Totally agree. Dude might be the most fluid athlete ever at 7'6. Moves extremelly well at that size. Yao was a fricking basketball savant but he couldn't move like that without the ball. Not sure what the point of a big vertical jump would be for him, other than an additional injury risk. Now I'm not sure if he'll ever end up being an impactful big man in this era, but he's got the tools.
I think he can...his body is really perfect....not real skinny not real big. He like a quicker yao. I think we should look at him in the Gobert mode. He should model himself just like him. Protect the rim. Rebound n catch lobs...that alone at 7 6 is an allstar
@basketballholic ... and anyone else throwing out a ton of names... Your sleeper candidates so far: * Jalen McDaniels * Jaylen Nowell * Terence Davis * Mike Daum * Cameron Johnson * Jalen Lecque * CJ Massinburg * Shamorie Ponds That's eight guys - plus Okeke, who you don't think is a sleeper because he may be in the first round, though you do have Cam Johnson listed. Do you have a ranking of the above guys in your mind? I think it's ok to throw out a lot of guys, if you have a ranking.
No. Not really. I have a ranking for my specific team. I think Cam Johnson is the ideal plug and play immediate impact player for us. But long term...Lecque has tremendous upside. But he's a project that I believe would be best served going to a non playoff team that would hand him the keys next season with no fear of losing... and see what kind of development they could spawn with him. Daum is more of a ready to play product. I doubt he gets drafted. He'd be a great free agent signing to see if he could play. In that case... no risk and all reward possible. I think he's mature enough that you could tell relatively quickly whether he's a legit NBA talent. Terrence Davis is the next in the group that I would considere plug and play ready.... at least defensively. Definitely a role player. But he's hungry enough to add to an NBA roster. And with his defensive tenacity.... he might just make good with a playoff team. McDaniels has great upside. But the character issues are a factor. And he needs development time. I don't have a particular order. Im just sorting through guys that I think have a chance to be difference makers.
Quinndary Weatherspoon 22 y/o combo guard out of Mississippi State. 6'4" with 6'9" wingspan. Reminds me of Bazemore. Scouts are comparing him to Etwaun Moore. He's modeling his game after Josh Hart. He's a combo guard that mostly played off the ball and didn't develop much punt guard skills. Just started running more of the point this past season and is showing some upside there. Great shooter with range. Nice handle. Makes crisp passes but not gifted with deception right now. Defensively he uses his length well to contest shots and dribble drives. Understand the shot clock. Does get lost off the ball defensively at times as he gets loose playing odumakin lanes SB's looking for steals. But for the most part makes good defensive decisions. Uses his length well in transition and drivers to the basket. Likes to go high extended and then manipulate the shot blockers in flight. ICan either dunk or dipsy doodle while in flight depending on the defenders and angles presented. I like it. Does not appear to have quick burst with the dribble on ball. Reminds me of Sean Livingston post injury there. But still able to use his body and length to shield off defenders on his drives. He has big balls. Multiple game winning shots and plays in his college career. I love that. His stats reflect high iq. TS at 62% with high FTR and decent 3PAR. Lots of steals and tips defensively. Turnovers a little high but he was having to do a lot and was just starting to learn to play the point. He'll mostly play off the ball aft the next level unless he develops more point skills. So there's upside possibility. And defensively he's got the body and the tools. He has high bball iq. When he talks he says ummmm a lot. And he's got dat short quick backwoodsy drawl/dialect of a Mississippi boy. You could be fooled into thinking he ain't real bright. But if you listen to him talk his mind is processing at lightning speed. And his speech reveals it as he skips words and condenses everything down. This dude is smart and he's got that quick fire processor brain. And I love that. He may go undrafted. He's definitely worth a second rounder. And if undrafted he'd be a great two way player signing in my opinion. Could be a lightning in the bottle type acquisition with his unjustifiably low draft grade.
I hope the Rockets get a second round pick and get Naz Reid. Maybe he'll develop into a Sam Perkins-type.
Do you have any bias when it comes to Iggy or do you objectively think he's a sleeper? I'm asking because I'm both biased (fellow Lithuanian) and I recognize that he has some really good tools. Particularly the ability to drive and finish with both hands.
I mean, he reminds me of Malcolm Brogdon, whom I believed was the most underrated player of his draft. The only difference is Brogdon has better bbIQ, and probably defense. But Iggy has a great personality, the kind of a player that every championship team has to have, of the bench. He is built great, would help the team right away and his offense is quite good. With all that said, I may be a bit bias. But he has the tools.
Davis gets himself a fully guaranteed deal for this season from Toronto. Being paid like a second round pick. And he's good enough to have been in the first. This is summer league footage. But he sure looks like he knows how to play. I really like him a lot.