It better not be Bailey. If they haven't learned yet that what's inside matters just as much as the skill set after Simmons and Embiid, f' em.
I'm a Rutgers grad. Bailey is a joke.
I don't particularly care for Bailey but there isn't a player in this draft with a higher upside...the floor is also incredibly low.
There wasn't a player with a higher upside than Ben Simmons either. Bailey might not be that bad in that department but he's close. Hard Pass. Counting on a kid to fundamentally change his stripes is not a good plan.
I understand what you’re saying, however it was disappointing watching the draw live because after Charlotte drew the fourth pick card there was a glimmer of hope. If i didn’t watch the draw and just found out the results i wouldn’t have had that initial bummer reaction
Not that mock drafts are perfect by any means, but a quick perusal of all the big mock drafts, Bailey is the consensus pick.
It would have to be high 1st’s. Remember, 1st round picks in the mid 20s are sometimes traded for cash, they just don’t have much value, this is very different than other sports. Trading for future picks is dicey, especially if you are giving away a high pick as that one player could take a bad team and get them in the playoffs and now the pick isn’t nearly as good.
For those who worry about the downside of Ace Bailey, he measured 6-foot, 7.5-inches at the combine with a good wingspan. He’s not close to his listed 6-foot, 10 inch Rutgers height. His downside is Kelly Oubre without the defensive focus (Oubre in Charlotte) or Jabari Smith. He doesn’t get to the rim or the foul line, his shot isn’t deadly. His upside is probably Michael Porter, Jr., but shorter. Maybe in the long term he’s Carmelo, but he has to develop a lot more scoring moves to get there.
He has a poor handle, isn’t a good mover on the perimeter, doesn’t see the game well, and shows inconsistent effort on defense. And the worst thing to me is he’s convinced he’s already Carmelo.
The #3 pick is better than losing it to OKC, but in some ways its the poison pick.
Trade back.
All in all, if Rutgers had two of the top 3 rated players for this NBA draft, why didn't they do better? They were 15-17, 11th in the Big 10? It just doesn't add up. Was the coach inferior, was the rest of the roster dreck? In college ball, two top end players should have got you more.
Unless, the two players are/were a bit overrated?
David Murphy wrote about this a while back. That "of the last 54 players to be selected in the top six in the NBA draft, only three played a full collegiate season and failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament."
Two of them were Markelle Fultz and Ben Simmons. The other Anthony Edwards.
The Sixers gave up a first to move from 3 to 1. I doubt a team will give up a first to move from 5th or 6th to 3, and the Sixers wouldn't want to sink too far. Unless somebody is desperate to get out of the middle and ready to pay a high price. I imagine the Sixers would be looking for a player as the second piece in any case - if not a player above all, though not sure how the would work cap-wise w/o trading George.
I know you're a definite detractor of him and i'm not a huge fan but his warts seem to be as much as there are around Harper..
https://www.nbadraft.net/players/dylan-harper/
Weaknesses: Just average in terms of his explosiveness and speed; much more of a below the rim player than high flyer and some have questions about just how well he’ll finish around the rim or get his shots off against contests against taller and more athletic guys at the NBA level … Uses strength to bully instead of gaining spearation through quickness. Nothing more than OK-to-decent 1st step off the bounce … May have to lean more heavily at the NBA level on pick and roll actions to create separation than he has in HS or at Rutgers … Can be streaky with his jumper at the moment, and should look to work on tightening up his fundamentals … Doesn’t get much elevation on his shot and it shows at times in the line-drive nature of his shooting arc, leading to flat misses … Likes to have the ball in his hands but has his moments when he gets caught overdribbling … Sometimes doesn’t read weak side rotations on time and is a split second late making skip passes/kickouts leading to occasional deflections or turnovers against live defense … For a player with top 3-5 draft pick projection, his ceiling is not as high as some might like, however his floor is extremely solid …
Harper plays a team-first game, Bailey plays a me-first game. I can’t stand the second type of player.
The me-first is the norm in the NBA these days...sadly...we're still talking about teenagers here.
Jake Fischer had the former Washington GM on his show and the opinion is there is very little chance the sixers pick at 3. more than likely they are trading down to add a pick and possibly a young player.
I recall someone (probably the PHLY guys) also noting that there would be a tangible cap/apron benefit (which would get used on some combo of Grimes/Yabu presumably) for the Sixers in 2025-2026 if they pick a little lower.
Honestly, me-first is not the norm in the NBA. Sixers have Maxey, McCain, Oubre, and Yabu who are all team-first guys. Grimes plays that way too when he isn’t the #1 scoring option. SGA is a team player, as is Jokic. Most of the Celtics share the ball willingly.
With only one season on a bad Rutgers team, it's really hard to say that Bailey is a me-first guy, or if he was asked by the coach to be a me first guy. I wouldn't label him off of one season of college basketball. Surely at 19 years old, he can be coached. You can't teach scoring though, and he can shoot it. If playing with Embiid, George and Maxey, he should get open catch and shoot shots where his poor handle won't be such an issue. With McCain and Maxey, he shouldn't need to handle as much, so he might be a good fit. Even if he is only 6' 7", that's still decent size for a 2/3.