Following Potential *2024* Draftees

[Ozymandias]

The Huerter trade means the Kings 1st rd pick goes to the Hawks if we make the playoffs, its only protected 1-14, so that makes this draft less exciting. The Kings are still in a position to trade up if the price and target are right.

We still have our 2rp and also we own the Mavericks 2nd rounder, while the consensus is down on this draft right now I believe thats more of a reflection of the top guys more than the players we'd be looking at.

Lots of Portal X-fer news, exciting new landing spots for players to showcase from. As names pull out of the '23 draft the picture on '24 will be much clearer, so I figure its a decent time to make this thread.

It appears that once again there's a handful of french prospects to monitor, led by Zacharrie Rischaser who many see as a lottery talent. The G-League will be well represented again with Matas Buzelis, London Johnson and Thierry Darlan. the NBL has A.J. Johnson and Alex Sarr. Unsure what the OTE has to offer directly to this draft beyond Izan Almanza. Tyler Smith? will Somto Cyril be eligible?

 

[serbiangoat]

Aday Mara #1 all day, he's Kessler Walker (or is it Walker Kessler) with offense and passing. Hopefully he follows in the line of the Gasol's as a really successful Spainard bigman.

The best prospects amongst the Serbs for that year will most likely be Nikola Topic a 6'7 PG (bigger Nate Wolters from his Bucks days).

 

[Ozymandias]

Aday Mara #1 all day, he's Kessler Walker (or is it Walker Kessler) with offense and passing. Hopefully he follows in the line of the Gasol's as a really successful Spainard bigman.

The best prospects amongst the Serbs for that year will most likely be Nikola Topic a 6'7 PG (bigger Nate Wolters from his Bucks days).

Well the word is Mara wants to play in college next year, which will certainly help his showcase for the lottery. Everyone's saying UCLA, but their roster is in flux so it seems wise for him to wait a bit longer. I'd kinda prefer to see him land at Gonzaga with the way things stand now, they have much better quality PF's to put next to him.

6'10 french forward Tidjane Salaun is an international player who doesnt have crazy hype right now that I really like, the footage from the recent Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Patras looks good to me.

 

[serbiangoat]

Well the word is Mara wants to play in college next year, which will certainly help his showcase for the lottery. Everyone's saying UCLA, but their roster is in flux so it seems wise for him to wait a bit longer. I'd kinda prefer to see him land at Gonzaga with the way things stand now, they have much better quality PF's to put next to him.

6'10 french forward Tidjane Salaun is an international player who doesnt have crazy hype right now that I really like, the footage from the recent Adidas Next Generation Tournament in Patras looks good to me.

That's crazy he should be starting next year for his current ACB team in Zaragoza, the ACB imo could even be better than the Euroleague except for maybe the bottom 5-6 teams (18 teams all together in ACB) why the hell would he be going to a lower level the ACB would prepare him way more for the NBA. Plus Mara will get paid in Spain,,,,,Bad move for him imo he's a lottery pick regardless of where he plays.

 

[Ozymandias]

That's crazy he should be starting next year for his current ACB team in Zaragoza, the ACB imo could even be better than the Euroleague except for maybe the bottom 5-6 teams (18 teams all together in ACB) why the hell would he be going to a lower level the ACB would prepare him way more for the NBA. Plus Mara will get paid in Spain,,,,,Bad move for him imo he's a lottery pick regardless of where he plays.

Well Mara had an 800k buyout and apparently his camp paid it, though there's rumors UCLA helped, stands to reason he'll get paid plenty in college here with NIL money, there's probably a bidding war for his services right now..

Also UCLA has Ivo Simovic as an assistant coach, who coached another 7-foot 1st rounder from Spain, Santi Aldama, at Loyola. So I think they are hoping for more of the same results, as college certainly helped Aldama get drafted in the 1st

 

[Ozymandias]

Kentucky has 3 lottery hopefuls this year in 7'2" C/PF Aaron Bradshaw, 6'7 SF Justin Edwards and 6'3 CG DJ Wagner.

Ontop of those 3, they have 2 more 5-star recruits in 6'2 PG Robert Dillingham and Reed Sheppard, with Dillingham seeming to have a chance at the first round, as he's extremely slippery with the ball and able to discard defenders with ease.

There's other parts of UK's roster still in flux so I'm not trying to do a whole team breakdown but Ugonna Kingsley is returning for his sophomore season, he's considered to be a C with upside that can go top40, so that'd be 5 potential selections in the top40 for the Wildcats, should be Coach Cal's most talented team in a while.

 

[Telemachus]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1659286704962904066

 

[Ozymandias]

https://twitter.com/statuses/1659286704962904066

Buzelis would be insane on the Kings. The ultimate swiss army knife on the depth chart, with SG's like Huerter and Monk, forwards like Barnes and Murray he fits in every which way vs every sort of matchup. That added strength is a big deal too, I'm definitely more confident about him holding a spot near the top5 when I see that, or even #1.

of the list of guys I'd handpick from this draft right now for our roster Buzelis seems the easy choice, I like what I've seen from Rischaser enough and actually Kwame Evans Jr. with a darkhorse candidate being AJ Johnson (There's plenty of other projected top picks who seem close but I want to see them more)

Evans will be tasked with breaking a pretty bad streak of duds for Oregon in recruitment since Peyton Pritchard. Oregons recuiting class as a whole with Jackson Shelstad and Mookie Cook will provide a huge shot of adrenaline and Kario Oquendo x-ferring in should really bolster the defense on the wing. I hope they really outperform, should be their most fun team to watch in years. Though competition will be fierce all over the westcoast compared to the last 2 seasons IMO, lots of teams looking to make powermoves next season. Oregon seems to me to be well equipped.

Evans is a player whos been top rated for years and years, and to me, he looks like he just keeps getting taller and taller and taller, pretty sure he's 6'10 now.. Lefty can shoot it, he's got a soft touch on offense, not super explosive but he's crafty and crazy long. Definitely a PF too, not one of these guys stuck between positions, his role is defined.

 

[Ozymandias]

So if teams end up down on lots of the top players, thats probably pretty good for 6'6" AJ Johnson. He's someone whos trained with the Rockets Jalen Green over the years and looks up to him considers him a brother, he rapidly went from unranked to 5-stars in the rankings not that long ago, now I believe ESPN projects him as the 13th pick in this draft.

*he's no longer committed to Texas like this videos title, he's signed to play in the NBL for the Illawara Hawks

I'll keep this one short and sweet. Probably the quickest player in this draft. We have Fox here, Monk here, A.J. would be yet another player we'd have who could leave perimeter defenders in the dust. He's skinny like Fox was a year before we drafted him but a player who's percieved to have lots of untapped potential.

 

[Ozymandias]

I can tell you already who the Kings wont be drafting in 2024.... Mikey Williams..

 

[Ozymandias]

Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander will return to Creighton and pull out of the 2023 draft.

Auburn's Johnni Broome is going back to school.

The deadline for early entry players to withdraw is on the 31st so we're about to get a bunch of this type of news and it should help shape up the '23 and '24 draft a bit.

Edit - Wow Daron Holmes II is the big shocking returning name for me. He's gonna try to vie for the 1st rd and should put up huge stats. With 6'4" Freshman Marvel Allen coming in who can shoot the ball, Dayton's gonna be fun to watch for sure.

 

[Ozymandias]

Elliot Cadeau will reclassify into 2023 and enroll at North Carolina next week! Major news he profiles as a 1st rd pick. 6'2" PG lightning quick he can shoot it and is a most excellent playmaker well beyond his years.

UNC is gonna be way more fun to watch than the past few seasons. I'd presume he will step in as the starter from day one and vie for 1-and-done, a la Cole Anthony.

 

[Ozymandias]

an extreme sleeper who'd certainly be the youngest player in this draft is Ulrich Chomche an athletic 6'11 Cameroonian bigman with a 7'3 wingspan. He's born Dec 30th 2005.

He's a guy who a little bit of offensive progress in a short span could go a long way. Joakim Noah is a big believer in him.

Espn wrote an article about Chomche a few months ago with the clickbait title "Cameroon's best prospect since Joel Embiid?"

 

[Ozymandias]

6'8" do-it-all F, Ron Holland, who many have projected top-5 in this draft, will be playing for the G-League Ignite next to Buzelis. This is the most talented Ignite roster ever. Big news for this draft.

 

[Ozymandias]

OOOHH Spicy news today!! Tyler Smith will go from the OTE to the G-League Ignite next season. He's eligible for this draft as I think he's 18 already.

(This footage is dated but its still glorious, he's 6'10 now and much more of a PF/C than a SF as indicated on the video)
6'10 220lb lefty, might still be growing, he's got very long arms, passes the eyetest with ease - he looks like a starter in the nba to me, his skillset is perfect for the Kings, an Ideal fit at PF between Murray and Sabonis, but sadly this player is sure to end up way out of our range, we'd probably need to trade the farm for him, he's a highlight factory, vicious dunker and he can shoot the ball, he's a high-end 3-and-d shotblocker, probable big $$ player..

Smith got paid a lot to go to OTE (reported 7 figures) and surley the G-League gave him a lot again this season, with good reason the footage of him screams 1st rd pick and probably more like lotto pick. He has excellent touch around the rim for a big guy and is a major force on the boards, he can throw down some really nasty putback slams, not someone many defenders are gonna be trying to jump up and contest he'll ruin you.

That Ignite team is gonna be insane btw. Buzelis to Tyler Smith alley oops all day it's gonna be wild to see them up against pros, I wanna watch every game now ngl.

This player will not fall down to 2nd rd projections like GG Jackson did this year, he is bigger longer and a more consistent outside shooter. While this draft is far away, this is a player I'm pretty confident will not be gettable for the Kings without trading up. He's of the talent level where it'd seem unfair for a playoff team to get him. He'd probably deliver on many of the hopes and dreams we had for Marvin Bagley if we could get him tbh.

That G-League Ignite team would honestly smack most every college basketball team around, even in this crazy world of super duper (plus a covid year) seniors. This particular Ignite team should really help solidify their recruitment of top players moving forward too, they are starting to outpace the competition/traditional powers. How many players from the G-League get drafted in '24 wills surely be a headline, plus they've got Dink Pate whos too young to even be eligible.

 

[Ozymandias]

With the Bobi Klintman withdrawal and signing to the NBL it seems likely we will see a record number of NBL players drafted in '24, here's the list of names to keep an eye on:

- AJ Johnson (Illawarra Hawks)
- Alexandre Sarr (Perth Wildcats)
- Taran Armstrong (Cairns Taipans)
- Ariel Hukporti (Melbourne United)
- Mantas Rubstavicius (New Zealand Breakers)
- Bobi Klintman (Cairns Taipans)
- David Okwera (Perth Wildcats)

Johnson and Klintman will try to vie to go inside the top20 maybe near even the lotto. Sarr will vie for the 1st rd, rest of the guys are going to vie for the 2nd with Rubstavicius having the best chances to be selected I'd think.

 

[serbiangoat]

With the Bobi Klintman withdrawal and signing to the NBL it seems likely we will see a record number of NBL players drafted in '24, here's the list of names to keep an eye on:

- AJ Johnson (Illawarra Hawks)
- Alexandre Sarr (Perth Wildcats)
- Taran Armstrong (Cairns Taipans)
- Ariel Hukporti (Melbourne United)
- Mantas Rubstavicius (New Zealand Breakers)
- Bobi Klintman (Cairns Taipans)
- David Okwera (Perth Wildcats)

Johnson and Klintman will try to vie to go inside the top20 maybe near even the lotto. Sarr will vie for the 1st rd, rest of the guys are going to vie for the 2nd with Rubstavicius having the best chances to be selected I'd think.

I might check on some Wildcats games if they got two guys maybe even catch one in person depending on prices nowdays, the good thing about the Wildcats is that they are kind of like the Miami Heat (but with a Spurs type of success) they are always hard nosed a good place for young players to learn plus the crowds here are super friendly to prospects. They did an amazing job developing Luke Travers who had a excellent Summer League for the Cavs this season. I think the NBL has a specific program where all those guys are actually signed to the NBL and not the clubs and they're there to develop and get playing time (I think it's the "next up" program)

 

[Ozymandias]

Well Aaron Bradshaw, projected top5 pick, has fractured his foot... Their saying he'll miss the start of the season.. yikes.. What a way for the top 7-footer on the board to start things off..

 

[Ozymandias]

I might check on some Wildcats games if they got two guys maybe even catch one in person depending on prices nowdays, the good thing about the Wildcats is that they are kind of like the Miami Heat (but with a Spurs type of success) they are always hard nosed a good place for young players to learn plus the crowds here are super friendly to prospects. They did an amazing job developing Luke Travers who had a excellent Summer League for the Cavs this season. I think the NBL has a specific program where all those guys are actually signed to the NBL and not the clubs and they're there to develop and get playing time (I think it's the "next up" program)

Oh thats cool Ive heard of the next up program but didnt see too many details. I do wonder how Sarr is going to show, I'm interested to hear how he compares this next up program to the OTE that he was in last season.

Illwara will be the team I'm tuned in to see the most. AJ Johnson is a player whos truly made rapid improvement (plus he's getting taller) recently so its gonna be interesting to see what he does next. Stands to reason he has quite a bit to gain.

 

[Ozymandias]

Well the Kings trade away another 1st rd pick and take 2 older 2nd rd picks in 2023. far as I can see that only adds intrigue to 2024

If all that works out for us, we could possibly have the luxury of taking some projects here finally ??? or is it still pedal to the medal as we are in 2023?


OR if that all works our for us, does that mean we could have more incentive to trade up here in 2024 for a hand picked bench player?

Well time is on our side... Got one whole year to figure it out..

 

[serbiangoat]

Ozy you going to watching the u19's World Cup starting tomorrow.

 

[Ozymandias]

Ozy you going to watching the u19's World Cup starting tomorrow.

For sure! Team USA will be worth a watch all by themselves, there's plenty of talent on all the other rosters too. But seriously Madagascar(Madagascar qualified for this event!?!?!?!), Slovenia and Lebanon drew the group of death. Sometimes team USA doesnt send the same quality rosters to the U19 that they do the lower age brackets, but not this year, this team is loaded, I'd expect our guards to be the difference makers we simply have superior scorers and attack guards on the roster.

I dont really buy the idea that Spain or France can hang with Team USA tbh.

We waited so damn long to see Baba Miller at FSU last season. we just saw how Coulibaly went from fairly unknown and unhyped in the summer Fiba tourney to the 7th pick in the course of 1 summer, there's lots of momentum to be gained here.

Rischaser is obviously a big headliner. Sarr is going to be interesting to get a look at, we'll see how much Perrin's improved, but I'm not sure what to make of that team aside from those 3.

Sergio De Larrea for Spain 6'6 wing with some guard skills should have a solid showing this tourney.

Will we get an extended look at Borovcainian for Serbia? Sure hope so.

I look forward to checking in on Berke Buyuktuncel's progress on Turkey.

I see China has a 7'1" shotblocker named Yang Hansen whos supposed to be a good passer.

I've got my eye on Elijah Fisher and Michael Nwoko on Team Canada, 2 more players looking to springboard a strong summer into a big college season, Nwoko already has already established himself this summer turning heads at the Nike Hoops Summit, he'll look to build on that going to Miami for his freshman year. Fisher's headed to DePaul for what I'd expect would be a big role, he's built like a tank at 6'7 so on the right college team he should be able to score 15 and grab 7 boards n do plenty more.

Jan Vide headed to UCLA on Slovenia, good luck to him. He's got his work cut out for him in this tourney, but opportunity is knocking.

Reynan Dos Santos on Brazil might be able to make a splash too. He sort of looks a bit like Mojave King who just got drafted.

 

[serbiangoat]

For sure! Team USA will be worth a watch all by themselves, there's plenty of talent on all the other rosters too. But seriously Madagascar(Madagascar qualified for this event!?!?!?!), Slovenia and Lebanon drew the group of death. Sometimes team USA doesnt send the same quality rosters to the U19 that they do the lower age brackets, but not this year, this team is loaded, I'd expect our guards to be the difference makers we simply have superior scorers and attack guards on the roster.

I dont really buy the idea that Spain or France can hang with Team USA tbh.

We waited so damn long to see Baba Miller at FSU last season, it stands to reason he's got so much to gain, lots of these players do. we just saw how Coulibaly went from fairly unknown and unhyped in the summer Fiba tourney to the 7th pick in the course of 1 summer, there's lots of momentum to be gained here.

Rischaser is obviously a big headliner. Sarr is going to be interesting to get a look at, we'll see how much Perrin's improved, but I'm not sure what to make of that team aside from those 3.

Sergio De Larrea for Spain 6'6 wing with some guard skills should have a solid showing this tourney.

Will we get an extended look at Borovcainian for Serbia? Sure hope so.

I look forward to checking in on Berke Buyuktuncel's progress on Turkey.

I see China has a 7'1" shotblocker named Yang Hansen whos supposed to be a good passer.

I've got my eye on Elijah Fisher and Michael Nwoko on Team Canada, 2 more players looking to springboard a strong summer into a big college season, Nwoko already has already established himself as having a strong showing with an excellent showing at the Nike Hoops Summit, he'll look to build even more on that going to Miami for his freshman year. Fisher's headed to DePaul for what I'd expect would be a big role, he's built like a tank at 6'7 so on the right college team he should be able to score 15 and grab 7 boards n do plenty more.

Jan Vide headed to UCLA on Slovenia, good luck to him. He's got his work cut out for him in this tourney, but opportunity is knocking.

Reynan Dos Santos on Brazil might be able to make a splash too.

O nice, yeah looking at the Serbian squad it's not looking great (Djurisic/Erceg pulled out/was to good for the comp), the couple of interesting players are Marko Sarenac a big 6'9 solid skilled SF/PF who accidently got signed to Weber State (they scouted his cousin/brother who is a shooter but not that talented and they realised he had a way better brother so they got both). Filip Boroovicanin who I have not seen in years and Lazar Djokovic who really impressed me in the previous age group 1 year ago. Filip Radakovic also impressed me in the previous age group.

 

[Ozymandias]

I'm actually so glad we dont have a first rd pick so I dont have to explain to people why taking a player like Trayce Jackson Davis in the first rd doesnt make any sense at all. What a relief.

Spoiler: rant continued

Its sad that so much time was spent discussing that complete and utter nonsense last season, it was never warranted. total fantasy.

Especially for those conversations to continue undeterred after how we lost in the playoffs.

My question of "why would we spend all those assets on a 6'9" C when we've already got deadweight richaun holmes here?" was spot on the money... and pertinent, topical, solutions oriented, dripping with context... I asked that question over n over n it was somehow brushed off..

The worst part of that is people wanna hold your feet to the fire like "your disrespecting our favorite player" but meanwhile they in turn disrespect 20- 30 players who in fact have more merit at being selected higher. N really thats ignorant to the problem solving part of the equation too, TJD doesnt solve any of our problems if he did we'd have surely selected him 54th...

The thing is too, what a perfect example of "things are worth what people will pay for them"... TJD at 24 would've been a gross reach, the idea that TJD was way improved this season compared to last, that was favoritism...

I say if you want to take players like TJD in the first round, well lets just trade away the 1st rd picks like we've been doing, thats a much better idea.. If were gonna take players like that in the first, why even be upset over not having a 1st rd in 2024? when I say we can get a player the quality of TJD in the 2nd easily, n maybe he'll fit our team structure better.

 

[Ozymandias]

its time to start introducing some of the heavy hitters in this draft.

For this thread to go past the first page without an Isaiah Collier mention would mean I'm not doing a very good job. Here is the top lead guard on the board, who should be very diffucilt to unseat, projects as a starting PG in the NBA, he's tough and ready to play, solid passer, excellent at getting downhill.

 

[Ozymandias]

Jarred McCain is a shot making extraordinaire who I'd expect stock to remain safely in the top20 for the entirety of this draft process. He's one of those classic 6'2" players that makes you think "If he was 6'5 he'd go #1'... If I had a mock today he would surely be higher than Dukes other guard Tyrese Proctor who many project top10, I feel like McCain is way overqualified to score in college and will breeze past his 1 and done showcase year, his shotmaking probably end up making everyones jobs easier at Duke.

Pure shooting scorer, he will sadly be way out of our Kings range and really he'd be an insane low-cost option to replace Malik Monk if need be, but that wont happen.. Shooting is scarce every year, the thing where SG's march up the board late happened again, Coulibaly went 7th, Howard went 12th, Podziemski went 19th --- McCain is sooooo obviously qualified to be one of those guys in 2024.

To me he is a superior propsect than Coby White (7th pick in 2019). McCain has more of a defined position as a SG/6th man scorer, where White looks more of a tweener. This player is actually cookie cutter made to play with a PG like De'Aaron but we'd have to trade up for him, its not realistic to think even in a worst case scenario we could land him in the 2nd rd.

 

[Ozymandias]

BTW I'm seeing a lot of Buzelis haters this summer... Lotta people see him and get taken back "That skinny kid is supposed to go #1?!"


I personally think, from what I've seen, that his recent progress would indicate he's about to have a big season.. N he's just the type of player where its not gonna kinda sorta work for him, everything will sorta click for him (no promises bout hte 3pt shot tho), I say he's built to take a mile if you give him an inch... All he needs is to be able to get out and run and play in transition and he'll make the game look easy.

 

[Ozymandias]

Mackenzie Mgbako is a player who reminds me a bit of our very own Harrison Barnes. He's 6'8 well built with a pure shooting stroke from 3.


Many Mocks I see have him projected in the teens currently but I would have him in the top10 right now for sure.

If Indiana can get production out of their backcourt their frontcourt will be very dangerous n fun to watch for draft purposes, Mgbako, Kel'el Ware and Malik Renaeu are all NBA guys eventually IMO.

 

[Ozymandias]

Consider me to be high on Elmarko Jackson.. He passes the eye test to me.. I think he might have the talent to be a major player in this draft, we'll see. Kansas has had a few high ranked guards underperform in the Self era freshman year, I suspect Jackson will break that mold and really come on strong. 6'4" combo guard.

 

[serbiangoat]

I know Madagascar is down by 31 at halftime but they were ultra competitive they just lacked some fundamentals to deal with Team USA who will probably beat everyone easy. #4 on Madagascar looks super raw but talented just snakes to the rim. Madagascar reminds me a lot of Australian Aboriginals in terms of how they play.