Мемфис Гриззлис багт драфтын гурав дахь сонголтоор очсон Кэмерон Бүүзер өөрийг нь драфтын тэргүүн сонголт болох боломжгүй гэж үзсэнд сэтгэл дундуур байгаагаа илэрхийлж, цаг хугацаа бүхнийг харуулна гэв. Хэдийгээр А.Ж. Дибанца болон Даррин Петерсон нар түүний өмнө сонгогдсон ч бооцооны төвүүд Бүүзерийг оны шилдэг шинэ тоглогч болох хамгийн өндөр магадлалтайд тооцож байна.
Дьюкийн их сургуульд байхдаа 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists дундажилж байсан Бүүзер Мемфис Гриззлис багийн гарааны тавт-д багтах нь тодорхой болжээ. Шинжээч Сэм Весенийн үзэж буйгаар тэрээр Мемфис Гриззлис багийн тоглолтын хэв маягт төгс нийцэж байгаа бөгөөд багийн сул орон зайг нөхөх гол тоглогч болох юм.
Бусад багийн хувьд Вашингтон Уизардс-д очсон А.Ж. Дибанца болон Юта Жазз-ын Даррин Петерсон нар мөн гарааны бүрэлдэхүүнд багтах хэдий ч багийн бүрэлдэхүүн болон зорилгын хувьд өөр нөхцөл байдалтай байна. Оны шилдэг шинэ тоглогчийн шагналыг багийн амжилтаас илүүтэйгээр хувийн статистик үзүүлэлт өндөр тоглогчид олгодог жишиг тогтсон нь Бүүзэрт давуу тал олгож байна.
Сакраменто Кингс-ийн Дариус Акуфф болон Чикаго Буллс-ын Калеб Уилсон нар энэхүү шагналын төлөө өрсөлдөх боломжтой бусад нэр дэвшигчдээр нэрлэгдэж байна. Акуффын хувьд 23.5 points, 6.4 assists үзүүлэлттэй тоглолтоороо олны анхаарлыг татаж байгаа ч хамгаалалтын асуудал нь түүнийг драфтын дараах байрлал руу ухраасан хүчин зүйл болжээ.
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Cameron Boozer doesn’t understand why he was an afterthought in the discussion of who would be the first pick in the NBA draft. “I think many years down the line, people are going to look back and say I should have been,” Boozer, who went No. 3 to the Memphis Grizzlies, told ESPN on Tuesday night’s telecast.
At least for his debut season, the oddsmakers are on his side.
Most major sportsbooks opened Boozer as the favorite to capture the Rookie of the Year award, which is often where talent meets opportunity.
FanDuel lists him as a +240 favorite, with No. 1 pick A.J. Dybantsa of the Washington Wizards and No. 2 pick Darryn Peterson of the Utah Jazz trailing at +400.
How excited is AJ Dybantsa about being the number 1 pick?
Josh Robbins and Jeshua Kidd
The Athletic’s draft expert Sam Vecenie listed each of those players — as well as No. 4 pick Caleb Wilson — as “winners” in his annual winners and losers column based on how they fit within their new teams.
For Boozer in particular, he wrote, “It’s hard to find a more Grizzlies player under this Zach Kleiman-led front office. Memphis has been among the best teams at drafting, largely sticking to players who produce at a high level while being elite competitors. … The city and front office will embrace him.”
Boozer had one of the most statistically productive freshman seasons ever, leading Duke with 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. The Grizzlies are in flux, with point guard Ja Morant’s status unclear, but Boozer will instantly start at power forward and should get plenty of chances to make plays for a team that went 25-57 last year and lacks a reliable go-to player.
Dybantsa and Peterson should also fit in as immediate starters, but their respective teams have more talent around them and real desires to reach the playoffs after long droughts.
The Wizards “desperately required [Dybantsa’s] downhill rim pressure,” Vecenie wrote. He said Peterson, “an admitted introvert who just wants to go about his business, play ball and work hard on his game — should fit in well in Utah.”
Team success rarely factors heavily for this award, which is often given to the best statistical producer.
Last year, Cooper Flagg edged Kon Knueppel with a late-season charge that included back-to-back 51- and 45-point outings in the final month of the season. This was despite Flagg playing for a miserable Dallas Mavericks team and Knueppel helping the Charlotte Hornets to their highest win total in a decade.
Flagg (-225) was a comfortable favorite right after his draft, but he had become a +230 underdog to Knueppel just before the Dallas star’s April explosion.
The only time in the past eight seasons that the ROY came from a team that made the playoffs was 2021-22, when the Toronto Raptors’ Scottie Barnes barely beat out the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Evan Mobley.
Boozer was No. 1 on John Hollinger’s big board and No. 2 (behind Dybantsa) on Vecenie’s. Though Boozer is a few months younger than Dybantsa or Peterson, he is considered by some to be the most NBA-ready because of his size (6-foot-8, 252 pounds), versatility and feel for the game.
“I think he’s pretty close to a can’t-fail offensive prospect,” Vecenie wrote in his draft guide. “ … The only reason I don’t have Boozer at No. 1 is that I think his skills play better as a No. 2 type of star in the NBA as opposed to a No. 1.”
As for wild cards to win rookie of the year, Wilson, drafted No. 4 by the Chicago Bulls, has +950 odds. But that’s behind Darius Acuff, the No. 7 pick with the Sacramento Kings, who ranks fourth at +450.
Acuff was electric for Arkansas, and he puts up the counting numbers (23.5 points, 6.4 assists as a freshman) that make him a serious award candidate.
A reason he fell in the draft is that some feel he’s undersized and a perceived liability defensively. Because he possesses an aesthetically pleasing playstyle, voters might be willing to overlook his flaws in a way some NBA franchises didn’t. He should have plenty of opportunities to make highlights on a Kings team without much of a foundation.
