• Changing RCF's index page, please click on "Forums" to access the forums.

2022 NBA Draft Safari

Do Not Sell My Personal Information
This is more related to the 2023 and beyond drafts but Overtime Elite is going to be very interesting to track.

They've added a pretty good list of top 2022 and 2023 College year(so 2023 and 2024 draft year) prospects and may end up rendering the G League Elite moot, unless the NBA wants to flex on OTE.

2022:
#8 247 Composite: Jazian Gortman
#35 247 Composite: Amen Thompson
4 Star: Ausar Thompson

2023:
#2 247 Composite: Matt Bewley
#12 247 Composite: Jalen Lewis
#16 247 Composite: Ryan Bewley

Also several 16-19 year old international players, including Jean Montero who has been projected as a 2022 draft first rounder. Ohio's own Chris Livingston who is a top5 player in the 2022 class will likely pick between G League Ignite and OTE

If all these guy stay in this year round development program, it will be interesting to see how many fare well in their draft classes. Whether OTE or G League Ignite(or both), I am really hoping we start to see a skills development pathway similar to what the top European kids have been getting for the past decade.

 
This is more related to the 2023 and beyond drafts but Overtime Elite is going to be very interesting to track.

They've added a pretty good list of top 2022 and 2023 College year(so 2023 and 2024 draft year) prospects and may end up rendering the G League Elite moot, unless the NBA wants to flex on OTE.

2022:
#8 247 Composite: Jazian Gortman
#35 247 Composite: Amen Thompson
4 Star: Ausar Thompson

2023:
#2 247 Composite: Matt Bewley
#12 247 Composite: Jalen Lewis
#16 247 Composite: Ryan Bewley

Also several 16-19 year old international players, including Jean Montero who has been projected as a 2022 draft first rounder. Ohio's own Chris Livingston who is a top5 player in the 2022 class will likely pick between G League Ignite and OTE

If all these guy stay in this year round development program, it will be interesting to see how many fare well in their draft classes. Whether OTE or G League Ignite(or both), I am really hoping we start to see a skills development pathway similar to what the top European kids have been getting for the past decade.


I honestly can't seem to find it anywhere. Who is OTE playing? My assumption is that it is like an IMG?

Do they play high school teams? Do they play college teams? AAU teams? Is is strictly a training program without games?

I don't understand how this would be deemed better than the G-League?

Just relative to its current comp level and affiliation with the NBA.

My big worry is it is going to insulate top players from playing better live / high stress competition prior to being drafted.....Making it even more difficult to evaluate players.
 
I honestly can't seem to find it anywhere. Who is OTE playing? My assumption is that it is like an IMG?

Do they play high school teams? Do they play college teams? AAU teams? Is is strictly a training program without games?

I don't understand how this would be deemed better than the G-League?

Just relative to its current comp level and affiliation with the NBA.

it’s a new developmental league.
 

it’s a new developmental league.

I know they are saying it is a "League" but there are only 14 players signed on to it, from what I see.

So how does a league exist with 14 guys? :chuckle:

Maybe it is just two 7 man teams to start.....or maybe they play AAU teams.

I was just trying to understand how this makes any sense for the initial guys signing on.
 
Last edited:
I know they are saying it is a "League" but there are only 14 players signed on to it, from what I see.

So how does a league exist with 14 guys? :chuckle:

Maybe it is just two 7 man teams to start.....or maybe they play AAU teams.

I was just trying to understand how this makes any sense for the initial guys signing on.
Basic tenets.

- year round development plus continued education and future education Opportunities.

- some of these kids are getting this year round coaching from Kevin Ollie and other former nba and college coaches INSTEAD of their Junior and Senior years of HS. That right there makes it unique and different from G League Ignite.

- 24-30 kids in the program to start.

- besides the year round training, practice, and skill development, they’ll play games against touring international squads, full length reffed games against each other, potentially games against HS squads like prolific prep or montverde. Not sure if theyll be able to schedule against any college teams or even Pro teams but we’ll see.

I guess the overall main difference is it’s year round training taught by pros starting at a much earlier age(as early as 16) then the G League Ignite or College. The website has the full list of who is involved and the money theyve already raised. I assume the goal is to be sort of like the French academy that has produced so much of their top talent over the last 10-15 years starting very young.
 
With the draft complete and free agency essentially over, here's how I see the 2022 NBA draft shaping up, obviously pending lottery results:
  1. Oklahoma City Thunder- projected record: 20-62
  2. Houston Rockets- projected record: 22-60
  3. San Antoni Spurs- projected record: 24-58
  4. Detroit Pistons- projected record: 26-56
  5. Orlando Magic- projected record: 27-55
  6. Cleveland Cavaliers- projected record: 28-54
  7. Minnesota Timberwolves- projected record: 28-54
  8. Sacramento Kings- projected record: 34-48
  9. Washington Wizards- projected record: 34-48
  10. Toronto Raptors- projected record: 36-46
  11. Charlotte Hornets- projected record: 38-44
  12. New Orleans Pelicans- projected record: 38-44
  13. Boston Celtics- projected record: 40-42
  14. Portland Trailblazers- projected record: 42-40
 
With the draft complete and free agency essentially over, here's how I see the 2022 NBA draft shaping up, obviously pending lottery results:
  1. Oklahoma City Thunder- projected record: 20-62
  2. Houston Rockets- projected record: 22-60
  3. San Antoni Spurs- projected record: 24-58
  4. Detroit Pistons- projected record: 26-56
  5. Orlando Magic- projected record: 27-55
  6. Cleveland Cavaliers- projected record: 28-54
  7. Minnesota Timberwolves- projected record: 28-54
  8. Sacramento Kings- projected record: 34-48
  9. Washington Wizards- projected record: 34-48
  10. Toronto Raptors- projected record: 36-46
  11. Charlotte Hornets- projected record: 38-44
  12. New Orleans Pelicans- projected record: 38-44
  13. Boston Celtics- projected record: 40-42
  14. Portland Trailblazers- projected record: 42-40

If the Cavs only win 28 games this year, my guess is everyone's getting fired. Cavs had a .302 win pct last year. In an 82 game season that's 25 wins. That's with only having Allen half the season, playing without a backup PG almost all year, and Wade & Prince playing major minutes at PF. I don't think they'll be great or anything, but to me 28 wins would signal a major flop.
 
If the Cavs only win 28 games this year, my guess is everyone's getting fired. Cavs had a .302 win pct last year. In an 82 game season that's 25 wins. That's with only having Allen half the season, playing without a backup PG almost all year, and Wade & Prince playing major minutes at PF. I don't think they'll be great or anything, but to me 28 wins would signal a major flop.
The entire East, with the possible exception of Boston, is much improved. Young teams struggle to win- that’s just a fact. I gave the Cavs 3 extra wins over last year. How many do you see and where do you see these extra wins coming from?
 
Last edited:
The entire East, with the possible exception of Boston, is much improved. Young teams struggle to win- that’s just a fact. I gave the Cavs 3 extra wins over last year. How many do you see and where do you see these extra wins coming from?

This team, with reasonable/expected injuries should win a minimum of 30 games. Anything beyond that is a bonus, anything less, probably a disappointment.

Extra wins coming from:
1. Rubio - Cavs had no backup PG for the majority of last year. Adding a competent backup PG should add a couple wins
2. Improvement from young players - Improvement from Garland, Okoro, Allen, and Sexton should add a couple wins
3. Someone other than Wade at PF - Nance and Love only played in 60 games total last year. Mobley's going to struggle, but even is Nance can remain semi-healthy the PF position will be vastly improved.

There's other things I could add, but those three main points should be enough to add five wins. I don't think most people understand how much not having a backup PG last year hurt the Cavs. It forced Sexton and Garland to play way too many minutes and I believe resulted in both getting hurt.
 
Last edited:
This team, with reasonable/expected injuries should win a minimum of 30 games. Anything beyond that is a bonus, anything less, probably a disappointment.

Extra wins coming from:
1. Rubio - Cavs had no backup PG for the majority of last year. Adding a competent backup PG should add a couple wins
2. Improvement from young players - Improvement from Garland, Okoro, Allen, and Sexton should add a couple wins
3. Someone other than Wade at PF - Nance and Love only played in 60 games total last year. Mobley's going to struggle, but even is Nance can remain semi-healthy the PF position will be vastly improved.

There's other things I could add, but those three main points should be enough to add five wins. I don't think most people understand how much not having a backup PG last year hurt the Cavs. It forced Sexton and Garland to play way too many minutes and I believe resulted in both getting hurt.
How much did Rubio help Minnesota last year? Their record wasn’t much better than ours.

I want to be optimistic too, but it’s important to keep it real. young teams usually struggle with consistency & finding a way to win. we have the stem to surprise some teams, just like we did the Nets last year.
 
Last edited:


Most of the players they signed won’t be draft eligible until 2023 or 2024 but the trend continues of them getting a lot of the top kids heading into what would have been their Junior or Senior years of traditional HS
 
International ball starting to get going.

-Top international prospect and ESPN #6 overall Yannick Nzosa plays his season opener Sunday. Probably too similar to Mobley to be of interest to the Cavs.

-Real Madrid's Tristan Vukcevic played his first game last week, making a 3 but contributing little else in a few minutes off the bench. I think ESPN has him a bit too high at #21; he'll probably struggle to find rotation minutes this year, and I don't really expect him to declare for this draft.

-Jovic (ESPN #24) begins his season next Sunday. A big, skilled wing similar to ESPN #25 Prkacin who plays his season opener tomorrow.

-Khalifa Diop (ESPN #26) plays his first game Sunday. He was one of my top sleepers last draft before he withdrew, and could be a long-term solution at backup C.
 
Not a CAVS question but does anyone know how the Israeli league is considered and what kind of compensation is offered to Americans who go there?
 
Not a CAVS question but does anyone know how the Israeli league is considered and what kind of compensation is offered to Americans who go there?

It matters a lot which team you're talking about...Maccabi Tel Aviv is in a class of its own, often among the best teams in Europe though they've fallen off a bit lately. Their annual budget is approaching $30M, which may be as much as all other Israeli league teams spend combined. The overall level of competition is not high outside of the top few teams...Casey Prather, who had a completely forgettable summer league appearance for the Cavs a few years ago, was league MVP last season.
 

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Video

Episode 3-13: "Backup Bash Brothers"

Rubber Rim Job Podcast Spotify

Episode 3:11: "Clipping Bucks."
Top