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2019 NBA Draft

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De'Andre Hunter.

I think his two-way ability is gonna make him a special player.

Measured last week at 6'8", 227 lbs. and a 7'2" wingspan.... that's Kawhi territory.
 
RJ looked really stiff/upright when running and dribbling in transition. Not saying he has unathletic, but based on the hype I’d read, I expected to see a much more fluid, flexible athlete.

Does he project as a true modern SF or is he more of a slim undersized PF?

He's closer to a SG than a PF.
 
He's closer to a SG than a PF.
Than I am even more surprised by what looks like a very upright/stiff movement.
Looked explosive and straight line fast, but also choppy and not very fluid.

Just the first time I’ve seen him so I could be way off.
 
Than I am even more surprised by what looks like a very upright/stiff movement.
Looked explosive and straight line fast, but also choppy and not very fluid.

Just the first time I’ve seen him so I could be way off.

He can jump high for sure. But I really see a weak first step here, real lack of ball handling and even slow max speed and straight line explosiveness.

In the highlights he pushes off defenders on drives cause he can't get by them, and for some reason he wasn't called for any push off.
 
He can jump high for sure. But I really see a weak first step here, real lack of ball handling and even slow max speed and straight line explosiveness.

In the highlights he pushes off defenders on drives cause he can't get by them, and for some reason he wasn't called for any push off.

I think his first step is fine, he has such a huge stride that he can get by defenders even if he doesn't explode off the dribble like Zion does.

Overall I really like RJ's game on offense, and I think his value as a slasher/scorer projects pretty nicely. He will however need to develop his shooting off the dribble in order to keep defenses honest so that he can take advantage of those massive steps. His mechanics aren't looking completely busted the way Zion's has had a tendency to look, but the results are still not there. I think there's a decent chance he turns into a passable shooter off the dribble, but it's definitely not a lock.

I personally have him and Nas vying for the top spot with a slight edge to Nas in the long run. His shooting mechanics are great off the dribble and out of the post even though he still has a lot to learn off the ball, and his defensive upside is as high as they come. The fire he displays on defense along with the consistent effort and his great physical tools makes him seem like the first of the players to be compared to Kawhi that I can kinda tentatively get behind.
 
It seems I’m the only one that’s very low on Zion. He’s playing against the equivalent of a JV College squad from small town Canada.

His measurements are screaming for physical problems, and he’s already had 2 lower extremity injuries. That much weight isn’t meant to come down from that high.

He also doesn’t have any elite NBA skills. Other than “athleticism”, what does he do? Barkley had a motor and personality that he would run over you if you got in his way. Zion is closer to Dwight Howard in terms of personality.

Unless something shifts, I see him topping out at Josh Smith, likely reaching Derrick Williams (don’t forget how he dominated college hoops and floundered out of the NBA), or bottoming out at Anthony Bennett (who many also thought compared to Barkley as an undersized PF with athleticism).

#HardPass
 
It seems I’m the only one that’s very low on Zion. He’s playing against the equivalent of a JV College squad from small town Canada.

His measurements are screaming for physical problems, and he’s already had 2 lower extremity injuries. That much weight isn’t meant to come down from that high.

He also doesn’t have any elite NBA skills. Other than “athleticism”, what does he do? Barkley had a motor and personality that he would run over you if you got in his way. Zion is closer to Dwight Howard in terms of personality.

Unless something shifts, I see him topping out at Josh Smith, likely reaching Derrick Williams (don’t forget how he dominated college hoops and floundered out of the NBA), or bottoming out at Anthony Bennett (who many also thought compared to Barkley as an undersized PF with athleticism).

#HardPass

I'm open to changing my opinion as I haven't seen a whole lot of him or any of the other top incoming freshmen, but what makes Zion stand out to me is how comfortable he is with the ball in his hands. Sort of like Ben Simmons, he'll be tough for defenders to stay in front of just because he's so big and athletic. Of course he doesn't have Simmons' passing ability, which holds him back from being an elite prospect, but I'm not sure anyone else in this draft is an elite prospect either.
 
I'm open to changing my opinion as I haven't seen a whole lot of him or any of the other top incoming freshmen, but what makes Zion stand out to me is how comfortable he is with the ball in his hands. Sort of like Ben Simmons, he'll be tough for defenders to stay in front of just because he's so big and athletic. Of course he doesn't have Simmons' passing ability, which holds him back from being an elite prospect, but I'm not sure anyone else in this draft is an elite prospect either.

I like the Ben Simmons comparison.
 
I don't know how much I like the Simmons comparison simply because I feel like it is far more fitting in favor RJ. Zion has a really nice handle but he doesn't seem to have the knack for finding passing lanes to teammates in the same way that Simmons and RJ do. He's an attacker, he gets the ball, uses his first step, lowers his shoulder and gets to the paint where he has a great touch with his left hand and almost no touch whatsoever with his right.

I agree with Adam that his deficiencies in his game are pretty glaring but you also kinda put up with it because you would legitimately have top 5 percent athlete on your team. The potential is so tantalizing that even though the jumper is beyond shaky and he doesn't have much in the way of a varied offensive game, the fact that his handle is a solid as it is and his burst and explosion off the floor is so otherworldly kinda makes it worth overlooking those issues at least initially.

Like I said earlier, I still consider him to be a tier below RJ and Nassir but the upside he has is unbelievable.
 
Simmons comp is probably as close as it will get on the offensive end for Zion in my opinion too. Though I think Zion is a better finisher, and obviously isn't at Simmons' level as a passer. I think Zion will eventually get to the point where he can hit a standstill 3 when needed.

I only watched one of the games in full closely, but just from that I would say Zion will probably never reach Simmons' defensive ability. Combination of poor conditioning + awareness right now makes him tough to watch on that end. Not sure how much the exhibition-type game impacted him, but he looked pretty lost out there on most plays.

There's not going to be any good comps at the end of the day I don't think. Guy is so unique.
 
Simmons comp is probably as close as it will get on the offensive end for Zion in my opinion too. Though I think Zion is a better finisher, and obviously isn't at Simmons' level as a passer. I think Zion will eventually get to the point where he can hit a standstill 3 when needed.

I only watched one of the games in full closely, but just from that I would say Zion will probably never reach Simmons' defensive ability. Combination of poor conditioning + awareness right now makes him tough to watch on that end. Not sure how much the exhibition-type game impacted him, but he looked pretty lost out there on most plays.

There's not going to be any good comps at the end of the day I don't think. Guy is so unique.

I pick him 1st and not think twice about it.
 
I don't know how much I like the Simmons comparison simply because I feel like it is far more fitting in favor RJ. Zion has a really nice handle but he doesn't seem to have the knack for finding passing lanes to teammates in the same way that Simmons and RJ do. He's an attacker, he gets the ball, uses his first step, lowers his shoulder and gets to the paint where he has a great touch with his left hand and almost no touch whatsoever with his right.

I agree with Adam that his deficiencies in his game are pretty glaring but you also kinda put up with it because you would legitimately have top 5 percent athlete on your team. The potential is so tantalizing that even though the jumper is beyond shaky and he doesn't have much in the way of a varied offensive game, the fact that his handle is a solid as it is and his burst and explosion off the floor is so otherworldly kinda makes it worth overlooking those issues at least initially.

Like I said earlier, I still consider him to be a tier below RJ and Nassir but the upside he has is unbelievable.

The semblance between RJ and Simmons is that they both are fake lefties and have an awkard and unnatural shooting stroke. RJ, like Simmons is right handed, and yet he shoots with his left. I would be very wary of his shooting tbh.

You say that Zion is the one with the glaring deficincies, and I would actually argue that RJ is the one with the bigger holes in his game when you look at what they will have to show at the next level and what you want our of your superstar wing that doesn't have any elite size or athleticism.

Even this early, I can clearly see how Zion will get his production. At the next level he will still be quicker, more explosive and bigger than everyone else. He will be able to play 1-5 and exploit most matchups.

He is not just an atheltic marvel...he has real skills. He is not less skilled than Derrick Rose at Memphis.

If Draymond Green manages to be a plus on the offensive end, then Zion who is better than him at everything on that end will surely be one. Imagine this fucker grab a defensive board and go coast to coast...try stopping that. Zion at Point-Center will be a cheat.

He has a better first step and is more explosive than Lebron when he first came into the league and he weights in at 285...sheesh. Lebron actually got more explosive in the NBA, specifically in 2009...so we can only imagine.

Now for real, I don't see how you can put Nassir a tier above Zion. To me at least, he is a tier above both of them.
 
I pick him 1st and not think twice about it.

Super early lol. If his defense doesn't come around then I'd struggle taking him number one. It was that bad when I watched. And I imagine one of other top guys will be more than worthy of the top pick. I really like Cam Reddish. If he shoots it well then I think he has a good shot at being my favorite in the class.

I doubt he will end up being taken number one though just based on his team situation. He's at his best with the ball in his hands and I'd expect him to be relegated to more of an off-ball role at Duke. Barrett, Williamson, and Tre Jones will all probably handle more than him I'd expect. I think his role will devalue him like it may have done with Kevin Knox for me. It's great that we've only seen summer league and yet we've already learned some things about how to evaluate players. I didn't watch any HS basketball for last year's class, so I wasn't really aware of Knox's handling ability as I should have been. At Kentucky he was just a spot-up guy. I'm still not high on Knox, but I clearly missed on that aspect of his game. I think people could miss on it with Reddish too if that's the role he has.
 
People are sleeping on Porter and Bol at the moment...they could both be top-10 or top-5 offensive big men five years down the road. The advantage of having a high-IQ center who can really shoot, not just make spot-up 3's when left wide open, is enormous and I think Jaren Jackson will demonstrate that in the NBA this year.
 
I agree with the idea that RJ is not as good as most think. His shot looks like it will never be an asset. even with accuracy improvements the release is so slow. He's also not smooth at all with the ball and most of his points come from him just being physically more gifted than his competition, which will not happen at the NBA level. He's going to have to show me alot to convince me he is a franchise player.
 

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