Following Potential *2024* Draftees

Nikola Djurisic as a 2nd rounder is looking really good again, he went from being a good prospect to not being one (shot 20% from 3 got that up to 33% this year) to once again being one over the past 2-3 seasons. He is 19 turning 20 this year athletically I would compare him to Devin Booker but he's 6'8 (6'8 wingspan) and has a great frame to bulk up even more.

Elite court vision, good secondary playmaker, gets into the lane/can create (needs to work on finishing) and improving 3pt shot (mentioned above) could be a steal with a 2nd round pick his talent is there and defensively when he locks in he can really defend at times if motivated.

Do you know what his standing reach and FT% are?

He was at the draft workouts/combine last year so height without shoes was 6'7 (might have grown) standing reach is 8'6 217weight and 6'8.25 wingspan
https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro?SeasonYear=2023

His free Throw % this year is 73.9% he started playing amazing when Topic went back Red Star leading the team to like 5-6 straight wins

Ron Holland is absolutely not a Monte guy by any of the metrics we’ve come to see Monte value but getting him at 13 if we miss the playoffs would somehow make the season worth it haha

I'm not sure why consensus is so low on Holland at this point. I think he's definitely a top five player in this (admittedly weak) draft class.

He's getting the GG Jackson treatment. Seen as a high ceiling, but very low floor. Just my speculation, but because it's a bad draft, I think some of those teams in the lotto want to nab a guaranteed rotational player instead of a raw 19-year-old who might spend 2+ years in the GLeague. With that being said, I think it's a good draft to get risky and gamble for upside.

I don't think Holland is top 5 for me, but I can see why you like his upside

Yeah, there's some appeal to getting a low cost rotation player, and some team will be happy grabbing Donovan Clingan to be a backup center, but I agree that this is exactly the type of draft where you may as well swing for upside. If McNair were to land Holland at the end of the lottery I'd love that pick.

I've seen comps to Gerald Wallace is he turns out anywhere near that, thats a gamble worth taking

Time for a Baja mock draft

One interesting possibility is New Orleans. They may want to consolidate 18 - 21 and move up to 13/14. Typically at 13 the best players are all guards/Centers. If Salaun is gone I would love to see Monte trade down with New Orleans who may take Filipowski or Collier and we take a couple swings at wing in: Tristan Da Silva and Ulrich Chomche

Well, you ended with two players I like quite a bit. Chomche has huge upside and could be the PF we're looking for. Da Silva could also play PF or SF. I've watched a ton of film on Chomche and he's very impressive. One does have to consider the competition, but he can handle, he can shoot, he rebounds and he defends, 2.7 blocks a game along with 3 steals a game. Add in that he's a terrific athlete and what's not to like.
If Flipowski and Chomche are both sitting there when it's our turn to pick, I'm taking Chomche. 6'11" with a 7'4" wingspan and twice the athleticism of Flipowski.

I've also watched a lot of film on Salaun, and he's a project in many ways. He has terrible handles and he can't shoot a lick off the dribble. On defense he has the tools, and certainly puts out the effort, but makes a lot of mistakes. He has a terrific motor and seems to be busting his butt on defense, but while he looks good, he's not effective, often being out of position, or switching when he shouldn't have switched. I think he could turn into a very good player, but he's not a player who can come in and help right away, which is what I think the Kings will be looking for.

The one guy that always seems to stand out to me is Devin Carter. He's like if you took Monk's brain/game and put it in Rekes body. He's a little older but this is your boom/bust guy right here.

I will be posting a mock draft in a few days. I would have already posted it if I could keep my hands off of it! Sometimes you can over think these things. I've also held off on doing write up's on individual players because I started to suspect some time ago that the Kings might not make the playoffs, so I decided to wait until I knew for sure before posting! I didn't want to do a bunch of posts on 2nd rounders if we ended up with our 1st rd pick back.

thanks for the info as I have been ignoring the draft thinking no way the Kings don’t make the play-off but my worst fears came true.

a couple questions on the wings you have seen. I have a couple key factor's l like to look at:

1) Length in terms of wingspan and standing reach is a big one..

2) lateral quickness and ability to flip your hips has a big impact on defensive potential

3) free throw shooting provides a hint of eye hand coordination and future shooting skill.


what do you think of the wings on those factors and especially Chomche on his ability to flip his hips and lateral quickness?

if Monte Drafts another 6’3” guard I hope Vivek fires him on the spot and I will for sure leave my season ticket group until Vivek does fire him.

One other thought if you like Chomche that much do you take him at 13/14 or trade down and hope he is still there. Not sure Monte has done well reading the room before

This isn't a typical 6'3" guard though. I think it's feasible he's a player that has Josh Hart ability to guard way up.

Josh Hart has an 8’ 5” standing reach and a 6’ 8” wingspan. Carter has a 6’ 9” wingspan but not sure on standing reach. Could be like Barnes where wingspan is in his shoulders.

also at 6’9” he is a lot like Keon Ellis.

I'll put it this way. Anyone that watches a providence game, or multiple games by Providence, and you don't notice Carter, you're blind. I love Carter. He reminds me of a taller, bigger version of Alvarado. There seems to be two of him on the floor, and he can really defend (1.7 steals) and he can also shoot the rock. Just a tick under 39% from three.

Another player I like is Dillon Jones from Weber St.. Very physical player whose shot dropped of toward the end of the season, partly because of taking more contested shots. In short, I'm not worried about his shot. He's 6'6" and built like a linebacker. He can put it on the floor and go around you, or through you. Very good defender (2.1 steals) and a terrific rebounder averaging 9.7 boards a game. What really sets him apart is his passing and court vision.

Another player that I'd like to mention, and he's a likely 2nd rd pick, is Harrison Ingram. After a dreadful freshman year at Stanford, he transfered to North Carolina, and somehow re-invented himself. After shooting under 30% from three his freshman year he shot 37.3% this season along with averaging 9.3 rebounds. The red flag is his free throw percentage (61.7%). Which is probably why he projected to go in the 2nd rd. Scouts aren't convinced his 3pt percentage is legit. But if it is, you might have yourself a very good player. He's a very good defender and has shown some passing ability this season.

I'll be interested to see what they are, but it's not always about length, it's strength and frame. Dude looks like a bull. Much like Tyreke. If players like Bruce Brown can pull off SF then I think it's possible for him as well. Especially if the rebounding is legit. Either way, this is someone that will be able to play multiple positions and has the tools to play off and on the ball. If Monk did leave I think Carter has the potential to be at worst an interesting replacement in training with far more power behind him. If Brown is deadset on guard ball, this is the guard he needs.

Yes those matter but without length players like Ingram can just rise up and shoot over the defender like BI did to us over and over.

This team desperately needs length!

and BTW a very high chance Carter is the BPA at 13/14. Teams typically go for longer players first which is why Haliburton fell and Davion fell

A lot of guessing going on there. Woulda, coulda, shoulda doesn't move the needle for me. If you watched him play, which I doubt you did, you would have a more positive attitude toward him. Fit wise, we don't need another 6'3" guard. We need to add to our length, especially at the forward and center positions. If I'm picking a guard, it's likely in the 2nd rd, and I would pick someone like Cam Spencer, who can step in and play right away. 6'4" and 205 Lb's. He shot 44.0% from three while taking 5.6 attempts. He shot 91.0% from the line and 48.4% overall.

He's a tough hardnosed player who knows how to play. Good defender with a good motor. He's one of those hustle guys that you see on other teams and wish he was on your team. He also has a knack for knowing when his team needs a basket and he goes and gets one. He's a three level scorer. And he just turned 24 years of age, which is why he's projected to go in the 2nd rd. He has solid rotational player written all over him!

I saw him and like him. Just not for us. To me Monte takes BPA to its absurd extreme.

The dude should be pretty long but we'll see. If the Kings keep the pick, right now, I'm not infatuated with any of of the wings in that range TBH. Most are PF/C types that I can tell. That could change, but I think Carter is near the top of my list right now regardless. I can see him rising too.

Yeah he is long for his position which would be interesting if we didn’t have Keon. He is not above average for all NBA players.

Look, I really like Carter, but he's not at the top of my list, although he fills the role of someone that's ready to play right now. As to your question about trading down and still getting your player, I'm a firm believer that if you totally fall in love with a player and you're convinced he has star potential, or at least, starting lineup potential, then don't get greedy. Take the player when you can and go home happy. Don't know about Chomche's hips, but he's able to keep his man in front of him, and he'll amaze you around the basket with his lighting like reflexes blocking shots.

I'll go out on a limb here and say he reminds me of a young Giannis. He's not some skinny dude. He already has an NBA body. It just needs a little weight room work. If he can play the PF position, then he gives Sabonis the rim protection help he needs. I believe he posted a 36 inch vertical at the African combine, or whatever they call it. There's a couple of other players over there that are very impressive. One is going to Washington St. this next season. He's a 7 foot center and I can't remember his name. He played on the same team as Chomche!

Yeah. This is a really hard draft to get a read on so I still feel like there’s a chance one of the G-League wings like Holland or Buzelis or inexplicably falls to our range though as teams try to load up on cheap big/guard depth early in the draft.

yeah I know Carter is not at the top of your list I was more responding to your comment I hadn’t seen him or liked him.

and I pretty much agree with your approach if you think that highly. Not worth the risk. I’m curious what positions do you think he is quick enough to defend?

I don’t care to be honest can he guard 1 or 2’s because I think Keon ( a damn good Monte acqusition) can handle most of them. But can he guard the quicker and longer 3’s? Do you think he can guard the Ingram’s and Vassell’s of the world? If he can guard 3’s and protect the rim….. he may not make it to our pick.

In my depression about the season being over, started diving into draft guys.

Unsurprisingly, Knecht pops for me. He looks like a flawless fit in our system with his movement shooting and cutting ability to play off Domas. Looks like a superb athlete too with some of his dunks on the year. Can't find his wingspan, but just by looking at him, there's no way he doesn't have a good-great wingspan for a wing.

He actually kind of reminds me a bit of a 2 for 1 special with HB(back when he had bounce)+Huerter. Like he has all the makings of a great movement shooter at the NBA level, but enough of an on-ball game+athletic profile where he's got a chance to be more.

Isn't 2 Keon Ellis's a good thing?