With Durant signing an extension and Harden expected to, the Nets picks likely won’t be high lottery picks. I think you use the locks to trade for a near star level player. There is no rush to do it because the team needs to see who they get in the lottery this year.
AJ Griffin eh..... Time will tell by the end of the NCAA season, but hard seeing him going top 3 right now. Also not out of the realm of possibilities as looking into him more he does appear impressive and plays a premium position. Lots of intrigue there and I'll defintely be watching how he plays with Banchero. I will say, the dude has a thick neck and looks like a linebacker. Scottie Barnes 2.0 potential?
This strikes me as a weaker draft class at the moment. Hope I’m wrong. Holmgren underwhelming. Banchero puts up stats but when watching it’s hard to see where he’ll excel in the NBA - no longer with a size or speed advantage. Smith looks like the clear #1 at the moment. AJ…?? Maybe, it’s hard to say. hope I’m wrong but 2023 seems much stronger.
Good read. Always appreciated, @Nook . The Danny Granger comp for AJ Griffin made a ton of sense. I also saw some Khris Middleton. He looks like he’s got an NBA body already, so it’ll be interesting to see where he goes physically.
If I'm the Rockets I'm pinning my hopes on either Banchero or Smith with the lottery pick and then one of Griffin, Kendall Brown or Tari Eason with the Miami pick (first two, perhaps all 3, would require moving up). I think those guys plus Martin/Sengun/Garuba would form a solid foundation for the frontcourt while KPJ/Green/Christopher form the backcourt. Let those guys mature and fill in the gaps.
keep in mind griffin is just returning to competitive play after an injury stint for around 2 years. He’s also significantly younger than most of his peers. This is all to say he may have more quick twitch/explosion than he’s currently showing as he’s becoming acclimated to game speed again. Check out some of his HS tape. He was throwing some nasty creative dunks back in the day and used to pop off the ground.
No just no that was not his claim to fame, Hakeem offense was as much of a claim as anything else. I never said Holmgren was just a help defender but unlike Hakeem that has been a big part of his fame. It really does not matter if there are any franchise guys in this draft the better player should be the pick regardless. My point still remains usually the greatest upside offensive guy gets drafted 1st and nothing about Holmgren's defense especially projected to NBA says he should be the pick IMO. Holmgren has yet to show he can create offense at the college level or the NBA level that's why I think Smith and Banchero are better prospects.
Holmgren is a lot closer to Smith and Paolo in scoring than Hakeem was to Jordan. If Holmgren had a normal NBA body type, there would be no question he would go over Smith and Paolo. Adjusting for pace and minutes, Holmgren is giving 90% of the scoring at a vastly more efficient percentage using nearly 30% less possessions than Paolo. Holmgren is not going against Jordan or another sure fire elite primary scorer.
I have no idea what this is supposed to mean or what bearing it has on the subject. You have no idea if Holmgren is closer to those guys because he has not shown it at a higher level and oh yeah Holmgren does not have a normal NBA body so you just pooh pooh that away. Hakeem was very close to Jordan in his scoring abilities, so I have no idea what you were trying to say. What does Holmgren going against a elite scorer have to do with anything, you are all over the place.
[QUOTE="He reminds me of Grant Hill, Danny Granger and Jimmy Butler.... but he has a higher upside than Butler and Granger. He isn't quite the passer Hill was, and he is a couple inches shorter (but is still growing). He has a lot of the marker that elite franchise players like Duncan, Robinson, Curry, Hill and Kobe had.[/QUOTE] For a second there I thought you had Duncan Robinson listed with Curry, Hill and Kobe. LOL!!!
Last I saw him he was 6'5"-6"6" with a wingspan over 7'0" and is well over 200 lbs. He has an excellent NBA body, very strong and should be able to add muscle without losing burst. He has a vertical over over 40 inches.... but I have seen some exaggeration from people claiming it is 45-48 inches, it isn't that high. He isn't Vince Carter vertically but he certainly is good enough to do whatever he wants finishing wise. He checks all of the physical boxes you want from a player going at the top of the draft. The problem he has is that he is still really raw as a ball handler, defender and he also can make some poor decisions... he doesn't really like playing physical, which is a surprise because he has the body to do it. Hard to say where he should go.... I have read a lot of people saying he is #1 in the class, he was a consensus top 3-5 in his class, but still behind Paolo and Chet. His entering the draft is good news for the Rockets because that extends the quality at the top of this draft. Where he goes in the draft is going to almost entirely depend on private workouts.... IF he he does well enough he could go #1 or he could slide into the back end of the lottery.
Thanks! Agreed on this benefitting the Rockets.. Without knowing anything about him my first thought was this benefits Rockets, who could fall as low as 7th with their current standings. Adding another top tier prospect to the draft only helps reduce our chances to pick a "bust" Good quick description
The last player to move up as quickly as he did, that I can remember is T-Mac. This kid wasn't even in the top 100 when he moved to the USA and with a few months was as high as #1.
Hope we get to see him play for Kentucky this year. Even if he disappoints he'll still probably get picked first round. Although it would be pretty entertaining if he didn't play at all, but still entered the draft. A real mystery box situation.
If it is impossible for me to know this, it is impossible for you to know that Paolo and Smith are better scorers will be in the NBA and that Holmgren's body type will make a big difference. I'm fine if you think there are better prospects than Holmgren. I flip flop between him and Smith. I do not think it right that scorers are the only way for prospects to succeed that are drafted highly which makes Holmgren a bad pick.
Holmgren also plays a secondary scorer on a veteran team. He’s shown that he can face up in international play. He’s not going to be as smooth a scorer as Paolo but if he’s 75% of that with his defensive potential he’s by far the best player
Sophomore combo guards are to Basketball what Athletic college Center Fielders are to Baseball, seemingly always outplaying their competition when they enter the pros. Ja Morant, Tyreese Haliburton, Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Victor Oladipo (Junior, but still fits the general mold), Gordon Hayward and Paul George were all second year wings. Its not a totally bust-free group (Jarrett Culver, Dion Waiters) but they seem to outperform their draft stock/their draftmates. I'd be really hyped if we get Ivey. AJ is intriguing, his body and athleticism alone make it not the end of the world if we fall to #5.
