McDonald's Nuggets: Favorite NBA picks, Commit of the Week
In this week’s edition of McDonald’s Nuggets, Dan McDonald discusses his favorite picks from the NBA Draft along with a his Commit of the Week and a visit to watch this weekend.
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MORE: Takeaways from day one of the NBPA Top 100 Camp
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2023 Rankings: Top 30
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STARTING FIVE: Favorite first-round picks
Starting with the top overall pick, Detroit landed a future star in Cade Cunningham. Along with being a very complete all-around player at 6-foot-8, he has the intangibles to be the face of a franchise. He’ll make guys around him better. The Luka Doncic comparisons are certainly lofty, but not crazy.
The top of this NBA Draft was really strong at the top. Right after the Cunningham pick, Houston hit it really big with Jalen Green from G-League Ignite. He’s a ridiculously talented scorer with great athleticism for a shooting guard. He too could be the face of a franchise with his exciting brand of basketball.
Being able to get Jalen Suggs with the No. 5 overall pick makes the Magic the winners of the whole first round for me. As I highlighted in last week’s column, I don’t think it would have been crazy to take him with the top pick. He’s another really complete player that can carry a team and represent a franchise with class. Just a few picks later, I’m a big fan of picking Franz Wagner at No. 8 overall. At 6-foot-9, he’s a really versatile scorer and a tough shot-maker. Still just 19 years old, he has plenty of room to grow.
And lastly, I love Moses Moody going to Golden State. He fits right in with the way the Warriors value shooting from every position on their roster. He connected on 36% of his three-point attempts at Arkansas as a freshman and measured with a 7-foot wingspan, giving him strong “3-and-D” potential.
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VISIT TO WATCH: Zach Keller visits Wake Forest
Right after he finishes up the NBA Top 100 camp today, Rivals150 forward Zach Keller will make his way up to Winston Salem to spend the weekend at Wake Forest for an official visit. The Colorado native has become a popular target this summer as he’s added offers from the likes of Arizona State, California, Colorado, Illinois, TCU, Texas Tech and Utah, along with the Demon Deacons. He’s already visited TCU officially and also made an unofficial stop at Utah. It’s a big weekend ahead for Steve Forbes and his Wake Forest staff as Keller has a ton of upside and would be another great addition as Forbes aims to get his program back toward the top of the ACC.
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2022 COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Kyle Filipowski to Duke
To nobody’s surprise, Duke landed a really strong commitment on Thursday with the addition of four-star big man Kyle Filipowski. At 6-foot-11, he can play both on the block and facing up. His passing might be his best overall trait and he’s a very tough rebounder. The first commitment in the Jon Scheyer’s 2022 class is a safe bet to make a sizeable jump in the next update of the Rivals150. Illinois, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Syracuse and UCLA were among the other schools Filipowski considered.