2022 NBA Draft Safari

Good quick illustration of Jabari’s weaknesses as a player.

Why the hell would we throw in the first pick of the second round in the Caris Lavert trade???? As if taking his contact and giving them a first round pick was not enough.

You still have a decent shot of getting a decent role player at that spot.

AtomicDogg97 said:

Why the hell would we throw in the first pick of the second round in the Caris Lavert trade???? As if taking his contact and giving them a first round pick was not enough.

You still have a decent shot of getting a decent role player at that spot.

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Your very late to the party my guy……….

Adam said:

No way he lasts to 14. He has measurables, athleticism and look at him score over a broom. Someone will love his profile in the 8-12 range

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Eason is one of the most curious cases to me.

Just seems like Kawhi all over again.

Lots of people trying to talk themselves out of him for some reason.

Now, the chances he is Kawhi in the NBA are small........but NBA front offices seemingly do this all the time with wings for some reason.

Everyone wants wings and everyone seems to be awful at evaluating them.

MD13 said:

One thing I don't quite see... Is there a case for Ochai Agbaji being a good defender aside from decent wing size and plus athleticism?

Statistically it doesn't look great. Low stocks, the DRTG is slightly better with him off (probably low sample size because he played 35 mpg as a senior), average rebounding.

And then with the eye test, it seemed to me (could be wrong, I haven't watched Kansas a ton or anything) like Braun was the Kansas choice to put on the top perimeter threat on the other team. Could anyone that watches a lot of college ball verify if this is true (@RchfldCavRaised ?)

Was that just because they wanted Ochai focusing on offense or because Braun is legitimately a better perimeter defender? I'd love to hear the Kansas coaches answer that one honestly.

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If you look at film, he's very much a ball watcher on defense.

He can be a good on ball defender, because he does possess plus traits but his work off ball is honestly terrible.

I think in the NBA, where off ball defense is so important for perimeter defenders, that he'll be a net negative on that end.

Just imagine him getting lost in space a lot and his man drifting or running off a quick back screen for an open 3.

He's the one guy that would be so meh of a pick to me. He just lacks upside in a draft where there are a lot of interesting profiles in the middle of the 1st.

cliffdawg said:

Your very late to the party my guy……….

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He is, but he has a point. It was a move made out of desperation from the Cavs front office, which resulted in an overpay. The trade didn't have the intended effect, as the Cavs still slid and ended up missing the playoffs. The silver lining is we get our first round pick back or the deal would look that much worse.

Smooth said:

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Great, another video where the guy never misses (I kid, kinda). I understand that Schmitz has to portray these guys in a favorable light to get the kind of access he wants, but being their 'hype guy' seems to be going a little too far. Would be great to see some real journalism.

Chandler is an elite athlete- the kind of guy who probably could've played any number of sports and excelled. You're not gonna find many quicker guards than him. He's someone that should be on the radar at #14. Whether we pick him or not would likely depend on whether the Cavs would feel comfortable with a rookie manning the backup point guard spot and if he's ready for significant minutes, as the Cavs need.

AtomicDogg97 said:

Why the hell would we throw in the first pick of the second round in the Caris Lavert trade???? As if taking his contact and giving them a first round pick was not enough.

You still have a decent shot of getting a decent role player at that spot.

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Because it was required to get the deal done. We still have # 39. We can only draft so many rookies

I'mWithDan said:

If you look at film, he's very much a ball watcher on defense.

He can be a good on ball defender, because he does possess plus traits but his work off ball is honestly terrible.

I think in the NBA, where off ball defense is so important for perimeter defenders, that he'll be a net negative on that end.

Just imagine him getting lost in space a lot and his man drifting or running off a quick back screen for an open 3.

He's the one guy that would be so meh of a pick to me. He just lacks upside in a draft where there are a lot of interesting profiles in the middle of the 1st.

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Yeah, I saw that too, albeit watching Kansas and not really focusing on him. If he's a bad off ball defender, the second best perimeter defender on his college team, and doesn't generate big plays and turnovers, what is his upside exactly on that end?

You probably already see this in the data IWD, but I had to kind of refocus the way I look at top level defense after reading an analytical article on Matthyse Thybulle. One of the points was that even though he makes more mistakes than the typical wing stopper, the sky high steal and block rates means that his defensive impact is higher than a low turnover-generating stopper who just plays good defense, positions himself well and contests every shot. The reason being that contesting a shot well is relatively low impact to overall shooting percentages when compared to generating high value defensive plays.

Basically this is a long way for me to reaffirm my wishlist of Eason and Daniels as wing defenders, as both of them showed rare ability to generate deflections, steals and blocks while holding the physical traits to possibly be an elite wing stopper.

I still don't believe Eason will be there, but if he is we have to take him. Same with Daniels IMO

MD13 said:

Good quick illustration of Jabari’s weaknesses as a player.

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No idea what this is trying to prove... That Jabari Smith & Porzingis once took and missed a similar shot?

These two are not similar players AT ALL. Jabari Smith is a wing with a silky smooth shot and tall, long profile that make him a super intriguing 2-way wing prospect. Porzingis is a 7'3 former unicorn-style player who lost a lot of his athleticism as a result of injuries and has since become a liability defensively and an inefficient post player that demands touches there to stay engaged.

What's next, a Rondo-Banchero comparison? Holmgren-Finney-Smith??

"MVP" said:

No idea what this is trying to prove... That Jabari Smith & Porzingis once took and missed a similar shot?

These two are not similar players AT ALL. Jabari Smith is a wing with a silky smooth shot and tall, long profile that make him a super intriguing 2-way wing prospect. Porzingis is a 7'3 former unicorn-style player who lost a lot of his athleticism as a result of injuries and has since become a liability defensively and an inefficient post player that demands touches there to stay engaged.

What's next, a Rondo-Banchero comparison? Holmgren-Finney-Smith??

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The problem is that Jabari Smith has an incredibly low success rate on any move that isn't a jumper and at this point doesn't have an iso counter to his jab step, step back J. He's also shown a lack of juice in just beating his man off the dribble and getting to the rim.

All in all, that leads to a 2 point fg% that is a red flag (I believe dead last from all 50 top 5 picks in the last 10 drafts), an abnormally high rate of getting his shot blocked at the rim along with low volume of at rim shots, and an overall inability to generate high percentage looks as a creator.

Can he improve? Absolutely. But right now I don't see what is stopping an NBA team from putting a smaller, stronger man on him, pushing him out beyond his comfort zone, and just forcing him to shoot over the top.

MD13 said:

The problem is that Jabari Smith has an incredibly low success rate on any move that isn't a jumper and at this point doesn't have an iso counter to his jab step, step back J. He's also shown a lack of juice in just beating his man off the dribble and getting to the rim.

All in all, that leads to a 2 point fg% that is a red flag (I believe dead last from all 50 top 5 picks in the last 10 drafts), an abnormally high rate of getting his shot blocked at the rim along with low volume of at rim shots, and an overall inability to generate high percentage looks as a creator.

Can he improve? Absolutely. But right now I don't see what is stopping an NBA team from putting a smaller, stronger man on him, pushing him out beyond his comfort zone, and just forcing him to shoot over the top.

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Ah, I didn't put that together from the video. I do agree that the 2pt FG% is a major red flag, though the physical profile and shooting excites me enough to still take him in the top 2. Also think a low 2pt FG% is probably a bigger issue for a big demanding post touches than an off-ball shooter.

The best comparison for Jabari IMO is a more mobile and better defensive Rashard Lewis, and that's a player that I think is very much in demand in today's NBA, even if he's never a primary creator.

“Sources say the Cavs like Kentucky’s TyTy Washington and G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels.”

Smooth said:

“Sources say the Cavs like Kentucky’s TyTy Washington and G League Ignite guard Dyson Daniels.”

Cleveland Cavaliers attempting to defy the odds in 2022 NBA Draft Lottery

It would be an historic triumph. No team with less than 1.5% odds has ever gotten the No. 1 pick. Then again, no horse had ever won the Kentucky Derby at 80-1 -- until Rich Strike pulled the shocker last Saturday.

www.cleveland.com

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Unless they plan on letting Sexton walk (or trading him), I don't know why they'd pick TyTy at #14...