Phenom's Draft Report: Giannis
Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:19 am
I post these from time to time on another site that I visit more regularly, but I figured I can post it here as well.
As you all know, or perhaps you don't, I tend to pick one player and do some draft report on them. I'm not sure about this one in particular, as there are so many question marks that I can't really find a good prospect that relates to the Pistons that doesn't already have extensive databases of knowledge on the kids. As a caveat, no one has really captured my imagination as others, such as Meyers Leonard and Jonas Valanciunas had in years past. Still, it's something i wanted to do even if I am lacking a bit of the passion I usually bring to the table. To keep things simple I'm going to break this down into four categories on one player: Strengths, Weaknesses, Intangibles, and Caveats.
As for who I'm picking this time around, I guess this person does not make much sense considering his current draft stock. He likely is outside of the top 15 range, and will also likely be gone before the second round, but I have an intuition that urges me forward. Something tells me that this kid will be picked up by the Pistons in this draft. I'm assuming the only way we get him is through trading back into the mid to late first. Without further ado, I give you Giannis A...whatever he eventually decides his last name is.
The following comes based off of several full length game footage, the most statistically impressive of which was a 35 point, 22 rebound, 3 block, 5 assist game.
Strengths
To start with, there is something that jumps off of the screen in every game: When Giannis gets in the open, or even not so open, court he is aggressive, he is fluid, and he gets to the rim or is fouled. He loves getting to the rim, and even when he doesn't get a good shot up, and on the rare occasion he doesn't seem to draw a foul, he does a somewhat awkward wrap-around pass or skip pass to open players. His per game stats nearly a 1:1 Ass-T.O. ratio doesn't tell the full story on his ability to pass when he wants to. There are more turnovers due to his team dropping the ball than him doing anything wrong.
He has handles similar to Durant, with a bit of awkward length that is still somehow smooth. (Not that I am comparing the two whatsoever). He looked to crash the offensive glass when shots were in the air, and he looked to shoot off of the dribble if the defense sagged. He scored well, and he had some good defensive timings. If there was an open lane and he had the ball, it was almost guaranteed to be a dunk or layup. He cut hard and often.
Essentially there are some base skills to build off of, and with the right coaching, he can become an impressive offensive player with the length to bother shooters. He never looked more than 2 dribbles from the basket, but how that translates is anyone's guess.
Weaknesses
When a play is not called for him, and when he is not even so much as involved in a screen, he looks completely disinterested on the court, often floating within four feet of one area on the court simply watching the ball. Simply looking at the stats, he shot about 30ish percent of three point attempts, but I will say he looked to be taking them from NBA range more so than Fiba range more often than not. He took some ill advised shots, from too far behind even the NBA 3 point range, but the mechanics seem good enough.
He had the athleticism but, whether by design of the coaching staff or not, he did not hedge on screens defensively. There are some more obvious weaknesses that anyone can tell you about, like his strength, his blahblahblah. I think one of the most important aspects that permiates all other issues is whether or not he has the maturity to reach whatever potential he might have. His maturity in his understanding of the game, the maturity of his body, the maturity of work ethic will all be critical, and I always err on the side of doubt when it comes to European prospects. He's walked back on defense and let 4 of his teammates battle for rebounds against taller kids until the other team finally scored.
Intangibles
He looks to be one of the best playmakers this team would have, at least potentially. His teammates looked completely more alive when he was on the court versus when he was off of the court. I'm not sure if that was a result of the different plays being called when he was out there, or if it was simply because the team as a whole seemed to make more shots, which in turn made them want to be more engaged. There were points when he drew a triple team, but he seemed to make the open pass, even if he did seem a bit flustered by 6 hands.
Caveats
The kids he's playing with what look like high school kids, if that. When you look at the numbers 35-22-3-5, that's not indicative of anything he could do at the college level. His athleticism and size are of sheer dominance levels when compared to those of his peers at this level. By the eye test, he is easily the tallest player on the court, he is the quickest kid on the court, and he should honestly be dominating far more than he is even during great games. He looks like a Durant at this level, but who can tell how that will translate to the NBA level. Everything that is good about what he does needs to be put into perspective, and everything that is wrong is magnified 40 fold. I mean, it looked as though this kid was one of 3 players on the field that could actually dunk.
If you put a kid like this on the Spurs, who knows how good of a prospect you might have. If you put him on the Pistons, his ceiling might be the current Anthony Randolph. Unfortunately this is not a prospect I could feel confident in drafting with the Piston's abysmal development of potential.
Afterthought
The reason I picked this kid is obviously due to my gut feeling that he might be in a piston's uniform, but also the recent relationship between the Pistons and Greece. The Pistons have had many people evaluating Greek talent for a while now.
As you all know, or perhaps you don't, I tend to pick one player and do some draft report on them. I'm not sure about this one in particular, as there are so many question marks that I can't really find a good prospect that relates to the Pistons that doesn't already have extensive databases of knowledge on the kids. As a caveat, no one has really captured my imagination as others, such as Meyers Leonard and Jonas Valanciunas had in years past. Still, it's something i wanted to do even if I am lacking a bit of the passion I usually bring to the table. To keep things simple I'm going to break this down into four categories on one player: Strengths, Weaknesses, Intangibles, and Caveats.
As for who I'm picking this time around, I guess this person does not make much sense considering his current draft stock. He likely is outside of the top 15 range, and will also likely be gone before the second round, but I have an intuition that urges me forward. Something tells me that this kid will be picked up by the Pistons in this draft. I'm assuming the only way we get him is through trading back into the mid to late first. Without further ado, I give you Giannis A...whatever he eventually decides his last name is.
The following comes based off of several full length game footage, the most statistically impressive of which was a 35 point, 22 rebound, 3 block, 5 assist game.
Strengths
To start with, there is something that jumps off of the screen in every game: When Giannis gets in the open, or even not so open, court he is aggressive, he is fluid, and he gets to the rim or is fouled. He loves getting to the rim, and even when he doesn't get a good shot up, and on the rare occasion he doesn't seem to draw a foul, he does a somewhat awkward wrap-around pass or skip pass to open players. His per game stats nearly a 1:1 Ass-T.O. ratio doesn't tell the full story on his ability to pass when he wants to. There are more turnovers due to his team dropping the ball than him doing anything wrong.
He has handles similar to Durant, with a bit of awkward length that is still somehow smooth. (Not that I am comparing the two whatsoever). He looked to crash the offensive glass when shots were in the air, and he looked to shoot off of the dribble if the defense sagged. He scored well, and he had some good defensive timings. If there was an open lane and he had the ball, it was almost guaranteed to be a dunk or layup. He cut hard and often.
Essentially there are some base skills to build off of, and with the right coaching, he can become an impressive offensive player with the length to bother shooters. He never looked more than 2 dribbles from the basket, but how that translates is anyone's guess.
Weaknesses
When a play is not called for him, and when he is not even so much as involved in a screen, he looks completely disinterested on the court, often floating within four feet of one area on the court simply watching the ball. Simply looking at the stats, he shot about 30ish percent of three point attempts, but I will say he looked to be taking them from NBA range more so than Fiba range more often than not. He took some ill advised shots, from too far behind even the NBA 3 point range, but the mechanics seem good enough.
He had the athleticism but, whether by design of the coaching staff or not, he did not hedge on screens defensively. There are some more obvious weaknesses that anyone can tell you about, like his strength, his blahblahblah. I think one of the most important aspects that permiates all other issues is whether or not he has the maturity to reach whatever potential he might have. His maturity in his understanding of the game, the maturity of his body, the maturity of work ethic will all be critical, and I always err on the side of doubt when it comes to European prospects. He's walked back on defense and let 4 of his teammates battle for rebounds against taller kids until the other team finally scored.
Intangibles
He looks to be one of the best playmakers this team would have, at least potentially. His teammates looked completely more alive when he was on the court versus when he was off of the court. I'm not sure if that was a result of the different plays being called when he was out there, or if it was simply because the team as a whole seemed to make more shots, which in turn made them want to be more engaged. There were points when he drew a triple team, but he seemed to make the open pass, even if he did seem a bit flustered by 6 hands.
Caveats
The kids he's playing with what look like high school kids, if that. When you look at the numbers 35-22-3-5, that's not indicative of anything he could do at the college level. His athleticism and size are of sheer dominance levels when compared to those of his peers at this level. By the eye test, he is easily the tallest player on the court, he is the quickest kid on the court, and he should honestly be dominating far more than he is even during great games. He looks like a Durant at this level, but who can tell how that will translate to the NBA level. Everything that is good about what he does needs to be put into perspective, and everything that is wrong is magnified 40 fold. I mean, it looked as though this kid was one of 3 players on the field that could actually dunk.
If you put a kid like this on the Spurs, who knows how good of a prospect you might have. If you put him on the Pistons, his ceiling might be the current Anthony Randolph. Unfortunately this is not a prospect I could feel confident in drafting with the Piston's abysmal development of potential.
Afterthought
The reason I picked this kid is obviously due to my gut feeling that he might be in a piston's uniform, but also the recent relationship between the Pistons and Greece. The Pistons have had many people evaluating Greek talent for a while now.
