Wendell Carter Jr - The Block Panther Edition

[TheJordanRule]

Speed is not something you can really increase unless you lose weight. Speed is genetics as much as anything.


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He was at 7.8 percent body fat at the Combine. WCJ could get that number closer to 5 by the time the off season ends and lose 5-10 lbs while maintaining that low body fat percentage. That alone could increase quickness significantly. But if he becomes a maniac in the gym ala James Harden or Victor Oladipo, WCJ could go even further than that.

First off, how many nBa players are below 10% body fat. Hell, Wade and LeBron hung around there and were marvels. Even then, eventually they went up. To expect WCJ to go down to 5% body fat is insane and one of the most unlikeliest events to occur.


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The Combine had loads of players below 10 percent body fat, bruh. Guys recently drafted like MPJ, Bamba and Kevin Knox were at 6.4, 6.2 and 4.95 percent body fat, respectively. Plenty of bigs projected to go later in the draft are at around 5 percent body fat too (Bates-Diop at 5.35, Chimezie Metu at 5.05, Austin Wiley at 5.0). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a PG but he posted the craziest body fat percentage in the whole draft class (3.0 percent!!!). I'm not saying that it's likely for WCJ to slim down to around 5. I'm just saying that WCJ *could* control his destiny when it comes to speed and quickness if he puts in the work.

[Red Larrivee]

Just not a pick that makes a ton of sense. The problem that you see the most with teams rebuilding is they draft guys and pigeon hole them to one spot. I don't think Carter is a bad basketball player but I think the odds he's a valuable one worthy of #7 is super rare. I'd much rather have Mikal or Knox and then when you do find the legit #1 guy, you have the makings of a team.

Lauri and Carter is really going to struggle long term. Carter isn't big enough or fast enough to be good at C. Every C in this league either is a huge body or exceptionally quick, Carter is neither. I just don't like this pick at all.

Carter is 6'10, 253. Wouldn't that qualify as a huge body? Unless you're referring to height, which he wouldn't be but his 9'1 standing reach and 7'5 wingspan aren't poor either.

Carter isn't big for a C, he's ok sized. He's not Embiid or Ayton or any of the legit legit 7' guys.

I get that. So, he's not tall for his position, but he's got good size and strength, wingspan and reach for the position. I think it's fair to question his mobility in space, but overall I wouldn't say he's slow at the position either.

[Jcool0]

I don't know what to think about this pick but I feel very strongly about it.

[RememberLu]

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[TeamMan]

Yet Al Horford is a 4 time All Star and the anchor behind the best defense in the NBA...

I keep saying it, but Horford is a PF, and so is Carter.

Horford as a prospect was much leaner and more explosive. Carter looks plodding at times. Horford was never that.

No the point that I'm trying to make is that people are going to go on comparing Carter to Horford, and I'm fine with that comparison.

But the Bulls didn't draft him to play Horford's position in the NBA, and that position is PF.

And IMO one day Carter will be a very good NBA PF.

That means that he is most valuable to the Bulls as the key part of a trade, either for a true center, or for a player that the Bulls actually need.

The other choice would of course be to trade Lauri.

[tedwilliams1999]

Just not a pick that makes a ton of sense. The problem that you see the most with teams rebuilding is they draft guys and pigeon hole them to one spot. I don't think Carter is a bad basketball player but I think the odds he's a valuable one worthy of #7 is super rare. I'd much rather have Mikal or Knox and then when you do find the legit #1 guy, you have the makings of a team.

Lauri and Carter is really going to struggle long term. Carter isn't big enough or fast enough to be good at C. Every C in this league either is a huge body or exceptionally quick, Carter is neither. I just don't like this pick at all.

Carter is 6'10, 253. Wouldn't that qualify as a huge body? Unless you're referring to height, which he wouldn't be but his 9'1 standing reach and 7'5 wingspan aren't poor either.

Carter isn't big for a C, he's ok sized. He's not Embiid or Ayton or any of the legit legit 7' guys.

He's plenty strong enough to guard those two guys though. And on the other end, Embiid and Ayton are going to get spaced out all the way to the NBA 3 point line and beyond when trying to keep up with Lauri and WCJ.

There's a lot of value here in this pairing, and I think we'll realize that pretty quickly. We're making a shift towards drafting high IQ guys, and that's a good thing. Both of our bigs have shown that intelligence is their strength, on both ends of the court. This can't be underestimated.

[RememberLu]

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[bigtsdaman30]

I have no issue with the WCJ pick.C was a position of need and while he doesnt seem flashy neither did Tim "the big fundamental" Duncan.This kid has a good all around game offensively,rebounds and protects the rim.

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[Chi]

Al Horford is a vastly superior prospect and player to what Carter is. You can't really just say Carter = Horford when Horford was a lock #3 behind Oden/Durant and is actually good.

By this logic, Mikal Bridges was Klay Thompson and the Bulls let him go.

You know the difference between Carter and Horford? Carter is also an elite rebounder and Horford not so much...

Outside of that every strength you ever heard about Horford having as he grew throughout his NBA career, is a strength that Carter ALREADY HAS at 19 yrs old.


Bulls fans, please do more research before you jump off that building...

The idea Horford isn't an elite rebounder is relying on stats and not on Horford's abilty to consistently box out guys.

I really don't like the idea that the Bulls drafted a guy at #7 that was never a legit consideration for a top five selection is equal to a guy who was a lock to go #3 and then said lock actually played really well in his NBA life.

Carter isn't Horford. He simply doesn't have the speed nor does he have the fluidity to play that way. People forget because Horford is in his 30s but Horford was a vastly superior athlete entering the league than Carter is. Unless you think Carter drastically improves that, he's not going to be Horford.

Robin Lopez is one of the kings of "boxing out" what does he avg about 4rpg? Boxing out AND getting the rebound is what makes you a Great rebounder, Carter is that...

I love Horford always been a huge fan always will be. With that said, Horford gets drafted this year I GUARANTEE he is not a top 3 "Lock"... So that logic, is illogical.

Please do more research on this young player, I can tell by your post you have him very confused.

[League Circles]

Al Horford is a vastly superior prospect and player to what Carter is. You can't really just say Carter = Horford when Horford was a lock #3 behind Oden/Durant and is actually good.

By this logic, Mikal Bridges was Klay Thompson and the Bulls let him go.

You know the difference between Carter and Horford? Carter is also an elite rebounder and Horford not so much...

Outside of that every strength you ever heard about Horford having as he grew throughout his NBA career, is a strength that Carter ALREADY HAS at 19 yrs old.


Bulls fans, please do more research before you jump off that building...

The idea Horford isn't an elite rebounder is relying on stats and not on Horford's abilty to consistently box out guys.

I really don't like the idea that the Bulls drafted a guy at #7 that was never a legit consideration for a top five selection is equal to a guy who was a lock to go #3 and then said lock actually played really well in his NBA life.

Carter isn't Horford. He simply doesn't have the speed nor does he have the fluidity to play that way. People forget because Horford is in his 30s but Horford was a vastly superior athlete entering the league than Carter is. Unless you think Carter drastically improves that, he's not going to be Horford.

What do you mean Carter was never legit consideration for a top-five pick Dallas was definitely considering him. You are right though him and Horford are not the same player. Carter is significantly longer and stronger and a better shooter and probably a significantly better pastor at that age although that's kind of just guess work on my part about the passing. Also Al Horford was what a number 2 pick?

[Ugly Duckling]

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Vibranium!

[DanTown8587]

Carter is 6'10, 253. Wouldn't that qualify as a huge body? Unless you're referring to height, which he wouldn't be but his 9'1 standing reach and 7'5 wingspan aren't poor either.

Carter isn't big for a C, he's ok sized. He's not Embiid or Ayton or any of the legit legit 7' guys.

I get that. So, he's not tall for his position, but he's got good size and strength, wingspan and reach for the position. I think it's fair to question his mobility in space, but overall I wouldn't say he's slow at the position either.

He's not wide. He doesn't take up or command space. Robin Lopez is a massive person. Carter doesn't have that size.

[nitetrain8603]

He was at 7.8 percent body fat at the Combine. WCJ could get that number closer to 5 by the time the off season ends and lose 5-10 lbs while maintaining that low body fat percentage. That alone could increase quickness significantly. But if he becomes a maniac in the gym ala James Harden or Victor Oladipo, WCJ could go even further than that.

First off, how many nBa players are below 10% body fat. Hell, Wade and LeBron hung around there and were marvels. Even then, eventually they went up. To expect WCJ to go down to 5% body fat is insane and one of the most unlikeliest events to occur.


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The Combine had loads of players below 10 percent body fat, bruh. Guys recently drafted like MPJ, Bamba and Kevin Knox were at 6.4, 6.2 and 4.95 percent body fat, respectively. Plenty of bigs projected to go later in the draft are at around 5 percent body fat too (Bates-Diop at 5.35, Chimezie Metu at 5.05, Austin Wiley at 5.0). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a PG but he posted the craziest body fat percentage in the whole draft class (3.0 percent!!!). I'm not saying that it's likely for WCJ to slim down to around 5. I'm just saying that WCJ *could* control his destiny when it comes to speed and quickness if he puts in the work.

Correct, but especially for a big man, to hang at 7.5, much less go down in the NBA is highly unlikely. They wouldn't be able to perform and would be huge injury risks. Plus, you're talking about losing 2 percent of bodyfat, not 10. His speed, even if he tried damn near everything, is not going to increase to make him viable to cover on switches.

[Chi town]

We have 5 bigs again and no small ball 4s.

[micromonkey]

If it helps any 538 has him as the 5th best player by ‘Stats + Scouts’ CARMELO projections
and 4th best by ‘Pure stats’ CARMELO projections for 2018 NBA draft

CAVEAT--Not including European players (Doncic) or Michael Porter Jr.

So add +2 to those and at worst he's 6/7 and we got him at 7 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-most-promising-players-in-the-nba-draft-according-to-my-computer/

Dean on draft had him at 4 and said this
He compares statistically to players such as Tim Duncan, Chris Bosh, Karl Anthony-Towns, Kevin Love, and Al Horford so if he improves his perimeter defense enough he can be an excellent pro.

And he's from Duke--so if no one blows your doors off then the safe bet is not always bad.

So if you went back and listed who you thought were sure-fire and busts I bet the best of us is what--25-35% accurate in picking guys and knowing? Not cherry picking--if you laid them all out- the entire 1st round every year--I bet only the best of us would be that good (personally I'd be much lower--but I only remember when I'm right like McD.)

So how can we really be upset or happy with the pick? Are we more confident in our 30% "gut" ?

[Ugly Duckling]

I understand the desire to find a comp for him, but comparing ppl really limits them. Who knows, dude might be better than Big Al

[RememberLu]

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[IWannaGoHIGHER]

A-/B+ - I watched about 15+ Duke games this year, but my two cents.

There is a lot to like about his game. Offensively needs to be more assertive/confident, but has a ton of skill for a guy his size. Very varied low post scorer, has good shot form, balanced. Turnover prone, but solid handles. Good enough passer, good sense off space, BBIQ. While playing with a big man he didn't really fit with in the college game.

Defensively in the paint, I think he has potential to be a very good player. On the perimeter, he's going to struggle. Going to have to learn how to use his feet better. Will make him a liability at times in his career. Has good strength/bulk, big body inside. Still could probably add 10 pounds of muscle too. Anchored a zone at Duke that had a couple of bad perimeter defenders. Rebounds well, and outside of his zone.

Little short, not an elite athlete. Will that limit him from being a top-10 player in the NBA? Probably. But I think he will be a very solid NBA player, and a fun fit next to Lauri at the 5. I think big man can have a place in the NBA, if they have the skill. WCJ already has that in spades. Is it a bit of a vanilla? Sure. But I think he will be a very good player in the NBA.

Add in the fact he's known as a hard worker, and smart, is just icing on the cake. I think he has good makeup to reach his ceiling in the NBA.

Bulls still need to have and hit a high lottery pick next year. But they made a solid, albeit not flashy, step in the right direction tonight.

[Chi town]

First off, how many nBa players are below 10% body fat. Hell, Wade and LeBron hung around there and were marvels. Even then, eventually they went up. To expect WCJ to go down to 5% body fat is insane and one of the most unlikeliest events to occur.


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The Combine had loads of players below 10 percent body fat, bruh. Guys recently drafted like MPJ, Bamba and Kevin Knox were at 6.4, 6.2 and 4.95 percent body fat, respectively. Plenty of bigs projected to go later in the draft are at around 5 percent body fat too (Bates-Diop at 5.35, Chimezie Metu at 5.05, Austin Wiley at 5.0). Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a PG but he posted the craziest body fat percentage in the whole draft class (3.0 percent!!!). I'm not saying that it's likely for WCJ to slim down to around 5. I'm just saying that WCJ *could* control his destiny when it comes to speed and quickness if he puts in the work.

Correct, but especially for a big man, to hang at 7.5, much less go down in the NBA is highly unlikely. They wouldn't be able to perform and would be huge injury risks. Plus, you're talking about losing 2 percent of bodyfat, not 10. His speed, even if he tried damn near everything, is not going to increase to make him viable to cover on switches.

What bigs in the league can switch? What 5s?

[WindyCityBorn]

Building around two low ceiling, defensively mediocre bigs, a point guard who can't shoot, and a shooting guard with no IQ. Sure why not. Whatever.

Markkanen is absolutely not a low ceiling player.