It’s pretty easy to pick out Wemby when watching this

Yeah, that checks out. A guy who only seldomly comes into these threads and solely to talk shit about how awful the NBA is when he does.

Wemby refuses to shake hands in defeat.

I remember how excited I was when I thought OKC had drafted Lively. Cason Wallace may be one of the best ever, but I really liked the fit of someone like Lively at the 4. Oh well, he'll be a good one for Dallas.

That being said, OKC went into Chicago's barn and got the W.

Lively outplayed Wembam-overrated tonight great start to the season.

He's just so damn unique, I really struggle to even speculate how he'll develop.

The frustrating thing is that it may just come down to how he's officiated. I just can't see the guy building an "NBA Body" - he's so damn slight. If officials allow people to body him, he'll struggle.

It's why I ultimately struggle a little with the 'best prospect since James; maybe top 5 of all time' stuff. There's just a lot that's completely unknown and enough that's somewhat out of his control.

Obviously the easy and somewhat lazy comp is Durant, but I feel like Durant was more explosive. And being less tall that Wembenaya helps him a little in that the dribble just isn't going to be as exposed on those drives. And I don't feel like he can develop the build to be an Anthony Davis sort offensively or defensively. Maybe I'm wrong - he's really young. But it's not like Durant ever really filled out a ton. Giannis is a thought stylistically but Giannis had a pretty steep learning curve in his own right and again, seems more suited physically for the pro game.

Is he as crazy and competitive as Garnett? Has the league gotten more accustomed to Euro-style players like Doncic and Porzingis?

Man, I'm at a complete loss with the kid. I mean he's going to be a very good player for a very long time. But the bar seems to be "Hall of Fame - inner circle or just another guy?" and man I am really hesitant there because the kid's just different.

Lively looked good.

It frustrates me that the Lakers stayed put at 17 and got a pretty 'meh' guy in Hood-Schifino when they had a clear need at center and Lively went 12.

Really couldn't have moved up to 10/11 to get that done? That's where the Mavs started and traded out. Just felt like a miss. Dallas goes out and essentially purchase pick 24 while the Lakers had some real trade assets but seemed hell bent on bringing everybody back rather than packaging some rights and moving around.

I think that one's gonna really sting, especially when Hood-Schifino is out of the league after his rookie deal. I just don't see much 'there' there.

I think I’m ready to say the Thunder are going to win 50+. Even with a meh opener for Chet, the future is looking so ****ing bright. Wallace already looks like a dude, and there might be something there with Dieng

OKC literally drafted Lively and then traded him to Dallas. I honestly thought we'd found our big-bodied 4 or 5 to pair with Chet.

Yeah - at least the Lakers didn't do THAT.

I think Wallace is a good player, but I LOVED the Lively pick. :(

Oh.

Well we didn't do that either.

I just don't quite get the Hood-Schifino pick. I tried to talk myself into it and man I am not getting there.

I mean you could argue that he's a 3 and D stretch 3 type but he's not big enough for it...oh, and he can't shoot from deep either.

Maybe you can squint and see a plus perimeter defender for late-game matchups with solid floor vision; someone who can help defensively in the rotation without hurting offensively. But it feels like that's a guy you get in the mid-20s (again, in a draft where the Mavs purchased #24).

It was just a really dead spot in the draft and the Lakers ended up reaching because they got caught napping, IMO.

For perspective, I like Maxwell Lewis, who LA got at 40, better than Jalen. And I don't think I'm close to alone in that regard. Now right, wrong or otherwise, it was the mushy middle of the draft. It was just a spot that I think LA should've worked harder to move up out of (or taken a homerun swing in Whitmore).

Dubs gonna win it all this year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Michael Jordan once teamed up with the 2nd unit on the Charlotte Bobcats to cook Stephen Jackson and the 1st unit <br><br>“Jack went to the basket and throws up a shot and the coaches didn’t call a foul. Jack yells out, ‘Yo, that’s a foul,’<br><br>MJ comes down and hits the game-winner.… <a href="https://t.co/MrVIgorERv">pic.twitter.com/MrVIgorERv</a></p>&mdash; NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1717232538869964897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 25, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Wallace had 13 points in 19 minutes, going 5-5 and 3-3 from deep. I doubt he keeps that up, but he's a nice point/combo guy with good size and defensive presence to bring off the bench.