He’s slow, but he’s also strong. I haven’t given up on him yet. He definitely needs to improve, and I’m not sold on him, but there’s still something there. We’ll see if he grows or not. The free throws need to get way better.
I haven't seen anything from him that I would consider to be worth any sort of investment of time/effort. Like a lot of players, he has "potential" but I would say he is probably slightly above a league average player at best. Generally you would want to invest playing time/training effort in players who have a much higher ceiling than what Nix offers. Even if he becomes a great free throw shooter(a big if), he is still slow which is generally not a "trainable" skill, sloppy on defense which can be helped with technique but foot speed limits his ceiling there and is generally a low efficiency player. Sure, while we are in preseason, let's give him a little run right now to try it out - especially because TyTy has got a lot to learn(and maybe a few dips in the G league to start), but I think TyTy is the far better option long term and barring injuries or some unexpected development from Nix, TyTy should be getting the bulk of backup minutes by season's end.
Nix is my least favorite...dude has tunnel vision. Way too ball dominant for a player of his caliber (Not based just off this game, but summer league and last season too)
Funny thing about these kinds of guys is that it takes 2 minutes to impress us and 2 seasons to admit they aren't good. Right now Nix and Fernando are those guys. Mason Jones and Dj Wilson before that. I remember Troy Daniels and Nick Johnson. I was a big Kostas Papanikolau believer. Donatas Motiejunas was my guilty pleasure. Once in a while you get a Montrezl Harrell. Just enjoy the ride. Sometimes they're actually good. Most of the time, they'll be gone in 2 years.
Nix may be slow, but he is quicker than TyTy or Theo. Jaygup prefers to shoot. Nix was outstanding in Gleague last season - let's give him 40 games and see how he goes? If, in 40 games time, we are on the cusp of the playoffs, and backup PG is holding us back, sure, let's go get someone. I doubt that is the case.... we probably lose. Lots. If we happen to be close to a playoff spot it means at least Green and Smith have taken a big step, and probably KPjr and Sengun as well - those are the first 4 we want to see develop anyway!!
Look, I get you guys are bonkers for Ty Ty but Nix deserves to be in the mix. He's not losing games. As a matter of fact, he contributed to last night's win game as Ty Ty. He should have figured out the free throws but other than that he's handling his own.
Something about Nix, I don't like. I don't want him in rotation and woukd rather see what we have with Maledon.
He is definitely not "lacking severely" on defense. If you have seen him live, he is a b*stard to play against. Outstanding feet and hands and a Gordon-Esque tree stump on the block. My biggest issue with Nix is his FT%. In the GL, he is a wrecking ball of rim attack all game long. In the NBA, he is terrified of shooting free throws. I wish he'd play his game and go 4/12 from the FT line. At least we could work on that and he wouldn't be playing scared.
I feel like so much of this stuff, prognosticating players' development and fit in the NBA, is pretty much of a crap shoot; it depends on so many random factors, and turns on the most razor-thin of margins between all these more-or-less elite players trying to make it. It's funny to me how absolutely certain people are about their takes on young players, in general. Educated guesses are one thing, and there's a ton of data to do that with, for sure; it's the vehemence and the certainty that cracks me up. So many smart people are so wrong about this stuff so often, but go ahead on, Nostradamuses, beat us over the head some more with how inferior our hot takes are to yours. (as if anything much in this world is ever that simple)... I'm sure there's a universe somewhere where Kostas found an important role in the NBA, and where DMo didn't hire BJ Armstrong as his agent, and lakersuck2 is feeling like the smartest guy in the room For the wannabe smart-guys like me out there, here's a smart-guy quote: "“All knowledge resolves itself into probability." -- David Hume (The Bachelor, Season 7) and on the other hand, KPap truly may have done as much with his limited athleticism as he possibly could have right here in THIS universe, so... who knows.
Amazing post. I 1000% agree. Before he was drafted I was saying that Luka would be a star and that his ceiling was GOAT but if you asked me if I was 100% certain he'd even be good in the NBA then the answer was no. Sure I was 99.9999% sure but you can never really know for absolute certain. The amount of people here and other places who act like they absolutely know whether a prospect will be good or bad is staggering. We can estimate the best we can but we never KNOW and with that fact comes the humility to admit that you can be wrong. P. S. I still have very fond memories of smiling my brother with Kostas in 2k. Good times.
Nah Bruno Fernando always produced when he was played. Dude shot 65% on the court last year so what he did in preseason isnt a fluke.
Nix's biggest issue is turnovers. It was an issue in his scouting reports, it was an issue in his last 2 seasons with the g-league (3 TOs per game with ignite in 27 minutes, nearly 4 TOS per game with RGV last season). Even in summer league, he was averaging nearly 3 TOs in 28 minutes (with only a little more than 4 assists). This didn't change yesterday, since he picked up 2 TOs in only 16 minutes of game time. A team can only afford a very limited number of TO prone players, especially if they are only a backup. Lin wouldn't close out games with Harden due to how TO prone both players were, but Harden was obviously substantially better as a player. Nix is the same, unless he is a substantial offensive talent, he won't see the court for long if he keeps turning the ball over.
Plus racking up fouls against the opposing team is just as important as getting those free throws. When their starters are on the bench due to foul trouble you have a huge advantage.