Frank Kaminsky

[Johnlac1]

Some people here think Kaminsky fans (like myself) believe he'll be a big star. Not true. And many people fall into the "it's either star or bust" trap.
Frank can be a solid contributor to the right team. As a center he's got weaknesses but he has skills that few centers have. He can guard a number of the bigger power forwards as well. He's got quick feet.
So it's a matter of slotting him into the right team. People looking for a superstar in Frank will be disappointed. He won't be that. But he won't flop. Too many skills.

[god4gives]

Kaminsky is the type of player that would thrive if the SPURS drafted him because he's already played in a system that's similar to theirs. It's one of the main reasons I want him on the Knicks because he's the perfect fit for the Triangle.

I've heard and read all types of comparisons (Spencer Hawes, Brad Miller, Pau Gasol, Kelly Olynyk, Andrea Bargnani, Keith Van Horn, Raef Lafrentz, Tony Kukoc, Andrew Nicholson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Ryan Anderson, Channing Frye, and Dirk Nowitzki). The only thing that's common between some of these guys is Kaminsky being a stretch 4.

He runs the floor pretty well instead of jogging up and down looking like he's out of breath like Okafor who's younger. He's one of the few Stretch 4's like Karl Towns that can lead a break and throw alleys like a point guard. He moves better than what he's given credit for. He isn't good defensively as Towns but he also isn't bad defensively as Okafor. Defensively, Kaminsky is similar to Nowitzki & Bargnani and has the ability to be as good (DEFENSIVELY) as Pau Gasol which isn't bad.

They say he will only be a great college player with awards like McDermott and Hansborough even though he's skillfully different.

They're critical of Kaminsky's mediocre rookie & sophomore years saying that he's a finished product. How is Kaminsky a finished product that hasn't reached his prime/peak years yet as a baller when he showed the willingness to improve? His work ethic is being slept on. I don't sleep on a baller that has proven and determined to get better.

It's true that Kaminsky needs to get stronger but many like to forget or didn't notice that he held his own against NBA type Centers (Alex Olah, Nnanna Egwu, A.J. Hammons, Isaac Haas, Kingsley Okoroh, Kaleb Tarczewski, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Karl-Anthony Towns). He carries the same weight class and frame as Nowitzki & Bargnani. He doesn't need to gain more weight. His physicality is fine as is and doesn't seem like he would be fat and slow like Spencer Hawes, Brad Miller, and Ryan Anderson.

Fans have been dumb down to like one and dones and frown upon juniors and seniors. Kaminsky might fall in the same class of upperclassmen that showed great improvement at a collegiate level like Damian Lillard, Tim Duncan, Evan Turner, Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Jeff Green, Deron Williams, Klay Thompson, and Kemba Walker.

The same person that knew Nowitzki was going to be a special player when he was a nobody is the same person that knows and is a big fan of Frank Da Tank, and that's Charles Barkley. Maybe he sees something in frank that most don't.

Will Frank be just as good as Dirk and be the next great white hype?

Maybe, maybe not

No one was high on Nowitzki until after his 2nd season and I won't be surprised if Kaminsky does the same.

[greenandgold]

Kaminsky's 4 months older than Andre Drummond, who just finished his third year in the league, averaging 13.6 rebounds a game.

Some dumb team is going draft Frank at just about the same spot in the lottery Drummond was drafted.

In the lottery you try to bet on talent, not on maxed-out 4 year seniors who lacked the inherent talent to jump to the NBA as an underclassman.

[Zombiesonics]

Kaminsky's 4 months older than Andre Drummond, who just finished his third year in the league, averaging 13.6 rebounds a game.

Some dumb team is going draft Frank at just about the same spot in the lottery Drummond was drafted.

In the lottery you try to bet on talent, not on maxed-out 4 year seniors who lacked the inherent talent to jump to the NBA as an underclassman.

be careful there. lillard says hello. so does tim duncan. all that said, i'm passing on that wiscy boys. cant really project eithers future that well.

[greenandgold]

Kaminsky's 4 months older than Andre Drummond, who just finished his third year in the league, averaging 13.6 rebounds a game.

Some dumb team is going draft Frank at just about the same spot in the lottery Drummond was drafted.

In the lottery you try to bet on talent, not on maxed-out 4 year seniors who lacked the inherent talent to jump to the NBA as an underclassman.

be careful there. lillard says hello. so does tim duncan. all that said, i'm passing on that wiscy boys. cant really project eithers future that well.

Reality says hello back to you! Duncan and Lillard are exceptions to a strong rule. Very amusing that you have to reach back to Duncan's draft in 1997. Almost 20 years ago. Do I really have to list all the seniors who have been drafted early and failed in the NBA since 1997?

Hypothetical: You're an NBA GM, and if you get fired your kids don't eat. You are restricted to drafting only one group of players for the next 5 years: either freshman or seniors. Which category do you choose?

[Damkac]

Fortunately there aren't such a restrictions in real world and GMs can draft the best players available

And what's the difference where Drummond was drafted?

[Zombiesonics]

Kaminsky's 4 months older than Andre Drummond, who just finished his third year in the league, averaging 13.6 rebounds a game.

Some dumb team is going draft Frank at just about the same spot in the lottery Drummond was drafted.

In the lottery you try to bet on talent, not on maxed-out 4 year seniors who lacked the inherent talent to jump to the NBA as an underclassman.

be careful there. lillard says hello. so does tim duncan. all that said, i'm passing on that wiscy boys. cant really project eithers future that well.

Reality says hello back to you! Duncan and Lillard are exceptions to a strong rule. Very amusing that you have to reach back to Duncan's draft in 1997. Almost 20 years ago. Do I really have to list all the seniors who have been drafted early and failed in the NBA since 1997?

Hypothetical: You're an NBA GM, and if you get fired your kids don't eat. You are restricted to drafting only one group of players for the next 5 years: either freshman or seniors. Which category do you choose?

meh. thats not really a fair juxtaposition. I think the best draft choices are sophomores and juniors actually who leave early. it should be rare to be a 1&done, its just that the rule is BS that doesn't allow hs'ers to enter. It sucks that these prospects are forced to attend school a year, makes a lot of them think they are better than they really are ( archie goodwin and the lot)

[greenandgold]

meh. thats not really a fair juxtaposition. I think the best draft choices are sophomores and juniors actually who leave early. it should be rare to be a 1&done, its just that the rule is BS that doesn't allow hs'ers to enter. It sucks that these prospects are forced to attend school a year, makes a lot of them think they are better than they really are ( archie goodwin and the lot)

The best draft choices are obviously the superstar freshman, the ones with true Allstar potential.

Karl Anthony Towns, Okafor, Russell this year.

Wiggins and Parker last year.

Nerlens Noel from 2013, Anthony Davis and Drummond from 2012, Kyrie Irving from 2011, Wall and Cousins from 2010, Rose and Love from 2008, KD from 2007.

Sophomores are next best, then juniors (at a distance), finally seniors who have an awful record as a group when drafted in the lottery.

[Bernman]

That is just, idiotic.

Everyone is an individual and has their own circumstances. With Kaminsky he didn't start playing until he was a junior, exploded, and could have come out then but chose not to.

Grant exploded as a junior too, but then stayed until he was a senior because he felt guilty about cheating in the classroom.

These choices shouldn't be held against them too much, and players develop at different rates.

Most (16) of the top 30 in PER played 2 or more years in college. 9 combined were one and done or came out as high schoolers (that even artificially includes Melo, who chose to stay a year).

Good NBA players come from many different situations.

If I'm not drafting Kaminsky or Grant in the lotto (and I don't think I would, at least w/ Kaminsky, more like late teens at this point), it's because they don't check enough boxes from a skill, athleticism, and mental standpoint.

[skones]

Kaminsky's 4 months older than Andre Drummond, who just finished his third year in the league, averaging 13.6 rebounds a game.

Some dumb team is going draft Frank at just about the same spot in the lottery Drummond was drafted.

In the lottery you try to bet on talent, not on maxed-out 4 year seniors who lacked the inherent talent to jump to the NBA as an underclassman.

be careful there. lillard says hello. so does tim duncan. all that said, i'm passing on that wiscy boys. cant really project eithers future that well.

Reality says hello back to you! Duncan and Lillard are exceptions to a strong rule. Very amusing that you have to reach back to Duncan's draft in 1997. Almost 20 years ago. Do I really have to list all the seniors who have been drafted early and failed in the NBA since 1997?

Hypothetical: You're an NBA GM, and if you get fired your kids don't eat. You are restricted to drafting only one group of players for the next 5 years: either freshman or seniors. Which category do you choose?

You don't need to reach back to 1997. In fact, you can generally dispel the notion that 4 year seniors fail in the NBA in looking at the first round since 2008. Many actually out perform their draft position.

The freshman or senior category question is just dumb. It doesn't have any place in the discussion of a singular prospect.

[Johnlac1]

If four year players couldn't play well in the NBA, then how do we explain all the great NBA players who were four year men before the advent of leaving early to play?
Heck, Jordan played three years of college ball. Does anyone seriously believe that if he played his final year at NC he would have been a lousy pro?
The fact is Kaminsky improved enormously from freshman year to junior year. He wasn't ready as a frosh or soph.
But if he had played as well as a freshman as he did as a junior, would that have made him a better prospect just because he would have been younger?
He either has the goods to play or he doesn't. How many of the kids coming out after their freshman year will flop? Quite a few if past history tells us anything.
And to say a 20 yr old can improve but a 22 yr old can't is ridiculous.

[King Ken]

Kaminsky's 4 months older than Andre Drummond, who just finished his third year in the league, averaging 13.6 rebounds a game.

Some dumb team is going draft Frank at just about the same spot in the lottery Drummond was drafted.

In the lottery you try to bet on talent, not on maxed-out 4 year seniors who lacked the inherent talent to jump to the NBA as an underclassman.

be careful there. lillard says hello. so does tim duncan. all that said, i'm passing on that wiscy boys. cant really project eithers future that well.

Reality says hello back to you! Duncan and Lillard are exceptions to a strong rule. Very amusing that you have to reach back to Duncan's draft in 1997. Almost 20 years ago. Do I really have to list all the seniors who have been drafted early and failed in the NBA since 1997?

Hypothetical: You're an NBA GM, and if you get fired your kids don't eat. You are restricted to drafting only one group of players for the next 5 years: either freshman or seniors. Which category do you choose?

Hawks drafted 24 year old Adreain Payne and that was a massive mistake. You really don't want to bet on these guys. The NBA is a different level but if there is some that you want to bet on, they need to be special at the college level like Frank was.

[BringtheD]

He's going to be Al Jefferson of Kanter. Great footwork good outside touch, terrible on defense. He's way better than olynk because olynk doesn't have any kind of footwork neither does hawes.

[Johnlac1]

He's going to be Al Jefferson of Kanter. Great footwork good outside touch, terrible on defense. He's way better than olynk because olynk doesn't have any kind of footwork neither does hawes.

If past experience tells us anything, it's better to have a non-great athlete with excellent skills rather than a great athlete with poor or mediocre skills.

[Old Man Game]

What intrigues me about this dude is the 3 point shooting coupled with the ability to put the ball on the floor. I don't recall very many big men coming out of college that were as comfortable with the ball in their hands. He is old and his defense is a big concern no doubt. Still, he looks like a contributor. I don't think Payne is an apt comparison. His still level wasn't (and isn't) close to Frank.

[god4gives]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxbDCalc8_U[/youtube]

Kaminsky has excellent size for a power forward at 7-0, with a frame that has improved substantially over time and still has some room for growth. While not a fast-twitch, incredibly explosive athlete, he is an extremely fluid, agile and coordinated big man, who runs the floor well and shows great mobility for a player his size, as evidenced by his strong rebounding, blocked shots and steal numbers.

What makes Kaminsky a unique prospect revolves heavily around the versatility and efficiency he displays on the offensive end. He is a matchup problem every time he steps on the court, an extremely skilled 7-footer who opposing teams need to game-plan for at all times. His ability to handle, shoot, pass and score from anywhere on the floor gives him terrific flexibility to be utilized in different lineups and half-court sets, which is increasingly valuable and sought after in today's NBA game.

Kaminsky is a deadly outside shooter, converting 42% of his 3-point attempts, which is the best rate in the history of our college basketball database (dating back 14 seasons) for a 7-footer with at least 100 attempts. His shooting mechanics are excellent, especially with his feet set, and he also has the added bonus of being able to come off screens, which is extremely difficult to stop from a player his size. He is very intelligent moving off the ball, cutting into open spaces with great timing, and does a nice job of keeping defenses guessing about what he will do in the pick and roll, as he's capable as both a roller or popping out to the 3-point line.

If a defender closes out too aggressively on his jumper, Kaminsky has no problem putting the ball down and making his way to the basket off the dribble, where he can finish with soft touch and using either hand. He is a very good ball-handler for a 7-footer, showing excellent footwork and body control weaving through the lane, often mixing in creative spin-moves showcasing his terrific coordination and skill-level.

He can attack slower players off the dribble with a solid first step in isolation or even pick and roll situations as the supersized ball-handler, which makes him difficult to contain in smaller lineups where he's utilized as a stretch-5, something he's big enough to pull off frequently.

The key to this offensive versatility is not only Kaminsky's skill-level, but also his outstanding feel for the game, as he lets the game come to him and has no problem blending in and playing a role. He sees the floor well and can execute a variety of different passes from all over the floor, which will make it very easy for a team to run offense through him, as he can be trusted to make good decisions with the ball.

Kaminsky turned the ball over on an incredibly low 9.9% of his possessions this season, the third best rate among players currently projected to get drafted, while posting an 18.4% assist percentage that is better than many guards. His .47 PPR will be the best rate ever for a drafted player standing over 6-9 in the history of our database. He's an extremely unselfish player, possibly to a fault at times, as he tends to pass up good shots on occasion as part of Wisconsin's extremely patient/deliberate offense.

While he's unlikely to enjoy quite the same caliber of success in the post in the NBA as he did in college, Kaminsky is a capable option with his back to the basket, especially at the power forward position where he'll often be defended by players much smaller than him. He has excellent footwork here and the ability to score with either hand, and is not afraid to use a couple of pound-dribbles to move his man around and get better position. Kaminsky's post-game was actually his most frequent source of production at the college level, responsible for nearly a third of his touches in the half court, and a place where he found a great deal of success, converting 54% of his field goal attempts according to Synergy Sports Technology. With that said, he does have some difficulties finishing over length at times due to his average combination of strength, length and explosiveness, so it remains to be seen how effective he'll be in this area against better competition.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHk883ls-dk[/youtube]

Beyond that, there are some question marks Kaminsky will have to answer as he makes the transition to the NBA game. The biggest one is on defense, where he was mostly utilized as a center by Wisconsin, but will likely need to adjust to guarding smaller players on the perimeter at the power forward spot. Stepping out and staying in front of quicker players is often challenging for a 7-footer, and Kaminsky's average length and explosiveness won't help much on that front.

He does have some good tools he can utilize here to combat that, as he already shows very nice agility covering space in the pick and roll, with solid lateral quickness, strong footwork, and good timing to help get the job done. He's a competitive player who shows good intensity and who will almost certainly work as hard as he can to maximize his deficiencies. The fact that he developed into an excellent defensive rebounder by his senior year (8.8 per-40, sixth best in the DX Top-100) is clearly a good sign.

Continuing to add weight will be beneficial for Kaminsky, as he struggled quite a bit as a post-defender at times at Wisconsin, giving up deep position and getting backed down by stronger players inside the paint. He also wasn't much of a rim protector in college (1.9 blocks per-40), due to his average reach and vertical explosiveness, which might limit his ability to see extended minutes at the center position.

Kaminsky has improved by leaps and bounds over the last four years thanks to Wisconsin's terrific player development program, which may lead some NBA teams to question just how much room he still has left to grow as a player. He is the second oldest player currently projected to be drafted in the first round, so there may be an element of “what you see is what you get” with him. With that said, what you get is a terrific basketball player, with a very impressive combination of skills for a player his size, which is increasingly difficult to find, and highly sought after at that. Look for Kaminsky to get invited to the NBA Green Room and hear his name called very early on draft night, and then carve out a long and successful NBA career.

[god4gives]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGffsGJd9rk[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0pq5PNAAPs[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru5Q1sickBc[/youtube]






can okafor lead the break like a point guard and throw alleys like this, nope.




who's the better passer? Is it towns, okafor, or kaminsky





check out the post moves, oh my






check out that first step, seems pretty agile to me

[MCtripDub]

Spencer hawes for me http://nbadraftaddict.tumblr.com/post/1 ... k-kaminsky

[Patsfan1081]

He's going to be Al Jefferson of Kanter. Great footwork good outside touch, terrible on defense. He's way better than olynk because olynk doesn't have any kind of footwork neither does hawes.

Yeah, but Olynik is a enforcer. What does Al Jefferson of Kanter mean? Frank can have all the foot work he wants, if he doesn't toughen up and put on some muscle he's not going to last one second in the league. Olynik has a better shot and is at least a little tough under the boards.Olynk can at least be a stretch, I'm not sure about Frank.

[HotelVitale]

Dekker, on the other hand, is an exception to the usual Wisconsin mode of development. Productive during his freshman and sophomore years (the stat nerds love his projection in the NBA). This is the guy who deserves to go in the lottery.

Stats nerd here, the stats hate Dekker. He looks bad by nearly every measure. Kaminsky doesn't look like a stud, just a 3rd big, but he looks much better than Dekker does. Beats him in steals, blocks, A/TO, FTr, 3P%, DRBs...

C'mon, man, when people are talking about how 'the stats love someone' they're not talking about box score stuff or simple per-minute production. Everyone loves guys that put up 20/10 or 5 blocks + steals, and most fans love guys who put up 25/12 per 36. But Dekker's a stat nerd special because his raw and per-minute numbers aren't eye-popping but he looks great in lots of catch-all stats--PER, win shares, ortg/drtg--and he's awesome in +/- numbers.

A lot of that is due to some subtle things: he's a smart team defender, he rebounds well for a tweener F, doesn't turn the ball over, shoots a great percentage, etc. All these together suggest he's much better than your standard 14/5 guy, hence stats guys are much higher on him than casual fans are.