Top Prospects, Biggest Sleepers, Where Does Edey Land?!

Top Prospects, Biggest Sleepers, Where Does Edey Land?!

welcome to the score Studios for our NBA Draft preview show I’m Joseph Karo that’s Matthew Winnick Winnick is one of our resident College experts here at the score so we’re going to tap into his knowledge to uh to talk about what looks like a mediocre draft at best I mean everyone who’s anyone in uh Prospect scouting calls it the worst draft class in at least 11 years and uh for people that don’t remember what class that was that was when Anthony and it went number one overall so not a lot of people high on this draft I do I I asked two Scouts who I’ve made contacts with over the years covering the NBA about this class and I I asked them if it’s as bad as advertised straight up one texted me back saying worse but the other one told me that he actually thinks it’s mostly just the top of the draft that’s really really bad in comparison to other years like the the guys that are in contention for the number one pick this year are probably like eight to 10 picks in a mo in most years but after that it’s actually a very standard draft so Matt you know a lot more about college ball and Prospects than a lot of us do so you tell me what do you think if I asked you that same question is it as bad as advertised is it maybe getting too much hate what do you think honestly I think your Scouts are probably bang on it’s a combination of the two right the draft is not a deep draft even though there’s a lot of role players but the biggest flaw in the draft is Stars if you’re a team picking you the top normally you’re looking for someone who can be a franchise Cornerstone moving forward there might not be any of those guys in this year’s draft but if you’re a team picking the lottery maybe mid Lottery where you’re looking for a piece to put you over the top get into the playoffs next year maybe win round then there’s some hope here you can find someone who can maybe be an off ball shooter or a lock down defender or a rim protector but if you’re looking for that Superstar you’re probably going to need to wait another year or two to really get that guy into your program yeah there’s no franchise changes this draft or at least it doesn’t look like there is um guys at the top pretty consensus seems to be one of rash going one two maybe Reed Shepard and three we can talk more about uh your mock draft later and talk about some of those guys but I feel like people have heard those names for the most part we talk about how this draft might actually be all right once you get past the top guys so who are some of the names maybe people aren’t talking about enough or guys that are well-known names but you still think are sleepers that could have an impact uh beyond what people think they could yeah I think the first name that comes to mind is Isaiah Collier and he was the number one rated High School recruit getting into college this year from ESPN and he played for a USC team that had a lot of expectations uh a really talented roster and obviously bronny James was on that team so they got a lot of TV coverage and they were not very good they went 15 and 17 uh Collier had a ton of turnover problems his shooting was pretty erratic he had a hand injury where he missed a few games in the middle of the season but if you look historically at guards especially that were draft that were top five top 10 high school recruits that had you know productive Seasons Coler still are averaged uh 16 points and four assists on 44% shooting from the field you go down in the past 10 years guys that have put up those numbers in college as you know top recruits with a great pedigree they have all been top 10 picks every single one and that list includes dearen Fox that list includes RJ Barrett that list even includes Kyrie Irving and although Collier does not have the same all-around game as some of those guys do we’re talking about a guy that’s projected in the middle of the lottery and he has the talent of someone in this draft he if he hits he’s one of the guys that has star potential because he’s a 64 Guard Great Frame gets to the basket the shot isn’t broken it just needs a little bit of refinement I think that that’s someone who should probably be going higher in a draft like this and uh number two would be Zack Edy he’s been talked about a ton back-to-back a national Player of the Year 74 big man one of the biggest players to enter the NBA in years but everyone’s concerned about the defense he’s not super fast on his feet but he did impress at the combine he was not complete zero and then the difference is the shot right if he can become even a respectable three-point shooter we’re talking 33 35% where defenses aren’t going to completely sag in the paint then offensively he has everything you need from a modern five where he’s so dominant down low and he can stretch a defense out and Brook Lopez is a comp that you get a lot and I think that makes a ton of sense in terms of what his career can become uh number three someone who’s probably going late first round is Tristan D Silva from Colorado he’s a 68 Wing he shot 40% from three he can put the ball on the floor he’s a decent enough Defender pretty athletic someone who I like to compare him to is coming out of Utah Kyle kozma someone who has that tweener three four size great shooter and then the upside where I think that he has the ability to put the ball on the floor be an average Defender be an impact player on a winning team where you need a three or a four guy who can coming in space around Shooters and then the last two guys both second round maybe undrafted guys uh who sort of reminded me of guys that flourish in this year’s playoffs Tristan Newton was the starting point guard for yukon’s back-to-back National Title team which hasn’t been done in years and he’s a pure passer but at 6’4 he has the ability to sort of play off ball in the way that Andrew nard did with the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs alongside tyres halberton where he was able to hit that open three he was able to provide secondary playmaking and then when halberton went out you saw that he does have those point guard skills that made nard a great player in college at Gonzaga and I think that Tristan Newton’s ability to do both will allow him to carve a role in the NBA he’s also 23 years old so there’s not a lot of development needed there and then lastly would be Arizona’s Pelle Larson who played for some awesome Arizona teams he’s a wing guy who can shoot the ball over 40% from three and when you look at Derek white on the Celtics he’s a connector piece right he’s hitting threes when Star players have the ball in their hands he’s able to play defensively at 65 with a long wingspan and athletic enough where he can switch onto a bigger guy if he has to players that can hit threes are big enough defensively with you know positional versatility those are guys that I’m looking for that you know we saw with the Celtics if you can dribble pass shoot with good positional size you’re going to be just fine in the NBA that’s why we brought him here I told you he was a a resident expert on Call of troops and Prospects uh but no I think couple interesting things there one in terms of the last two guys you mentioned and and kind of fitting the mold of role players I I Derek white I think is probably better than a role but he is he’s like a star role player he’s Elite in his role but I agree with you in terms of their teams are always looking for those guys and especially after a playoff run where like a couple of those guys pop they’re looking for those Elite role player type players who can come in fill a role know that they’re not not going to be Stars know that they’re not going to dominate the ball and don’t expect to but can fill their role and those roles are very important especially on playoff teams and so that’s why those guys also make sense in the middle to late first round or in the second round because it’s teams that are ready to win now more contending teams that aren’t looking for a franchise savior they’re looking for a solid seventh man or a fifth starter to come in and just complete the puzzle um in terms of Edie I think it’s hilarious but I agree with you that he’s a sleeper but it’s hilarious that the two-time reigning National player of the year is a sleeper but it’s true because I think the narrative went so far and the consensus on him went so far the other way that he went from maybe someone who only watches college and like doesn’t realize how his game will translate maybe they would have overrated him and they would have said oh this guy’s going to be a superstar and no he won’t but I think the consensus has shifted too far the other way where he had become underrated the two-time rating National player of the year had become underrated from an NBA Prospect perspective because yes look he’s not g he was good at the combine um but he’s not going to move his feet great laterally if he gets stuck defending in an on an island on the perimeter on a switch yeah he’s going to get cooked because look how big he is but that sheer size you know what 7-Eleven almost wingspan 710 yeah you know almost 7 foot4 without shoes his sheer size is going to be a deterrent on the defensive end is is going to protect the rim in the right drop scheme in a certain amount of minutes I think he’s going to be fine defensively I don’t think he’ll be great defensively because of how versatile you need to be to be great defensively in the modern NBA but I think he’ll be fine on the offensive end you know he’s got nice touch for his size his footwork on the offensive end actually isn’t bad he’s good from that floater range whether the range can extend is the big thing but as we were talking about off air we’re talking about a guy 70% plus free throw shooter in college that usually transl usually if a guy is a solid free throw shooter it means the form is there it means there’s some upside there and with NBA development he can shoot also this guy’s got a track record of Rapid skill development he did not play start playing basketball till he was like 15 16 mhm and look where he is now by what 2122 there’s a track record of Rapid skill development the shooting just one thing I wanted to note so time about 70% free throw shooter in college I don’t think people understand the volume we’re talking about here okay they do not so 71% free throw shooter um the gap between his NCAA leading 436 free throw attempts and the player with the second most attempts was equivalent to the gap between that second ranked guy in free throw attempts and the 80 e rank player yeah so to be 71% at his size on that volume I think bodess well um for his shooting you know career in the NBA again do he’s not going to be a 40% shoot but can he be a guy that keeps defenses respect sorry that makes defenses respect him out there I think he and he’ll create a lot of Threes for for teammates as well with his vertical spacing his interior spacing um okay on the note about shooting shooting’s invaluable in the NBA we know you know almost every player needs to be able to shoot if they don’t do something else at an extremely Elite level who are the shooters in this draft class that you think are NBA ready Shooters teams are just foaming at the mouth to get them in their programs the best shooter in the draft and I don’t think it’s really that much of a debate is Reed Shepard he shot over 52% from three in his freshman season at Kentucky the only player in the in the 2000s that has put up his points per game his assists per game and shooting over 40% from three was Chris Paul at Wake Forest and he was at 40 4% Shepard at 52 is just a crazy Gap and in this draft with how weak it is if Shepard was even an average sized guard he would be the first pick and I don’t think it would be that much of a debate he’s really undersized and where he fits in the NBA is perhaps a question but when you have someone who has been one of the most elting elite shooting prospects in terms of production at the college level going into the NBA you you’re going to have to take a chance on him at some point in the top 10 probably top five uh Rob Dillingham is a different type of shooter who played with Reed Shepard at Kentucky he’s the type of guy that is going to score off the dribble and he can pull up he can hit that open three he was per centery efficient at all three levels shooting the basketball short mid and long off the dribble off the catch he reminds me a lot of a former Kentucky guy Tyrese Maxi offensively defensively he’s way smaller he has tiny shoulders that’s going to be a big problem that’s why he’s falling in a lot of mocks to the late Lottery even in the 20s but offensively you put the ball in his hands and he’s going to be successful because of his ability to shoot that basketball uh Jared McCain at Duke he’s popular uh social media personality so he already has a lot of uh of prestige behind his name when I watch him play he every single shot he takes he has the exact same form and he’s an excellent shooter when he catches that ball off of the dribble off of movement he always has the same form he’s always under control and the the numbers back it up he was over 40% from three as an undersized freshman at Duke in a in a power conference so I think that he will be be an excellent offall spacing threat for whoever picks some late Lottery lottery early 20s uh I just mentioned P Larson over 40% and his free throw numbers were all in over 80% uh all four seasons in college he’s the type of guy that with his size a as 65 as a wing guy he will be able to space the floor but unlike the guys that I just mentioned will also be able to hang defensively and then Baylor shyan a lefty from kraton he played at South Dakota State beforehand in in the mid- major ranks and he’s just been an absolute sniper his entire career he can pull up from I guess you call it Lillard range and put him in a system at 6’8 he will be able to play maybe the stretch four set some screens pick and pop and there’s really no one like him in the draft with his size and his deep shooting ability yeah and you talk about that size and that is what the concern is with Shepard the first guy you mentioned like I love Reed Shepard I I think he might have the most upside in this TR I know that sounds crazy uh and he doesn’t seem like he’s in contention for the number one pick but I just think a guy with um guard skills like that who can shoot at that level which is like almost unprecedented yeah there’s something there now the big concern is that he measured under 6’2 at the combine and that’s where I’m just like look I know small guys have made it work before I don’t know if Shepard has that level of you know athleticism and and a rounded out game to make up for the size difference and that’s where I’m like okay maybe that’s another indictment of this draft class where it’s like a guy with that type of concern I’m saying might have the most upside in the class the last two Allstars to make uh the last two players make an All-Star team with a standing reach under 710 which is where Shephard is six sorry oh seven standing reach under okay uh the last two players to make uh an All-Star game with that size would be Isaiah Thomas and kembell Walker it’s been a little while and they’re also like point guard the point guard point guard they have the ball in their hands they’re making plays for others that’s not quite Reed Shepard’s game that’s where the concern comes yes and you know even Kemba if you look at what he did in college at Yukon now Isaiah Thomas not to that same level but Isaiah Thomas was a more explosive scorer and he was the last pick yeah not a top five guy and and still you know carved out a really good career for himself and before he got hurt was you know a down ballot NB not even down ballot I think he finished third in MVP voting one year so um there’s something there like I said for Reed Shepard but that that size is a concern um okay we talked about shooting which you know obviously we talked about the offensive side of the floor but defense is half the game so um who are some of the guys maybe not getting enough love because defense never gets the love that it should but three to five guys from this class that you think we’ll be talking about a year from now as like impactful defensive rookies yeah Alex SAR who might go first overall of the Atlanta Hawks is the first guy you have to mention he’s not getting drafted for his offense he’s a 7-1 four five guy who really reminds me defensively of jiren Jackson someone who was playing the four in Memphis alongside Stephen Adams and that worked great and then when Adams got hurt and he fell down switched down to the five he’s a good enough rim protector to make it work he’s when you’re seven foot and you’re really quick and you have good length you’re automatically going to be able to you know succeed defensively in the NBA Chet hren is another example SAR is a little bit stronger than Chet Homen but someone who can sort of seamlessly play the four and five defensively with great length is going to be a piece that you’re going to want to have on your team and will immediately help your team defensively and can hide some of the flaws that maybe if he goes to Atlanta that Trey young has as being a small point guard uh and then number two would be Donovan kingan who also might be a top three pick he was the best rim protector in college basketball his defensive profile is a lot similar to Walker Kessler someone who’s just a dominant rim protector with great size I think kingan might be a little more mobile and that gives him even more upside defensively than Kesler who sort of fell out of the favor a little bit in Utah but he’s that same type of player where you know you’re going to get a top 10 15 rim protector in the NBA uh Ron Holland who might go later in the lottery is 66 extremely athletic and also has tremendous a t tremendous motor and that kind of didn’t always show he played for g-league ignite last year and because the team was historically bad in at that level and he was sort of burdened offensively in a role that he won’t be playing in the NBA because that team was so short on talent I think you put him in the right system he could probably play up to the four if he P builds up some strength and the way that he plays sort of PJ Tucker esque defensively especially a slightly younger version where he’s going to get into you and he’s going to make your life miserable for 40 minutes uh Ryan Dunn at Virginia Virginia is always known as a defensive program uh he put up defensive stats in terms of blocks and seals that haven’t been seen by a power conference player since matis tyel who was obviously drafted for his defense the difference is Dunn played in a in a really laidback system where he wasn’t even supposed to be getting these steals he he’s extremely long Ty ball is probably his best comp defensively and but also Ty is also his best comp offensively where he a problem he is a non-shooter he was even worse than Ty he was below 60% from the free throw line not a three-point shooter you’re hearing a lot of him very early second round just because if a team can unlock that offense boom he is absolutely a rotation player in the NBA if that shot doesn’t come around and then a deep sleeper at number five Jonathan mobo who played at San Francisco Late Late Bloomer in basketball he’s mostly a rim finisher now he’s only 6′ s defensively he reminds me a lot of someone like pre precious auua who doesn’t get a lot of love because of the offense is kind of a mess and mobo it might be as well but he he can play the five he’s really strong really long arms over a seven foot wingspan and if he’s able to you know develop some ball skills I think that the ability to play him at the four and the five as sort of someone who can switch out to guards if he gets in a switching scheme is someone who I think can be really valuable as potentially a late second rounder undrafted guy uh you mentioned kingan I mean I I think kingan’s just going to be like a solid big man for a long time I really like him and I think that he’s more not think I mean he’s more versatile than Ed is and I think that’s a big difference too I know you know there’s a lot made of both those guys because they matched up in the national championship game and um yeah I I think kingan is just going to be like a solid big for a long time in terms of SAR I think it’s funny because I think he actually would fit perfectly with Trey young even on the offensive end like yeah sure he would help protect him on the defensive end but offensively I think he’d pair so well with a pick and roll Maestro like Trey young um on the other end of those pick and rolls as like a roller a finisher a lob threat um but it’s just that offensive side of the ball for SAR is such a question mark to me like I know at one point earlier in the season I saw some people calling like oh he’s like baby Yannis light and I was like n no there’s no way like I know that he C he can put the ball on the floor but like that is not his game I think that jiren Jackson comp is a lot better and listen like even if jiren Jackson is your best case scenario you can talk crap about it that from the perspective like well that shouldn’t be a number one pick but in this class look if you get a jiren a defensive player of the year who’s like a very important P you know this year they were hurt they were not a playoff team but early in his career was already a very important piece for a 50 plus win team who’s advancing in the playoffs again like I said a defensive player of the year um I think jiren Jackson and maybe a little Evan moish like are are star comps again doesn’t mean he’s going to get to those Heights but I think those are the more comparable players for him as opposed to good defensive players who also put the ball on the floor and give you 20 a game totally and I think that MO is a good defensive comp if that shot doesn’t come around if the feel isn’t really there then that’s more of a Moy style and look the three-pointer isn’t at jiren Jackson levels but he moves well and that’s why you saw you hear the Yannis comps because ball skills and movement aren’t the same thing he moves well but with the ball he is not a Giannis style player no not at all um okay we’ve talked defense we talked shooting we talked sleepers talked about some of the guys at the top before we get out of here let’s do a little bit of a mock draft here we’re not going to go through all 60 picks we’re not going to go through all the first round no one wants to sit that long uh even though the NBA thinks people want it for two nights now um but let’s get your lottery mock draft Let’s Do It um we just talked about SAR at Atlanta I think it makes too much sense for them to pass up on someone who has a much higher defensive ceiling than who I have at number two with the Wizards at Z rash Who projects as an off ball shooter but I I don’t think he has the ball skills and the defensive skills to become an all-around player uh number three and you’re so just on Rasha you were also off air you were telling me about how his numbers um even at youth levels in France and things like that like never really indicated star potential no he’s he’s not a guy that’s comfortable with the ball in his hands and at 68 with the 69 wingspan you’re not talking about a an athletic Beast or he he didn’t measure didn’t test well athletically at the conf combine he’s not huge so if you’re banking on him being you know growing into a three-point shooter with on ball skills maybe like Brandon Miller I just don’t think he has that in his game when a lot of people it’s hard to project him when he’s been playing in in Europe and a lot of people aren’t watching yeah and and with s at one too that I was saying earlier because the way he he can compliment Trey young and I never finished that train thought but the reason it’s funny is because he compliments their franchise guy very well who might not be their franchise guy by the time SAR starts playing if Trey Young’s there but all right so SAR one Rashi two who’s three yeah so hou Rockets they have third pick it really would not stun me for them to trade this they have a ton of young guys that are sort of probably much farther along and much you talked about how this might be the a draft where the number one guy goes eight in another draft and they have they’ve really loaded up on top picks so it wouldn’t stun me if they trade this for a vet or maybe package it with another Prospect for a star but if they do keep this pick I think modest buellis is someone who has a slightly different profile than the rest of their guys he can play on ball if he gets a lot stronger I think he can play the four defensively and if that comes around we’re talking about an all-around player who I think can sort of fit that piece of the puzzle in Houston um at four the Spurs they have two picks in the top 10 and I think that matters talk about Reed Shepard and his lack of size if you put him around wenyama that changes everything because wanyama makes up for your mistakes and re Reed Shepard is great positionally he’s great off Ball but he’ll make on ball mistakes because of his size and wanyama is going to erase those he’s probably the best rim protector in the NBA already uh it’s a perfect fit if Reed Shepard’s there at four San Antonio should take him um at five the Detroit Pistons they’ve gone young a whole ton uh Kade Cunningham needs off ball help really badly and Dalton connect one of the older guys in the draft great off ball uh shooter great on ball scorer he’ll provide complimentary playmaking I think that he could even work at the three with Ivy and Cunningham if that’s how they want to go that’s where I would go um at number six the the Charlotte Hornets I I think they’re going to go Stefan Castle from Yukon he’s someone who is Camp has said that they want him to be a point guard and in Charlotte that wouldn’t be the case but I think that he can be an off ball guard who can play the point when lamelo’s on the bench I don’t think a team is drafting him to be a point guard and I think that Charlotte could really use his defense as versatility and if that shot comes around he he has one of the better chances of being a star in this Lottery seven would be the Portland Trailblazers they already have DeAndre eight at Center but I don’t think that you’re passing up on a big man because of Aon Donovan kingan defensively especially with how the Trailblazers have performed defensively basically in chony Phillips entire head coaching career and even before that with STS he will immediately fix their defensive problems he will be able to make up for a lot of the mistakes that their guards will make because they’re not great Defenders and I think that’s an excellent fit with that core uh at 8 the Spurs are back on the clock and tjn Salon uh pardon my French uh literally yeah he’s looked up to wanyama I think he’s taken a lot from Wan yama’s game he’s bigger than rashay his shot is almost at that level and I think that there’s a lot more playmaking upside with him and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see him as the better player between him and rash the two French Wings in this Lottery as we look ahead in a couple of years nine the Memphis Grizzlies Cody Williams That’s Jaden Williams younger brother the Thunder of the 12 pick I’m sure it’d be interesting if Cody and Jaylen combin he’s not the playmaker that Jaylen Williams is but they have a similar frame and if that shot becomes more consistent you’re talking about a guy at 69 with long arms a who could be a prototypical three and D wi which they kind of missed on with zier Williams a few years back uh 10 the Utah Jazz they don’t really have a specific team need I would say Ron Holland is someone who I think is a blank canvas he’s one of the youngest players in the draft I mentioned on the g-league team he was pretty inefficient but I think if you sort of f tun him as a player the way that he plays his athleticism his length he could become you know somebody who is a starter long term for years to come at 11 the Chicago Bulls I’m going to sort of prop my guy Isaiah Kier who I mentioned the Bulls are kind of starting from scratch Kobe white is big enough and Coler are big enough that they can sort of take turns on Ball and be fine defensively off ball uh at 12 the the Thunder I think they’re going to go jacobe Walter he’s uh an off Ball scoring Wing from Baylor who struggle with inefficiency but as a college resident College expert as you called me at the start Baylor played an extremely tough schedule a lot of really physical teams I think one of the youngest players in the draft give him some space give give him some time he can be a great 65 off ball shoot shooter with some on ball pop uh 13 the Kings uh Devin Carter out of Providence one of the older players in the draft he shot over 40% from three great defender played the point guard I’m not sure how many of those things he can do he’s a more refined uh Davon Mitchell who obviously they they kind of missed out on but I think that defensively you’re going to need to try to find guys that can play alongside dear and fox and and Deon sabonis and also space the floor off ball which is kind of where Davon Mitchell’s problems reside and then last last ly the Portland Trailblazers at 14 I mentioned trist Da Silva I think he has K Kyle kosma upside good off ball shooter on ball pop great length Okay I mean that covers Us for the lottery I think that covers Us mostly for what everyone needs to know before the draft so the last thing before I let you get out of here you didn’t mention Zach Ed in in that Lottery mock I don’t think that’s too shocking I mean most people don’t have him in the lottery maybe creeping close to it so he’s not going to be a lottery pick where does Zack Edy go where does he land how far does he fall after winning back-to-back Player of the Year Awards I I almost certainly he’s a first round pick I think right after we we go to 14 right from 15 onwards I think there’s a real chance 15 to 25 range he’s not going to slide because someone’s going to want to take a chance on him but I think when you look at the expectations of a lottery pick because there’s that bust potential with his lack of foot speed and that prototype really not fitting in today’s NBA I don’t think you’re going to see a lottery team want to pull the trigger on someone of his ilk and then you go past the lottery there’s a lot less pressure someone’s going to take that chance i’ had to say 15 to 20 yeah I think that I think that’s about right for kind of what he is and what he can be I think if listen if he falls like late first round or somehow out of the first round I think teams are nuts I I do not think you can let him fall uh that far but anyway we’ll see where he lands we’ll see where all these guys land and we’ll see what teams do I mean you mentioned the Rockets the Thunder with those multiple picks I think as a team that’s definitely ready to win now might finally be ready to start moving some picks so we’ll see how it all shakes out draft is uh next Wednesday night and Thursday night it’s a two night Affair this year we were talking off air my idea is that they should have if they were going to do a two night affair they should have just done the lottery on night one because the NBA unlike the NFL or even the NHL you don’t have all these rounds to fill yeah other days of coverage it’s just round two and it’s around where you know a lot of the guys aren’t even going to play in the NBA so they should have just done the lottery on night one people tune in for it and then when for day two you still have the second half of this first round people still want to see that but anyway all I we’re not we’re not running it I’m Adam Silver all I can think of is the fact that Nicole yic is now the best player in basketball and was drafted during a Taco Bell commercial and they just want to make sure that doesn’t happen again that’s the only thing that comes to my mind fair enough fair enough but anyway uh until the draft for Matthew Winnick I’m jaro thanks for watching

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