Minnesota Sports Forum

This is a weird draft for me, I have always been a draft casual who only scouts the top 5-10 players.

Hopefully it's ok doing a stream of conscientious while going through a bit about some of these prospects. Jokic is intriguing. Looking at all his stats from the past 3 years on RealGM confirm some of the things I pondered while watching him. First of all what kind of competition is he facing in his highlights from this last season. If someone wants to chime in on that feel free. His stats are decent but they aren't blowing me away. One of the things I thought arching him was if I picked him I would want to believe in that jumper because that seems like a huge part of his game being able to just poor in jumpers. His stats don't give me confidence there. Of course the other question is who can he guard? He is about to turn 19 so he could grow and develop physically. I'm not saying he can't guard anyone but that's a question in have. He moves well and has an intriguing theoretical skill set but I would need to do more research before I would say I would draft him at #19. If he was a guy that would keep playing in international basketball for another year that would make him more appealing.

Of the ten guys listed above, the nos or guys I'd avoid are Blake Wesley and Jaden Hardy; and maybe I'd add Kessler (while I like his shotblocking, he's a bit too one dimensional to take at 19 plus, I am concerned about him being slow and he has small hands for a big, and is a poor free throw shooter.) I like the other 7 listed guys.

KG4Ever wrote:Of the ten guys listed above, the nos for me are 1. Blake Wesley; 2. Jaden Hardy; and maybe I'd add Kessler (while I like his shotblocking, he's a bit too one dimensional to take at 19 plus, I am concerned about him being slow and he has small hands for a big.) I like the other 7 listed guys.

I watched some video of Wesley and was intrigued although his shooting was a concern. Then I looked up his measurements I was honestly shocked to see he was only 6'3". Measurements aren't everything but it's a differentiation point. He moved down the list for me.

Jean Montero. I'm looking for someone who will eventually replace D'Lo and doesn't have to be shoehorned into the lineup.

My do not want list is headlined by Blake Wesley. Just not interested in someone who struggled at everything we'd need from him

WildWolf2813 wrote:Jean Montero. I'm looking for someone who will eventually replace D'Lo and doesn't have to be shoehorned into the lineup.

My do not want list is headlined by Blake Wesley. Just not interested in someone who struggled at everything we'd need from him

I don't necessarily hate Jean Montero as a prospect, but I would be miffed if they took him at 19 over who's likely to be available. That would be a reach in my book, especially given the strengths and weaknesses of this current roster, and a bad overall first impression of this new front office.

Take a flyer on him at 40 if you like, but I expect better and more reliable talent to be available at 19.

Camden wrote:

monsterpile wrote:I need to do some more research before I vote. I'd put a poll up if I was more aware of all the prospects but is there a guy or guys you REALLY don't want to draft at #19?

Yeah, I do not want Baylor forward Kendall Brown or G-League Ignite forward MarJon Beauchamp in the first round, period. Both are very raw, very incomplete prospects with significant holes in their games to include perimeter shooting. Beauchamp, specifically, is behind in his development compared to other prospects/players his age. I've seen both mocked around where Minnesota picks on several outlets and I'm hoping they're not anywhere near the top prospect on Tim Connelly's board by then. They may pan out in the NBA, but I'm confident that they wouldn't be good picks for the Wolves.

Kendall Brown is a definitely stay away for me. He can really explode off the floor, but he otherwise looks mechanical and even a bit awkward to me. I don't see much of a basketball IQ in his game. I feel differently about Beauchamp. He's a better ball-handler than Brown and looks like more of a natural basketball player rather than an athlete playing basketball. He has some nifty moves going to the basket and is a terrific rebounder - something that will likely translate to the NBA. He also strikes me as a guy really driven to succeed. So I wouldn't mind seeing the Wolves take him at #19, although I think they should trade down for two 1st round picks if they decide to draft him. In any event, I'd take Dalen Terry, Wendell Moore, Jalen Williams or Liddell over Beauchamp.

monsterpile wrote:Hopefully it's ok doing a stream of conscientious while going through a bit about some of these prospects. Jokic is intriguing. Looking at all his stats from the past 3 years on RealGM confirm some of the things I pondered while watching him. First of all what kind of competition is he facing in his highlights from this last season. If someone wants to chime in on that feel free. His stats are decent but they aren't blowing me away. One of the things I thought arching him was if I picked him I would want to believe in that jumper because that seems like a huge part of his game being able to just poor in jumpers. His stats don't give me confidence there. Of course the other question is who can he guard? He is about to turn 19 so he could grow and develop physically. I'm not saying he can't guard anyone but that's a question in have. He moves well and has an intriguing theoretical skill set but I would need to do more research before I would say I would draft him at #19. If he was a guy that would keep playing in international basketball for another year that would make him more appealing.

I am also a bit intrigued by Jovic (who I think you meant), though, he is probably not the safest pick at 19. He did have some nice stats in U19 (though it was only 7 games), 18.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 blocks, 49% FG% and 36% on threes. His FT% was 65% and he had only one steal. The U19 stats are pretty good, but of course playing against his age peers is much easier than playing against grown men which he did in the Adriatic League which is where Jokic and Nurkic played. His stats there over 29 games wasn't as impressive, which can be expected. His FG% was 41.4%, 31.5% on threes, and his FT% improved to 71.8%. His assists numbers improved to 3.6 and steals improved to .7. His points dropped to 12.0, rebounds dropped to 3.8 and blocks dropped to .4. If you look at Nurkic's stats in this league Jovic's rebounds don't look bad as Nurkic had only 3.3 rebounds, which are roughly the same on a per minute basis. Jokic, though, had better stats, although, he was a year older when he played in Adriatic league.

Connelly having scouted Nikola Jokic, hopefully will be able to get a fair handle on how good a prospect Nikola Jovic is.

KG4Ever wrote:

monsterpile wrote:Hopefully it's ok doing a stream of conscientious while going through a bit about some of these prospects. Jokic is intriguing. Looking at all his stats from the past 3 years on RealGM confirm some of the things I pondered while watching him. First of all what kind of competition is he facing in his highlights from this last season. If someone wants to chime in on that feel free. His stats are decent but they aren't blowing me away. One of the things I thought arching him was if I picked him I would want to believe in that jumper because that seems like a huge part of his game being able to just poor in jumpers. His stats don't give me confidence there. Of course the other question is who can he guard? He is about to turn 19 so he could grow and develop physically. I'm not saying he can't guard anyone but that's a question in have. He moves well and has an intriguing theoretical skill set but I would need to do more research before I would say I would draft him at #19. If he was a guy that would keep playing in international basketball for another year that would make him more appealing.

I am also a bit intrigued by Jovic (who I think you meant), though, he is probably not the safest pick at 19. He did have some nice stats in U19 (though it was only 7 games), 18.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.7 blocks, 49% FG% and 36% on threes. His FT% was 65% and he had only one steal. The U19 stats are pretty good, but of course playing against his age peers is much easier than playing against grown men which he did in the Adriatic League which is where Jokic and Nurkic played. His stats there over 29 games wasn't as impressive, which can be expected. His FG% was 41.4%, 31.5% on threes, and his FT% improved to 71.8%. His assists numbers improved to 3.6 and steals improved to .7. His points dropped to 12.0, rebounds dropped to 3.8 and blocks dropped to .4. If you look at Nurkic's stats in this league Jovic's rebounds don't look bad as Nurkic had only 3.3 rebounds, which are roughly the same on a per minute basis. Jokic, though, had better stats, although, he was a year older when he played in Adriatic league.

Connelly having scouted Nikola Jokic, hopefully will be able to get a fair handle on how good a prospect Nikola Jovic is.

Yes I meant Jovic I'm blaming autocorrect for that one.

Thanks for the info. I tend to like to give international players credit for what they do in legit international leagues. Sometimes it's less clear how to compare guys that aren't playing in the top leagues or even finding real net stats. It was a little easier to know what Bolmaro was doing the year he was drafted since he played in a top league with other former NBA players on his own team.

I'm on the verge of going back on what I said weeks ago when I said there would be prospects I liked better than Liddell. Part of that was him being undersized. Here is a list of guys that are very comparable to him in height and length.

Thad Young
Jae Crowder (shooter and smaller wingspan)
Brandon Clarke (taller but shorter wingspan)
Jared Dudley (slimmed down and became a solid commentary wing before returning to his roots as an undersized big)
Grant Williams
Draymond Green (a little taller and longer wingspan so a lengthier player but I think it's a worthwhile guy to have on the list)
PJ Tucker

As a point of reference Paul Millsap was over an inch taller and a 2 inch longer wingspan. He was also a top rebounder in college and didn't have the proven perimeter game Liddell has although I still have a bit of a concern about Liddell's shot.

I've been saying when it comes to this draft I hope the Wolves are willing to overlook some measurables and take a good player. I think that's where I am at with Liddell. I'm not completely overlooking his overall height length but at this point it's more about how go I think he is or can be. Al Horford has been a. Really good player for a long tome and has been terrific in this postseason. At the draft combine he was 6'8" without shoes and a 7'.75" wingspan. Basically he is an inch or 2 longer than a guy he will face up with m Draymond Green who is undersized when he plays center. I'm not quite all in on Liddell because I have a little more research to do but I'm not going to say we shouldn't take him at #19 because he is too small. Below is a recent article on Liddell saying he is moving up and it compares him and Grant Williams.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2022-nba-draft-profile-why-ohio-states-e-j-liddell-can-follow-grant-williams-as-undersized-steal/amp/

Right now I would lean towards selecting Liddell but I do really like Wendell Moore.