#1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher makes a statement in his playoff debut: 0 points on 0/3 FG, 4 rebounds in 2min
Box score
Is it too early to call Risacher a bust? He is in his 2nd season as a #1 overall pick and isn’t even good enough to get minutes.
he’s going to get signed by OKC/SA for like 3yr/10M and start playing like a No.1 pick.
or GSW
Kerr is known to work wonders with young guys like this
Kerr is a wiseman
And a kuminga
I thought you was gonna say a bucket or sorts
WILL YOU STOP
There’s a Poole of players to choose from.
I mean he was good was us pre-punch
no need to get Moody
But couldn’t make anything happen with Wiseman
Neither could wiseman.
That pick was forced on him
Kerr wanted Ant badly. And Ant attests that seeing Kerr and Curry inspired him to be the player he is today. Therefore, we’re trading franchise player Brandin Podziemski for ant and 2 first rnders
If the warriors had taken Ant, I probably wouldn’t still be watching NBA games today.
Jk, they’re all blacked out, so I don’t watch them anyway
Kerr wanted Ant badly
Kerr literally told Ant he didn’t work hard enough for the Warriors to draft him
Yep! He turned a lacrosse player into a real full time nba playing person!
I know that’s what you’re talking about!
We love a good ‘ 2 years away from being 2 years away’ guy. Where do we sign.
When was the last time a no 1 pick who busted in spot one gone on to do very well?
What’s your definition of “very well”? Like, worth number one pick? None. Closest I can think of are Kwame Brown and Michael Olowakandi. But they became “serviceable” role players and starters.
Closest top pick is Chauncey Billups, at 3rd overall. On 5 teams in 4 years before staying with Detroit and becoming the player we know.
I cant think of anyone else that is close that is successful.
Wiggins never became a star, but the Warriors made him a serviceable player who was extremely important to their 22 title
Wigs had a pretty sizable career turnaround, people thought he was toxic coming out of Minnesota. He was basically asked the be the star for 5 years clearly above his pay grade and figured out his true position as a great role player.
Who thought he was toxic out of MN? We just thought he doesn’t like basketball that much lol
Wiggins won Rookie of the year, became an all-star and an NBA champion.
He ended up doing more than many #1 picks.
He has been more than serviceable. He has been a solid player going on a decade. Valuable to any team. He is a really good all around player. Anyone that can average 15 to 17 PPG, play lock down defense and has championship experience is an asset.
He is still 31 and playing well. If he wanted, he could take a pay cut next year and go try and get another ring. His defense and ability to score without being the focus of the offense are needed by a lot of teams on the edge. If Miami can land Giannis without getting rid of him or Tyler though…that would be nuts.
I’ll never forget Maple Jordan as long as I live
Tyson chandler?
They’re projects for a reason tho, you give a small 2-3 year contract and hope they outperform based on potential.
Low risk, high reward
Boy don’t put Fultz in there with Favors. Favors was actually a decent player on both sides of the court, Fultz is ass. Imo the worst jump shot regression I’ve ever seen
CWebb is the obvious answer. Busted out of Golden State. Busted out of Washington. Finally realized his stardom in Sacramento where he was traded out of spite for his career to die.
He didn’t bust out, he was ROY but only had a 1 year contract as a rookie.
Don Nelson hated him so Webber only lasted one year.
Though funnily enough he also ended his career with Golden State too
He put up 17-9-3 as a rookie then 20-9-5 as a second year haha. Hes not even close to a bust that person doesn’t know what they’re talking about. It was a different environment with contracts
CWebb won RoY and averaged a 20-9-4 during his time in Golden State and Washington. He was in no way a bust at any point
Boris Diaw 2.0
Go on…
Or get signed to a vet minimum to Kings like Fultz and Hayes… we love collecting failed lottery picks…
The crazy part wasn’t even that he went 0/3. It was that he barely even hit the rim on those 3 attempts.
Zaccharie Ricochet
He’s not bald tho
He just made the list 🖊️
AH HAAAAAA
Can’t ricochet if you can’t hit the rim consistently lmao
Fair point
More like Zaccharie Rotisserie, because he is done.
YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS…WHEN AEW APPEARS IN AN NBA SUBREDDIT…
Fire away fire away
The one jumper was like 2 feet short
Air-balling a wide open middy in the playoffs is a generational disaster.
2 of those misses were in the span of 8 seconds and were maybe 3 feet away from the basket each time
The second miss was absolutely abominable
Buzellis tried to warn people
He air balled his first attempt. I was baffled. And then he quickly followed that up with 2 more bum shots.
Can’t call him a bust yet but, yeah probably he will be one. Hawks are so cursed for the shitty 2024 draft being the one they get the first pick on. Literally wemby before and Flagg after lmao
“Cursed” Bro they had like the 10th best odds, they should’ve picked Sarr and told him to deal with it
Or Castle, Or Clingan, or even Sheppard.
Castle is from Atlanta too, could’ve had the hometown hero
Castle at 1 was clearly viewed as a reach to be fair.
I still don’t understand how risacher was not considered a reach in the lottery. I saw him play in the eurocup and while he was good it was absolutely clear to me that his best case would be a serviceable roleplayer in the nba. Nothing in his game screamed top 3 nba picks, even in a weak draft. But i dont think i will ever understand how nba teams and journalists value players in europe. I knew the first time i saw luka that he would be a future star and didn’t understand how he wasn’t the consensus 1st pick. And on the other side you have picks like killian hayes that were clear busts for anyone who actually watched him play in Ulm and should have been a 2nd rounder at best.
At the time the 2024 draft looked a lot like “serviceable roleplayer in the NBA” draft
It really does boil down to Wemby also being French lmao
Wemby is 7’5
Its bush league analysis but the debate really was Sarr and Risacher after wemby huh
I honestly think he’s the best player from that draft. Sarr has put up numbers, but Castle is often running the offense on a 2 seed actually trying to win.
I love Sarr and hope he turns into the best player from the draft because I hope his ceiling is far off from right now, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone serious suggesting a redraft doesn’t have castle #1. I’m happy enough that Sarr would still go #2 at the moment.
Yeah Castle is the 2nd best player on the 2nd best team this season as a sophomore, and most agree that he’s still got a lot more upside to look forward to. Def an underwhelming class as a whole so far, but man I’m glad we managed to get this guy
2nd best player on the 2nd best team
And to further emphasize the point, he’s the 2nd best player behind what looks to be the best player of the next 15+ years.
still might be some teams that take clingan over him tbh, but that would mostly come down to exact team needs/wants in terms of play style
edit: clingan over sarr not castle to be clear
They’re a 2 seed because of Wemby and a storong supporting cast. He’s also sharing the ball handling role with Fox so he’s not doing it alone.
He’s not really sharing the handling role with Fox, he’s by far our go to ball handler. Fox really took a step back to let Steph develop this year
I love him as a player and I agree with your point but we gotta axe “Steph” felt like a jumpscare
same lol hated that
Castle is one of the best perimeter defenders in the league already, which also helps
And also sharing the ball handling and guard responsibilities with Harper
I don’t think this is a hot take at all. I think most people would agree. But taking castle at #1 would’ve been seen as a reach. Both things are true.
Put Castle on a shitty team and he’s doing mad numbers. Bro has more than some AI in him. But more efficient.
Castle can’t run the offense. He’s a great passer but a poor floor general. He’s a better combo guard/secondary playmaker like Wizards era Bradley Beal or Devin Booker. He can make plays, but isn’t great at maximising his teammates and running an offense.
Good thing Spurs have Harper who can immediately fill the pg role once they move on from Fox or promote Harper. Love Harper and Castle together in the back court.
If you dont think he is a playmaker I dont think youre watching Spurs games
I watched nearly every Spurs game this year. The amount of times he’d miss an open Wemby of all people is insane.
You can be talented at passing the ball accurately, and he’s great with the drive and kick (his real bread and butter when it comes to him making plays). But the point guard role is so complex, it isn’t straight forward like the other 4 positions are. Castle doesn’t have the vision that a true primary playmaker has. You see some players evolve to become one, but for the most part it seems like you either have it or don’t.
Which is why I said he’s actually a secondary playmaker. Which is fine. Spurs don’t need him to be their primary playmaker and floor general. They have Fox and Harper for that.
Agree he’s more of a combo guard than a true traditional point guard
Kind of harsh to say as this is barely his second year. He’s improved massively since last year, way less turnovers and dumb decisions. But I agree it’s only a matter of time Dylan ends up as our primary ball handler, he’s just way too talented not to be one of the best pg in the league soon.
Yup. Hindsight’s 20⁄20. I remember some posts about his shooting either leading up to the draft or shortly after it, and as a UConn fan I was getting a bit annoyed about hearing what a poor shooter he is. Spurs was a perfect landing spot for him.
But this Risacher kid might just be the most forgettable number 1 pick in recent years.
I mean he really didn’t have a 3 point shot at UConn.
Nobody can be a reach in a draft everyone said was weak
Yeah the guy who went 4, in a draft that didn’t have a #1, was definitely not that much of a reach.
At one point I think I saw 5 different names as the potential best player leading up to the draft stuff. Risacher, Sarr, Sheppard, Castle, and Clingan. Although the two french guys definitely started to seperate.
eh, it was pretty wide open what the lottery order would be. Yeah there were a couple favorites near the top (really only sarr) but outside of that it coulda been anyone in any order and it would have made sense
They could’ve traded down.
The Ringer had him ranked first for a while
Even guys like Ware, Edey, and Buzelis would leapfrog him right now.
2nd round nepo pick Bronny is leapfrogging Risacher right now and social media will never let you forget it lol
tbf who says they develop the same way they all did in Atlanta?
Still got no idea how that was allowed to happen. “Atlanta don’t draft me”, “yeah bet we’ll respect the wishes of an 18 year old who isn’t in the league yet” 💀
“One volunteer is worth twenty pressed men.”
– Napoleon
The Grizzlies drafted a player who told them not to draft him and it didn’t end well
It’s part of the reason the Grizzlies don’t exist
Yeah I’m totally unwilling to say “cursed” when fucking Luka fell into our laps too. That’s not a curse, it’s incompetence.
Or kept Luka.
He was the first pick in the nba draft. He’s a bust.
He’s a bust. If he progresses into a positive player it won’t be with Atlanta
After 2 years? Sure. All he needs to do is get his 3pt back and he’s a reliable player again. All he lacks is confidence and game reps.
Yeah these people are crazy, he’s not elite but he’s still averaging double figure for his career.
A bust is some like Anthony Bennet or Thabeet who averaged 4 points game for their careers.
No, a bust is a 1st overall pick who doesn’t become an all-star. Any top 5 pick who doesn’t become an all-star is a bust (barring injuries).
That would make some sense if you completely ignore any nuance in the strength of the class.
Its not an incredible class but there are a lot of guys doing a lot better. Sarr, Sheppard, Castle, Holland,, Clingan, Buzelis, Ware. Edey if he stays healthy. There was talent to find in this class, the hawks just caught french fever and drafted a guy way too high.
I guarantee you that the Pistons did not expect an all star by drafting Ron Holland with the 5th pick 2024.
A bust used to and should still be independent of the pick number and more about not meeting what their expectations were.
Zion and Simmons are both multi-time all stars, but are both busts.
That’s true but it’s more of a technicality. If you get a starter out of it, it’s still a building block. If you just can’t even extend them, that’s pain.
If okc calls about him then you know he won’t be bust
OKC has so many FRPs, why would the bother with him?
I can. Anthony Bennett was 100% a bust by his 2nd season. So was Kwame. So was Olawakandi.
No number 1 pick has been this bad his first two years and could shed the bust label
People were calling him a bust half way through his first year.
Candyman and Brown at least had decent careers. Bennett was out of the league by year 3-4.
Bennett was a bust by game 20 of his rookie season.
It took him, what, six games to make a field goal?
I just want to know how a team of professional scouts could be so wrong about a player they had years to watch
For Bennett, he was not supposed to go anywhere near number 1. I think the Cavs just tried drafting for fit and didn’t look at talent.
For Kwame, he was dominating against high schoolers, and would have been exposed if he played in college. One of the biggest reasons they instituted the one-and-done rule
For Candy man, Bargnani, and now Risacher, they were international players where the idea of them was more impressive than anything else
Sharing nationality with Wemby absolutely contributed to the hype
You can go further back, last five number 1 picks: Flagg, RISACHER, Wemby, Paolo, and Cade.
Everyone but Risacher is good. I know people have issues with Paolo but he’s not a bust or anything close. Hawks could have picked Sarr though, just ignore his agent. Or Castle. They didn’t and now they’re paying for it.
Let’s not start rewriting history.
Nobody projected Castle to be what he is now. If they had, he would have been picked higher.
The 2024 draft was always viewed as “meh”, with the first pick being 50⁄50 between Risacher and Sarr.
I want bachero to workout so bad. But he’s not a #1 option without a jump shot.
Comeuppance for trading away Luka when he randomly landed in their laps.
Also, the Hawks that drafted him is very different from the Hawks today. Not only did they not expect to be this good this fast, but doing it without Trae and with several good wings, contrary to when they drafted him. Ultimately, I think Zac’s competition went from 0 to 100 and he couldn’t keep up.
1st pick in the nba draft. He is a bust until he proves otherwise
Should have done what Ainge did with Ace and taken Sarr or just traded the pick for any positive value.
Sarr’s rim protection would be valuable for them at least, and he’s shown promise as an interior scorer.
You can absolutely call him a bust
THANK YOU!!! I have been waiting waiting decades for the Hawks to have a number 1 pick. We finally get our first one ever and it was in between someone who might actually pass MJ as greatest ever and a perennial all star.
Hawks and high draft picks just haven’t mixed. We’ll either do some dumb shit like desperately need a point guard but draft Marvin Williams instead of Chris Paul or trade Luka, or we’ll be just outside the top tier like getting 3 in the Oden/Durant draft (we didn’t know Oden’s body would explode, so I’m counting that) or 2024. Just let us pick later where we get guys Jalen Johnson, John Collins, Jeff Teague or Schroder.
He’s averaging 72 rebounds per 36. GOAT
Wilt who?
Look at this guy mathing like Ramanujan.
Next time pick the player you want even if he says no
lol a competent FO wouldn’t care what a dumb teenager says if you want him you pick him. What is he going to do, not play and ruin his career?
That’s why we fired the dude who picked Risacher
Yeah as I recall Steph wanted to go to the Knicks but the Warriors picked him anyway… and the rest is history.
We probably would have whiffed on the pick anyway. My dog could draft better than the Knicks FO.
Kobe and Charlotte too
With the 1st pick in the 2027 draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select… Victor Wembanyama from San Antonio. I’m Adam Silver and yes they can do that.
Dude shot a fadeaway into nothing
He shot a fadeaway that actually faded away
Cody Williams with better PR
So you’re saying Cody Williams is ass?
Is that controversial
Didn’t expect a jazzman to say it
Cody can be a solid 8th man imo, just like Risacher
I think he’s a fine role player. But with Johnson, Dyson, and kuminga, they have no reason to play zach
You have to play a role to be a role player
Damn that’s deep
This is the issue. Every aspect where Zacc brings value, there’s someone else on the team that does it better. He just doesn’t have a place on this roster right now.
you guys should’ve traded him away & let him grow elsewhere
We probably will
Problem is his value has tanked now, so you won’t be getting what you could have.
He is a role player 💀 He came in to give the starters some rest, airballed a 3 off an ATO that got him a wide open look, missed a shot at the rim, grabbed his own rebound, and missed again, then made a dumb foul. He inflicted so much damage in the only 2 min he played
And he also got 3 other rebounds. You can’t take anything away from 2 mins
There’s gonna be more scrutiny on that pick next season when the Wiz stop tanking and Sarr is doing All-Star things.
Sarr already looked good this season.
For sure, but the general public won’t notice that on a 17-65 team.
Yeah, I can’t blame people for ignoring his growth when you see the team record. But if we can be a play-in caliber team and he makes another leap next season, even if it’s a much smaller one than this season, people will know his name.
It’s actually hilarious that he had probably his best offensive game of the year in the same game where Bam dropped 83
first 6 minutes of that game i thought i was gonna see a center v center duel then bam scored 30 in the first quarter smh
Yes 😈
Sarr numbers will go down if they start winning
I typed Risacher but my autocorrect changed it to disaster
Yeah future kings in offseason
4 rebounds in 2 min is pretty good tho
Woke up feeling D A N G E R O U S
Kid scored 33, 36, and 38 points last year and earned first team all-rookie.
In less than two seasons and at 20 years old he went from offenses featuring Trae and Capela to Trae and Porzingis to NAW and Jalen.
You know how many players are still on the team as opening day last year, his rookie season? FIVE. And one is Keaton Wallace, who barely plays. Everyone and everything around him has changed. He’s not finding his footing? No shit.
Plus, he’s got a head coach who wants to play vets and scrape for a taste of the playoffs like he’s fighting for his coaching future.
Yeah, he’s struggling to find minutes and find his role and excel in it. Context matters. I personally still believe he will be a good player.
Stephon Castle was right there
As was Clingan, as was Sarr.. The guy that drafted him first overall is the same mastermind that gave us Kobe Bufkin and AJ Griffin first rounders.
There is obviously a reason he’s no longer here
Tbf, AJ turned to god and Kobe was super injured
Don’t forget Zach edey
Tbf no one thought Castle should have gone number 1. Hindsight is the only reason people say the hawks should have drafted him
He’ll be traded to Brooklyn for one of their dozens of future first rounders.
1700 upvotes on this but if he came out and said he was having mental health problems you mother fuckers would sympathize with him. You’re really gonna post his stat line he played for TWO MINUTES? JFC you mfs are moronic.
I’ll be deadass, I don’t remember that pick at all 😂
I’ve legit never heard of this guy before until reading this post.
Granted I’m a super, super causal fan these days but Jesus
Him and Dyson Daniels were unplayable on offense
Daniels is getting the Tony Allen playoff treatment but at least he can facilitate and be a hand off moving screen merchant
Maybe we can trade Embiid for him next year
that’s 72 rebounds per 36
😹😹😹😹it was worse than the stats too, he had an airball that was so bad
This sub would rather talk about whether a 2nd round 55th pick is a bust or not
Why do people on reddit find such joy on shitting on young players in the NBA?
Would he go in the lottery in a redraft?
In THAT draft, yeah.
They could probably still get a late first for him today, I would rather have him then whoever goes 26-30th this year.
He makes 13M next season then 17M the season after though. Worth it considering he has potential still but a late first makes way less money than the number one pick
I guess we’d take him 25 over Pacome Dadiet
Absolutely, just towards the back. He still has good tools.
Bronny is better than him lol
Too far. 2 years exp at 10 pts average and 142 games played, 35 pct from 3 and 45 pct from the field. Vs a slim hot streak
Might be the dumbest comment I’ve ever read.
Spurs an him and wemby just talk French and dominate the world
Man wth is wrong y’all? What absolute losers you must be to take such please in the high profile short coming of others who have done you absolutely no wrong. What garbage you have made sports media.
I don’t mind that this subreddit is basically Stephen A Smith, but they pretend they ain’t lmao
Whatchu talking bout Mr. Hera?
THE AUDACI- oh, I see what you mean
Ya as far as I’m aware Risacher is not a bad dude so why is it so fun for people to clown on a guy’s stats in 2 MIN in his first playoff game?
Like it’s literally just mean spirited for no reason
Honestly this place and sports subs in general are full of hateful scumbags. Waiting for failure and to tear people down. It’s pretty tiresome.
Is it a stretch to say Bronny James is a top 5 player from this draft? 😅
If he goes to Boston, he will suddenly be a top 3 and d wing lol
Thank you for passing on Steph Castle.
Probably a laker in a year or two
There was one play where he was wide open and his team never looked at him.
I was frustrated for him.
Zacharie Risacher despite the loss
What? 4 rebounds in 2 minutes is elite
I am a pretty big NBA fan but have never heard of this man in my life
I just feel bad for him at this point. I will never make fun of him because his name sounds so cool.