Eason + Garuba + KPJ would be a headache to deal with offensively. I'm praying Garuba improves this year. I can see this lineup closing out playoff games.
Very articulate kid, saying all the right things and in the right way. Very well coached, professional demeanor. I believe he's sincere too.
Anyone listening in the Twitter spaces? Things I found interesting so far - Paolo worked out for Rockets and measured 6’10 1/2 WITHOUT SHOES. Rumor is Banchero apparently has a workout scheduled with Orlando. Unless I misunderstood Clutch, the Rockets are targeting Jalen Williams at 17! I did a double take when I heard that. What does Clutch know that we don’t?
Discussion on why Paolo's best fit is the Rockets. Literally all of the Top 3 fit on the Rockets. Paolo is a little more awkward on the Magic, who can't shoot, and the Thunder who can't shoot and can't defend.
Magic defend very well. Especially with Isaac back in line up. Wagner also very good defender. It's their offense that's always been the problem - no elite go to scorer.
None of their weakness. Melo was a ballhogger and horrible defender and Brick Griffin barely had a jumpshot.
The comp is fair and a bit of cautionary tale. Problem with Carmelo offensive game (even during some his prime years), which at least got him paid; worked in the league 10 years ago, but much less now in today's NBA. Until he worked in a 3pt shot, Melo played himself out of the league with that offensive game. NBA changed but he was late to adapt. Also, while Melo was a ball hog for a chunk of his career, he did pass, during the Porzingis pairing. Didn't make too much of a difference, that NY offense didn't exactly take off. Mid range is nice if you got the efficiency; but most NBA players aren't good enough. Those are guys with years in the league and clocked lot more gym hours than college freshmen. And this is why only few in the NBA have the green light to shoot middy. Does anyone know Paolo's actual mid range shooting % at Duke?
As far as potential ROTY that some scouts throw out about next year. All I'll says is the wind is shifting. This year's top two ROTY vote getters Barnes and Mobley. Two defensive stalwarts. Both guys still had around 15 ppg. So if the offense only guys has 2 or 3 pts more, it won't sway the voters. Voters look at defense and efficiency. With last year's top 5, it was hard for GMs to mess up. Cade, Green, Evan, Scottie. Suggs. 1 of 5 is a possible miss (Suggs). So even though Stone passed up on the actual top two voted Rookies (drafted 3rd and 4th), he didn't bust in picking Green. This year error margin is lower. Jabari is almost a sure thing. Ivey and Sharpe are question marks. Paolo could end up like an Antawn Jamison / David West type of player, which is fine career if you're Paolo, not great if Rockets is spending a 3rd pick on it. Thing with BPA, is that BPA is good if the draft tier is deep. On the big boards, Paolo is not in the consensus top tier (1 & 2). He's either in his own 2nd tier, or starting to group with guys like Ivey. Contrary to popular opinion, Stone is not in a "hard to miss" tier like last year. Lastly I know people (think started from Barlowe) compared Paolo to the Pistons Blake. Gentle reminder, that 2018 Detroit playoffs, Pistons got swept by the Bucks. Blake played two of those games, heroic efforts sure, but Blake couldn't carry that team to a win.
