2024 NBA Draft Thread



These highlights look good,

I haven't watched a single game, but from eye balling his box scores
his statistical performance givin the league he's in seems pretty underwhelming.


1674915934353.png


low steal rate, low rebound rate, FT% seem particularly concerning.
historically those really big indicators of NBA potential.

he's only 20 tho apparently.
 


I stopped by the Kansas-Baylor game to get eyes on the Jayhawks’ sharpshooting wing, a likely late lottery pick this June. The basic outlines of the resume are impressive: D1ck is 6-foot-8, shoots 42.7 percent from 3 and as a freshman for the defending national champions has been their second-best player.

Watching him launch away in pregame warm-ups, I can assure you those shooting numbers are legit. D1ck’s form with his feet set is as pure as it gets, with the added bonus of a relatively high over-the-head release that, combined with his size, should enable him to launch over NBA defenders. He also looks comfortable shooting off the dribble after driving against closeouts and has shown both a nose for off-ball cutting and enough athletic pop to finish dunks around the rim.

Defensively, D1ck’s rates of rebounds and steals scream prospect — 9.3 boards and 2.9 steals per 100 possessions. His feet on defense are just OK, but he has fast hands, and his size is an unalterable plus. Although he has a thin frame, D1ck’s height may allow him to masquerade as a four once his body fills out some more.

All of this establishes a base case for D1ck as a wing sniper who can hold his own defensively at the three, but what would really push up his value is seeing more vitality from him as a gunner flying off screens and pivoting into 3-pointers. Thus far, he’s seemed much more comfortable shooting 3s with both feet pointed at the basket as the ball arrives, especially since he brings the ball out in front of his body to get into his shot; those shots will be available for him in the league too, but expecting Klay Thompsonian volume-launching scenarios is probably a stretch.

Nonetheless, there’s a lot here to like; D1ck’s combination of age, skill, production and position should give him one of the highest floors in the draft, and he’s young enough (he won’t turn 20 until November) to hit some upside scenarios. It seems most mocks have him going in the late lottery right now; I won’t be shocked if he ends up cracking the top 10 when it’s all said and done.
 
Back
Top Bottom