Three round WNBA Mock Draft | The Boneyard

Three round WNBA Mock Draft

Bone Dog

Bone Dog

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For the ESPN mock draft, this is my reaction:

Kitley at 21 behind Jessika Carter at 12? Is this just because of the injury?
Forbes at 27?
Jump at 31?
Kiki Jefferson at 33?

The guards listed in the first round are good players, but are they built for the W? They all seem small or slight, and I wonder about their perimeter shooting skills. They seem to have D1 games, not pro games. Though as littles go, I'd think Fair would go sooner just because she is indomitable. And Forbes Jump and Jefferson look more suited to the next level to me. But what the heck do I know? Not much generally.

Heck, I'm not even sure Brink will be drafted before Cardoso.
 
WBBTakeover

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Bone Dog said:
For the ESPN mock draft, this is my reaction:

Kitley at 21 behind Jessika Carter at 12? Is this just because of the injury?
Forbes at 27?
Jump at 31?
Kiki Jefferson at 33?

The guards listed in the first round are good players, but are they built for the W? They all seem small or slight, and I wonder about their perimeter shooting skills. They seem to have D1 games, not pro games. Though as littles go, I'd think Fair would go sooner just because she is indomitable. And Forbes Jump and Jefferson look more suited to the next level to me. But what the heck do I know? Not much generally.

Heck, I'm not even sure Brink will be drafted before Cardoso.
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I am puzzled by those picks (for the reasons you laid out) and by the Celeste Taylor and Jakia Brown-Turner picks (both too high, IMO). With Kitley and Holmes both sitting out in 2024, I don't see how one of them isn't picked with one of those second round Aces picks. It's a perfect opportunity to stash young talent.

I also agree that Kamilla could (and should IMO) be selected ahead of Cam Brink.

And given how Unique Drake looked at the all-star events last weekend, I think she'll be drafted by someone.
 
nwhoopfan

nwhoopfan

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WBBTakeover said:
I also agree that Kamilla could (and should IMO) be selected ahead of Cam Brink.
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What does Cardoso do better than Brink? She's taller and heavier. I don't see the overall skill level even being close.

Okay, better FG%, but most of her shots are from point blank, so it should be really high.

Passing, putting the ball on the floor, versatility on both O and D, shooting range, shot blocking, everything tilts in favor of Brink.
 
Bone Dog

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nwhoopfan said:
What does Cardoso do better than Brink? She's taller and heavier. I don't see the overall skill level even being close.

Okay, better FG%, but most of her shots are from point blank, so it should be really high.

Passing, putting the ball on the floor, versatility on both O and D, shooting range, shot blocking, everything tilts in favor of Brink.
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Taller and heavier may be the point in the W.
 
nwhoopfan

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Bone Dog said:
Taller and heavier may be the point in the W.
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Okay, convince me that Cardoso will turn out to be a better pro than McCowan or Kalani Brown. Similar size. Both had more impactful college careers. Neither are a player I'd spend a #2 draft pick on.

While the WNBA isn't as far down the evolutionary path as the NBA, it's heading kinda the same direction. Really big, back to the basket posts aren't where it's at.

Who are the best front court players in the league? Stewie and A'ja. EDD when healthy. All tall, but they are mobile, step out and take 3's or at least mid range jumpers quite a bit, can put the ball on the floor and attack off the dribble. J. Jones has good range.
 
triaddukefan

triaddukefan

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nwhoopfan said:
Okay, convince me that Cardoso will turn out to be a better pro than McCowan or Kalani Brown. Similar size. Both had more impactful college careers. Neither are a player I'd spend a #2 draft pick on.

While the WNBA isn't as far down the evolutionary path as the NBA, it's heading kinda the same direction. Really big, back to the basket posts aren't where it's at.

Who are the best front court players in the league? Stewie and A'ja. EDD when healthy. All tall, but they are mobile, step out and take 3's or at least mid range jumpers quite a bit, can put the ball on the floor and attack off the dribble. J. Jones has good range.
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Cardoso is a lot more mobile/agile than either McCowan or Brown.
 
nwhoopfan

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Seriously though, I don't see Cardoso driving from the FT line or further out being a strength. I think she had 2 attempts behind the arc in her career. 50% shooter though, so there's that. So maybe she gets up and down the floor faster than McCowan or Brown, but how about the versatility on offense. And how about guarding other bigs out at the 3 point line. I just think she's gonna have to change her game quite a bit, or else she'll be a niche/decent complimentary player like McCowan.
 
WBBTakeover

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nwhoopfan said:
What does Cardoso do better than Brink? She's taller and heavier.
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Yes and, despite this, Kamilla runs the floor better than Brink and has better body control defensively (is able to evade serious foul trouble better than Brink). In other words, she's better at being a true center than Brink is at being a center (which makes sense since Brink is a PF).

I don't see the overall skill level even being close.
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If by "skill" you're referring to dribbling the ball up the court and shooting the occasional three-pointer, then fine. Kamilla is a true center, so her skill set will differ.

I would not consider Cam Brink to be particularly skilled for a PF. She's good at what she does (shot blocking and some face-up scoring), but she's not a transformative talent at that position or is she ridiculously athletic (certainly nowhere near the level of A'ja or Stewie). She is a good PF prospect, but I'm not seeing sure fire future HOFer from her.

Okay, better FG%, but most of her shots are from point blank, so it should be really high.
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Yes, because that's what a true center is supposed to do--make shots at a high clip.

Passing, putting the ball on the floor, versatility on both O and D, shooting range, shot blocking, everything tilts in favor of Brink.
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Sure, if you're comparing a PF to a true center. What you listed are PF skills, so I'd hope that Brink, a PF, would be capable of executing them (she has not shown much consistency in this skill set in the games that I've watched this year save the Duke game).

I'm saying that Kamilla is better at being a true center than Brink is at being a PF.
 
WBBTakeover

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triaddukefan said:
Cardoso is a lot more mobile/agile than either McCowan or Brown.
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Waaaaaay more agile/mobile than those two (and McCowan is more mobile/agile than Brown). I don't see how anyone can watch these three players extensively and come to the conclusion that they're similar in terms of mobility or agility. Kamilla is closer to Shakira Austin in terms of mobility. Kalani Brown is glacier speed and was played off the court in last year's series versus the Aces because paint dries before she's able to make it up the court.
 
WBBTakeover

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nwhoopfan said:
I guess we'll find out. Disagree about Cardoso getting up and down the floor better than Brink.
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She (Kamilla) does, sorry. Cam doesn't move up and down the court as well as she should given her build/body type. That's one reason why she may struggle initially to make the transition to the league.
 
WBBTakeover

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nwhoopfan said:
You watched a different player than I did.
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The same can be said about you WRT Kamilla. How her mobility can be compared to the likes of McCowan and Brown is mind-blowing to me. A shocking bad basketball take.
 
nwhoopfan

nwhoopfan

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WBBTakeover said:
The same can be said about you WRT Kamilla.
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So we're both wrong? Okay, we'll call it a draw.



I'll say this. I know college stats aren't the be all and end all, but I sure would've liked to see Cardoso average more than 10 ppg and 8 rpg for her career for a player with her physical stature. And I realize she was a backup for 2 years behind Boston, but that's just not all that productive. I looked at stats, over their 4 years Brink averaged only 2 more minutes per game, than Cardoso, but out produced her in every category by a healthy margin. That means something to me. Blocks was almost double. Think about that for a minute.
 
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