You sure that's what he's going to play? I'm actually curious to see how he's used by the team. Markquis Nowell is down there and is #2 in the league in assists, but can't shoot worth a lick (mostly due to being so short probably). My guess is he'll spend some time at both guard positions. Then again, they may let Markquis take a break or something to see what Reed can do at point.
Not sure actually but I hope so. He's never going to be a 2 in the NBA so I hope they don't waste time. I just want to know if he can average 8+ assists there.
I think his future is instant scoring off the bench as a backcourt player. Because of his lack of athleticism, I think his ceiling Is FVV which is a decent combo guard who will always be challenged because of his height. I could be wrong of course. He is a project for sure.
I don't think Ime cares so much about position as long as you can handle your task with minimal downside for the rest of the team. He's said multiple times he's looking for players who can handle multiple roles, are interchangeable in terms of "positions", who make intelligent decisions with the ball, puts team above individual stats, can defend, and can pass. If he could have this at all 5 "positions", he'd be ecstatic. In Reed's case, I don't think he cares if he gets 10 assists or scores 25 points as long as he takes advantage of what's being given to him by the defense and plays solid defense at whatever role they put him in. If you go back to earlier in the year, Ime said he wanted to see Reed in both on/off ball roles which is basically how he's always been used going back to high school.
Much more optimistic on him personally but I don't see him being starter till year 3. Handle and body need a lot of work - can't speed those up.
That's probably true that Ime sees it that way but I don't think Reed can sniff all star level impact without either above average assists or defense to add to the points. I think assists more likely but maybe he gets decent at both. Still, the only skill I haven't seen him perform is the PG one so I want some proof he can do it in the GLeague before we spend 2 years trying to turn him into a PG like we did KPJ.
I'm worried that what we see in the G-League is some fantasy (like it often is). Even if he averages 18/10 or something in the G-League, I don't know what it would mean. I'm more looking forward to him getting back from the G-League to see what happens. Now, if he's hesitant to shoot or shows complete lack of any aggression in the G-League, I may cry. What I'm hoping to see is what I saw initially in the Summer League. Hopefully that's not wishful thinking.
Jaygup will get a chance, I think. He’s got talent and he showed stuff in his rookie year. Then his head got ahead of himself, he thought he was the whoop-dee-do, and the L slapped him hard…
Sheppard wasn't a pure PG at Kentucky. I understand Reed's lack of size suits playing him at the 1, but he shouldn't be shoehorned into that position from the start. Toronto let FVV be a combo guard for years next to Lowry before he became their floor general. And players with PG size playing a SG role has been common in the league for a long time. Payton Pritchard is absolutely thriving in an off-ball role right now. Lou Williams, Jason Terry, and Bobby Jackson were all Reed's height or shorter and had excellent careers at the 2. Saying Reed can never be a 2 in the NBA is actually quite limiting. It's been his natural play style so far.
Oh man you mean as a SG bench player, sure he can that's easy. I really don't care about that in year 1 of my #3 pick. We drafted him to be a starting PG and we should develop him right now as though he is a PG until we see otherwise. I would be infuriated if anyone is molding him around the guys you mentioned who's ceiling is 6th man. That's a conversation for his 3rd/4th year, just like it was for all the guys on your list.
Agreed. I would think the FO/Ime view Reed as more of a Derrick White type of player, makes quick decisions with the ball and shoots at a great clip while playing defense. Just keep Reed down in the G League for the rest of their season if we can. I feel like him getting used to more of the NBA rules and NBA speed/physicality (the latter being as watered down version) will help him heading into the offseason. I kinda have written him off for this season as he just needs to get back to the basics and get stronger. I'm still optimistic but it ain't happening this season.
You have it twisted. Whether Sheppard is a PG will be the conversation for his 3rd/4th year. Hence why I brought up FVV, who was brought along slowly and played mostly off ball alongside Lowry. That was to Fred's benefit. If Reed is a PG today he's certainly not a good one. That will hurt his confidence and his development. I don't care where Reed was drafted. Chauncey Billups was drafted at #3 before combo guards were popular and the expectation for him to be a natural point nearly derailed his career. When he was allowed to focus on his shotmaking he thrived, as that was his main strength. His playmaking skills developed over several seasons after that. PG is not an easy position to learn. Amen was a starting PG at OTE, but doesn't look remotely like a PG today and probably would suffer if we threw him into that position. He could be one in the future, but what's the rush? I see no benefit in focusing on Reed's assist numbers right now, even in the G league. If he has the capacity for it it will happen over time. Maybe there's a long history of guys who played SG in college that were forced to play PG day one in the NBA and succeeded, but I can't think of an example off the top of my head.
I get it but I don't agree with that development style. I don't like hybrid guards who are half good at each spot. I like hybrid guard who are good at both spots. He should focus on getting good at one first because he's not a switchable/positionless type player. Reed is no FVV. You can't move FVV, some forwards can't move him. He came in big and strong. Everyone can push Reed around. Defensively they're different. I have no faith in him playing against starters at the 2 till he's in his mid 20's. Whatever he scores, they will score more even with a replacement level player from the defense I've seen so far. If he can play SG to me that's a bonus but I'm not investing anything in it this season because if he can't play PG it doesn't matter if he can play some SG. He can't be a modern 1 who's not a traditional floor general. He must be a PG and a better one than most imo. I can't fathom leaving his PG development to just "whatever happens". We drafted a project (as his stats show). IMO we're building this guy from scratch.
That development style is a lot better than the "short guy must get X number of assists" style of the 90s. Today's basketball is positionless. Players can excel in non-traditional roles. Steph Curry wasn't expected to be a floor general type of PG after the career he had at Davidson. Sure, he's good with the ball in his hands, but he's the world's deadliest off-ball scorer and the Warriors leaned into that. Curry's not a good defender either, GS will stick him on whoever he can guard easiest. I expect the same will happen to Reed. I am not saying Sheppard has even a chance of being as good as Curry. Just that Curry's PG development was not prioritized. He wasn't developed as a traditional PG and doing so probably wouldn't have helped him.
