DRAFT: #18 [Green] & #31 [Terry] & trade for #36 [Tyler Bey]

[Scott41theMavs]

I'd like to see Avdija drafted second because I actually think he's one of the anointed top fivers who isn't going to be a bust. 

Avdija, Okongwu, Vassell, and Haliburton - and possibly Okoro, if he can develop a useful NBA offensive game - are the super-high-floor guys in this class. They'll be 28 mpg players for good teams by year two at the latest. Some of them may not have the ceilings of Edwards and Ball, but they won't be full-on busts, whereas possibly those two - and certainly, Toppin, who will never play for a good team as anything more than a sixth man because his physical limitations will never allow him to be an even minimally-adequate defender - will be. Ditto Wiseman if he can't switch on the perimeter and stretch the floor - young Whiteside, that is all.

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I stayed up really late watching and re-watching draft videos last night, with the result of being a lot more nervous about Hampton and a lot more hopeful about Lewis and possibly Maxey. Board revision again...

BTW, I wonder why the Tankathon folks haven't redone their big board (and thus their mock) for two months now. If they don't do so before the draft, it would be pretty negligent on their part. As Kamm has said, this draft is going to be cray-cray. My second-biggest fear is that Toppin falls and the Mavs take him. Hopefully Donnie is smarter than that. I'd be less devastated if they blew the pick on Aleksej. The biggest fear is that we reach on McDaniels, who I don't think is going to pan out as an NBA player at all.

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Some revisions to yesterday's board after future research (and Kamm's Green observations):

Do not want for the Mavs, but they'll push the guys I do want down:
1) Ball
2) Edwards
3) Toppin
4) Wiseman 

Trade-up Targets (if they slip to #10 or lower). Offer Brunson, 18, and 31. 

5) Okongwu
6) Vassell
7) Haliburton
8) Avdija
9) Okoro

Trade-up targets (if they slip to 12 or lower) 18 + 31 packaged

All of the above, plus
10) S. Bey
11) Smith - If Smith never improves from what he is now, he'll be a reasonable 11th pick in ***any*** draft. If he improves, I think you've hit on an excellent complementary player who will likely make an All-Star game or two over the course of his career.
12) Terry
13) Nesmith 
14) Achiuwa (I have Achiuwa this low because I think he's going to take at least a year to become useful as a rotation player for a good team, which I certainly think the Mavs are, but I think he's going to end up being quite good.)
15) Hayes (I'm not high on him overall, but if he fell this low, might as well. He is a consensus top-five guy, after all, and his name isn't Obi Toppin.)

Draft at #18 Targets. Wouldn’t trade up for them. If they reach #18, we draft them.

All of the above, plus
16) Lewis
17) Maxey
18) Reed (if I'm the Mavs and he's the best of these 18 available, I either reach for him here or trade down for him, as the next three guys should have strong value) - Just want to say I love Reed's defense (with some caveats), and especially his ***work ethic***.

The pass on Reed, buy another pick for him, and take one of these guys instead if Donnie wants to take a flyer on this guy or simply build value crew:
19) Hampton
20) Anthony



Trade for/Buy a later first Targets. Wouldn’t draft them at #18. Cuban said he was a buyer. Time for him to prove it.

All of the above if available, plus

• 21) Tiger
  
  
  
  
• 22) Williams
  
  
  
  
  
• 23) Woodard
  
  
  
  
• 24) Green
  
  
• 25) Bane
  
  
  
  
  
• 26) Bolmaro
  

Draft at #31 (or another 2nd round pick) Targets. Wouldn’t trade up for them. If they reach #31, we draft them.

• Any of the above, plus
  
  
  
  
  
• 27) Ramsay
  
  
  
  
  
• 28) Aleksej
  
  
  
  
  
• 29) Alexander
  
  
  
  
  
• Draft using a traded-for additional second:
  
  
  
  
• 30) Riller
  
  
  
  
• 31) Flynn
  
  
  
  
• 32) Scrubb
  
  
  
  
• 33) Hughes
  
  
  
  
• 34) Joe