Some said he was slow laterally and couldn't guard 3's. They said he was more of a stretch 4. That was wrong.
I would say he's better athlete than Bud, atleast in practical terms. Bud is an good leaper and run/jump guy, but he's stiff in the hips and has average lateral quickness and does not possess the quick twitch athleticism that you usually see with guys with 40+ verticals. Parsons might not have major ups, but he has very good flexibility for a guy his height, very good lateral quickness, and legit quick twitch athleticism (goes hand in hand with lat. quickness/foot speed). People just generalize running and jumping as pure indicators athletic ability, when often times in the NBA all you really need is adequate size and quick twitch ability -ie foot quickness, ability to change direction , and just solid jumping ability (anything beyond that is an X-factor)
I agree with this, Bud seems to only have STRAIGHT line athleticism, he has no wiggle or change of direction. Whereas Parsons has that Lew LLoyd and Manu change of direction step in his layups, that is a major advantange. DD
Just look at him when he tries to drive - he looks so "un"atheltic when you compare that to a Rudy Gay or AI or even Beasley when they try and drive. He looks Brad Miller like. Just look at the way he moves in ground/air compared to the flashy wings in the league. But so what? So what if he is not as athletic as those guys? He doesnt have to be. He does what he does better then a lot of guys that do have superior athleticism. (Outlaw, Childress).
He's got a solid vert, but most dunks and all tip dunks are more about a player's timing and body control in the air.
