NEW YORK — The intersection of Atlantic and Flatbush in Brooklyn is where big NBA dreams go to die, but it pauses one day in June. And for some of the first-round selections in the 2024 NBA Draft, it’s home to some well-placed resentment.
If this project is one of those historic ones, it will not be because it was pre-ordained. This is the draft situated 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 noticing the lack of heat in the air, with so many teams negotiating to prepare for next year rather than this one.
Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr seemed more likely to end up as the mind-bending Jeopardy! responses rather than top-tier French talent following in Wembanyama’s gargantuan footsteps – it just didn’t seem like they cared much about the draft’s lack of quality or enthusiasm, likely stemming from its foreign roots.
Reed Sheppard had an oh, what a shame look going third to the Houston Rockets, but he wouldn’t have considered moving higher in any draft, it seems. He took advantage of the terrain around him, and his shot will give him ample chances to play on a Rockets team that is better than his draft position.
But that wasn’t the case for everyone, not in terms of the quality of the draft, but in their individual struggles.
Imagine releasing a draft that many believe is one of the worst in memory. Dalton Knecht was slated to reach the top 10, perhaps as high as sixth, but fell to 17th with the Los Angeles Lakers.
There was excitement when Knecht heard about new Lakers coach JJ Redick drawing up plays to get shots out of timeouts as soon as Redick learned 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 was against Purdue.
“I remember that clip. I woke up and rolled out of bed and thought it was fake because so many people were texting me. I was like, ‘There’s no way,’” Knecht said. “When I watched that video, it brought a smile to my face and also to my parents. They called me right away and told me about it. It will be special and fun to share the court with both of them, AD and LeBron. LeBron is one of the greatest. So it will be very special.”
But being overlooked can hurt even a good draft pick, and it’s a tried-and-true emotion that he and his draft mates will rely on heading into Summer League and beyond.
“I would say my ‘why’ is that I feel like I’ve been undervalued my entire life, ever since I graduated high school,” Knecht said. “I always had a chip on my shoulder and to this day I will always have that chip on my shoulder to go out there and prove people wrong.”
He’s gone from JUCO to the Big Sky to the SEC, and now he’s heading to the NBA’s biggest pond and believes he’s proven himself every step of the way.
“Every time I touch a basketball or walk into a gym, I always feel like I have something to prove,” he said.
In Los Angeles, there is more pressure than opportunity. And that’s not a happy place for a newbie. Zach Edey will likely get the opportunity in Memphis, even though everyone was surprised by the growing buzz, he would go beyond projections from months ago.
Edey didn’t bother to show up, declining an NBA invitation to the green room. Maybe he was doing his friends and family a favor by not putting a human eclipse in the draft, shadowing everyone around his 7-foot frame.
But there appears to be a clear path for him to start on a ready-made team in Memphis, if he truly measures up to the top 10. Ja Morant will be back, healthy, and likely out of trouble.
Jaren Jackson and Desmond Bane are still young and highly regarded around the league, with many believing last year was a blip – an ugly blip that won’t happen again if key pieces are available.
The Minnesota Timberwolves have taken their place as the future darlings of the West, along with the Oklahoma City Thunder. If Edey ends up being more than a ratchet on defense, if he can reasonably hold down the middle while Brandon Clarke returns to full strength from his Achilles injury — he played six games to end the season — the Grizzlies might have something.
But that’s a big if. It’s hard to say whether the Grizzlies chose the best player available or whether they went out of necessity. He played on the biggest stage recently, with Purdue reaching the national title game against Connecticut, and when the player he faced that day, Donovan Clingan, got two spots ahead of him, no one batted an eye.
But there was an audible gasp when the Grizzlies took him, and wherever he was, he heard it.
The doubts are based on facts with lots of evidence. Can he step up when Morant is on a one-on-one counter and needs someone to follow and be ready to finish?
Will he be able to make up for those moments when Jackson bets on defense and leaves the rim open? He won’t have the time or space to buckle down and operate how he wants, and the Grizzlies certainly know that.
Certainly the Lakers know that Knecht has a bit of an edge to his game and hope to get to a place where he can make mistakes and have opportunities to play with the ball, as his development would be the No. 1 goal on the preseason board.
Expecting game changes in a good draft is a bit ambitious, but doing so in a draft filled with question marks seems completely out of the question.
But tell that to Knecht.
“I would just say I’m playing with a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “It doesn’t matter where I am. It will always be there, having that chip on your shoulder, feeling like I’ve been underestimated my entire life. It’s something I will carry with me for the rest of my career.”
He won’t be alone in this task, if Night 1 of this draft is any indication.
