NBA Draft Prospects 2023
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"Star-level defenders" like the guys you mentioned in Noah and Diaw are role players. The reason I like Black is that he isn't just a defender. He is a gifted offensive player as well. His vision, passing, and offensive instincts are elite. If he finds a shot he could make Hali the second best player on the team.@WhatTheFFacts: Studies show that sarcasm enhances the ability of the human mind to solve complex problems!Comment
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"Star-level defenders" like the guys you mentioned in Noah and Diaw are role players. The reason I like Black is that he isn't just a defender. He is a gifted offensive player as well. His vision, passing, and offensive instincts are elite. If he finds a shot he could make Hali the second best player on the team.
In any case, I think that our main difference is how we view Walker. You view him as someone who is just a defender. I don't. I see a lot of potential for him as a distributor, connector and shooter on the offensive end. Someone who can be very successful as a screener in the PnR due to his ability to quickly read the game and make great decisions on the short roll while also being able to provide spacing when he's not directly involved in the PnR.
If I want just a defender, there are plenty of them we could draft in the late 20s, early 30s. I'm not wasting #7 on someone I believe that is just a defender. I have Walker on my board exactly because I do not believe him to be just a defender. We can definitely agree to disagree, though.Originally posted by IrishPacer
Empty vessels make the most noise.Comment
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Joakim Noah was literally an All-Star. Twice. Boris Diaw didn't make an All-Star team (not because he didn't have the talent, imo, but because he mailed it in when he was with Charlotte) but he was the 4th best player on that title winning San Antonio team behind Duncan, Kawhi and Tony Parker (I'm putting him ahead of Manu for that year mainly because he was instrumental at stopping LeBron in the Finals). Again, that is much more than a role player.Comment
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Making a couple all star games doesn't mean you aren't a role player. Just ask our boy Roy Hibbert. Playing decent defense on LeBron doesn't make you not a role player. Just ask our boy Thad Young. Being the arguable 4th best player on your team doesn't mean you aren't a role player. In fact it almost unquestionably indicates that you are in fact a role player.
In my opinion, an All-Star and the 4th best player on a title team aren't role players. They are, at worst, in the "good starter" tier and sometimes in the "near star" tier. Role players are below both of those tiers.Originally posted by IrishPacer
Empty vessels make the most noise.Comment
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Ok, Noah was a defensive stud. DPOY and one of the best on that side of the ball. And to what end? He wasn't leading a team to anything that matters. Same as Gobert. Why would we want to spend our best asset to chase a worse version of that?Comment
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As for Gobert, he simply isn't comparable with someone like Walker. Gobert cannot pass or make plays for others. Walker can. Gobert cannot operate outside the paint, especially on the offensive end. Walker can operate outside the paint on both ends. Gobert is also a much more dominant defensive presence than Walker is. They are just wildly different as players. I don't see a Rudy Gobert when I look at Jarace Walker. I do see a Draymond Green, though.Originally posted by IrishPacer
Empty vessels make the most noise.Comment
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The Pacers roster is in a weird position, because of course you'd be happy with Joakim or Draymond at 7, over the moon even, the roster makeup is such that you're still probably an elite scorer from title aspirations and no more tools to acquire that.
I guess the question is, are you more able to get an elite defender/facilitator or an elite scorer with what's leftover? Probably the defender is more likely to be undervalued in the draft or somewhere else.
Still you aren't gonna be sad to get a great defender/facilitator on the squad.Comment
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Things aren't one size fits all here. If the Nuggets or Celtics had the 7th pick and wanted to draft Walker, sure go for it. But if we draft him and he turns into Joakim or Draymond (lol, zero chance by the way), then we better hope Hali or Benn turn into league MVPs or we draft one with 26, 29 or 32 because even those guys never accomplished a single thing without one.Comment
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