If teams were to redo the 2021 NBA draft knowing what they know now, All-NBA guard Cade Cunningham would still be the first overall pick, according to HoopsHype. However, the site’s 2021 re-draft suggests there would be deviations from what actually happened in many other places, starting at No. 2, where Evan Mobley moves up a spot.
Alperen Sengun (No. 16 to No. 3), Austin Reaves (undrafted to No. 6), and Jalen Johnson (No. 20 to No. 8) are among the other notable risers into HoopsHype’s new-look top 10, while Jalen Green, Jalen Suggs, Josh Giddey, and Jonathan Kuminga are among the top picks who dropped at least a few spots in this exercise.
Herbert Jones (No. 35 to No. 14), Aaron Wiggins (No. 55 to No. 16), and Ayo Dosunmu (No. 38 to No. 20) are a few of the second-round selections who, with the benefit of hindsight, should’ve been drafted in the first round, per HoopsHype.
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Although there are no All-Star level centers set to reach free agency this offseason, there are several solid starter-level big men to watch, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac, who has Myles Turner, Naz Reid, and Brook Lopez atop his rankings.
- ESPN’s Bobby Marks identifies 10 of the most important NBA teams to watch this offseason, including the one with significant cap room (Brooklyn), some who will be looking to shed salary (Boston and Phoenix), and several who figure to be seeking the piece(s) that could push them over the top next season (Denver, Golden State, and the Lakers, among others).
- Will NBA franchise valuations continue to rise after the Celtics were sold for a record $6.1 billion? Daniel Roberts of Front Office Sports explores that subject, soliciting thoughts from a handful of current and former team owners, including Ted Leonsis of the Wizards and former Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry.
- A federal judge approved a settlement on Friday that will pave the way for colleges and universities to begin paying athletes directly. Dan Murphy of ESPN takes a closer look at what exactly it means.
Woof not a good sign for the Lakers future payroll having Reaves mashed in-between Franz and jalen Green/Jalen Johnson
Reaves had a brilliant season, carved out a place for himself in the league and has had a bright career so far, but I’m sorry, he’s not going 6th in a re-draft. There’s just too much talent in that class, and some players from that draft year are 5 years younger than him.
No way he’s getting picked over Johnson, Trey Murphy, Suggs, Kuminga, Giddey.
Agree to an extent, happy this is a Hoopshype article rather than a Keith Smith piece cause it doesn’t bode well for the LAL ledger if this article is accurate
I have Reaves market value near 27 M per
Think he might get 32+ tho w the extra buzz
I find Kornet more interesting than Lopez or Capella today.
While Steven Adams certainly improved his stock in the playoffs I dont know how thrilled Id be if he’s your BIG answer in the middle
Wouldnt wanna use more than the TPMLE (5.7) on him
Super weak market at C this year, the vet min guys look really bad as well where you actually talk yourself into a Jaxson Hayes (yuck)
Deep rookie class this year at C where I think teams will bone up at the position but most those guys wont be relevant for 2+ years from now
Kornet is an excellent passer and a good rim protector. He almost never makes a mistake in defensive coverage and sets great screens Someone will pay him
Keep Kornet.
They also have Queta, he’s a competent big.
I agree with Hoopshype. Kuminga lacks consistency. He’ll have a great game, then be mediocre the next. The GLEAGUE Ignite probably didn’t do him any favors. High Schools in the area had better facilities. I can’t imagine the NBA really went overboard with the coaching expense. I guess that is why the team is defunct.
The time at GS didn’t do him any favours either. Kerr is trying to make him a 3-and-d guy because that’s the concept he understands. “Kuminga is physical, so we’ll try to make a Shawn Marion regen out of him”. What a ridiculous approach, I cannot believe something like that has come from an NBA coach.
Why is that ridiculous? Marion averaged 15ppg and 8.5rpg for his career. He was a 4 time All-Star. He finished 3rd in MVP voting twice. He won a ring as a starter. And, he didn’t really shoot the 3. So, I guess you think Kuminga should have a mediocre career?
It’s ridiculous not because Shawn Marion was a mediocre player, he wasn’t at all. It’s ridiculous because Kuminga is a different type of player. Marion not shooting 3s doesn’t make any difference here, he played back when barely anyone shot it.
Kuminga will never be a physique-reliant beast wing defender, board-grabbing monster. Which is what Kerr wants him to be.
He’s too good of a scorer, he can actually make plays without sets, which is the absolute polar opposite of how Kerr thinks of basketball with his obsession of playing everything in patterns.
Kuminga makes me think of how Siakam is used. That type of forward, not like Randle or Aaron Gordon. And Kuminga has other strengths. He’s very good at pressuring the opponent in their half when they dribble the ball, he’s great in that Dort-Nesmith role.
Kerr has never said he wants Kuminga to shoot the 3 more. I don’t know where you get that. He wants JK to recognize when others have better shots. Kuminga was inconsistent last season. Teams didn’t respect his shooting. That’s why they traded for Butler. The Warriors struggled offensively.
I would take Reeves over most of those guys listed… Johnson and Giddey would be close calls, but Reeves to me is super impressive, and the way he plays alongside LeBron and now Luka also..he just adjusts nicely and is a great team player
Also fun to watch.
Kuminga is terrible, and if the warriors even think about resigning him… That would shock me
Well, welcome to the NBA. GS will resign him no matter what. Even if he receives a big offer sheet from someone, they will match.
Suns didn’t want to give Aytom the max in the summer ’21, they let it play out in the final year of his rookie deal in 21-22. There were tensions with the coach, there was pressure because he was picked over Doncic, they got knocked out by Doncic in the playoffs.
After all that, Indiana gave Ayton an offer sheet for a max contract. Ayton signed. What did Suns do? They matched. Even though they never wanted to give him that money. Why? Because that’s how NBA works, because in this league, you don’t let young players walk out like that.
Would they do it again? Yes, they would. Even if Suns had a crystal ball and knew what would become of Ayton, they would still sign him to that 2nd contract.
Who is going to be able to offer Kuminga the type of money he wants?
The type of money he wants (max) – nobody. But somebody will likely offer him a deal he will like more than what GS were offering. Or he will sign with GS a different deal, maybe a shorter one than what they were giving him initially.
Reminder: Kuminga is 5 months younger than Holmgren, 19 months younger than JDub, 4 months younger than Mathurin, 16 months younger than Mobley, 14 months younger than Franz, 1 month older than Brandon Miller, 3 months older than Thompson twins.
He’s a young player, younger than just about everyone from his draft year, and often similar in age to guys who were drafted in 22 and 23. It matters.
He can always just sign the QO if no offer he likes comes and try his luck next offseason. Not sure about which teams will have cap space next season but id say its a good bet that it will be more than just 1 team.
He wanted $35. The Warriors offered $30. With his regression, it is probably less than that. Sign-and-trade would be terrible for the Warriors.
Kuminga will never accomplish what Marion did, my God. Marion was lockdown, ask LeBron about his finals experience against Marion, lol. Best attribute is Kumingas athleticism which is still short of Marion’s. Kuminga might lock someone down in the G league final though.