2019 NBA Draft

[Futuredome]

A big worry I have about Zion, is he doesn't really care about winning O'brien trophy's. That is a drafting "evaluation" that Gilbert imo learned after his rebuild in the early 10's. Kyrie didn't want it. Neither did Bennett or Wiggins. That was a major issue with Lebron up until the debacle of 2011.

It was part of why Gilbert went with Sexton. You can tell the kid wants to lift the brass turd over his head someday and strives for that over anything else.

 

[Alec]

Zion showing good vision.

But MIA overall

 

[DJTJ]

Zion's most impressive thing for me is how elite his touch is. Insane.

 

[Alec]

He can not dominate the ball but still manage to efficiently fill up the stat sheet.

 

[Lee]

Bigger lane, defensive 3 second, with his size and quickness, Zion will be dominate as a pro.
He does need to hire a shooting coach to get his free throws better though.

 

[I'mWithDan]

Bigger lane, defensive 3 second, with his size and quickness, Zion will be dominate as a pro.
He does need to hire a shooting coach to get his free throws better though.

Imagine a star being an even worse FT shooting LeBron in crunch time. It would put you in your grave.

 

[Alec]

I'm can't quite explain it yet. But I'm not liking some things I see from Zion. He can fill the hell out of a stat sheet. I need to delve into it more.

I believe he will continue to fill out some stat sheets in the pros but I have concerns about him dominating like a superstar.

 

[CavsFan07]

I'm can't quite explain it yet. But I'm not liking some things I see from Zion. He can fill the hell out of a stat sheet. I need to delve into it more.

I believe he will continue to fill out some stat sheets in the pros but I have concerns about him dominating like a superstar.

It just depends on what type of 'superstar' you're expecting.

End of the day he's only 18 years old and is dominating men who are 19-22 years old.

He has hands down the most star potential of this group.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

I'm can't quite explain it yet. But I'm not liking some things I see from Zion. He can fill the hell out of a stat sheet. I need to delve into it more.

I believe he will continue to fill out some stat sheets in the pros but I have concerns about him dominating like a superstar.

To me, there's a sense in which Zion's current offensive game is "King of the Garbagemen". He is very opportunistic, and if a defense makes a mistake, he can get the ball in the bucket in the blink of an eye. He's extremely dangerous.

But he doesn't have a good outside game, and nor is he really a refined/skilled post player. So in terms of being an offensive player capable of creating his own shot...he kinda can't. I think he'll have trouble with more disciplined defenses that limit opportunistic buckets.

However, he is very good defensively, and is such an exceptional garbageman that he can fit with almost any offensive lineup and get you buckets you otherwise wouldn't get. And most importantly, he's not a finished product. If he develop a reliable midrange game or 3 ball...different story.

 

[Nathan S]

May have been a goaltend, but still, whoa. He's becoming a highlight machine...this is a guy who, a year ago, was widely considered too unathletic to play in the NBA. Times have changed.

 

[I'mWithDan]

May have been a goaltend, but still, whoa. He's becoming a highlight machine...this is a guy who, a year ago, was widely considered too unathletic to play in the NBA. Times have changed.

I think someone finally pulled him aside and was like....

"Goga, just throws some tights on for God sakes. You look like Jim Carey in cableguy."

That was my big takeaway here.....that he has finally ditched the mid calf sock, white knee sleeve, 50 year old dad look that he was sporting in early January.

He's certainly growing in to his body a bit. He looks a lot better than even 12 months ago. I still worry about his athleticism but it is encouraging to see he is getting a little more fluid / bouncy, given how skilled he is.

 

[Nathan S]

I think someone finally pulled him aside and was like....

"Goga, just throws some tights on for God sakes. You look like Jim Carey in cableguy."

That was my big takeaway here.....that he has finally ditched the mid calf sock, white knee sleeve, 50 year old dad look that he was sporting in early January.

He's certainly growing in to his body a bit. He looks a lot better than even 12 months ago. I still worry about his athleticism but it is encouraging to seen he is getting a little more fluid / bouncy, given how skilled he is.

I dunno how much more you can ask for athletically in a center prospect. Not many guys even at the NBA level would block that shot. His defensive upside, combined his offensive potential as a lob target and a stretch-5, makes him one of the highest ceiling guys in the draft for me.

 

[Lee]

May have been a goaltend, but still, whoa. He's becoming a highlight machine...this is a guy who, a year ago, was widely considered too unathletic to play in the NBA. Times have changed.

If we draft him, he has to shave the mustache. Never seen him with facial hair, not a good look, lol.

 

[Alec]

To me, there's a sense in which Zion's current offensive game is "King of the Garbagemen". He is very opportunistic, and if a defense makes a mistake, he can get the ball in the bucket in the blink of an eye. He's extremely dangerous.

But he doesn't have a good outside game, and nor is he really a refined/skilled post player. So in terms of being an offensive player capable of creating his own shot...he kinda can't. I think he'll have trouble with more disciplined defenses that limit opportunistic buckets.

However, he is very good defensively, and is such an exceptional garbageman that he can fit with almost any offensive lineup and get you buckets you otherwise wouldn't get. And most importantly, he's not a finished product. If he develop a reliable midrange game or 3 ball...different story.

I think you nailed it. King of the garbage man. He just doesn’t grab it at the top of the key and go to work. But off ball he’s better at finding guys than LeBron Because he’s actually willing to play off ball

I think his gait is very odd. He’s built like a football player. He nailed some threes against UCF but the form is really not good. He also got rejected a couple times at the hoop. I think he’s most dangerous off ball when he can lurk and do exactly what you described

 

[I'mWithDan]

I think you nailed it. King of the garbage man. He just doesn’t grab it at the top of the key and go to work. But off ball he’s better at finding guys than LeBron Because he’s actually willing to play off ball

I think his gait is very odd. He’s built like a football player. He nailed some threes against UCF but the form is really not good. He also got rejected a couple times at the hoop. I think he’s most dangerous off ball when he can lurk and do exactly what you described

The one skill he can probably acquire over a single off-season, that would really help him against bigger defenders, would be a pull up floater......very similar to what Nassir Little has flashed the last 10 or so games. Where he takes a hard straight line drive and then squeezes off that soft, one handed shot before the defender can recover and elevate......right around 6-8 feet.

The floater should also do two things for him....

1. Make it easier for him to get to the rim, as he could use that little dribble hesitation to get a defender flatfooted, thinking the floater was coming.....then blow by for a less contested dunk or layup.....

2. It will make playmaking in traffic easier because that floater will pull help side defenders further away from the basket, affording him passing lanes to dump the ball off if the defense collapses...

....but full head of steam drives, where he just barrels in to people? Zion has freakish athleticism but he's going to continually have to finish over larger help side players, without that floater move and trying to constantly out jump people is not a sustainable long term strategy to me. Not against NBA sized athletes.

His jumper.....I think you just pray it is good enough......because I'm not sure what you do with the mechanical load of his shot or the fact that he doesn't jump when he takes it (if he's a bad NBA shooter). Those types of athletic freak athletes almost always shoot that way (set shot) because the explosiveness of their bodies did not allow them to find repeatable mechanics while springing in to a more traditional shot with lift. I think that is where Blake and LeBron were incredibly unique. Usually guys with that explosion just cannot harness jump shooting mechanics because of the forces involved in generating that athleticism.