Zach LaVine

NBA Comparison: Russell Westbrook


Strengths: At 6’5 LaVine is one of the top athletes not only of his class but in all of college basketball ... LaVine has the athleticism to win the NBA Dunk contest next year, his freakish leaping ability and smoothness is on a truly elite level ... Grew 5 inches in the last 3 years going from a short quick point guard to a player with the size to player either backcourt position ... Not your typical point guard by any means, but the prototype of the new NBA PG: strong, quick, and excellent in transition as well as half court situations ... His verticality and explosiveness are off the charts and he uses them to finish around the rim with powerful dunks but also to jump stop and elevate in a dime ... The long arms and skinny body are perfect for a wing but as a point guard he will have to develop his upper body and become stronger to handle the physicality of the PG position ... His game resembles Westbrook, great in transition, quick ... Defensively he has very quick hands but he relies a little too much on his athleticism to save himself ... Hard worker, seems a little shy, he impressed many people during summer workouts with UCLA where he could be the last gift of an impressive list of NBA players left by coach Howland.

Weaknesses: Doesn’t blow by people nearly as much as he should, too often he is satisfied with his jumpshot and although he has a far from perfect shooting technique, he’s fairly consistent with it ... He needs to learn to get to the basket in half court situations, and part of that is getting stronger, but he also needs to get tougher mentality ... Improving that aspect of his game will really elevate his game into the stratosphere ... His ball handling is great but his decision-making needs to improve if he is going to take his game to another level ... Consistency. He will have to learn to bring it every possession 100% ... Not a highly vocal guy, so if he wants to be a point guard, that is an area he should focus on improving ...

Notes: A late bloomer. Flew under the radar for most of his high school career but ultimately moved into the top 50 in his senior season ... Not has hyped as many of his colleagues from the dream class of 2013 but he has all the tools to become a great point guard/combo guard in the NBA, and may actually be the best incoming freshman prospect in the Pac 12 ... Measured 6'3 (in shoes) 167 lbs, with a 6'6 wingspan at the 2012 LeBron James Skills Academy ...

 

So with most mock drafts having LaVine available at #25, should the Rockets consider him? He doesn't fit the defensive needs of the team but has tons of potential on the offensive end.

 

Well, just realized that Chad Ford has him going #14 now.

 

LaVine is still raw - he is super athletic and is killing in the combine right now - he came off the bench at UCLA and would have returned for his sophomore yeah but he wanted to play PG and didnt feel he would get a chance being Coach Alford's son and Powell next season. Its a shame because I think he was probably 1 year away from making a huge impact the way Russell did from his freshman to sophomore seasons

 

I want this guy. We need to move up and nab him.

 

I don't think LaVine should be a lottery pick, but I believe he will be a late lotto pick. Lottery picks should be able to make an impact immediately, but I think LaVine is still very raw. He is super athletic and has a smooth jumpshot though. Another year at UCLA would have been great for him, but the situation didn't fit. I don't blame him for leaving.

He's only 19 as well, and is already 6'5. He may very well grow another inch or two.

 

Jumper looks good and athleticism...well damn.

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People on this site and ISH are overrating this kid.

He isn't a PG and is a bit too weak to play the 2. All I see is Gerald Green from Boston.

 

Well at 6'5... he already has the size to be a SG... with clearly great handles.

That said, I think it's a bit to early to say he can't be an NBA PG. It seems unlikely.. but then it's not like Westbrook showed a lot of pure point skills in college either.

If he had pure point skills he'd be a top 5 type guy.

That he's so young doesn't help at the moment either. He gets to the rim at ease, but shies away from contact too much - he's just not big enough yet.

This guy could be a really dynamic "player" - scorer, passer, whatever - in 5 years. but it will take him that time to get there for sure.

 

One of the biggest boom or bust prospects

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>UCLA's Zach LaVine set Laker draft workout record with a 46-inch vertical jump. Not quite traditional vertical...was allowed a step or two</p>&mdash; Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) <a href="https://twitter.com/Mike_Bresnahan/statuses/474264857210941441">June 4, 2014</a></blockquote>
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GOT DAMN.

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He jumps higher than me. Dunk contest could be great if Wiggins, LaVine, etc participate.

 

if we can get this guy he could be a great back up PG on Bev Sixth man for us until he develop his shot to become our starting PG if we get melo assuming we traded asik and lin

Bev/LaVine/Canaan
Harden/Daniel
Melo/Parsons
TJones/Melo
Howard/Free Agent

 

He's overrated.

There's absolutely no way he can play the PG spot. He has little to no PG skills, and didn't play it at all at UCLA (don't bring up Westbrook - he's not like him at all). The only similarities are that they're both freakish athletes from UCLA.

Westbrook was nasty, a great defender, physical with a great motor in college. LaVine has no motor, avoids contact, and isn't much of a defender.

Right now, nearly all of his points come from catch-and-shoot threes and fast-break cherry picking. He has very little offensive game in the half-court.

Now that's not to say there's nothing enticing about him. His fluidity and athleticism are freakish, and on the right team, with the right PG next to him, he could develop into a pretty impressive offensive threat. I just don't think he's a lottery-prospect right now.

 

While I agree that LaVine has a ways to go, it should be noted Westbrook stayed 2 years at UCLA, and his freshman year barely played at all (as much because of who was there than his own skill level, but still).

It's just one of those things about these one and done guys. Sometimes you have KD's who dominates in college and will in the pro's, sometimes you get Michael Beasley who dominates in college and not so much in the pro's, sometimes you get guys who take multiple years to become who they will be.

Kid needs a lot of work, but with that work could be one heck of a player.

 

He's no Westbrook....Westbrook seems stronger despite his small frame and has a different attitude. As much as the attitude can be a weakness for WB, when channeled correctly, it's his biggest strength, next to his athleticism.

But yeah, because of his vertical testing, this kid will likely go 10-15.

 

He can't finish in traffic, like at all.

He gets flustered and throws up bad shots as if he's expecting to get hit.