Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

[DetroitPistons]

Honest question... What separates KCP and DeRozen as a prospect??
KCP has good athleticism and he's also arguably a better defender and shooter.

I don't think that is a good comparison. True, KCP is a better defender and shooter (or will be at least) than DeRozen but those aren't DeRozen's strengths. He is more of an iso player who has much better handles than KCP and can get his own shot and carry an offense for extended periods of time. KCP cannot do that and I don't think that will ever be his game. KCP will be a rich mans 3D type of player imo.

[dVs33]

Honest question... What separates KCP and DeRozen as a prospect??
KCP has good athleticism and he's also arguably a better defender and shooter.

I don't think that is a good comparison. True, KCP is a better defender and shooter (or will be at least) than DeRozen but those aren't DeRozen's strengths. He is more of an iso player who has much better handles than KCP and can get his own shot and carry an offense for extended periods of time. KCP cannot do that and I don't think that will ever be his game. KCP will be a rich mans 3D type of player imo.

DeRozen can carry an offense NOW, but that only happened in the last 2 seasons.
I see KCP as more of an iso player than a spot up shooter. He looks more comfortable when he scores off the dribble.

[Billl]

"Honest question... What separates KCP and DeRozen as a prospect??
KCP has good athleticism and he's also arguably a better defender and shooter."

What separates them? Seriously? How about "demonstrated ability to perform at a high level in the nba"? How about we let KCP prove he's good enough that we don't have to worry about bynum stealing his minutes before we start comparing him to all-star level shooting guards? Come on. Derozen was the second highest scoring SG in the league this year. KCP? 59th. There literally was not another SG in the league that played as many minutes as KCP but scored less points.

If you want to give KCP a pass because the team was disfunctional, fine. I'm on board with that. He's young enough that last season might have been a fluke and he could show a ton of improvement this year. He should obviously get another chance to prove himself. At this point, that is what we are talking about though - proving himself.

[jakebernat]

didn't rip hamilton lead us in scoring for the better part of a decade despite not being able to create his own shot?

[jakebernat]

"Honest question... What separates KCP and DeRozen as a prospect??
KCP has good athleticism and he's also arguably a better defender and shooter."

What separates them? Seriously? How about "demonstrated ability to perform at a high level in the nba"? How about we let KCP prove he's good enough that we don't have to worry about bynum stealing his minutes before we start comparing him to all-star level shooting guards? Come on. Derozen was the second highest scoring SG in the league this year. KCP? 59th. There literally was not another SG in the league that played as many minutes as KCP but scored less points.

If you want to give KCP a pass because the team was disfunctional, fine. I'm on board with that. He's young enough that last season might have been a fluke and he could show a ton of improvement this year. He should obviously get another chance to prove himself. At this point, that is what we are talking about though - proving himself.

the boxscore from the only game KCP started against the raptors:
http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?id=400489394
looks like derozan had a tough time against will bynum's backup.

[dVs33]

"Honest question... What separates KCP and DeRozen as a prospect??
KCP has good athleticism and he's also arguably a better defender and shooter."

What separates them? Seriously? How about "demonstrated ability to perform at a high level in the nba"? How about we let KCP prove he's good enough that we don't have to worry about bynum stealing his minutes before we start comparing him to all-star level shooting guards? Come on. Derozen was the second highest scoring SG in the league this year. KCP? 59th. There literally was not another SG in the league that played as many minutes as KCP but scored less points.

If you want to give KCP a pass because the team was disfunctional, fine. I'm on board with that. He's young enough that last season might have been a fluke and he could show a ton of improvement this year. He should obviously get another chance to prove himself. At this point, that is what we are talking about though - proving himself.

I asked what the difference between KCP and DeRozen when he was a prospect...

[Billl]

"I asked what the difference between KCP and DeRozen when he was a prospect"

Talent. Handles. Ability to get to the rim. Ability to set up teammates. Completely different games.

It's the same kind of nonsense that people post comparing every horrible pg to chauncey. Chauncey sucked his first couple years, so this sucky point guard has the potential to be a finals mvp?

KCP had a rookie year that only Michael Curry would be proud of 6/1/2. Will he improve? I sure hope so. Will he ever be the #2 scoring SG in the NBA? That is a ridiculous question at this point.

"
the boxscore from the only game KCP started against the raptors:"

Sure. He was really clamped down to 19/4/6. He had an off shooting night, but he was shredding our defense. He ended up with 16 foul shots as the raps cruised to an easy win.

[Komodo]

As a prospect, Derozan was a horrible defender, terrible outside shooter, and had no handle.

[kurtis48239]

When I look at rookie prospects I look at their determination/work ethic,and alot of the times they become much better.I see alot of these traits in KCP and think he will take a BIG leap this up coming season.Also having a good coach isnt going to hurt either.

Det really needs to use him to his strength,P&R,off screens.

[Billl]

"As a prospect, Derozan was a horrible defender, terrible outside shooter, and had no handle."

Horrible is pretty harsh for his defense, but he was certainly a terrible outside shooter. He did have a handle though and got into the paint and to the line 3 times more often than KCP did as a rookie. He's obviously a very different prospect than KCP.

I don't know why people want to underrate other players to hype up our rookies. Derozen was the #2 scoring SG last year and filled up the rest of the stat sheet too while leading his team to the playoffs. It's pretty unlikely KCP is ever going to be a #1 scoring option. If he comes our and averages 12 points on efficient play and solid defense, we should be thrilled.

[dVs33]

"I asked what the difference between KCP and DeRozen when he was a prospect"

Talent. Handles. Ability to get to the rim. Ability to set up teammates. Completely different games.

It's the same kind of nonsense that people post comparing every horrible pg to chauncey. Chauncey sucked his first couple years, so this sucky point guard has the potential to be a finals mvp?

KCP had a rookie year that only Michael Curry would be proud of 6/1/2. Will he improve? I sure hope so. Will he ever be the #2 scoring SG in the NBA? That is a ridiculous question at this point.

"
the boxscore from the only game KCP started against the raptors:"

Sure. He was really clamped down to 19/4/6. He had an off shooting night, but he was shredding our defense. He ended up with 16 foul shots as the raps cruised to an easy win.

Where do you get this from?? You seem to think KCP is a spot up shooter when he isnt. HE works best off the dribble and he's shown he can get to the rim.
Hopefully SVG gives him some freedom and he'll look a lot better.
Watch the OKC game again and tell me he doesn't have a versatile scorer.

[Billl]

"I asked what the difference between KCP and DeRozen when he was a prospect"

Talent. Handles. Ability to get to the rim. Ability to set up teammates. Completely different games.

It's the same kind of nonsense that people post comparing every horrible pg to chauncey. Chauncey sucked his first couple years, so this sucky point guard has the potential to be a finals mvp?

KCP had a rookie year that only Michael Curry would be proud of 6/1/2. Will he improve? I sure hope so. Will he ever be the #2 scoring SG in the NBA? That is a ridiculous question at this point.

"
the boxscore from the only game KCP started against the raptors:"

Sure. He was really clamped down to 19/4/6. He had an off shooting night, but he was shredding our defense. He ended up with 16 foul shots as the raps cruised to an easy win.

Where do you get this from?? You seem to think KCP is a spot up shooter when he isnt. HE works best off the dribble and he's shown he can get to the rim.
Hopefully SVG gives him some freedom and he'll look a lot better.
Watch the OKC game again and tell me he doesn't have a versatile scorer.

I don't think KCP is a spot up shooter. He looked horrible camping out in the corner. I just don't think he did much of anything good on offense last year - shooting, passing, dribbling, moving without the ball etc. Cherrypicking 1 game doesn't change the other 81. I'm hopeful he will improve in a more structured environment, but he had a really disappointing season on the offensive side of the ball.