Frank Mason is really good. Don't care about his height. Just look at Isaiah Thomas who is 3 inches shorter. Frank Mason gas heart & bb IQ off the charts. Damyean Dotson is also intriguing. Semi, also. Swanigan sleeper.
Very intrigued but Ojeleye...are there really good chances he falls at the 43? Is this draft really that good?
Frank Mason, right now, today, Spoiler is a better player than Isaiah Thomas. There. I finally said it.
Only thing that sticks out about him from his box score that I don't like is his assist numbers. With all teams obsessing over having "multiple playmakers" (and rightfully so IMO) that might hurt his draft stock.
Thomas supposedly has an injured right hip so maybe... but no. I distrust you when it comes to small guards. Didn't you build up Canaan as some star in the making? Didn't you say that he was benched in Philly because he'd cause them to win too many games?
Mason is a better talent than Canaan. Canaan couldn't comprehend running a team or play. Was not that good of a shooter. Plus, he had no first step at all. Basically, was a spot up combo guard with an erratic jump shot.
Oh god, why Hollic, why do you have to go there. Lmao You know, C.Zeller is a solid player, but he aint not damn superstar and will never be one...and thats okay because being a solid player who will likely be a career starter is quite a NBA career. You don't have to put insane expectations on the prospects you love. I'm not saying Mason can't explode like Thomas, but the chances of that happening are incredibly slim, how many players under 6ft have become superstars in the NBA? Only 4 have made the allstar games in the modern NBA (70-present) Murphy, Thomas, Brandon and Adams. Really theres only one other player to reach IT's level throughout NBA history under 6ft IMO, and thats our very own Calvin Murphy... you might be able to make a case for Brandon too though. Chances of Mason being better then IT? Literally 3 out of every single player who has ever played in the NBA or was drafted.
Definitely not Draymond, much better scorer, and my biggest concern with him would be his ability to play defense, and his ability to adapt to playing against players who are as strong as him, no sure he can defend PF's or SF's. He's really not a good enough rebounder to play PF either. He does look like a freaking tank compared to the other players, he looked huge compared to everybody in the combine scrimmages. That being said he still struggled to finish against the bigs at times because he tried to purely muscle them and it didn't get him very far. He's definitely an intriguing prospect, his success like many others will depend on how much he can adapt, pick and choose when to use his strength vs agility, as well as his ability to defend either the SF or PF spot if not both.
Yes I said that. It happened. You have to understand career tracks and opportunity to understand what happened next with Canaan. Do you remember the Aaron Brooks/Kyle Lowry situation? Or the Rafer/VSpan situation? That's an example of how precarious these guys carers are. In the Rafer/VSpan situation it was very clear in training camp the immense impact VSpan would have on the team if he were given the minutes. He was simply the better player than Rafer. But he was a rookie and green. He played out of control at times, high turnovers, and hadn't developed his shot. But anybody that watched him play that knew basketball could see he was an ignore. We also knew what Refer was too......nothing. Rafer couldn't shoot either and he was a bad defender and a very mediocre passer at best......because he wouldn't take any risks. Which is exactly what little Jeff Van Gundy wanted. Which sucked for those of us that were there because we knew our playoff chances always funneled down to opponents forcing Rafer to beat them and he couldn't do it.....clank. So when JVG MADE the very bland, unrisky, rewardless move to keep running Rafer out there all year and basically bind VSpan to the bench instead of letting VSpan work his way through mistakes and become a dynamic player for us, he chose also-ran status for our team. In the process he ruined VSpan. Players know when they're the better player. They know when they're being unduly penalized. They know when the coach is holding them back. VSpan knew it. And he got a belly full and left. Had a sick mother in Greece. Sitting on the bench wasting away. And the coach passing on him every chance his name was brought up. JVG pretty much admitted, after several years of contemplating the situation, that he mishandled VSpan. So there's a case right there of a guy who would've developed rapidly with us, who would've been nails for us, whom we needed desperately because all the offense was going through McGrady and teams were doing to McGrady in the playoffs exactly what they are doing to Harden. But it didn't work out. Coaches preference. Closed minded managememt and coaching. We butchered VSpan. And VSpan has proven subsequently that he was far superior to Rafer. Then we draft Brooks that summer. Same old thing again. Brooks starts lighting it up for us in pre-season. He was the far superior shooter/scorer to Rafer. But good old coach JVG parked Brooks on the bench and ran Rafer out there...........again. Wasting time and opportunity. Brooks came off the bench his whole second season and he was better than Rafer from the moment he inked his rookie deal. Brooks' third season........same song and dance......... JVG runs Rafer out there.....again. Finally Morey pulls the plug and trades Rafer at the deadline after it was obvious to everybody including my granny that Brooks should have the starters job. Morey traded Rafer for Lowry especially and we took off. JVG was forced to play two young point guards with perfect strengths to complement each other's games. Lowry bring the dogged defender that created havoc, turned over the opponent, then shoved it down their throat at a feverish pace, creating mayhem offensively, getting to the free throw line, drawing tons of fouls, Brooks being the slick, quick shooter/scorer. We rocked through that season and entered Brooks fourth season, his contract season, the season where he was set to earn a huge, new contract. But Lowry was right there with him, and in my opinion we were actually better with Lowry even though Brooks was the better shooter/scorer. But Brooks was starting until he got hurt. And when he got hurt, Lowry stepped in and we never missed a beat. In fact, we got better. By the time Brooks was ready to play the team belonged to Lowry. We traded Brooks away and the rest is history. Brooks never got his big payday. And Lowry did. Even though Lowry actually lost the job to Dragic and got paid elsewhere. When you're dealing in point guards, it's a very tricky business. There's so many of them it's difficult for most fans to sort through them and know who are the real difference-makers. Canaan is an offensive dynamo and a defensive zero. That's who he is. We drafted him. McHale (just like JVG with VSpan) wouldn't play him. Because the kid couldn't defend. And we already had Lin who was a subpar defender that we were trying to get away from because Harden didn't want to play with him. Canaan, like Brooks, never got his head above water. We traded him to Philly. Another bad situation for him. They didn't want him lighting up games. They let him loose a couple times and he lit the place up with bombs. They couldn't have that. They benched him. Look who they ran out there. That was all about ping pong balls. But Canaan can play. He's just not going to get a prime opportunity to show what he can do. He's been pigeon-holed as a backup, just like Brooks. But he can light up an NBA scoreboard very efficiently when given the chance. So small point guards are a dime a dozen. They really are. That's why you have to recognize the good ones that come along and jump on them even opportunity strikes. Look at the league. Isaiah, Kemba, Ulis, Barea, Jameer Nelson, Daren Collison, Brooks, Canaan, DJ Augustin, Ty Lawson, Lowry, and yes, even the king of diminutive point guards, Chris Paul, have all carved out nice NBA careers and contributed to winning teams. You gotta know your point guards. And I know Frank Mason. He's rotation ready. He plays well on both ends of the court. Very unselfish, highly skilled, and great character guy. We need him and his skills and we could possible acquire him for a draft pick and control him for 4 years on a bargain basement salary. And he's better than Spoiler Isaiah Thomas. Take that to the bank. Because Mason has every offensive skill Thomas has, but he's a better shooter. And Mason is a quality defender and Isaiah is not.
Those may be the chances. But he's one of the 3. Cody Zeller is one of the best defensive Biggs in the NBA. He's better than Capela will ever be. And many of you think Capela is going to be an All-Star. I'd love to have Zeller on this team. He'd be a huge part of the answer to making this team championship quality.
Capela isn't close to being a Allstar with the centers being taken out in exchange for forwards, he'd probably have to double his production. As you know, I think Capela is a solid starter, never had said he's an Allstar..
No! We need length! Outside of Harden, we have a small back court. The better teams have length, that's how we lost against the Spurs
IU fan checking in. I absolutely love OG. He has great potential. I would love nothing more for Morey to find a way to draft OG. OG has the potential to be the best defender in the league. He's that physically gifted and smart. He can be an all-star player in this league. The league is becoming more and more about physical gifts, and OG has that. He has that "it" factor, and it's due to his size/length/strength. I doubt he falls to us. His mid-season injury will hurt his draft stock, but not enough to fall to us. He is going to be quite the baller for whoever drafts him. I doubt he falls past the Pacers, and I could see him going as high as Charlotte or Detroit. He seems like a Piston. I love OG, but he's not becoming a Houston Rocket barring a trade. And we're not at the point, organization and roster-wise, that we're going to move up to get him.
I don't watch much college basketball but from looking at his highlights and reading about him, he's EXACTLY what we need. Plus length,strength and size we need....we don't need Frank Mason, anothet smallish guard
Ok thoughts on Thomas Bryant. He's been under the radar thus far in draft talk. Measured great at the combine, 6'10 with a 7'6 wingspan and 9'4 standing reach. Didn't watch much of big ten hoops this year but IU played a few big games that I checked out and I liked what I saw from the kid. High energy, solid mobility and pretty damn good ball skills for a guy his size. Reminds me of Thon honestly.
Og cannot shoot. Og has MKG potential. Lots of hype. But a broken jumper. Great defender. Broken jumper. Hard worker. Broken jumper. Great athlete. Broken jumper. Can dunk. Broken jumper. High character. Broken jumper. Not a playmaker. Broken jumper.
