RealGM

"He's got an NBA body. [Players] are listed at 6-9, 6-10 when a lot of times they're really 6-7, 6-8. This guy's a legit 6-9. His arms go on forever. He's just tapping into his potential but has made drastic improvement in just a year's time span."

NBA Scouting's Ryan Blake
"He has exploded with his confidence. … He's opened some doors, and when he goes to Portsmouth, doors will open eveStrengths: Combo forward with excellent length, agility and shooting ability … His ability to knock down shots is his bread and butter … Has a fluid stroke with range out to NBA 3 … A quality spot up shooter who gets his feet set and releases the ball in good speed for a 6-10 forward … Has been on an absolute tear shooting 49% from 3 on a high volume of shots as a senior … Likes to roam around the perimeter, gain possession of the ball and face the basket … Utilizes his excellent foot speed well to beat defenders … Proficient at getting defenders off balance with a pump fake/jab step and then blowing by them and getting to the rim using the dribble … His quickness and shooting ability makes him excellent in pick and pop situations … Quality free throw shooter at over 80% … Has an effective righty jump hook he uses when he spins right … Can create shots off the dribble and uses a spin move and polished fade away jumper … Handles the ball well for a 4 …
n further."

Yeah, hope we give him a camp invite. Worst-case scenario for him should be the Grand Rapids Drive.

He's too thin to legitimately defend 4's in the NBA.

Piston Pete wrote:Yeah, hope we give him a camp invite. Worst-case scenario for him should be the Grand Rapids Drive.

NBA needs to fix it's rules regarding contracts in the D-League. They should be one year exclusive contracts with the player becoming RFA's at the end of each season. But for the Pistons to have to roster a full team, but all but a couple can be poached at any time by any other team for a 10-day contract is ridiculous.

(I have the NFL Practice Squad rules for this basic reason as well).

ImHeisenberg wrote:He's too thin to legitimately defend 4's in the NBA.

J.J. is terrible at defending 4's. Harper has much greater upside than J.j.

Unfortunately, Kilo is right. The D league is almost pointless with the way that it is set up. Players that actually have borderline NBA talent are all going overseas to play, because they can get more playing time, and actually make decent money against quality talent. The d league is deceptive in that an average prospect can tear it up in because they're playing such inferior talent. Until the D league changes its structure, GR won't be of much use to the Pistons.

I agree with you guys that the D League needs to change it's rules, but until every NBA team has their own D League team, you're not going to be able to have those linked contracts.
Right now i think 5 or 6 teams share the Mad Ants. It's stupid.

I love Harper on offense but his defense during SL was atrocious.

I like that Nick Johnson kid Houston drafted.

dVs33 wrote:I agree with you guys that the D League needs to change it's rules, but until every NBA team has their own D League team, you're not going to be able to have those linked contracts.
Right now i think 5 or 6 teams share the Mad Ants. It's stupid.

There are plenty of smart people out there that have helped develop minor leagues in the NHL and MLB. There's always a possible solution. The fact is, the NBA doesn't want to spend money on a lower level league that ends up costing them money to run, and very few people are going to want to watch a minor league NBA game. At least not until the talent level is decent. Catch 22. Chances are, the D league never develops. It will most likely remain as is, or collapse over time. D league contracts will never come close enough to foreign contracts to keep Americans here.

davidvolumes wrote:

ImHeisenberg wrote:He's too thin to legitimately defend 4's in the NBA.

J.J. is terrible at defending 4's. Harper has much greater upside than J.j.

If you're comparing Harper to Jerebko to make your case, you're a long ways off.