2023 Rookie First Impressions

[AlexS]

Gates looks a monster defensively so the Pistons knocked that one out of the park.

Spewing the Bulls took my target one pick ahead of me. Birutis looks the goods and could have gone top 10 with what I'm seeing.

Some good lower picks too like Spellman and Melton... and of course MVP candidate Alize Johnson.

Couldn't agree more with Gates and Birutis! I'm also impressed by Musa, he will definitely take time to get there but could be a very well rounded player with likely increased value in 19. For a later pick I really like Metu, he could become an efficient scorer who is an elite defender who can block shots while not fouling, not a bad pickup for a post lottery 1st rd pick.

[bt]

Yeah, forgot about Musa. Good all around potential there and yeah, I like McCoy but I would have been pretty happy with Metu as well.

[KW]

As for my guys, Gates looks like a bonafide stud and I think I would have taken him 1st overall given how rare a player like him is and the impact they can have for a team in this engine and the next.

You and me both

He was such a perfect fit for my team too

[drumr]

Very happy with John Collins. Looks like a starter already

[Dennis]

Overall Strength
I would say, compared to prior classes, it is a midtier class. Weakish at he top but decent from 10 to 22. After that another drop off imo with guys that could become 10-12 minute guys. So I will still stay in line my evaluation that the class is the weakest of the past few years, however, it is a well thought through one were you can clearly see Adam's thumbprint.

What I love: is that Adam had an eye on the SCR rating and calculated in that we will have another 4-8 (no idea how many there are per year) plus 10s. So, depending on who gets them, we will still have some potential stars or allstars.
Also many solid roleplayers that can become 5th starters from pick 3 to ~20.

What I dont like: I think the draft team did the class dirty in regard of FT-Shooting and DI. We have nearly no big able to hit something from the line and some players that have DI beyond average-bad. Also I dont like that we have so many players with very high steal and block rating for their respective position. No idea how big the impact of Steal and Block is in DDS19, but in DDS3 it is one of the most important ratings.

Miles Bridges
I really like what I see when looking at Bridges. Could be the perfect glue-guy and if he gets a plus 10 he would be what evreybody was hoping for Ingram could become. Should fit very well into our line up no matter what.

My reaches so far:
- Dzanan Musa
- Mikal Bridges
- Josh Okogie

My Steals so far (looking at where they have been selected):
- Shaquille Harrison
- Laurynas Birutis
- Trevon Duval

[WillyJakkz]

I hate when these low or no name guys have HIGH BLK ratings etc but a UCF player like Tacko Fall who averaged nearly 3blks a game in college gets a ridiculously low BLK rating.

[Dylan]

I hate when these low or no name guys have HIGH BLK ratings etc but a UCF player like Tacko Fall who averaged nearly 3blks a game in college gets a ridiculously low BLK rating.

Preach!

Put some respect on Tacko!

[emplep7]

Hah I mean to be honest Tacko is way better in this league than he ever will be in real life so if anything they did him right. Dude would be like a fake rookie having 30's across the board (except for blocks) with discipline around 11.

But also, part of the fun is that this doesn't mirror real life and Isaiah Taylor can be a demi-god here where in real life he is a nobody who can't land an NBA gig. It makes people have to scout.

[GreenBear]

[Insert comment about how thrilled I am with my rookies]

[Marcos_Beck]

[Insert comment about how thrilled I am with my rookies]

[Insert a motivational comment with reference to +10 random boosts]

[KW]

Hah I mean to be honest Tacko is way better in this league than he ever will be in real life so if anything they did him right. Dude would be like a fake rookie having 30's across the board (except for blocks) with discipline around 11.

But also, part of the fun is that this doesn't mirror real life and Isaiah Taylor can be a demi-god here where in real life he is a nobody who can't land an NBA gig. It makes people have to scout.

Yup, for the most part, the top prospects irl are going to be CSL impact players to some degree. I enjoy having the creative freedom on the rest.

But since we create rookies so far in the past, some interesting NBA talents are always going to slip through the cracks. We try to avoid the possibility of another Jaylen Brown/Rudy Gobert situation the best we can.

[Stockton12]

I hate when these low or no name guys have HIGH BLK ratings etc but a UCF player like Tacko Fall who averaged nearly 3blks a game in college gets a ridiculously low BLK rating.

Preach!

Put some respect on Tacko!

Tacko needs a blocking boost bump ..I agree guys

[Andrewu91]

Happy with my two late first round picks.

[Rizzo]

Tacko Fall, I believe, had 4 or 5 TOTAL blocks in summer league this year for my Celtics in real life. In a real NBA game he would struggle to average over 1 block per game because he would constantly be in foul trouble.

[Dylan]

Tacko Fall, I believe, had 4 or 5 TOTAL blocks in summer league this year for my Celtics in real life. In a real NBA game he would struggle to average over 1 block per game because he would constantly be in foul trouble.

He had 4 in one game, averaged 1.4 across the five games playing like 12 minutes a game.

Averages 2.4 a game in college. He blocks a lot of shots and he alters triple the amount he physically blocks cause of his length. I don’t think he’s nearly as useless as people make him out to be, but clearly biased lol.

[Rizzo]

I have nothing against him but watching him in summer league it's obvious he's got a long, long way to go lol.

[Andrewu91]

I have nothing against him but watching him in summer league it's obvious he's got a long, long way to go lol.

Is his agility still as slow as a ?

[emplep7]

He seems like a nice guy and I'm rooting for him (although not for him on the C's), but he's slow as dirt which doesn't fit into the modern NBA and barely has control over his body where I feel like he fouls 50% of the time a player attacks the rim. Until he learns how to improve those things, I can't see any NBA team giving him a real chance on a roster.

He will be a G-Leaguer for the next few years to see if he can improve.

[hardenwithnod]

Apparently they really like Tacko's work ethic, and said he's one of the smartest guy they have had in a while, so maybe he can develop into a good 10-15 mpg guy down the road.

[Andrewu91]

He seems like a nice guy and I'm rooting for him (although not for him on the C's), but he's slow as dirt which doesn't fit into the modern NBA and barely has control over his body where I feel like he fouls 50% of the time a player attacks the rim. Until he learns how to improve those things, I can't see any NBA team giving him a real chance on a roster.

He will be a G-Leaguer for the next few years to see if he can improve.

Yeah I agree completely, after watching him in March. His DI needs a lot of work, and he was super slow at reacting to anything.

Don't see him sticking at all, no matter how smart or nice he is.