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2021 NBA Draft Safari

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I think Mobley is a very good fit for the roster. Green and Suggs aren't as much. I think Koby might have overvalued what he could get for Sexton and now that the offers have come in, they could shift on the thinking of how they will approach building the team out.

Let's say Green is BPA, is the impact of Green and the package from Sexton going to outweighs something like #5, #8, and keeping Sexton.

I think we would have a solid rotation if we trade down and get Barnes with Bouknight, Moody, or Zaire Williams. Even Barnes and Jalen Johnson would be really evaluate the amount of talent this teams has even if they are somewhat overlapping in talent.
I still would select Green. Yes it is another guard but really need talent on offense and to me Green can potentially be a star. I prefer Mobley but if Green is there, I take him. I would then try to get a mid-late first round to pick a tall PG or a wing player that can help our shooting.
 
We will be able to process lottery tickets like Jalen Johnson with acceptable efficiency once the team is less nebulous. We gotta be able to put them in orbit round our Core. Unfortunately, every time we try to lay a cornerstone it falls over, burns down, and sinks into the swamp. (Perhaps this will change, but it appears that we have once again finished tearing out our most recent "foundation.")
 
When he opted out from Duke, I read an article that included comments from "an NBA executive" that said Johnson needed to go to a strong organization or he could end up "just like that Porter kid." I would bet that we will stay away from players with issues at the moment.

You just have no idea how these type of guys will react. I think KPJ saw them fawning over Darius and Collins early success last season and prob thought there wasn't a spot for him. He burned it down and got what he wanted. Sent to a team where he didn't have to compete for minutes and they let him chuck and run the offense.

You'd like to think good guys like Collin and Darius would have a positive effect on him, but Collin was basically there holding his hand standing by his side that night against New York and the team won and he went off and ruined everything anyway.

Much like Porter Jr, I am just a fan of what I see from Johnson's tape. That is a guy who has all the tools. Biggest hands in the draft, with playmaking, scoring ability and good handle from a PF sized dude. Outside shooting isn't good, and he may have emotional or mental baggage.

I wish I had more faith in the front office. I have to imagine not having Drummond around ignoring start times and being late for practice is a good thing, but maybe we don't have the right voice in the locker room still. I'd like to know if Dean Wade saying the locker room is tight is for real or not.
 
When he opted out from Duke, I read an article that included comments from "an NBA executive" that said Johnson needed to go to a strong organization or he could end up "just like that Porter kid." I would bet that we will stay away from players with issues at the moment.
What are the issues with Jalen Johnson, aside from opting out? I heard he dealt with some depression, but so did most of the country, at some point during the pandemic.
 
What are the issues with Jalen Johnson, aside from opting out? I heard he dealt with some depression, but so did most of the country, at some point during the pandemic.

Yeah I'd love to know too. We heard the Cavs say they don't think the KPJ situation deteriorates to that point if it wasn't the pandemic.
 
You just have no idea how these type of guys will react. I think KPJ saw them fawning over Darius and Collins early success last season and prob thought there wasn't a spot for him.

KPJ was behaving badly long before last season ever started.

I'd rather just draft the kind of guys you don't have to babysit emotionally. Those guys very often don't pull their heads out of their asses until they're on their second or third team, so I'd rather not spend a good pick to be their first.
 
Yeah I'd love to know too. We heard the Cavs say they don't think the KPJ situation deteriorates to that point if it wasn't the pandemic.
Coach K doesn’t usually take on headcases. From what I can gather, Jalen quit the team on his own to prepare for the draft and wasn’t kicked off. Teammates came out in support of him after the announcement was made. This sort of thing happens in college football every year, with guys deciding to prepare for the draft, so why is Johnson getting so much blowback?! Comparing him to KPJ seems way out of line.
 
Here is the complete list of 2021 NBA Draft Green Room invitees (from B/R):

  1. Cade Cunningham (3)[15]
  2. Jalen Green (4)[6]
  3. Evan Mobley (2)[2]
  4. Jalen Suggs (1)[9]
  5. Jonathan Kuminga (9)[10]

  6. Scottie Barnes (6)[3]
  7. Davion Mitchell (17)[22]
  8. James Bouknight (16)
  9. Keon Johnson (14)[25]
  10. Franz Wagner (11)[5]

  11. Josh Giddey (8)[4]
  12. Jalen Johnson (7)[17]
  13. Corey Kispert (10)
  14. Moses Moody (12)[13]
  15. Kai Jones (22)

  16. Alperen Sengun (5) [1]
  17. Cameron Thomas (31)
  18. Ziaire Williams (32)
  19. Chris Duarte (19)
  20. Isaiah Jackson (20)[18]
Numbers in parentheses are Tankathon Big Board rankings. Numbers in brackets are the rankings from [B]@Nathan S[/B] (Removed Prkacin from the order because he has withdrawn from the draft)

Names in bold letters have had meetings/interviews with the Cavs, as per a Fedor tweet from June 24.
 
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Here is the complete list of 2021 NBA Draft Green Room invitees (from B/R):

  1. Cade Cunningham (3)
  2. Jalen Green (4)
  3. Evan Mobley (2)
  4. Jalen Suggs (1)
  5. Jonathan Kuminga (9)

  6. Scottie Barnes (6)
  7. Davion Mitchell (17)
  8. James Bouknight (16)
  9. Keon Johnson (14)
  10. Franz Wagner (11)

  11. Josh Giddey (8)
  12. Jalen Johnson (7)
  13. Corey Kispert (10)
  14. Moses Moody (12)
  15. Kai Jones (22)

  16. Alperen Sengun (5)
  17. Cameron Thomas (31)
  18. Ziaire Williams (32)
  19. Chris Duarte (19)
  20. Isaiah Jackson (20)
Numbers in parentheses are Tankathon Big Board rankings. I would love to see the rankings from @Nathan S
This seems to be the latest I found by search, WAY back in this thread:

 
Coach K doesn’t usually take on headcases. From what I can gather, Jalen quit the team on his own to prepare for the draft and wasn’t kicked off. Teammates came out in support of him after the announcement was made. This sort of thing happens in college football every year, with guys deciding to prepare for the draft, so why is Johnson getting so much blowback?! Comparing him to KPJ seems way out of line.

That was a an article someone else was referencing. I just meant to say that I think everyone should get a little leeway this past year. I changed the entire trajectory of my life and moved 2k miles because of the pandemic to be closer to my family.
 
@Nathan S Out of curiosity, how common is it for guys who rate as well by your model as Sengun and Mobley to bust? Just to get an idea of what relative level of prospect each is historically.
 
Coach K doesn’t usually take on headcases. From what I can gather, Jalen quit the team on his own to prepare for the draft and wasn’t kicked off. Teammates came out in support of him after the announcement was made. This sort of thing happens in college football every year, with guys deciding to prepare for the draft, so why is Johnson getting so much blowback?! Comparing him to KPJ seems way out of line.

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.
 
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