average for a wing" here lol)
 
Was looking into Giddey's profile a bit more, and his 3 triple-doubles are actually even more impressive than I expected. Not only is that a record for the Australian League...no major-conference NCAA player has had 3 triple-doubles in a season since Iguodala way back in 2003-04. Only one major-conference player has ever averaged 7+ assists and 7+ rebound per game, and that's Denzel Valentine who did it as a 22-year-old senior. Giddey's a completely baffling prospect in so many ways, it's hard to know where to begin with him.
 
Was looking into Giddey's profile a bit more, and his 3 triple-doubles are actually even more impressive than I expected. Not only is that a record for the Australian League...no major-conference NCAA player has had 3 triple-doubles in a season since Iguodala way back in 2003-04. Only one major-conference player has ever averaged 7+ assists and 7+ rebound per game, and that's Denzel Valentine who did it as a 22-year-old senior. Giddey's a completely baffling prospect in so many ways, it's hard to know where to begin with him.
I think if he lands in the right place he could be a real asset. I think he has the potential to be a real lead guard, getting a team to play at the right place and unlocking an offense with his rang of passing etc..
 
Most likely to outperform their draft position (according to my model):

-Garuba (at 15)
-Grimes (at 30)
-Thor (at 30)
-McBride (at 30)
-Herb Jones (at 45)
-Sengun (at 10)
-Jackson (at 20)
-Justin Champagnie (at 45)
-Boston (at 30)
-Bleijenbergh (at 45)

Most likely to underperform their draft position:

-Cade (at 1)
-Kispert (at 15)
-Green (at 2)
-Ziaire (at 20)
-Bouknight (at 8)
-Brown (at 30)
-Badji (at 45)
-Keon (at 8)
-Kuminga (at 5)
-Duarte (at 20)
 
I think if he lands in the right place he could be a real asset. I think he has the potential to be a real lead guard, getting a team to play at the right place and unlocking an offense with his rang of passing etc..

San Antonio.
 

I wish I could find the whole game video of this one against Kansas that took them to the Sweet 16.

Kansas had 6'10 250lb junior David McCormick, a McDonalds All American from Oak Hill, matched up against Evan, so USC put the ball in his hands and had him create/initiate from outside against him and instructed him to push the ball on defensive rebounds so they could get out in transition quicker. He effectively played this game as a wing on offense.

These are mostly scoring highlights so you dont get the subtleties of him playing this game as a wing as much as you would if you watched the whole game. There are some plays where you see he's the guy setting teammates up from the wing, but watch him movea nd his court awareness/IQ for keeping the floor balanced whenever he doesnt have the ball. For those wanting to see more of what some here have been talking about in regard to his "wing skills" and fit with a traditional 5 like Allen.

He would have had a triple double this game if the game had been close (he only played 27 mins) and if Peterson and Eaddy had shot the 3 ball better off his passing.

10pts, 13rbs, 5ast, 3blks against the #2 team in the Big12 and the #3 team in their region
 
Sounds like everybody has their hearts set on Mobley. Even Green would feel not so great.
 
Sounds like everybody has their hearts set on Mobley. Even Green would feel not so great.
To be honest, I'm still in shock that there is a more-than-decent chance Mobley is still on the board at 3.

It's nothing against Green or Cade. But to me, Mobley goes No. 1 in 90% of drafts. No later than No. 2 in virtually any draft. And somehow, we get the third pick in the one year that a player of this talent will probably still be there.

I've been all-in since I watched him put on an offensive clinic against my Wildcats in the "Tubelis Show" in January, and continuously more all-in in every game I've watched him play since then, including one of the most impressive 2-way performances I can recall by a freshman in USC's PAC-12 tourney loss against Colorado.

This guy is 7'1 and moves like a guard. He's everything the modern NBA is trending towards: long, unselfish, skilled, smooth, and smart.

My immediate reaction after the lottery was "damn, we we're one slot away from being able to snag this guy." Well, we still may have a chance at him.
 
It's been a bit surreal to me all year that no one can see Cade's weaknesses. I never watched him in HS, so my first impression of him was this year for OK State and all I knew was that he was the #1 guy. My first big takeaway was that he wasn't as athletic as I thought he'd be, and yet for some reason no one connected to the game seems to see it? I just don't understand, it seems so obvious.

Another really impressive Mobley tidbit from nba.com:

• Averaging a tremendous 1.41 points per shot around the rim in the half court [90th percentile], Mobley’s tools make him a constant threat to play above the rim, but he also scored an impressive 1.14 points per floater [92nd percentile] as his ability to drop in shots with touch shined last season.

He also shot 46% with 2 pt shots outside the paint, and he scored .94 PPP on off the dribble jumpers and 52% on long 2s. I think there's a lot to like with his overall touch and there's reason for optimism that he can extend his range to 3 once his footwork is cleaned up.

Look at Mobley's shooting vs Barnes. Neither one is a great shooter from 3, but there's so much more optimism for Mobley's jumper as a weapon than for Barnes.

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To be honest, I'm still in shock that there is a more-than-decent chance Mobley is still on the board at 3.

It's nothing against Green or Cade. But to me, Mobley goes No. 1 in 90% of drafts. No later than No. 2 in virtually any draft. And somehow, we get the third pick in the one year that a player of this talent will probably still be there.

I've been all-in since I watched him put on an offensive clinic against my Wildcats in the "Tubelis Show" in January, and continuously more all-in in every game I've watched him play since then, including one of the most impressive 2-way performances I can recall by a freshman in USC's PAC-12 tourney loss against Colorado.

This guy is 7'1 and moves like a guard. He's everything the modern NBA is trending towards: long, unselfish, skilled, smooth, and smart.

My immediate reaction after the lottery was "damn, we we're one slot away from being able to snag this guy." Well, we still may have a chance at him.
Yeah, I'm still not convinced he'll be there.
 
Sounds like everybody has their hearts set on Mobley. Even Green would feel not so great.
Quite honestly, I think we can’t go wrong with any of the top 4 and will be thrilled to land any of them. They’re all going to be very good NBA players. I’m not as high on Cade as many and am also probably higher on Suggs, so for me the 4 are bunched pretty closely.
 
Per The Ringer's Kevin O'Connor...
Cleveland Cavaliers
League sources say the Cavaliers have received significant trade interest for this selection, and the Raptors and Magic—the next two teams up to pick—have made offers to move up. But Cleveland might just stay put. Some talent evaluators around the league consider Mobley the best prospect in this class because of his versatility on both offense and defense. He can protect the rim, switch on to the perimeter, and serve as the lone big in a lineup. On offense, he can shoot, pass, and make plays off the bounce, making him an all-around smooth fit alongside Cleveland’s existing personnel. But really, Mobley can excel anywhere.

 
Guys who do it in football generally have years of college games behind them to establish their credentials and value, and the vast majority finish out the season anyway. In college basketball, it's almost unheard of, which is why you had to point to college football in the first place. Who was the last college freshman who did that in basketball?

Johnson also didn't just quit at some logical stopping point - he quit in the middle of the season, and after two really shitty games and reduced playing time. That was long after he'd already recovered from his preseason injury.

In top of that, he'd quit his IMG team the previous year without any explanation at all, and ended up only playing 9 games for a high school team. Which means that solely by choice, he's played in only 22 games total in the last 2 years. By his choice, and without any explanation that's worth a crap.

Sure, Coach K said the right things...because that's the kind of thing he'll always say in those situations because he's not going to say anything publicly to hurt a kid's chances.

22 games in 2 years, by choice, is a giant red flag to me. Whether he gets anxiety, or jdoesn't react well to competition or adversity, or just gets homesick, no thanks.

Until he proves otherwise at a level that matters, he's a mentally soft quitter who needs to show he can wear big boy pants consistently.

Getting Royce White vibes from reading this
 
Getting Royce White vibes from reading this

There's no evidence he has the history of criminal activity that White had, but the back to back short seasons in high school and as a college freshman -- by choice-- would scare the piss out of me if I was thinking of investing a first round pick in him. The mental grind of the NBA is so much worse than at lower levels that I'm just skeptical as hell.
 

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