which teams would trade down from a top ? pick for Sacramento's something like 6th and 8th? Should Sac swap those two for Ball/Fultz/?

If Philly gets lakers pick and theirs as 2 picks between 4-8 I could see Orlando trading the 1st or 2nd pick for both Philly picks

So Philly get Ball or Markelle and Magic get Markannen/ntilikina or dennis smith

That's the only trade down scenario I can imagine and it probably won't happen

Wolves/Pelicans/Knicks/Kings/Sixers really should be tanking the **** out of these last few games.

There are legitimate star players to be had with possibly the first 6 picks. It's a really strong class.

Fultz/Lonzo/JJ/Tatum/Fox/Markkanen are all super legit prospects with really high upsides.

Not to mention the benefit of a few extra ping pong balls. Celtics/Lakers/Suns/Magic probably have 4 worst records locked up in some order. The next few spots still mostly up for grabs.

kentucky observations:

- im pretty bearish on fox. he just seems like a more athletic version of elfrid payton. his drives/athleticism/defense look like they could be productive but his passing/vision coming off of those drives seems not designed to maximize eFG. also no semblance of a jumpshot afaik. i can't tell if that's him or just the way calipari runs the offense. would not trust him being a franchise PG if I was the Kings. If I was the Knicks I would pass on Fox and Ntilikina and get Markkanen tbh.

- monk is a stud. he should go #3 to some teams, imo.

Markkanen and Porzingis together is kind of weird.

no team has ever really utilized the double unicorn afaik (multiple 7 footers with 3 pt range). i'm not convinced that the pelicans are doing it right with boogie and brow. i think it could be the thing that breaks the league and forces some rule changes to encourage the interior game again. i just selfishly want to see a markkanen porzingis pick and roll.

maybe they end up in a spot where they can only grab Nkilitina and that would be totally fine, but if they can't get Ball/Fultz then imo it's either Nkilitina or Markkanen. Knicks are a good candidate for trading down if they don't think they can get the double unicorn to work with whatever idea of the triangle they think they can get.

Fox is a wayyyy smoother shooter. Payton is a bad comp.

Fox >>> Monk

payton is a bad comp to almost everyone because his giant bearclaw alien hair gets in the way of his shooting hand. i struggle finding a better comp that feels right on both sides of the ball. jrue holiday maybe?

Fox seems to have decently more upside than Monk given the role they'd each be playing in the NBA imo.

Fox reminds me of a slightly smaller Manu or bigger Conley. His shot will get there. He's long/strong/elite defense/smoothness.

i think any starting PG is going to have more upside than any potential SG, I just think Monk has a super high floor. Good playmaking + 40% 3pt + 85% FT is just a super easy plug in for modern NBA. 76ers should have him #3 on their mocks.

Worried about Monk's quicks on O and especially D.

these are the sorta things that a team like the 76ers could insulate by a large amount, less so other teams. Everywhere else on that roster has infinite length and defensive acumen, you can hide him on the other team's worst shooter and let him be JR Smith on offense.

Philly badly needs someone who can create offense. Think Fox is especially >Monk for them.

i guess we just gotta agree to disagree there. i think fox is a little too rough to just be guaranteed to create offense with that unit, especially when he has no semblance of a three pointer yet. there's nobody for him to kick it to when he's driving, teams would just clog the paint and go under on everything until he could prove his 3pointer.

meanwhile philly's 2 guard spot is henderson/stauskas.

if philly whiffs on top 2 then a roster of simmons/monk/roco/saric/embiid with high embiid usage rate could be v interesting. they have the LAL pick and the SAC pick to plug in whatever they think is the best need and shift whatever needs to be shifted. could see them flipping RoCo when he needs to get paid, putting simmons at the 3, and installing a franchise PG in return for one of those future picks.

yeah it's weird but for such a crazy leaper he really doesn't seem that quick

Lonzo Ball has GOAT potential. Everytime i watch him he plays so good. Sick he might not even go number 1.

Man, the signal/noise ratio on basketball twitter is despondent.

It's essentially Dean/X. It's Party c.2000.

thought experiment to pass the time:

which teams do you think should take lonzo first and which teams do you think should take fultz first

i'm pro-lonzo so i think most teams should take him if they bink the lottery, but i think bulls and pelicans may be better off with fultz tbh

Every team should take Lonzo first imo. He's a generational player. After that it becomes a lot more interesting.

If Fultz goes ahead of him it's going to be like an era defining catastrophic mistake for whichever team does that

Where does Josh Jackson project? I watch zero college basketball until the tournament and he looks he looks NBA ready for sure.

He'll be a top 7 pick and could go as high as 3

Dean wug thoughts on thornwell

I am starting to really like Sindarius. It's weird bc he was nowhere near prospect radar, and then had a MONSTER breakout this year at age 22. He has arguably been best player in the country this year and his team is crushing.

He has legit SG dimensions and is athletic enough, and doesn't have any glaring holes in his game. If his shot is for real he could be a nice role player, so I'd take him late 1st or early 2nd at the latest.

They would be great together. Elite spacing and Porzingis protects rim, Markkanen is going to be best off as PF defensively anyway. Throw a solid lead guard into the mix and you have a nice offensive upside.

I'm worried about Monk in general. His 2P% has cratered 2nd half of the season which is esp bad considering how transition heavy he is and how serious his other weaknesses are. I was a buyer of his stock, but now I'm in limbo. Probably going to end up 7 or 8 on my final board.

thanks!

Everybody should pretty much take whoever is better.

If you want to argue fit for fun though, I would say whatever teams need passing should take Lonzo and whatever teams need scoring should take Fultz. I am curious why you think Pels may be better with Fultz, bc w/ Boogie + Brow I'd say they need a star passing PG more than anything.