Gobert Vs. Mark Eaton

[OhayoKD]

Gobert is clearly better in a vacuum, but i guess it could be argued for eaton relative to his league

[trex_8063]

Eaton per 100 possessions
13.1 reb (3.5 Oreb)
1.6 ast (2.4 to)
8.0 pts (ts% 497)

Ben Wallace per 100 possessions
reb 17.4 (5.7 Oreb)
ast 2.4 (1.8 to)
10.4 pts (.474 ts%)

Wow, you are right, Eaton is actually significantly worse than Ben Wallace in simple box score.

It’d be interesting to know what kind of ORAPM numbers Eaton had. Almost every all-time great defender is a negative on offense, some greatly so, and there aren’t many exceptions. A solid plus player on offense + all-time grest defemder is a rare thing, which is why players such as KG, Duncan, Draymond, DRob, etc., are so incredibly valuable.

I recall reading a Frank Layden [long-time coach of the Jazz] quote where he said [paraphrasing] that having Eaton on the court was a game of compromises: that he provided such enormous value on the defensive end, but that it was like playing 4-against-5 on the offensive end.

To your second point, this is where Rudy is kinda special: such massive value on the defensive end, and is actually a tiny positive on offense as well [or a neutral in his lesser years].
Also, it seems misleading [to me] to put Draymond in the same sentence as KG, Duncan, and DRob when talking specifically about offense; but that's just my opinion. He fits beautifully next to the cast he's largely been with, but with a less active and awesome offensive cast, I don't think his ORAPM shines so bright. Excellent play-maker, though outside of a couple years is just an awful shooter and scorer, to a degree that his man would cheat WAAAY off him to help, or otherwise sag into the paint/passing lanes, goading him to shoot (sort of like how Rajon Rondo was guarded a lot of the time).

We're talking about someone who is a career 14.6 pts/100 possessions with -158.9 TS Add. For comparison, even Dikembe Mutombo averaged 16.7 pts/100 with +905.0 TS Add (and we wouldn't call him a good scorer, barely even a fair/OK one).

idk, for me, anyone who is that poor a scorer, while also not providing a lot of floor-spacing effect, cannot be THAT good offensively, no matter how fine a playmaker he is (and he is indeed a fine one).
Overall, Draymond seems "good" offensively to more or less the same degree the Rudy is "good" offensively (just in very very very different ways).