Wendell Carter Jr - The Block Panther Edition

[Lauri_Legend]

I honestly do not understand the hate with this pick. Sure, the Bulls could've risked it and drafted MPJ which could be a 10 step forward in the rebuild if he's good but a 5 step back if he can't stay healthy. Instead, they took a guaranteed 3 step forward and will continue to slowly rebuild. They're not swinging for the fences, they're just making sure they improve.

[Clint Eastwood]

Let's call it as it is, the Bulls were not trading 22. The Bulls picked an outdated Center, who can't jump, shoots some crazy shots at random times, can't defend smaller players as he is too slow. Basically the Bulls picked a slighter better Bobby Portis when Niko was already better than that. Carter will not see the last 3 minutes of games as Lauri will need to play Center. The Bulls were not offering 22 due to the love with Hutchison. The Front Office thinks they got the next Pippen. The actually really think that. I sure hope they are right. I hope I'm wrong and hopefully Carter because a star, but people calling him Brand or Boozer might be right, and those 2 guys could not play in this NBA.

Dallas was the biggest winner in this draft. They chose the best player, a good backup PG, and a flyer on the Greek Freak 2.

Carter has a 39’’ vertical. Not sure I agree with your clearly biased post.

[Axolotl]

Just a fun tidbit: this was posted on draft board on November 17th 2017. At that time I don't think I had even heard the name Wendell Carter Jr

I really like Wendell. Not the 'sexiest' prospect, but when it's all said and done I think he could be as high as #6 or so.

What can I say but tip my hat

The only thing missing is ..."#6 or so to Chicago"

[fleet]

I honestly do not understand the hate with this pick. Sure, the Bulls could've risked it and drafted MPJ which could be a 10 step forward in the rebuild if he's good but a 5 step back if he can't stay healthy. Instead, they took a guaranteed 3 step forward and will continue to slowly rebuild. They're not swinging for the fences, they're just making sure they improve.

Its vicarious hate I believe. Carter is a stand-in symbol for GarPax failure this season to do what needed to be done in order to have a chance to compete with the elites instead of getting back on the treadmill. You ask the people who are panning this exact pick (I'm not one of them), and they will likely tell you that winning the East is their priority, not just simple improvement. So those that want to praise the Bulls on draft day of the year they failed their perhaps best shot to keep hope alive? Too soon.

[bullslas]

Let's call it as it is, the Bulls were not trading 22. The Bulls picked an outdated Center, who can't jump, shoots some crazy shots at random times, can't defend smaller players as he is too slow. Basically the Bulls picked a slighter better Bobby Portis when Niko was already better than that. Carter will not see the last 3 minutes of games as Lauri will need to play Center. The Bulls were not offering 22 due to the love with Hutchison. The Front Office thinks they got the next Pippen. The actually really think that. I sure hope they are right. I hope I'm wrong and hopefully Carter because a star, but people calling him Brand or Boozer might be right, and those 2 guys could not play in this NBA.

Dallas was the biggest winner in this draft. They chose the best player, a good backup PG, and a flyer on the Greek Freak 2.

Carter has a 39’’ vertical. Not sure I agree with your clearly biased post.

Its not biased. Jumping with no one next to you is different than jumping in a game surrounded by others. He would’ve been a good player 15 years ago.

[gmoney2]

Unathletic, right? Can't "get up", right?

Read on Twitter

Nice find! That's surprising given the highlights on him and workout vids. Plus, he didn't participate in the combine strength and agility tests and a near 40" vertical would have gone a long way in debunking the non-athletic claims.

He did have a sore achilles after spraining his ankle early in the tourney and playing through it, so he may have had some lingering effects.

http://abc11.com/sports/dukes-wendell-carter-jr-says-no-risk-of-further-injuring-achilles/3221413/

Some players are more athletic than they look like Tim Duncan. I'm not saying WCJ is another Duncan and please don't read it that way. Duncan was criticized for not being intense, but he did a good job in staying fresh and picking and choosing his spots and aside from his meniscus injury in his 3rd year, he had a long 19 yr career. My point is that WCJ might be more athletic than we thought, but his game does not rely upon athleticism. That may preserve his longevity.

[fleet]

Unathletic, right? Can't "get up", right?

Read on Twitter

Nice find! That's surprising given the highlights on him and workout vids. Plus, he didn't participate in the combine strength and agility tests and a near 40" vertical would have gone a long way in debunking the non-athletic claims.

He did have a sore achilles after spraining his ankle early in the tourney and playing through it, so he may have had some lingering effects.

http://abc11.com/sports/dukes-wendell-carter-jr-says-no-risk-of-further-injuring-achilles/3221413/

Some players are more athletic than they look like Tim Duncan. I'm not saying WCJ is another Duncan and please don't read it that way. Duncan was criticized for not being intense, but he did a good job in staying fresh and picking and choosing his spots and aside from his meniscus injury in his 3rd year, he had a long 19 yr career. My point is that WCJ might be more athletic than we thought, but his game does not rely upon athleticism. That may preserve his longevity.

He can jump, you can see that on tape. And he can quick jump too. Gives optimism that adequate rim protection is in his future.

[Mbrahv0528]

Let's call it as it is, the Bulls were not trading 22. The Bulls picked an outdated Center, who can't jump, shoots some crazy shots at random times, can't defend smaller players as he is too slow. Basically the Bulls picked a slighter better Bobby Portis when Niko was already better than that. Carter will not see the last 3 minutes of games as Lauri will need to play Center. The Bulls were not offering 22 due to the love with Hutchison. The Front Office thinks they got the next Pippen. The actually really think that. I sure hope they are right. I hope I'm wrong and hopefully Carter because a star, but people calling him Brand or Boozer might be right, and those 2 guys could not play in this NBA.

Dallas was the biggest winner in this draft. They chose the best player, a good backup PG, and a flyer on the Greek Freak 2.

Carter has a 39’’ vertical. Not sure I agree with your clearly biased post.

Its not biased. Jumping with no one next to you is different than jumping in a game surrounded by others. He would’ve been a good player 15 years ago.

Lol. I mean you're entitled to your opinion regardless of how uninformed it is *shrug*.

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[Truebiscuit]

Unathletic, right? Can't "get up", right?

Read on Twitter

Nice find! That's surprising given the highlights on him and workout vids. Plus, he didn't participate in the combine strength and agility tests and a near 40" vertical would have gone a long way in debunking the non-athletic claims.

He did have a sore achilles after spraining his ankle early in the tourney and playing through it, so he may have had some lingering effects.

http://abc11.com/sports/dukes-wendell-carter-jr-says-no-risk-of-further-injuring-achilles/3221413/

Some players are more athletic than they look like Tim Duncan. I'm not saying WCJ is another Duncan and please don't read it that way. Duncan was criticized for not being intense, but he did a good job in staying fresh and picking and choosing his spots and aside from his meniscus injury in his 3rd year, he had a long 19 yr career. My point is that WCJ might be more athletic than we thought, but his game does not rely upon athleticism. That may preserve his longevity.

He can jump, you can see that on tape. And he can quick jump too. Gives optimism that adequate rim protection is in his future.

I'm honestly more curious to see his no-step vertical, I think it's closer to 32". Still... 9'1" standing reach and for the sake of argument let's say his no-step vert is 24", he's still getting his mitts up 13 inches over the rim.

[Red Larrivee]

Its not biased. Jumping with no one next to you is different than jumping in a game surrounded by others. He would’ve been a good player 15 years ago.

You're right that there's a difference between tested and in-game (functional) athleticism. It's the difference between Kris Dunn and Donovan Mitchell: A player who's athletic and a player who's athletic and knows how to apply it to skill.

There's nothing to me that suggests Carter isn't a good functional athlete. Functional athletes are built on technique, instincts, awareness, BBIQ and skill. These are all things Carter excels at and shows during games. He rebounds well, finishes well, contests well and gets off his feet quicker than you'd expect for his size.

Overall, he's a good athlete and moves well especially at 253 lbs. The skepticism revolves around foot speed against faster players, which most centers already are dealing with.

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[Clint Eastwood]

Let's call it as it is, the Bulls were not trading 22. The Bulls picked an outdated Center, who can't jump, shoots some crazy shots at random times, can't defend smaller players as he is too slow. Basically the Bulls picked a slighter better Bobby Portis when Niko was already better than that. Carter will not see the last 3 minutes of games as Lauri will need to play Center. The Bulls were not offering 22 due to the love with Hutchison. The Front Office thinks they got the next Pippen. The actually really think that. I sure hope they are right. I hope I'm wrong and hopefully Carter because a star, but people calling him Brand or Boozer might be right, and those 2 guys could not play in this NBA.

Dallas was the biggest winner in this draft. They chose the best player, a good backup PG, and a flyer on the Greek Freak 2.

Carter has a 39’’ vertical. Not sure I agree with your clearly biased post.

Its not biased. Jumping with no one next to you is different than jumping in a game surrounded by others. He would’ve been a good player 15 years ago.

Its bias. You dont like him which is fine. But you call him an outdated center who cant jump. He can jump fine. And i look forward to you realizing he is better than you think, and can shoot from 3 and is not outdated. I’m sure you will be happy to realize this as well.

[Jcool0]

Read on Twitter

[Axolotl]

Its not biased. Jumping with no one next to you is different than jumping in a game surrounded by others. He would’ve been a good player 15 years ago.

Nah, man, I don't think he'd have cut it 15 years ago. He was 4 years old then.

Here's TheFrontOfficeEye's report on WCJ.

https://thefrontofficeeye.com/2018/06/13/wendell-carter-scouting-report/

[Pnjguy]

Needed a physical, skilled, rim protector next to Lauri. And we got one.

[NDave79]

Here are a few videos to sort of analyze his explosion.

I will admit, that for the most part, he didn't look incredibly explosive at Duke (and I'm not trying to argue that he is). I think he was possibly playing a little on heavy side this year when I compare it with some of his previous tape.

I feel like overall, he looks a little bouncier in this highlight clip from 2016.

Watch on YouTube

This next clip shows him going against Ayton where Ayton actually got the better of him, but a couple of clips show very nice explosion imo. In particular, the play at about 2:52, shows some nice explosion. Imagine Portis finishing the same play off and you can see how much more explosive Carter is than Portis (not saying anyone is really arguing that his is).

Watch on YouTube

The first part of this video, goes into some detail analyzing Carter's level of explosion. He rates it at a tier below Ayton and Bagley, but still quite good (and better than JJJ or Bamba).

Watch on YouTube

I think with NBA training he can become a fairly explosive player, especially for someone with his frame and girth.

[VolumePoster]

I don't agree with the argument that WCJ isn't suited to "contemporary" basketball. You can't build a team around bigs in the era of pace and space! You need svelte gunners up and down the floor! He'll be pick and rolled to death!

Bull. ****.

Not just in basketball, but in every sport, there are moments in which an exception group of unique talents comes together and momentarily dominates. Other teams then attempt to copy that style and - lacking the unique talents of the PLAYERS - fail. From Ajax on the soccer pitch to Golden State today.

Acquire the best players you can. If you try to out Golden State...Golden State...it simply won't work.

[Chitownbulls]

Drafted the 5th best bigman in the draft when free agency is loaded with good centers.

Still no superstar or future SF

[transplant]

Obvious pick. I would have had a problem if they'd have picked someone else. The problem was that they had #7.

[Mbrahv0528]

Drafted the 5th best bigman in the draft when free agency is loaded with good centers.

Still no superstar or future SF

Oh boy. The "hot takes" just keep on coming LMAO.

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[Threekola]

Great Rebounder
Great Defender
Good Shotblocker
Great Post Game
Great Passer
Great Motor / Work Ethic
Great Personality Traits & Attitude
Great Strength and Toughness
Good Mid Range Shot
Good 3pt Shooter
Good FT Shooter
7'5 Wingspan
Only 19 Yrs Old

= Chicago fans crying

In what world is Carter a great defender? That's kind of the problem.

Please, do more research...

He's a good shot blocker who doesn't really have the quickness to guard pick and roll anywhere close to the level you can call him "great." Maybe 10-15 years ago. I think he'll be solid defensively, but great?