There have only been 41 players drafted out of high school in NBA history and the results were stellar. Ten of them were all-stars, three already made the HOF (KG, TMac, Kobe), with two more possibly making it (Lebron and Dwight). Even the players that weren't all-stars were pretty decent role players: Al Harrington, Tyson Chandler, Kendrick Perkins, Shaun Livingston, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, JR smith, Dorrell Wright, Gerald Green, Monta Ellis, Lou Williams. Some players were busts (Kwame, Eddy Curry, Telfair), but that happens with college and international players too. NBA high school draftees - Wikipedia
And I heard there 300 scouts present when MJ showed his 48 inch vert. OTE can't even have accessible results for their combine and you think the scouts gave a crap lmao.
Most of those HS players are just playing one year longer in College, G-League or another Int league.
I want to bring in Harden, and I'm not against Whitmore at 4 in a vacuum, but he should have no bearing on who we take at 4.
Yeah, teams talking themselves into making picks based on need is how you end up passing on a superstar in order to draft a roleplayer or bust. Just take the best player available.
I really like Whitmore. You absolutely need a pg with him and I don’t know if he is a guy that is ever going to get to a point where he creates a ton of quality shots for others as the primary option doing so in an offense. But I absolutely think he can score 25 points a game efficiently while being a way above average rebounder and plus defender. I think he will make the right reads passing as well over time. Just a frickin specimen for how young he is. He also really has some advanced aspects to his offensive game. Uses both hands well, has a euro and step back advanced for that age as well. Also crazy good as a cutter. Not really feasible but Id love to get Whitmore and Black. Let Black sit behind Harden for a couple years.
I'm actually starting to lean towards Whitmore as my #4 prospect. He is a high-caliber athlete like Amen, is younger, and has a much lower bust potential IMO.
Amen has unique talent that you not pass on….elite 1st step, best playmaker in the draft, vision, elite athleticism and a defender. Whitmore is a nice talent, but Amen all star talent you cannot teach…you can teach shooting
If you can’t teach Amen how to shoot and get past non-16 year olds and make layups (misses 50%) and shoot better than 20% threes you have a 100% waste of a top 4 pick. You love the idea of Amen and so do I, but trust me the reality of Amen is a lifetime G-Leaguer. We need to take Cam Whitmore and hope he continues to develop as he’s almost 3 years younger than Amen.
Whitmore looks like KMJ with a handle and that can create a shot . Wouldn't be totally mad at Whitmore being taken at the 4 either . It's just Amen has the higher ceiling and afraid of passing that up .