[armchairgmParticipant]

I am hoping Portland and Sacramento in either order land the top 2 picks this year as I think it would help their teams the most with who is at the top of the draft board this year.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

I hope Memphis gets the top pick. I think they could inch their way into a top seed and have an even better chance at winning the title going forward. Imagine in this case Jaden Ivey and Ja Morant backcourt perhaps… scary to imagine that. It would also ruin a lot of people’s day if they won… I think it would be tits!

[armchairgmParticipant]

Lol Memphis isn’t even in lottery not even via a trade because Lakers pick goes to Pelicans not Grizzlies if they win lottery.

[NorrinRaddParticipant]

yeah good point. lol!

[HitsterParticipant]

I’d be interested to see Pacers or Spurs get the top pick as a lot of the other teams have drafted very high in recent years. Also the thought of NOP getting a very high pick is a fun one for if they get another top young guy in and Zion back next season to go alongside Ingram and CJ McCollum it could be a fun team to watch.

From a playing point of view I think Detroit possibly need new blood the most.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Well for me I’d rather the team not be in the East as a Raptors fan. I’d also like the team to be an organization that actually does something with their picks and has a decent development system. So it would probably be the Spurs or Pelicans.

But I really think your good as long as you get in the top 3. Theres three really good forwards that fit on any team in theory (even 4 if you count in Keegan Murray) and theres three really good guards to choose from as well with Ivey, Davis and Mathurin. Tons of options. I also feel like alot of people seem to have settled into believing theres a top 4 with Ivey, Smith, Holmgren and Banchero but what if a team thinks Keegan Murray will be a better player than Banchero or that Davis will be better than Ivey? Is that really that farfetched?

So yeah I think the final draft order will be a bit different than most of us have projected. Even know my own personal top 4 is Smith, Holmgren Banchero and Ivey I don’t believe there is a top 4.

[HitsterParticipant]

I fully agree with OhCanada how many times have our mock drafts and more importantly the big mock drafts that the likes of Aaron does on here and Jonathan Givony at ESPN thought we have figured out who the top 4 or 5 might be but maybe not the exact order and someone has gatecrashed that club on draft night. Last season I don’t recall Scottie Barnes being the next guy off the rank after the top 3 but I think Oh Canada was keen on him or either happy his Raptors had snagged him.

A lot will also depend on a team’s needs or whether they take BPA so if a team is after a guard and say Ivey has gone then Davis might come into the mix. But it is hard to see who out of the big 4 might slip- Ivey is number 1 ranked, Smith ticks every box of a new age NBA big, Banchero may not have the wow factor of the other guys but I think he is the least risky pick and Holmgren has the X factor upside.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Yeah Scottie was defenitely my favorite prospect although I had him third on my Big Board behind Cade and Jalen. But I mean I also had Jonathan Isaac as my favorite prospect in that draft class with Fultz, Ball and Tatum and that didnt work out as well, but if Isaac went to Toronto’s development system like Scottie did you might think his development looks a bit different and possibly his health as well. Its hard for any of these analysts to project a prospects potential before learning what team he will be playing for. I think fit and need is more important than best player available, unless theres just a huge talent gap.

[HitsterParticipant]

I will only look at needs when the lottery is done. I’m always torn between BPA and biggest need. When I look too much at needs I often end up talking myself out of taking BPA by convincing myself that rosters have great potential then I think well they are a 25-57 team whatever so the roster is still unproven or not that good. Now I try to take a flexible approach as regards the mock drafts.

As I go down the draft I tend to more for BPA as contending have fewer needs and will likely go for upside.

Jonathan Isaac has just been very unlucky with injuries over the last few years and it could sadly be another Greg Oden type career scenario unless he can get sound and become a true finesse big. Luckily he did have a decent 3 point range pre injury and seems an articulate and high character guy who could move on with life if he couldn’t resume his career successfully.

[OhCanada-Participant]

Thats a good point. Kinda have to have some sort of an identity in order to have a need or fit. Alot of those teams in the lottery just gotta go with the best talent in order to get players they can create an identity through.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

Not going to lie. Even though I know it’s extremely unlikely to happen there’s a part of me that would love to see the pelicans somehow be in a position to draft Chet holmgren. I’m not sure if I could possibly think of two guys who are more opposite in terms of body type than Chet and Zio. and I believe their skill sets could compliment one another very nicely.

[HitsterParticipant]

Teams high in the lottery first time in a few years nearly always go BPA and then if they return in subsequent years you look to fill out the gaps or figure out what you have done wrong.

I love the idea of Chet and Zion playing together too as they would be the perfect foil for each other and with Ingram and CJ McCollum you’ve got a huge number of ball handling and interchangeable options for Willie Green to use.

[markfitz14Participant]

Would love to see Portland land the top pick. The team needs to rebuild and top pick would be another reason to trade Dame to a contender. Would love to see Dame on a contender since Portland’s roster is clearly not good enough to contend.

[HitsterParticipant]

With Portland if they got a young hotshot might Dame might think they could contend in his window and also with him being out for so much of last season has his trade value go down?

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