Building around Paolo and liking it.

I agree with your tiering here. mine would be very similar.

Tier 1 (potential superstar) - none
Tier 2 (potential all star) Jabari, Chet, Banchero, Ivey, Sharpe maybe but with a scary floor
Tier 3 (potential high end starter) Murray, Mathurin, Daniels, Sochan, Duren, Williams, Brahnam, Dieng, Griffin, Davis, Eason
Tier 4 (potential low end starter / high end rotation) picks 17-37 give or take
Tier 5 (potential rotation) the rest

I think the issue with where we are at pick 17 is that we might get lucky with a tier 3 guy falling to us, but probably not the guy we want or the best fit. I'd love to move up maybe as high as pick 7 (wood+17), or as low as 14 (tate+17) just to secure another future starter who we think fits. either that or consider the spurs rumor of trading down to picks 20+25 since its the same tier and doubling out shots at the dart board.

 

Everything was good until your trade proposals neither one will be accepted.

 

Yep great read and I agree. Paolo is unique; a go to scorer who is clutch has great footwork AND elite passing/court vision for a big.

Guys like Melo are prolific scorers but black holes with no D. You don’t win a chip with Melo as your Batman. As fantastic as Draymond is at defense and passing he could never be a go to scorer. If he didn’t land on GS who knows how his career would have gone.

6’10’’ 250 go to scorer who can also be counted on to make the right read? Very, very rare. Defense can be improved but what Paolo has in his bag is not easily duplicated in one player.

Can’t wait to see that PBJ PNR!

 

no "independent" journalist could have better insider credentials than Jonathan Feigen.

 

Wood was supposed to be a good PnR for Harden. After Harden left. PnR was supposed to be one of Wood's strength.

Team still did some
KPJ and Wood pnr (1st and 2nd year)
Green and Wood pnr (less so)

... didn't the team kind of shy away from PnR this past season.
if replace Wood with Paolo, is the PnR going to be any different with Green or KPJ?

 

that's up to the coach. Let's hope he opens up the play book some more this season.

 

With Green yes. With KPJ maybe not.

As Ron White famously quipped: you can't fix stupid.

Smart players make it work. Dumb players don't.

 

Wood is one of the most efficient big man finishers at the rim and from 3 in the league, no it wouldn't be better with Paolo as the rollman.

But, with Paolo actually running the pnr, like he did at Duke, either with Wood or Sengun as the rollman, it will work much better, because has more vision than Green and is more willing than kpj.

You guys that keep imagining Paolo as the rollman must have barely seen him play in college, that was not how he was used or how he likes to play.

 

In a PnR, is his ball handling tight enough for the NBA? ...maybe, I guess we'll see.

What about pick and roll defense, how is Paolo at it?

 

Paolo needs a fake Italian accent if he hopes Tilman will want him.

 

Paolo can has the handle and vision to be the ballhandler in an NBA PnR scheme *right now*. The bigs guarding him will go under at the beginning of his career though. Once he outside shooting catches up with his form (it's there), he'll be incredible in that role. There are real questions about Paolo, but I don't think this is one of them.

 

Not sure how you would know how he likes to play but Paolo would be a far better roll man than Wood as he a much better handle, footwork, and mid range for pick and pop.

Most importantly when he receives the ball on the roll he will make the right pass to a corner shooter, a cutter or dump off to the C. Wood just went 1 on 3 or 4 and never passed it.

 

hes one of the best ball handling bigs I’ve seen in a long time. His passing and court vision are elite for a freshman.

 

Gordon, Tate, #17, Bucks 2023 1st

For

Isaac

Trade Wood for fillers to waive + future pick

Buyout Wall, re-sign Queen/Fernando, and sign Satoransky as a bench facilitator with size so Jalen/JC can guard opposing teams' smallest guards

Green / Christopher / Nix
Porter / Satoransky / Queen
Banchero / Mathews / Nwaba
Isaac / Martin
Sengun / Garuba / Fernando

 

C wood who according to you was going 1 on 3 or 4 and never passed it was 58% from the field and 46% from 3 after the allstar break for 69% true shooting. Now if that was going 1 on 3 or 4 he must be one of the best scorers in the league period.

Paolo is going to be a heliocentric wing who you can run the team's offense through. Using him as a pnr big would be a waste of his talents, which Mike K. knew which is why he was rarely used in that role.

 

I pegged it as decent for a big man, but maybe average if compared to a guard. Even Jalen after his first season, says he's working on tightening his handle.

Guess we'll see.

 

his passing is better than hils handle, but that's not a huge diss on the handle because he's the best passer in the lottery

 

He grew up playing guard from a very early age before he had a growth spurt. He's a good ball handler. He has the mentality and skill set of a guard but also uses his strength and physicality against defenders especially attacking downhill. I love Sengun's passing but there is something invaluable about a play initiator. I have my doubts about Porter Jr's willingness to play point guard and having Banchero in a role like Piston's Blake Griffin could open a lot of opportunities especially for Green. If Banchero can be good enough on offense one day to command a double team, it would help Green tremendously. I don't know that he will be that kind of scorer even though I'm confident he will be solid offensively and his 3 point shot isn't something to be too concerned with. His handle and skill set at that size and fluidity of movement is what would make me jump at the chance to get him. Those guys are rare and you can do so much with them scheme wise. I love his feel for the game and that's what sets him apart to me.

 

More and more larger playmaking wings are finding a niche in the NBA. Just look at Josh Giddey last year. They are obviously not the same player but had some of the same concerns heading into the draft. Everyone laughed at OKC but it turns out heady playmaking wings are the bees knees. I'm banking on Banchero being much better than Giddey. He's way more gifted.

 

Paolo looks good to me, I remember seeing J Green train with Collison, but I have to remind myself that Paolo is 60 lbs heavier and 6 inches taller. AD is probably the only big man with like handles like his, but AD wasn't strong coming into the league. Jabari, Paolo, and Chet are all very unique and super skilled big men that would usually be a lock for a #1 pick.

Paolo has a combination of elite size, speed, strength, athleticism that will make him a mismatch for anyone in the NBA (except Giannis maybe). 6'10 250 with a 41 inch vertical. He could be a lottery pick based on physical attributes alone similar to Jalen Duren. He also is very skilled and has a high bball IQ. He can dribble, pass, and shoot. He can beat guards off the dribble and overpower power forwards. He is the type of player you usually wont see at #3 pick. I do like Jabari the best, but I would not be disappointed with Paolo, he will have an impact immediately.

Also, Hakeem will work wonders with a smart athletic big like him.