u/CarmeloDramatic

as in instead of zigging you’re zagging. but also make it something that there is a certain amount of logic Behind and isn’t complete rage bait

I was gonna do the “oops! all zags” mock draft but then I remembered that I’m stupid and dumb and dont have the knowledge to pull that off nor do I know much beyond the top 10 guys in this draft

here’s what i got(none of this is actual prediction this is just a fun exercise):

wizards: targeting boozer over AJ. I think there’s a vocal minority of people on here(myself included) who has cam number 1 in the class

jazz: somewhat related, the Jazz zag move is trading up for AJ.

grizzlies: this ones tough but I wonder if they could get a king’s ransom to trade down with one of the teams in the top 10. like move down 3 or 4 spots but Brooklyn/sac give up a huge Kings ransom to get in the top 4. maybe off load a bad contract too.

bulls: I got nothing here. they pick the 4th guy of the top 4. the bulls‘ gm could also try and trade it, I guess. barring some injury thing coming out I don’t see another move here. If they secretly think one of the guards is the best player in the class they’ll definitely have buyers to trade down.

Clippers: to be honest based on predictions just staying put and not trading back would be a zag here. i Think the clippers want Yexel. I feel like all the guys they draft are 23 or older anyway. i Think they stay and draft Acuff And just let their garland Acuff backcourt be bad if they can’t trade garland.

nets: I think you just draft Ada And dare whatever office wants him to trade up with you. Think he has more buyers in that 8-14 range. Or you give up a ransom to get in the top 4.

kings: the Kings don’t draft Acuff or target him. This is one of those picks that I see a lot and I think it’s just cuz people think the Kings make bad decisions and they don’t like Acuff. Think the Kings do the disciplined thing and just draft the big responsible guard in Wagler or the defensive combo guard in Burries

atlanta: trade back with the thunder. I dont think anyone at 8 is as Appealing as 12 and 17. Thunder I imagine donf want to pick twice anyway.

Mavericks: don’t target Wagz or Acuff. This seems to be the two guys everyone is assigning to the mavs but I’m unconvinced they’re perfect enough fits to be the target. Think they would be very happy with Flemings or brown here.

bucks: trade down…twice. i think the bucks should trade down from 10 with one of the teams that hace two picks in the first and then trade those picks as well so they have something to control until 2031. I saw a mock say that this is their last chance at a bite of a potential star player to develop but I think they’d rather just not be desperate for pick flexibility when it’s time to deal Giannis.

anyway, I just tried. Not great admittedly

hi there, I suck at mock drafts, so I will not write one. but here are some things I think will happen

1. IF the Wizards trade spots with the Jazz, they draft cam boozer

im apparently just a cam boozer Stan but I think if the wizards trade back they make the safest pick they can.

2. clippers trade back….twice, probably draft one of the older prospects

I think that with the run on guards after the top 4 that the team that gets to pick 5 And get their guy they think fills out that top 5. Would not be surprised to see them trade back with the hawks or mavs and then trade back again. Given that they’ve been drafting old players for a while now, I’m sure they’re licking their lips at Yaxel.

3. on a related note, there will be some callers for Acuff

look, Acuff is the guard that I think people are most likely to be excited to give a chance to see as their star. Think hes a lot of scouts favorite prospect

4. also somewhat related, the Thunder either package their picks and move up or trade out of 12.

I can see the Thunder being glad to move up and take the top rated center who just won the tournament.

5. The nets make a big push to trade up To the top 4.

idk just a gut feeling. I thought I’d write better than this

Maybe this is a personal take but whenever you hear about how good a guy’s technique is as a *negative* like it lowers his ceiling, I just don’t buy it. I can see people harping on him not being quite as athletic as the other guys in the top 4, but idk it’s not like he‘s slow or cant dunk. He’s still athletic.

im a laymen here though, to me this sounds pretty similar to what people were saying when they were putting Josh Jackson over Tatum that year. Cam seems to do great as a distributor who can back dudes down in the post and shoot the three. Idk why people are using “safe“ as a bad thing here. He just has obvious value At the nba level

Tyler Shough obviously has that job in New Orleans, but the twist here is really Rattler’s age, he is the same age as my chargers first round pick, and the same age as Tyler was when he was drafted(like almost to the exact day).

how many journeymen qbs do you think get the start over Him? Like Justin fields was a starter in New York for instance.