Dylan Petersen
Recently, I met up with a writer named Reid Forgrave for an informational interview. I had a great time with him and I learned a lot about the journalism industry. Reid used to be a basketball analyst for CBS sports and he is sadly known for making one of the worst draft night takes in recent memory. Back in the 2019 draft, the Warriors selected Jordan Poole with the 28th overall pick. Forgrave did not believe in this pick at all calling it “the worst pick of the draft”. He also kept going saying, “this is such an overdraft”. Then Jordan Poole went on to help the Warriors win a championship and he has become one of the brightest young stars in the league.
As a sports writer, you are bound to make bad takes and also good takes. Nobody remembers when Reid Forgrave predicted that Jalen Brunson would be a star in this league when he got drafted. Or nobody remembers when Forgrave said that “Jayson Tatum should have been the number 1 pick over Markelle Fultz”. People let Forgrave’s best takes go over their head because of the Jordan Poole incindent.
This article is going to be inspired by Forgrave’s draft takes over the years. I am going to make three hot takes on the first three draft picks. Luckily, I am not a writer for CBS so I probably will not get bashed for making a wrong prediction about one of these players.
#1 Victor Wembanyama: Will play a maximum of 20 NBA games before getting injured
Victor Wembanyama is a generational prospect. Standing at 7’5 he can almost do everything on the court. He has an offensive game similar to Kevin Durant and a defensive game similar to Anthony Davis. But 7’0 unicorn prospects like Wembanyama have a bad history of getting injured. Prospects like Kristaps Porzingis, Bol Bol, Karl Anthony-Towns, and Chet Holmgren all have had injury problems throughout their career. Wembanyama will probably be better than all of these players but he has a similar playstyle to all of them. The consistency to stay healthy is tough for these no-traditional big men. I am not praying on Wemanyama’s downfall to get injured I just think it will be tough for him to stay consistently healthy.
#2 Brandon Miller: Their will be articles in 10 years wondering how the Charlotte Hornets passed up on Scoot Henderson
Brandon Miller may be the best fit for the Charlotte Hornets right now because they already have Lamelo Ball as their star point guard. However I predict that in 10 years people will be wondering why the Charlotte Hornets took Brandon Miller over Scoot Henderson. Scoot Henderson is another generational prospect that has already proved himself in the G league. He would have been the #1 pick in most drafts. Brandon Miller has some question marks with his consistency. At times he will be the best scorer on the floor but I do not think he will make the impact like Scoot will. This is similar to when the Warriors drafted James Wiseman over Lamelo Ball back in 2020. Imagine if the Warriors drafted Lamelo Ball instead of James Wiseman, the Warriors might have a few more championships. Brandon Miller is a great prospect but I think Scoot will be a super star in this league.
#3 Scoot Henderson: Will be on an All-NBA team within his first 4 years in the league
I think Scoot Henderson will be the best player to come out of this draft class. His success with G League Ignite makes me confident that he will be a star one day. I believe he has all the tools to dominate in this league. He has a very similar playstyle to Russell Westbrook. His explosiveness is unmatched, and his balance of passing and scoring is excellent. I think he will eventually be the guy for the Blazers after Damian Lillard decides to leave Portland. There will be no looking back once Scoot Henderson is the guy for the Trail Blazers. He will be unstoppable just like Russell Westbrook was in his prime, and he will be an MVP type of talent.
These takes may go down as some all time best takes or they will go down as some all time failed takes. But that is a part of the challenge of being a writer. Hopefully I end up on the bright side of these hot takes.
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