D'Angelo Russell vs. Manny Mudiay

[beasonu]

Pick

[The-Power]

Russell, rather easily.

[E-Balla]

Russell but it's close. Russell is easily better right now and he's smarter but Mudiay might have been the most mature (as in personality) prep to pro I've ever seen (I mean he flourished in China while being benched for no reason) and he has a great work ethic and very good athleticism (outside of Rose, Westbrook, and Wall he's there with anyone).

[Jaivl]

Haven't seen much of them -other than Draftexpress videos lol-, could someone write a few bullet points about their games?

[bmann626]

Deangelo Russell is going to be that next super awesome PG that every team seems to have. Reminds me A LOT of Manu Ginobli the way he plays. Whereas Mudiay reminds me of a more polished Perry Jones III. From watching every OSU game I can confidently say that Deangelo will be good at the next level because like I said, he has the exact same skills/traits/play style of Manu. If he adds a exceptional defensive game maybe even a carbon copy of his OSU alum Mike Conley.

[yoyoboy]

Russell easily. People get mesmerized by elite hops and quickness, which Russell doesn't have (but he's no Dellavedova in those areas either), but Russell's so incredibly skilled that he makes up for it. He's like a hybrid between Brandon Roy and Manu. I think he'll be able to play the PG position though.

He's an excellent ballhandler, he can shoot the lights out, he can pass, he can finish around the rim, he has good size/length…he's a complete player.

[Notanoob]

Haven't seen much of them -other than Draftexpress videos lol-, could someone write a few bullet points about their games?

Russell is kind of like Brandon Roy without injury issues, while Mudiay is a bit like John Wall, but not quite as good. Kid can't shoot or hit his free throws (under 60% from the line lol). Russell is really more of a SG than a PG, but he's a pretty deadly shooter, which is his main appeal.

[E-Balla]

Haven't seen much of them -other than Draftexpress videos lol-, could someone write a few bullet points about their games?

Working on a write up of my top 14 players right now:

Russell's positives:
- Brandon Roy type how he completely controls the pace of the game
- Amazing shooter off the bounce even when guarded
- Great mid range jumper
- Best passer I've ever seen at 18
- Can get to the freethrow line pretty consistently
- Makes good heads up plays on defense
- People say he played bad against great defenses but he still played better than most G's against them
- Average speed and quickness for a 2, strong for a 1, great wingspan and height
- Sharp handles and a good side to side game
- Had a long stretch in conference play of like 8 games where he might've made 3 bad plays total offensively
- Looked pretty decent in guarding isos
- Plays with so much swagger
- High character kid that's extremely confident
- Had my only quote of the week to come from an NCAA player
- Can make every type of pass you'd want out the PNR
- Throws the ball upcourt on fastbreaks

Negatives:
- Can't finish at all with his right hand
- Loves using floaters instead of going all the way but doesn't really make them at a good rate
- Hidden on defense all year long so he usually played safety on defense
- Plays screens worse than Raymond Felton. Too weak to go through them but he's 15 pounds over what he was during the season
- Rarely even attempts to go over screens
- Zero awareness off ball like Kobe when he's guarding a scrub
- Might need screens to get good penetration in the pros ala Steve Nash
- Has had the exact same negatives since high school


Mudiay's positives (NOTE: I've only personally watched his 3 games against Beijing and his high school all star games):
- More athletic than all PGs not named Wall, Westbrook, and Rose
- Super strong build kind of like Tyreke Evans or Deron Wiliams with the size of a 2
- Strongest handles for an 18 year old since Kyrie
- Plays the PNR almost perfectly with his ability to throw any pass
- Finishes very well inside
- Can throw smaller players on his back and post them up
- Natural passer
- Has a few posters from only 12 games in China
- Runs the fastbreak extremely well and has to speed to create fastbreaks out of thin air
- Possibly the most mature and driven prep to pro since Kobe
- Even after sitting about 50 games for a one week injury he was ready to play when his name was called and led Guangdong to a win over Stephon Marbury and Bejing
- Practiced all year with pros, traveled, and still kept his head straight in a foreign country
- Amazing defensive potential with his build, lateral speed, and athleticism
- Has been working with and learning from Larry Brown who is a PG guru
- Might be a trailblazer for top prospects skipping the NBA with his success through all the hardships he faced
- Rondo like in how he steals offensive rebounds out of nowhere

Negatives:
- Still a young, mistake prone PG
- No jumper at all either off the bounce or set
- 57% from the free throw line
- Takes way too many jumpshots for a shooter of his caliber
- Has all the defensive issues you'd expect in someone his age
- Is a bit of a mystery having only played 12 games last year
- Looked a step slower than usual in his return to action in the playoffs but also looked like he gained 10-15 pounds muscle

Pro comparison for Russell: Brandon Roy/old man Manu Ginobili - Roy like in his speed and ability to control the court and willingness to take over; Manu like in his skills and play style

Pro comparison for Mudiay: slightly less explosive young Baron Davis/Deron Williams - Deron like in his PG skills, young Baron like in his scoring abilities

[Jaivl]

^ Awesome.

[Prez]

Russell to me could be a hybrid of Ginobili and Steph. Just a brilliant prospect. He's not a tremendous athlete but the improvements he's shown over the past couple years physically suggest he could be just fine in that area..he's not Westbrook athletically but he'll be more than good enough. However you can't teach his shooting ability, his vision, his creativity, his feel for the game, and most importantly his confidence/competitiveness. Marketable personality to go with the game. He just screams superstar to me. I honestly might take him #1 over the centers in this draft.

Mudiay is a special talent as well, but with his style of play, to really have superstar potential you need to be a special athlete and I just don't think he's that. John Wall had a similar style of play but he's a rare breed of athlete, Mudiay doesn't have his explosiveness/speed. Mudiay is big, strong, very athletic but he's not so supremely physically gifted that it completely outweighs his weaknesses, especially his jumper. Though his handles are nice, his transition game is sick, his finishing ability is good, he is a gifted passer, etc. He's got all the tools to be an all-star PG but I don't think he's going to be a superstar like Russell could be.

[john248]

Russell without any hesitation. Simply put, I don't favor players who shoot poorly. Mudiay will improve in that regard, but he's not a natural shooter so the ceiling is quite low.

[Illmatic12]

Deangelo Russell is going to be that next super awesome PG that every team seems to have. Reminds me A LOT of Manu Ginobli the way he plays. Whereas Mudiay reminds me of a more polished Perry Jones III. From watching every OSU game I can confidently say that Deangelo will be good at the next level because like I said, he has the exact same skills/traits/play style of Manu. If he adds a exceptional defensive game maybe even a carbon copy of his OSU alum Mike Conley.

There's a pretty huge difference between Russell and Ginobili. Along with the handles, passing and shooting, younger Manu had an insane free throw rate and had unbelievable explosion and body control going to the rim, with elite first step and finishing ability.

Russell doesn't show any where near the tendency or ability to drive and finish like Manu (or Harden).. they're easy comparisons to make because of the lefthandedness but Russell is NOT going to break down defenses like Manu. If he's successful in the NBA, it would be because of his perimeter game which would make him more of a Brandon Roy-type at the next level.

Russell is a stud though, not as good a prospect as some of the guys I hear him being compared to (Curry, Harden, Manu) but if his shooting, passing and overall perimeter game translates he's definitely going to be an impact player offensively.


No one has seen all that much of Mudiay outside of his CBA footage, but from what I've seen if his shot isn't completely broken (which granted is a possibility, he couldn't even shoot FTs well) he should be a smarter, better-defending version of Tyreke Evans. Remember Evans averaged 20/5/5 his rookie year so that somewhat shows the potential of a big 6'5 guard with quickness and handles.. his problem was he didn't have the IQ and skills to adjust when teams started defending him differently, but Mudiay I think is a more crafty player than Evans.

[HornetJail]

I would be ecstatic if we got Russell somehow next to Kemba. I feel like they'd bring out the best in each other from the sounds of it.

I question Mudiay quite a bit though. For me it's all Russell. I'd pick him #1 without hesitation if someone other than Minnesota had gotten #1.

[E-Balla]

I would be ecstatic if we got Russell somehow next to Kemba. I feel like they'd bring out the best in each other from the sounds of it.

I question Mudiay quite a bit though. For me it's all Russell. I'd pick him #1 without hesitation if someone other than Minnesota had gotten #1.

Nah Russell needs the ball too much. He fits next to a Derek Fisher, Pat Bev type best. Great defense, good shooting, no need to handle the ball to be great but can check PGs and SGs so he can take the weaker cover.