2018 NBA Draft - June 21

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

Oklahoma has next to 0 shot creation outside of Young, and Lon Kruger encourages Young to shot regardless of the situation it seems. This is just how they play. And you can't really argue with the results so far given their roster.

Also I don't follow HS basketball closely, but Trae was HS teammates with Michael Porter and played on a great team that caused him to have to defer regularly. It's close to a non-issue for me outside of the deep contested pull-ups and whatnot early in the clock that are obviously bad.

 

[czvo]

Oklahoma has next to 0 shot creation outside of Young, and Lon Kruger encourages Young to shot regardless of the situation it seems. This is just how they play. And you can't really argue with the results so far given their roster.

Also I don't follow HS basketball closely, but Trae was HS teammates with Michael Porter and played on a great team that caused him to have to defer regularly. It's close to a non-issue for me outside of the deep contested pull-ups and whatnot early in the clock that are obviously bad.

That's cool. I don't think it's the best thing for his development.

It's certainly not helping evaluate just how good he'll be on the next level.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

I just fundamentally disagree with this mindset.

It's one thing for shooters to shoot. It's another to tell a shooter to take any shot, no matter how horrible, because he's a good shooter.

Steph Curry isn't great because he's capable of knocking down 35 footers. He's great because he looks for the best shot he can every time down.

Note exception to the rule:

 

[czvo]

Note exception to the rule:

What's funny is Steph played the last three minutes of that game the way Young plays now. Just hunting terrible, deep, contested threes.

 

[Nathan S]

I just fundamentally disagree with this mindset.

It's one thing for shooters to shoot. It's another to tell a shooter to take any shot, no matter how horrible, because he's a good shooter.

Steph Curry isn't great because he's capable of knocking down 35 footers. He's great because he looks for the best shot he can every time down.

I'm all for good shot selection...and I think Trae will naturally adjust his shot selection when he has better teammates. That said, if I'm choosing between a guy who's shooting 40% from 3 on good, high percentage shots, and a guy who's shooting 40% from 3 on batshit 35-foot heaves, I take the second guy and don't think twice. Guys who take and make open 3's are a dime a dozen...people who take and make the shots Trae's taking are generational talents (from a pure shooting perspective).

 

[Nathan S]

Also thought about Troy Brown, who has a really interesting skillset, I think, but hasn't been able to put it all together in a game yet.

He's putting it together tonight...looks every bit the part of a lottery pick.

 

[MD13]

Never said he was a bad shooter. But he was 14-39 in a game his team lost by 2, and he took multiple contested 35 footers early in the shot clock. Maybe don't so many dumb fucking shots.

I agree that his shot selection is absolutely garbage, but he is still shooting 38% from 3 in conference despite those horrible looks. For me the bigger concern is that his finishing seems to have gone in the tank with a horrible 42% fg on 2s. I don't know where I can access his shooting splits, but it seems to me that he rarely takes long 2s, so most of those misses are coming in the paint. Obviously his free throw rate is still sky high, but it's a bad sign when you combine it with all the turnovers.

edit: I'm really interested to see how many of his shots are blocked too. Seems like he had a couple of no-hopers that got swatted against Ok state, some where he got bailed out by a foul call.

 

[AZ_]

What's the overall thoughts on Mo Bamba as a prospect?

Seems like he would be an excellent fit for this team. The athletic, floor-running defensive big.

 

[Nathan S]

What's the overall thoughts on Mo Bamba as a prospect?

Seems like he would be an excellent fit for this team. The athletic, floor-running defensive big.

Seems to have a lot of problems stemming from a lack of physicality. Not just that he's super lanky and not very strong, which could be fixed, but that he doesn't fight for position on defense and seek out contact on offense like you'd want him to.

He's also a bit of a black hole on offense. He's more comfortable playing at a slower pace in the half court, which is the opposite of what the NBA adjustment will be.

All that said, he has a 7'6" wingspan and he knows what to do with it. Huge rebounding radius, lots of blocks, and increasingly deflections/steals as well. Moves well on the perimeter...guards don't even think about trying to drive past him.

Overall I'd say I've cooled on him some, and I think others have too. Unless the Nets really overperform the rest of the way, he should be available where we pick.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

SMU's Jarrey Foster tore his ACL and is out for the season. Was a likely 2nd rounder... athletic wing that could defend pretty well and his jumper was coming around this year. Not sure if he will declare now. I think ESPN has him top 40.

 

[MD13]

What's the overall thoughts on Mo Bamba as a prospect?

Seems like he would be an excellent fit for this team. The athletic, floor-running defensive big.

I feel confident in saying he's the biggest boom/bust prospect in the entire draft. If everything goes right, in a few years you could have a more mobile Gobert who can switch 1-5, lock down his man and be the best weakside shot blocker in the league and an effective roll man on offense.

If everything goes wrong, then you end up with a guy who is just content to coast through games and is a complete non-factor on offense.

Every time I've watched a full game of his, I come out amazed at times and a bit underwhelmed by the whole. It's so easy for him to completely dominate these games just by playing hard, yet you only see it in stretches. What really gets me are all the possessions he wastes half-heartedly calling for a post up 10 feet away from the basket. He's a horrible post up player with poor strength and no real moves, he hasn't done any of the work in establishing deep position, and yet he clogs the lane asking for the ball.

The good thing is it seems like he saves his best for big games or games in which he started off really poorly and has to pick himself up, so the potential is definitely there.

He's also by all accounts an A+ kid off the court. If he just played hard all the time, I think he could legitimately be the #1 overall pick.

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

Lol wtf

 

[Sir'Dom Pointer]

Lol wtf

We need to pick him up asap.

5.5 OBPM for a guy this "raw" and young is nothing to sneeze at. Bring him in please.

 

[czvo]

We need to pick him up asap.

5.5 OBPM for a guy this "raw" and young is nothing to sneeze at. Bring him in please.

I LOVE this kid. And he seems to be a realistic option in the 6-9 range, at least, right now.

 

[blommen]

The best thing about that entire clip is how Izzo is right on Jaren's ass to keep him honest, and even if that may have deflated him a bit at the moment, it's shit like that that is going to help him at the next level. Don't get too caught up in feeling yourself, keep your eyes on the prize, play the right way and do all the little things. Izzo is coaching this kid up to be fucking amazing basketball player and you can tell by watching the games that Jackson is just sucking it all up like a damn sponge.