There's always Sacramento. I note that nbadraft.net (for whatever that may be worth) has him going to Charlotte in the first round, which is so very perfect and predictable it makes me squeak.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things. - Winston Churchill
President of the "Nolan Smith Should Have His Jersey in The Rafters" Club
So the G-League has announced the 40 players it is inviting to its "Elite Camp" for potential draftees. The list is made up of guys who are not on a lot of draft boards but who are trying to earn their way to an invitation to the official NBA draft combine.
DJ Steward is not on the list. I don't know if that is because he already has or will have an invite to the combine or if he's not even thought of highly enough to even get invited to this camp. Or maybe some other reason. But it seems like he'd be right in the group of players that this camp is intended for -- not getting drafted now, maybe not even all that close to getting drafted now, but deserving of an opportunity to show he belongs at least at the combine with a chance to play his way into the draft. Alas, no. In any event, here is the list of invitees, and there are some pretty good players on here:
https://www.zagsblog.com/2021/06/14/...ue-elite-camp/
Saw the story below about DJ receiving an invite to the Combine a few days ago, but don't know if it has been confirmed officially
https://therookiewire.usatoday.com/2...draft-combine/
He is one of the players on the official list:
https://www.nba.com/news/nba-announc...-draft-combine
Here's the Duke media release.
https://goduke.com/news/2021/6/16/me...a-combine.aspx
Confirming what was long expected - Bacot announces return to UNC:
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...men-basketball
Projected first round pick Trey Murphy, III has elected to hire an agent, forgo his remaining eligibility at Virginia and keep his name in the 2021 NBA draft, he told ESPN.
I’m just dropping this here ....
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-ba...oach-greg-gard
... because I’m so glad they took it out on the Heels.
This NBA Draft Lottery is something.
Swin Cash' reaction was priceless.
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!
Mods: Suggest we start a new thread with this and some of the above posts.
ESPN lists its top 60 prospects. Matthew Hurt is #47 -- Raptors (from Warriors). DJ Steward is #55 -- Thunder (from the Nuggets).
Naismith Player of the Year Luka Garza is #53 -- Pelicans (from Mavs).
Sage Grouse
---------------------------------------
'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013
I didn't make a new thread, but did rename this one to provide for a more general draft discussion.
NBADraft.net has, in its first post-lottery mock --
Jalen going #11, toward the end of the lottery
Matt Hurt going #60, last pick of the second round
DJ Steward nowhere to be seen... actually, he can be seen on their top 100 Big Board at #77.
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
From what I saw of him I was VERY impressed. One, he's 6-foot-8, so has incredible size for a PG. Two, he's clearly an above average three point shooter, as he shot 40% last year (also nearly 85% from the line). Three, from what I saw he was at minimum an above average defender at the college level (1.6 steals per game is solid), and he has the physical tools to be a plus defender if he works on that part of his game. Four, he has a winners mentality based on the number of late game shots he made for Oklahoma State and his improvements in the second halves of games. Personally, from what I saw I was also very impressed by how he got teammates involved and his seeming leadership of the team.
The easiest comparison for me is Ben Simmons but with a shot... both are similarly oversized point guards with a high defensive ceiling, but it's night and day when it comes to Cade's shooting ability.
I also love Mobley, I was really hoping the Raptors would sneak up to No. 2 because they're a center away from having a VERY short rebuild. But I think Cade is still a step above him given how he projects in the new positionless, shooting, switch ball screens NBA. Mobley checks a lot of those boxes but doesn't yet have the offensive polish, and still needs to put on weight to be able to have an inside presence to match his ability to defend switches on the outside.
Scott Rich on the front page
Trinity BS 2012; University of Michigan PhD 2018
Duke Chronicle, Sports Online Editor: 2010-2012
K-Ville Blue Tenting 2009-2012
Unofficial Brian Zoubek Biographer
If you have questions about Michigan Basketball/Football, I'm your man!