Denzel Valentine Strengths and Weaknesses

[XxMisterFreakXx]

I

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[XxMisterFreakXx]

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I really wasn't a fan of the pick given how many bad defenders (Niko, Doug, Portis) the bulls have though he does a lot on offense to help a team. Can pass, shoot, and etc but his defense is concerning cause he was a complete disaster overall in summer league on defense I really don't know if he can improve given

-has well below average athleticism
-a bad athlete
-constantly kept getting blown by effortlessly
-kept losing his man on defense
-at times his effort came and went in SL

I wish the bulls would've gone after someone who was a good defender and who was younger. I know people think of Green when they think of Valentine but Valentine is no Green. Green was so much better in every department compared to Valentine.





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[Hangtime84]

2016 draft class is one of the weaker draft classes projected in the next 3 years. I don't think anyone is expecting all star. Bad ath athletes don't have the same lateral quickness as Klay Thompson. Defensively he takes horrible angles and isn't as aware as he should be.

2017 and 2018 classes there's going to be a lot of guys who are lotto talent.

[League Circles]

Looks terrible on defense.

[League Circles]

I'm going to go ahead and predict that this guy will be a bust and Snell will be a more valuable role player. Just doesn't look like an NBA level athlete, and unlike McD, isn't a ultra special elite shooter (that I'm aware of).

[sco]

I like the situation we're in with Valentine. He will be buried in the rotation, and won't be given entitlement minutes as a rookie - which, despite being disappointing for fans, will likely put the onus on him to take steps to improve his game. A few positives I can offer up are:

1) In college, I wouldn't call him a physical specimen. If he follows in the footsteps of other young Bulls, he will significantly reduce his fat levels. This will help dramatically with his quickness which will pay big dividends on both ends of the court.

2) He will be playing a different role on the Bulls offensively, no longer looked to be primary playmaker. As such, he will be able to focus more on defense.

3) Having Jimmy, Wade and Rondo to mentor him will be huge.

I don't expect much from Valentine this year, but he could turn into a useful rotation player next year.

[League Circles]

I like the situation we're in with Valentine. He will be buried in the rotation, and won't be given entitlement minutes as a rookie - which, despite being disappointing for fans, will likely put the onus on him to take steps to improve his game. A few positives I can offer up are:

1) In college, I wouldn't call him a physical specimen. If he follows in the footsteps of other young Bulls, he will significantly reduce his fat levels. This will help dramatically with his quickness which will pay big dividends on both ends of the court.

2) He will be playing a different role on the Bulls offensively, no longer looked to be primary playmaker. As such, he will be able to focus more on defense.

3) Having Jimmy, Wade and Rondo to mentor him will be huge.

I don't expect much from Valentine this year, but he could turn into a useful rotation player next year.

Which other Bulls youngsters have significantly reduced their fat levels and seen it yield big dividends on both ends of the court?

Instead of playing a different role on O affecting his D positively, I see it more as a lesser role on O will make his terrible D that much more glaring of a problem.

[sco]

I like the situation we're in with Valentine. He will be buried in the rotation, and won't be given entitlement minutes as a rookie - which, despite being disappointing for fans, will likely put the onus on him to take steps to improve his game. A few positives I can offer up are:

1) In college, I wouldn't call him a physical specimen. If he follows in the footsteps of other young Bulls, he will significantly reduce his fat levels. This will help dramatically with his quickness which will pay big dividends on both ends of the court.

2) He will be playing a different role on the Bulls offensively, no longer looked to be primary playmaker. As such, he will be able to focus more on defense.

3) Having Jimmy, Wade and Rondo to mentor him will be huge.

I don't expect much from Valentine this year, but he could turn into a useful rotation player next year.

Which other Bulls youngsters have significantly reduced their fat levels and seen it yield big dividends on both ends of the court?

Instead of playing a different role on O affecting his D positively, I see it more as a lesser role on O will make his terrible D that much more glaring of a problem.

I've seen pretty much every pick for the past 10 years lose fat through the Bulls training (or their own). The part about whether it's helped them, is more specific to my opinion that it would help Valentine; however, I remain optimistic about Doug and Portis benefiting from being in better shape this year.

I agree that if he can't improve his defense, he won't see much time on the floor. I heard him say that at one point this summer - so I think he understands it.

[Ferulci]

Before the offseason, getting him made sense, a low-ceiling but good fit with the existing core. But with our new additions, I dont see a path for him here. He wont get the ball often, we have enough guard/wings with matador defense and his lack of athleticism/quickness makes him a tough fit next to Rondo, Wade or Doug. He'll probably get entitlement minutes (since he's a lotto pick) but that the only silver lining imo.

Denzel seems like a great kid and I really want him to succeed but things dont look great right now.

[kodo]

It's pretty lopsided to post the DraftExpress "Weakness" video and not post the "Strengths" video.

Valentine was Michigan State's point guard this season for all intents and purposes, and his best attributes revolve around his prodigious court vision and passing ability, which are incredibly unique at his size. Valentine may have the highest basketball IQ of any player in this draft, as his timing and instincts as a playmaker are simply off the charts. Able to see over the top of the defense at all times, he can make every type of pass in the book, and is especially good at making reads in transition and early offense situations, finding shooters in the corners, big men cutting to the rim, and everything in between, particularly on the pick and roll. Valentine is the first college player over 6'5 since 1988 to average over 9 assists per-40 minutes, so it might be a while until we see another player his size who is able to distribute the way he can.

Valentine is also a tremendous shooter on top of that, making the second highest volume of 3-pointers among DX Top-100 prospects (behind only Buddy Hield), but doing so at an incredible 45% clip. Only five players in college basketball made over 100 3s this year and did so while shooting so accurately, while none did so last season.

I'm not proclaiming that Denzel is a legit star or anything like that. But if you're going to link a DX evaluation, link both sides. DX had as many good things to say about Denzel than bad (actually it was more pro than con).

[johnnyvann840]

It's pretty lopsided to post the DraftExpress "Weakness" video and not post the "Strengths" video.

Valentine was Michigan State's point guard this season for all intents and purposes, and his best attributes revolve around his prodigious court vision and passing ability, which are incredibly unique at his size. Valentine may have the highest basketball IQ of any player in this draft, as his timing and instincts as a playmaker are simply off the charts. Able to see over the top of the defense at all times, he can make every type of pass in the book, and is especially good at making reads in transition and early offense situations, finding shooters in the corners, big men cutting to the rim, and everything in between, particularly on the pick and roll. Valentine is the first college player over 6'5 since 1988 to average over 9 assists per-40 minutes, so it might be a while until we see another player his size who is able to distribute the way he can.

Valentine is also a tremendous shooter on top of that, making the second highest volume of 3-pointers among DX Top-100 prospects (behind only Buddy Hield), but doing so at an incredible 45% clip. Only five players in college basketball made over 100 3s this year and did so while shooting so accurately, while none did so last season.

I'm not proclaiming that Denzel is a legit star or anything like that. But if you're going to link a DX evaluation, link both sides. DX had as many good things to say about Denzel than bad (actually it was more pro than con).

Good point. Honestly, the video is pretty bad.. especially the "bad decisions" segment... if those are his worst plays... I'll take it.

I think Valentine is going to be very very good in this league. It might take him a few years to develop but his IQ, his vision, his passing ability and his shooting are all high level. BTW, here is the strengths video..

Watch on YouTube

[ChicagoStrong]

I'm going to go ahead and predict that this guy will be a bust and Snell will be a more valuable role player

[spacemonkey]

I'm going to go ahead and predict that this guy will be a bust and Snell will be a more valuable role player. Just doesn't look like an NBA level athlete, and unlike McD, isn't a ultra special elite shooter (that I'm aware of).

Well he's got one thing that Snell doesn't, and that's some gdamn stones.

[Wurapuk]

Wings that struggle defensively aren't uncommon in the NBA. As long as he can develop into a below average defender and play at the level he did offensively at the college level in the NBA, he will end up being a solid pick. Unlike the Snell pick, Valentine has a high IQ so he should be able to continue to develop. Never underestimate Michigan State wing players as well. They have a track record of success.

[League Circles]

I'm going to go ahead and predict that this guy will be a bust and Snell will be a more valuable role player. Just doesn't look like an NBA level athlete, and unlike McD, isn't a ultra special elite shooter (that I'm aware of).

Well he's got one thing that Snell doesn't, and that's some gdamn stones.

Yep, and Snell has things that he doesn't have - length and quickness.

[molepharmer]

Not that this is some kind of ringing endorsement but if my choices are either A Brooks or D Valentine as backup to run the second unit, I'm picking Denzel everytime.

[vvgotgame19]

I don't watch a lot of college basketball, so admittedly the only things I know about him are what I read on here. so I knew he had a bad rep on D, but judging by those clips, my gosh I didn't know he was that bad. I figured he at least he knew what he was doing just not athletic enough to keep up, but some of those plays are just stupid. Offensively, I absolutely love his game, but if he plays D like that, it will be really hard to get him on the floor. Especially considering he'll be coming off the bench next to Doug. Definitely don't want those two on the court at the same time.

On the bright side, it was cool seeing Jimmy in that 2k17 promo

[spacemonkey]

I'm going to go ahead and predict that this guy will be a bust and Snell will be a more valuable role player. Just doesn't look like an NBA level athlete, and unlike McD, isn't a ultra special elite shooter (that I'm aware of).

Well he's got one thing that Snell doesn't, and that's some gdamn stones.

Yep, and Snell has things that he doesn't have - length and quickness.

Yeah but if a player has confidence, he can build of his physical repertoire, no matter how limited.

A player like Snell, with all the tools and not an ounce of confidence, can't do much of anything.

[League Circles]

Well he's got one thing that Snell doesn't, and that's some gdamn stones.

Yep, and Snell has things that he doesn't have - length and quickness.

Yeah but if a player has confidence, he can build of his physical repertoire, no matter how limited.

A player like Snell, with all the tools and not an ounce of confidence, can't do much of anything.

Tony Snell may lack typical NBA player confidence, but we have seen him, a number of times, drive the lane and throw down a hard dunk. It's not like he's the softest player in history.

Tony Snell has already shown himself, IMO, to be an above average defensive wing and an average 3 pt shooting wing. Valentine has shown nothing in the NBA yet of course.

[donaldtrump_00]

I'm going to go ahead and predict that this guy will be a bust and Snell will be a more valuable role player. Just doesn't look like an NBA level athlete, and unlike McD, isn't a ultra special elite shooter (that I'm aware of).

Well he's got one thing that Snell doesn't, and that's some gdamn stones.

Yep, and Snell has things that he doesn't have - length and quickness.