lilfishi22 wrote:Ghost of Kleine wrote:bwgood77 wrote:
It's very hard to make it in the NBA if you have below avg size/athleticism, but moreso in today's game if you can shoot and have a high IQ and be a floor general, playmaking for others and spreading the floor it helps.
But any guy you get in the 20s I'm not sure you can have super high expectations of. Someone else mentioned us getting Finley at 21. I don't remember if we got any other good players in the 20s...maybe going all the way back to Kyle Macy.
The other important consideration with Kolek would be that given his elite skillset and positional role as a poised tablesetting floor general with advanced processing ability and uncanny poise, their really isn't a more ideal fit/ match situationally. This is primarily due to our elite offensive weapons. But also because of our lack of a competent BACKUP GUARD with PLAYMAKING/ TABLE SETTING ABILITIES to get our bench shots in their ideal spots and to keep the offense flowing.
Seeing as we actually don't need a starting level guard, and really just need a comptent bench playmaking guard with some leadership attributes and poise, Kolek really is the ideal match for those needs. HOWEVER, the irony of our recent success may once again move us out of his range to even be a viable target for us when everything is said and done! And really, worse case scenario, we need to at least consider other contingency options to address those needs accordingly should he be off the board prior to our pick??
For my part, IF things play out that way, I'd strongly be looking at the next three guard prosects (from my list that could still successfully fill that role alternatively. For me at least, those options clearly are:
1-
Tyrese Proctor. Mike Conley with a bit of Lonzo Ball athleticism/passing acumen.
2-
Tristin Newton. Baron Davis/Deron Williams crafty downhill/ISO scoring, and a budget version of Harden ballhandling, playmaking, big shotmaking craft.
3-
Ajay MitchellA 6'5 version of Tyus Jones offensively and in terms of playmaking. But Tre Jones pesky hawking defense.
These should be the top alternatives on our big board come draft night if we settle past Koleks' range.
If we're not drafting a pure PG like Kolek, then I'd want a bigger guard with some passing abilities.
I looked at Proctor but couldn't find him in any mocks. Is he looking like an undrafted prospect? Had a look on reddit and it's a bit underwhelming:
He's scoring 10.5ppg on average/below average efficiency as a sophomore. That's pretty underwhelming for a sophomore. You'd expect a first round sophomore to be fairly dominant and he's just not showing any signs of that. He doesn't have any elite traits, either, does he? So he's not very productive, not very efficient, older and doesn't have elite traits. I can't think of many guys who fit that bill that get first round looks off the top of my head. I'd think he'd stay in school another year to see if he can break out as a junior.
Newton is interesting, looks like he can do a bit of everything, good athlete, has been a winner at the college level but his shooting is a real worry. It's really damn hard to make it in the NBA without a decent shot and his shot has been real up and down.
Mitchell is really interesting to me. Good at driving and getting to the line, very capable scorer, efficient, but so so on the playmaking end which might be OK.
A lot of the time with certian prospects the underlying situational context goes unmentioned or is overlooked for more sensational discussion and hyped prospects. I believe that Proctor actually falls within this context. For5 example, at Duke, Tyrese Proctor just happened to get swallowed up in a deep rotation with Jared McCain, Caleb Foster, and Jeremy Roach already in the rotation when he joined Duke. So minutes were a bit hard to come by in that situation, and perhaps that situation was not his best decision to fully showcase himself correctly, however.........................................
This article breaks down underlying key points in Proctors' hidden value (IF given more playing time to get into a consistent rhythm).
https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2023/12/duke-mens-basketball-tyrese-proctor-analysis-injury-caleb-foster-jaylen-blakes-jon-scheyerProctors' situation is actually one of potentially high end- elite talent suppression due to situational/environmental factors etc hiding his true high end trajectory. The stats and metrics are listed in this article, but without legitimate playing time, It'd be pretty hard for any talented prospect to properly establish his value or outlier traits. On top of the depth issues he faced during his sophmore season at Duke, his progress and consistency was also derailed further by an ankle injury and then a concussion later in the season. BUT his high end abilities are still present, he just hasn't yet had a consistent opportunity to showcase himself fully in his first season at Duke! He came into Duke from the Australian league as a potential lottery pick, but yes has to this point failed to gain his footing in his limited time and due to injury, but again, the talent, flashes, and high end potential are still there. Here's a few links that explain his potential, talent trajectory, etc:
https://www.sportsbusinessclassroom.com/scouting-duke-guard-tyrese-proctor/#:~:text=Proctor%20is%20an%20instinctive%20defender,man%20get%20off%20easy%20looks.
https://www.si.com/nba/draft/prospect-profiles/nba-draft-scouting-report-dukes-tyrese-proctorhttps://www.nbadraft.net/players/tyrese-proctor/https://sircharlesincharge.com/posts/2024-draft-prospect-proctor-haliburton-comparison (LOL!!
But still)
(2 min 20 sec video clip of Proctor)- January 2024
Tyrese Proctor may not yet have shown to be a lottery level prospect, and he might not reach that ceiling, but for us (in our situation) not needing a starting level guard and only really a competent backup guard, Proctor with his elite underlying abilities/ skills and size at maybe a late 1st to mid 2nd range would still represent extreme value. AND IF he somehow does hit his ceiling as a 6'5 hybrid of Conley (leadership/poise/intangibles) and pre injury Lonzo Ball ( elite passing/athlticism/ defensive potential), then the risk is minimal vs the reward. At the very least he'd represent a very competent backup guard with size, versatility, and untapped lottery potential.
** And You don't see him anywhere on draft rankings/mocks primarily because scouts were still waiting to see if he'd actually declare for the 24' draft. And given his down season and injury complications/ depth stumbling blocks (minutes/exposure) it appears he's chosen to return for his junior season to elevate his status for 2025??
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10116522-report-dukes-tyrese-proctor-to-return-for-junior-season-forego-2024-nba-draftSo it looks like he'll be replaced by Ajay Mitchell on my list as the #2 or #3 option possibly?
