dougthonus wrote:drosestruts wrote:When we drafted Terry my primary reaction was "who?" So I don't disagree or take any umbrage with your lack of enthusiasm about Terry as the pick.
In terms of his archetype I agree Terry has the energy/hustle player aesthetic associated with guys like Green and Harrison. I think those comparisons do miss what make Terry a little unique and different though and that is his vision/passing.
And while a dreadful shooting performance has been the primary takeaway from summer league so far, Terry for as much as he's been handling the ball is doing very well limiting the turnover. He had 0 turnovers in the second game vs Memphis in 30 minutes of playing time. Game 1 vs Toronto he had that highlight more than half court pass for an assist. This is the uniqueness in Terry.
He has that energy archetype like a Harrison or Green but with strong natural vision/passing skills. If he improves his handle and shot and can limit those turnover, I think you have a pretty unique player. One I think would be more accurate to compare to a George Hill, Delon Wright, or do I dare say Lonzo Ball, in terms of ceiling.
Maybe that makes you look at Terry differently, maybe it makes you roll your eyes.
Hill and Lonzo can shoot though, which is why I put the emphasis on shooting. If anything, Lonzo has proven anyone can learn how to shoot if they put in the time/work/focus, but someone should have already been drilling in his head that he needs to do that, but that gets back to a different hot topic point of mine is that literally every player in the league should spend 2 hours a day just practicing threes with a focus on only release speed and accuracy. I think probably anyone in the world could be a solid NBA shooter if you put up 1000 shots a day with that focus.
I'm not sure how valuable a non-PG hustle player that can also pass really is though. It probably helps some, but it's just not that meaningful a skill to add if you never have to defend the guy at the three point line and he's certainly no where near a PG caliber ball handler/passer.
It's like a nice to have, it's just so far down the list of nice to haves that it isn't super useful unless the shooting or dribble-drive game also comes with it, but there's really no evidence of that, and while I agree on paper he seems like a better passer than a typical 3&D player, it just isn't a stud level ability there.
Agreed his shooting needs to improve. He shot 40% from 3 on 3 attempts per game in the G-league last year which is up from his college shooting numbers, so I think it's clearly been a point of emphasis in his training, and not something that needs to be "drilled in his head" - all signs point to him understand that and have been actively working on that.
Also I'm not really sure why Dalen can't be a point guard, and think we have different concerns about his handles and ability to limit turnovers.
I mentioned the most recent Summer League game - 30 minutes, 0 turnovers, was primarily playing point guard from what I've read or seen in highlights (did not watch the game itself).
Rather hard to find much film online on Terry due to his limited minutes but this game vs Milwaukee also stood out to me:
The points scored don't really stand out to me, some of that's just outhustling the team with the lead.
What I did like though is that in his 27 minutes he had 0 turnovers, and you can see multiple clips where he's being guarded by Jrue Holiday, Jevon Carter, or Wes Matthews. These are good defenders, and Terry's handles we're an issue or something easily exploitable by again, these very well regarded defenders.
And I like the passes, good find and cross-court pass to Zach. I liked the quick post-feed to Vuc, and the drive and kick to Vuc.
Or even if he just plays as a 3&d guy - again 40% in the g-league last year - that can be a connector/good passer, there's value there.