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NEW YORK — The intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush in Brooklyn has been where big NBA dreams come to die, but it takes a break one day in June. And from some of the first-round selections in the 2024 NBA Draft, it’s the home of some well-placed resentment.
If this draft turns out to be one of those historic ones, it won’t be because it was preordained. This is the draft nestled in between the Victor Wembanyama draft and the tankathon that could happen next season, setting up the Cooper Flagg-Ace Bailey extravaganza next June.
So it’s hard to capture the night without seeing the lack of sizzle in the air, with so many teams trading to set themselves up for next year rather than this one.
Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr appeared more likely to wind up as mind-bending Jeopardy! answers rather than top-tier French talents following in Wembanyama’s giant footsteps — it just didn’t seem like they cared much about the draft lacking quality or excitement, probably stemming from their foreign roots.
Reed Sheppard had the aww shucks look, going third to the Houston Rockets, but he wouldn’t have thought of himself going higher in any draft, it seems. He took advantage of the terrain around him, and his shooting will give him ample chances to play on a Rockets team that’s better than its draft standing.
But that wasn’t the case with everyone, not about the quality of the draft but their individual straits.
Dalton Knecht at least appears ready for Hollywood. (Photo by Steve Eichner/WWD via Getty Images)
Imagine dropping in a draft that many believe is one of the worst in memory. Dalton Knecht was slated to go top 10, maybe as high as sixth, but fell to 17th with the Los Angeles Lakers.
There’s an excitement that came when Knecht heard about new Lakers coach JJ Redick drawing up plays to get him shots out of timeouts as soon as Redick knew Knecht would be his first draft pick, and certainly validation when considering LeBron James was singing his praises during the regular season, randomly bringing up a game Knecht played when Tennessee went against Purdue.
“I remember that clip. I woke up and rolled out…
Source link : https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/2024-nba-draft-zach-edey-and-lakers-draft-pick-dalton-knecht-entering-league-with-plenty-to-prove-045029908.html
Author : Yahoo Sports
Publish date : 2024-06-27 04:50:29
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