2019 NBA Draft

[UncleDrew]

So who are they picking in the 20s?

Goga?

 

[Cavatt]

Alexander Walker can help shore up playmaking. I like him we need shooters as well

 

[Lee]

Pretty sure those things only go up to 12'? If that's true, and we assume he maxed at 12'2" or 12'3", that would put him at a 43"-44" max vert given his 8'7" standing reach.

Alternatively, given that he's 6'7", he'd need at least a 41" max vert to touch his head to the rim...so 43"-44" sounds like a reasonable guess on that front too. 48" would be like putting his chin on the rim, and I don't think he's quite that freaky haha.

They ended up putting it on some weights, he had to jump 11 or 12 times and his legs started getting tired.

You are right, it only went to 12', they got it what they said was 46 inches and he out jumped that and Zion called it quits.

The rest of the team including the other 2 freshman were dying laughing and hugging him and more excited than Zion as he kept out jumping it even with the added weights.

 

[Lee]

I think you have to draft Zion as a 4.......he makes a lot less sense, to me, as a 3. He can't shoot and he is entirely uncreative dribbling the ball. I just don't think he can play the 3 and drift on the perimeter.....or be tasked with being defended by guys like Giannis, Kawhi, George, etc. Those guys are going to suffocate him away from the basket, if he's trying to put the ball on the floor. And if he's a 3, he's going to be drawn away from the basket a lot on D, further dampening his value as a potential elite rim protector.

Zion's advantage will be running 4's and 5's ragged at the next level. He needs far less creativity to beat bigs off the dribble and his quickness should allow teams to do interesting off the ball screen action and cutting with him, against bigger players who won't be able to defend in space.

You just have to be really talented off the dribble or be a great floor spacer, to survive playing the 3 at the NBA level. Zion is neither of those things.

I agree you draft him as a 4, but he shoots 30% from 3, but that should get better. He is a gym rat from what I am told and Lebron only shot 29% from 3 his rookie year (same age Zion is now)

His handles are good, not great, so no he isn't a natural 3, but he for sure can defend the position, he can actually defend 1-5, he has that type of lateral quickness as I have watched him defend 1's and 2's in college. He is Otto Porter if Otto was a freak athlete, Otto isn't great with the ball, is a combo forward and was a 23% 3 point shooter is freshman year. Otto worked on his shot and became a good 3 point shooter, Zion will improve his shot, but his handles will never be good for the 3, but good enough for some times to go big lineup with him at the 3 for small stretched.

He is a very, very unique prospect that is for sure.

 

[Nathan S]

They ended up putting it on some weights, he had to jump 11 or 12 times and his legs started getting tired.

You are right, it only went to 12', they got it what they said was 46 inches and he out jumped that and Zion called it quits.

The rest of the team including the other 2 freshman were dying laughing and hugging him and more excited than Zion as he kept out jumping it even with the added weights.

Don't want to belabor the point, but he actually didn't clear it when they raised it a second time, if I remember the video correctly. Still think 43-44" is more accurate if they're using his real standing reach (unlike, e.g., Grayson Allen at the combine).

 

[Lee]

Don't want to belabor the point, but he actually didn't clear it when they raised it a second time, if I remember the video correctly. Still think 43-44" is more accurate if they're using his real standing reach (unlike, e.g., Grayson Allen at the combine).

He didn't clear it the last time because he had already jumped around 10 times. They say Lebron as a rookie had a 46 inch vert, he clearly can jump higher than Lebron as Zion's head has been above the rim before on jumps.

I wont argue too much as it could be 44 and not 48, but what ever it is, he has crazy hops.

 

[Nathan S]

He didn't clear it the last time because he had already jumped around 10 times. They say Lebron as a rookie had a 46 inch vert, he clearly can jump higher than Lebron as Zion's head has been above the rim before on jumps.

I wont argue too much as it could be 44 and not 48, but what ever it is, he has crazy hops.

This is where we disagree I guess. I've never seen the top of his head more than an inch or two above rim level. There's a significant handful of NBA players in the 6'6"-6'8" range who can do that, (young) LeBron chief among them. Don't get me wrong...that's still incredibly impressive. And thanks to his size and quickness, he creates many more opportunities than the typical player to use his vertical explosiveness. But it's not a 48" vert, which would be possibly the highest all-time by an NBA player. Nothing I've seen suggests that he's that great of a leaper.

 

[Cavatt]

This is where we disagree I guess. I've never seen the top of his head more than an inch or two above rim level. There's a significant handful of NBA players in the 6'6"-6'8" range who can do that, (young) LeBron chief among them. Don't get me wrong...that's still incredibly impressive. And thanks to his size and quickness, he creates many more opportunities than the typical player to use his vertical explosiveness. But it's not a 48" vert, which would be possibly the highest all-time by an NBA player. Nothing I've seen suggests that he's that great of a leaper.

It doesn't really matter does it? Harrison Barnes had one of the best combines ever, but his functional use of his athleticism begins and ends with being a pretty good defender 1-5. Zion seems to really be able to turn his athleticism into production and that is so much more important.

 

[Nathan S]

It doesn't really matter does it? Harrison Barnes had one of the best combines ever, but his functional use of his athleticism begins and ends with being a pretty good defender 1-5. Zion seems to really be able to turn his athleticism into production and that is so much more important.

Yeah, that's what I was trying to get at when I said he uses his size and quickness (and arguably his IQ) to put himself in position to use his vertical explosiveness. Agree that it matters more how often you get above the rim than precisely how high above the rim you get.

 

[I'mWithDan]

The thing that separated LeBron from nearly every other athlete was his ability to jump from multiple platforms. Most players are a specific jumping type and can only translate their functional athleticism a single way. LeBron could do it off one foot dominant, one foot weak, two feet, no gather........that is why he was a truly transcendent athletic specimen.

I'd imagine someone, somewhere can jump higher than him in a combine setting (maybe even Zion) but LeBron is the only player I have ever seen who can channel his athleticism from every jumping platform, game situation, etc. I'm not sure there's ever been another basketball player with that otherworldly functional athleticism in all aspects of his game.

 

[I'mWithDan]

I agree you draft him as a 4, but he shoots 30% from 3, but that should get better. He is a gym rat from what I am told and Lebron only shot 29% from 3 his rookie year (same age Zion is now)

His handles are good, not great, so no he isn't a natural 3, but he for sure can defend the position, he can actually defend 1-5, he has that type of lateral quickness as I have watched him defend 1's and 2's in college. He is Otto Porter if Otto was a freak athlete, Otto isn't great with the ball, is a combo forward and was a 23% 3 point shooter is freshman year. Otto worked on his shot and became a good 3 point shooter, Zion will improve his shot, but his handles will never be good for the 3, but good enough for some times to go big lineup with him at the 3 for small stretched.

He is a very, very unique prospect that is for sure.

Zion is shooting 28.6% from 3 on only 42 college attempts. His shooting chart has him 1 for 9 from NBA range. He's also not a particularly good FT shooter (65.7%) and he has slow, almost set shot release. He honestly has little to no shooting potential IMO, with his current set up.

Can he become a better shooter? I mean, sure.....anyone can. But LeBron is a poor example IMO and it underscores why percentages don't correlate between players. LBJ had good mechanics, form, lift on his jumper (out to range) as a high schooler. He (mechanically) shot the ball like a good NBA wing. It was pretty easy to project what he could do as he matured and got more professional reps.

It's not the percentages with Zion, it's the way he currently shoots the ball. Without a major rework of his mechanics, he's likely never going to be a good shooter outside of 15-16 feet. With that said, he may not have to be......he really just needs to be good enough to keep people honest. But to play him at the 3? He needs to be better than "keep them honest" IMO....because athletically speaking, it's the toughest position in the league to compete at....and without a jumper to pull guys out beyond their comfort zone, it's going to be a lot harder for him in ISO situations, because he's not a gifted ball handler for a 3.

 

[Cavatt]

The thing that separated LeBron from nearly every other athlete was his ability to jump from multiple platforms. Most players are a specific jumping type and can only translate their functional athleticism a single way. LeBron could do it off one foot dominant, one foot weak, two feet, no gather........that is why he was a truly transcendent athletic specimen.

I'd imagine someone, somewhere can jump higher than him in a combine setting (maybe even Zion) but LeBron is the only player I have ever seen who can channel his athleticism from every jumping platform, game situation, etc. I'm not sure there's ever been another basketball player with that otherworldly functional athleticism in all aspects of his game.

His balance at his size is otherworldly as well. You can push him all you want and it doesn't affect his shot much. They say he goes through contact, but what he really does is his balance is always there. Part of him being so injury free

 

[stick]

@folks that follow these prospects;

What are your thoughts on Marial Shayok outta Iowa State?

He will be on the old side for a rookie (turning 24 in July), but since transferring to Iowa State from UVA, he's had an uptick in his production. However, this could be a product of transferring from the ACC to a weaker Big12 and simply being older than nearly everyone (and leaving the system of UVA). Seems like he generates his own offense and his high usage percentage (28%) is kinda eh. Has good/decent size for his position (6'6", 6'11" wingspan)

As an undrafted rookie, maybe he'll stick somewhere? Would a team draft him somewhere in the 2nd round? Or is he the kinda guy that won't play in the NBA?

 

[3 Ball...GOT IT]

Kira Lewis Jr has been surprisingly solid this season. As far as I know, he's the only 17-year-old in D1. Just dropped 24/4/7 against Georgia. Almost definitely a 2020 guy for obvious reasons, but we'll see.

Believe it or not, he's not even draft eligible in 2019 because he is so young. You're going to see him all the way up into the lottery on 2020 mock drafts I bet.

 

[Smooth]

If anyone is into that type of stuff, I try to post prospect cut-ups every day, if not every other day at @preptopros on Twitter..

I keep prospect notes on all the games I watch as well, would be happy to share towards end of year..