Can someone talk me out of Marcus Garrett at 45? I think my Payton Pritchard love from last year is coloring my draft vision!
I would love to see Marcus Garrett in Waters's two spot if he doesn't get drafted.
I wont be surprised to see the Cs pre-draft negotiate with a few players to except a 2-way if they are available at #45. Last year Tyler Bey and Saban Lee excepted 2-way deals in the 30s and in 2019 Bol Bol did at #44. This will keep a roster spot free and allow the Cs to gamble on more of a project at #45 (Bagely, Primo, Todd)
That's a pennywise, pound foolish approach, so I would hope not. Much better to pick the best prospect than the guy who's willing to sign a 2-way to get drafted. If they need a roster spot, certainly there is a team willing to be paid $1.5-$2 million to take on Carsen Edwards for a season.
I agree talent needs to take priority but at #45 some higher ranked prospects may be willing to negotiate a safety net at #45. Last year Tyler Bey was projected as a potential 1st round pick but was still willing to sign a 2-way. For a player like Bagely or Todd who are projected all over the draft board accepting a 2-way maybe a way to secure your draft position. I imagine teams talk about this with agents prior to workouts and then call prior to drafting to finalize that they are being drafted to a 2-way.
I don't think Tyler Bey's agent actually viewed him as a 1st round talent if they were willing to agree to a 2-way in the early 2nd, so I'm not sure we should go off media projections in this case.
The simple matter is, if you're drafting a guy in part because he works for a contract, that means you're leaving someone on the board who you like more but couldn't get on a 2-way. Even for mid-2nds, that's shortsighted. The savings are marginal at best for 2-ways, since their service clock starts and their first NBA deal starts at 2nd year player money, not rookie money, which is a big spike.