DD, When you are not epically wrong about every single prospect you hang your nuts on, to the point that half the board actually genuinely believes in a "DD curse", then maybe you could afford a reach around thread or two yourself. CX
its nothing wrong with tooting your wn horn to show prove to ppl and show them how wrong and inaccurate they were/are.. kudos to you who seen it way before everyone else who gets a hard on from freakish measurements and hype I have warmed up to the pick and I believe Morris will be a beast who cares that he isnt the most athletic? Melo isnt either and he doesnt have a ton of elevation as most of Melos finishes at the basket is very similar to Morris' thus far.. you dont have to be the quickest, fastest or the biggest leaper to be ultra effective in this league, just ask Mark Jackson because its universal no matter who the player is, 'hand down, man down'
Agree, Leonard was a freak of rebounder in college, he has a nose for the ball and is very good defender. Morris and Leonard are two different types of players and both went to teams in different situations. Leonard may not get the clock that Morris gets, but I think both will thrive according to their strenths.
No I don't want to take the bet. I think morris is a more skilled player. I think he will have to adjust a little bit here and there, but he has some skills and he will do fine. I just think this team would be better off with what leonard brings to the table. He might be a role player,but if he can get you 7 or 8 rebounds, some steals, and blocks ala Wallace I would be fine with it. Lowry did fine down the stretch so did scola and martin. THe problem was not getting the rebound and not being able to stop the other team from scoring at the end.
I see. It seems the minute distribution is what is scaring people off. Popovich is notoriously hard on his rookies after all. So how about this amendment to the original bet: We will extend it for the next 10 years, and use allstar votes instead. Obviously with the extended duration, we need to up the stakes just for it to be relevant. I'll put in $1,000 to the tip jar if Marcus Morris has less allstar votes than Kwahi Leonard in any of the next 10 years. Any takers for that?
Based on what skill? Their all different players. Morris was the most effecient of the three hands down, but he played a different role on a stacked Kansas team. I like the Morris pick and his upside once he gets used to playing the 3 spot over the next few years. A D-Mo, Patterson and Morris future frontline sounds good to me.
That's not true actually. DraftExpress has Morris at #8, Leonard at #10 http://www.draftexpress.com/rankings/Top-100-Prospects/
There is something wrong with that link when it has Biyombo ranked 3rd, and Kanter 12th. That's not the way I remembered it.
It is their ranking of prospects. Their mock draft is different and tries to guess how teams will pick.
I see. In that case I am pretty sure most people were looking at the mock drafts to determine who they wanted. For instance, I doubt anyone here wanted Tobias Harris over Kanter.
Aw snap, someone got roasted. As an aside, I don't particularly like saying/writing "aw snap" but it seemed necessary.
For the next few seasons, Morris is likely to be the better of the two. Leonard is a better defender and a poor offensive player, Morris is a fair defender and a solid offensive threat coming out of college. Morris' negatives, simply put, are better than Leonard's negatives. But what happens in their 4th seasons and beyond is a complete turkey shoot. Injuries (to them or teammates), offensive/defensive sets (coaches), variations in individual development due to talent and work ethic, all will be factors in that. They are both good players. They both would have been good picks at 14. The key to this selection, to my mind, is but one thing: Will Morris make the jump to SF successfully? About that, the jury is still out and it will remain out for awhile. Can Morris guard perimeter-oriented 3s? Will he get butchered on pick and rolls? Can he improve his handles enough? These are questions we won't be able to answer for awhile. Still, if he can answer these questions adequately, he should be a very good player in this league due to his inherent strengths in the post and a good motor. CX: I'm not as convinced as you that Morris will see significant playing time this season. Houston's rotation, particularly if the front office is correct about sticking with Adelman's offense, is pretty much set with Lowry, Dragic, Martin, Budinger, and Lee. There won't be a lot of minutes left with Lee backing up Martin and Budinger (or Budinger doing the same if the starters change). Unless we see a trade that reduces our perimeter unit, I think he gets spot minutes next season.
Morris and Williams will probably split minutes at the three spot. With the new coaching staff, they will I think try to find more minutes for the young guys to see who can play/who will be better in the long run.
If as you say Morris will likely be better than Leonard the first few years, then by extension he should become the better player. NBA player get pretty short leashes, and performing right away gives you more playing time, more opportunity, and more experience. It's like getting a head start in a race. So if this actually happens, then a similar debate 10 years down the road should have Morris come out ahead. Likely way ahead. Leonard and Morris both measured about the same and had similar results in drills. Morris also played the 3 before going to Kansas. Also, there's a thread here about David Thorpe's opinion on Morris in terms of his position. If Morris fails as a 3, it won't be because of his natural talent is that of a tweener. It will be because he just can't cut it at the NBA level. Dragic, Lowry, Lee and Martin are strictly guards. Our SF position right now is 1-deep, and that's Mr. Inconsistent CBud. McHale also likes his players BIG. There's no reason for Morris not to see time from the very beginning. Well, there is, if he gets into camp late, overweight, and such. But I'm going on the assumption that he's not that kind of a player.
