You've been talking up Porter consistently. Who do you see him as? I've seen you refute a lot of comparisons but haven't seen you make one.
If we use our top pick on a Shane Battier-type player, that will be the most underwhelming #1 pick in some time.
It's very difficult to find a comparison for Porter. I have heard Danny Granger, Shane Battier, Paul Pierce (lol) some people even mentioned LeBron (minus the athleticism, ridiculous). He isn't as good of a scorer as Granger in my opinion, but he is a much better passer(probably his best comparison as far as the tier he would be on at his peak). Shane Battier is a pretty poor comparison, Porter has much more scoring tools and I think you can run the offense through him a bit. Paul Pierce, doesn't have his scoring prowess, but can do a little of everything like Paul can. LeBron James... come on, it isn't athletic ability that separates these guys. I have heard people mention Danny Green, but I think Porter does quite a bit more. Danny is a train wreck when he puts the ball on the floor, Porter isn't very crafty with the ball, but he can dribble, find people and score around the basket.
Now that I think about it Scottie Pippen might be his best comparison as far as what each player is capable of( I don't think he would be on his tier). He doesn't have anywhere near Scotties athleticism, and I think it would be a bit much to have Porter play point forward like Scottie, but both guys can do a little bit of everything. Shoot, handle, pass, score, defend, both with a very slender and tall frame. Scottie would have clear advantage in defense, but I would give Porter the edge on shooting even with his funky McGunk shot.
I agree 100% with the comparison to Pippen. I don't think he'd be quite up to Pippen at the top level, but he certainly could have the capability to score from all over the court, play defense, and do some ball distribution (though not, as you said, up to Pippen's Point Forward level). I'd also agree that he doesn't have the same upside on defense as Pippen, but I also don't think he'll be a bad defender. I actually think he can be above average, but Pippen was a great defender. I think Porter could top out at good to very good. Porter has a well balanced game. He's not the guy you build everything around, but we already have one of those. Porter works well as a #2 or #3 option on offense.
In other words, a poor man's Scottie Pippen.
And a Poor man's Scottie Pippen is still better than a Ben Wallace or Tony Allen...
And a Poor man's Scottie Pippen is still better than a Ben Wallace or Tony Allen...
Pippen averaged 1.6 assists and 3.2 turnovers per game his sophomore year, compared to 2.7 and 1.5 for Porter. Porter definitely has the potential to be as good a passer as Pippen was.
And a Poor man's Scottie Pippen is still better than a Ben Wallace or Tony Allen...