Rd 2, pick 55, Pacers select Isaiah Wong

[Grang33r]

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[Grang33r]

From the Athletic draft guide-

STRENGTHS
The idea behind Wong is that he can be a dynamic scoring guard. That’s what he brings to the table. Athletically, he’s incredibly
shifty with the ball in his hands. Has some bounce and quickness mixed with tremendous balance and footwork. Good first step
and mixes it with ridiculous deceleration. Has a great handle that allows him to break down defenders. Plays with great bend
that allows him to get low into crossovers. A very creative player in terms of the way he attacks defenders. Also, plays with the
utmost confidence. Believes he’s the best scorer on the court in every game.
It all starts out on the break. Tries to push tempo as much as he can. Wants to attack and try to get out in transition to get early
buckets at the rim. Has a nasty full-speed spin move. But if that doesn’t happen, he has some of the craftiest, sickest moves to
get separation from his man, with the ability to mix hesitations and crossovers then string those together with any other kind
of move. Has hesitation moves that look like he’s about to pull up, then he’ll just blow by you. It all flows together well. He’s
become a lethal scorer from the midrange and from behind the 3-point line because of those skills. Can put it behind or between
his legs directly into stepbacks. If you play him against drop-coverage defenders, he’s going to be able to find a shot most of
the time. Has really good footwork. A lot of side-steps and stepbacks, including using long strides backward to create even
more separation. Even if you stop his first move and make him pick up his dribble, he’s pretty good with shot-fakes off pivots
to find space.
Moreover, he’s a strong pull-up shooter and constant threat to do so. Can get to that shot at any time. Has clean ball pickup.
Made 43 percent of his midrange jumpers this past season, per Synergy, a solid number versus the high degree of difficulty shots
he was taking. Can also get to his shot in isolation or out of screens if a defender goes under. Also effective as a pull-up 3-point
scorer. Made 36.5 percent of his 3s off the bounce this past season taking over two of them per game, which is an awesome
number. The jumper looks good off the bounce. He has a high release point. Ball gets out of his hand quickly. Has a bit of a
forward lean that then turns into a forward leap forward to push his moment forward. Also, made a high percentage of his shots
from NBA distance. Made 43.9 percent of his 41 3-point attempts from beyond 25 feet, which is a very strong number, albeit
small sample.
Pieces of the rest of Wong’s game are impressive, but I wouldn’t say there are other standout skills. He improved as a passer and
playmaker this past season for his teammates, but it’s certainly not his natural inclination. He works hard on defense and plays
with a good motor, but he has some size-based concerns that pop up on tape. He gets all the way to the rim and to the line quite a
bit, but as we’ll discuss, finishing isn’t a strong suit. There are caveats to the rest of his game outside of the scoring bag.

WEAKNESSES
Wong is quite small, especially if he’s not quite a point guard. He came in at 6-foot-2 1/2 without shoes at the combine with a
6-foot-7 wingspan, per Synergy. However, he has kind of a long neck, which eliminates a bit of functional height. Only had an
8-foot-1 1/2 standing reach, which was fourth smallest in attendance. He also is very skinny and doesn’t have a ton of power to
his game, and that impacts him in a few ways.
While Wong can get to the rim, I don’t think he’s all that capable as a finisher. The numbers just aren’t great. Good out in
transition when he has a full head of steam and is navigating one guy, but not all that effective in the half court. Made just 44.4
percent of his attempts at the rim in half-court settings. Essentially a below-the-rim driver as a finisher and often must find
weird contorting ways to get a shot up around the opposition. Makes some awesome, highlight-reel worthy shots, but I don’t
think his touch maintains through contact balance all that well. He also doesn’t really pair it with an effective runner right now
despite his touch as a shooter. Made just 23.8 percent of his floaters this past season, per Synergy. Needs to find a way to be more
effective at the basket as an NBA player, but it likely will be difficult given his lack of size and length.
He’s not the best catch-and-shoot player either. It’s a significant issue in terms of opening other avenues for him to find success.
He made just 29.8 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3s in half-court settings this past season. Has a stiff-looking jumper that does
not look like it’ll translate from the jump. Takes an extra split second to load into the shot. Great at shooting them in transition
when he has time to load up and get the shot off. But in the half court, when someone is closing out at him quickly, it’s not as
effective. Needs to improve this piece of his game to have a chance, because it’s unlikely Wong will be the best player out on the
court for his team and thus will not have the ball in his hands as much.
Don’t think he’s an impactful defender and especially won’t be that at the NBA level. Miami was not a particularly good
defensive team this past season in large part because he and Nijel Pack often allowed a lot of perimeter penetration, particularly
off ball screens. I don’t think Wong navigates ball screens all that well. He’s willing and will try to fight, but he does not often
end up being able to get back into the play. If he gets contacted, it’s hard for him to get around it. On top of that, he does not in
any way project to be switchable. Will likely be locked into point guards and maybe smaller two guards. Because of that lack of
strength, he’ll really struggle to defend in the post and will be something of a magnet for switches where teams try to get their
best bigger wings locked onto him.
I’m also skeptical Wong can be a lead guard in the NBA. He makes some occasionally impressive passes, but he’s not wired to get
everyone involved. Good with drives and dump-offs to bigs when off-balance. Makes some high-speed reads and got better with
mixing passing with shooting. My guess, though, is that teams will need to have a primary initiator out there with him to get the
kind of ball movement you want.

SUMMARY
Wong has the kind of ball skills and athleticism that could make him a legitimate NBA bucket getter. I think he could probably
go on the floor in the NBA and score. The question is just what else he takes off the table. He needs to prove he can either defend
or initiate at a reasonable level to make it and be more than an end-of-the-bench option. It’s also a requirement for him to shoot
off the catch in half-court settings. I’m a bit worried he won’t be able to do any of that and will end up as a player who makes a lot
over in Europe. But as a two-way option who provides some depth for a team in need of scoring in the backcourt, I like the idea
of Wong being able to come in and provide cover. His handle and ability to separate from his man are special.

[Pacers Forever]

So TJD not even G league material for the Pacers. Something has to be wrong with attitude, health, fit, ?? Obviously front office didn’t like him even though his father was a valued Pacer.

[Grang33r]

So TJD not even G league material for the Pacers. Something has to be wrong with attitude, health, fit, ?? Obviously front office didn’t like him even though his father was a valued Pacer.

Just got picked by Washington at 57.

Pacers werent the only team to pass on him. I think teams just don't see his game translating in the nba?

[Pacers_Freak]

So TJD not even G league material for the Pacers. Something has to be wrong with attitude, health, fit, ?? Obviously front office didn’t like him even though his father was a valued Pacer.

I like TJD and wouldn’t have minded him on a 2 way. But…. There is a reason he went 57th overall. I’m not smart enough to know that reason but people smarter than me thought so.

[Grang33r]

So TJD not even G league material for the Pacers. Something has to be wrong with attitude, health, fit, ?? Obviously front office didn’t like him even though his father was a valued Pacer.

I like TJD and wouldn’t have minded him on a 2 way. But…. There is a reason he went 57th overall. I’m not smart enough to know that reason but people smarter than me thought so.

Exactly. He was a dominant college player. But goes 57.

The nice part for him is draft selection means very little. He has his entire career to prove all those teams wrong.

[Scoot McGroot]

So TJD not even G league material for the Pacers. Something has to be wrong with attitude, health, fit, ?? Obviously front office didn’t like him even though his father was a valued Pacer.

Just got picked by Washington at 57.

Pacers werent the only team to pass on him. I think teams just don't see his game translating in the nba?

Picked for GS.


But yeah. Indy went all in on guards and shooting, for the most part. And with Myles, Jalen, Isaiah, and Theis here, there's just not room to develop at center. Especially when they've made it clear that a guy like TJD would only be a center, and that they absolutely will not play 2 of these guys next to each other. Certainly seems like a devaluing of the position, and that they're going to play a lot of 3 and 4 guard type lineups.

[Pacers_Freak]

Wong was fun to watch at Miami. Not sure it will translate to the NBA and we have a stockpile of guards. But, he was fun to watch.

[Pacers Forever]

So TJD not even G league material for the Pacers. Something has to be wrong with attitude, health, fit, ?? Obviously front office didn’t like him even though his father was a valued Pacer.

Just got picked by Washington at 57.

Pacers werent the only team to pass on him. I think teams just don't see his game translating in the nba?

Picked for GS.


But yeah. Indy went all in on guards and shooting, for the most part. And with Myles, Jalen, Isaiah, and Theis here, there's just not room to develop at center. Especially when they've made it clear that a guy like TJD would only be a center, and that they absolutely will not play 2 of these guys next to each other. Certainly seems like a devaluing of the position, and that they're going to play a lot of 3 and 4 guard type lineups.

I was thinking he could play the 4. We definitely don’t need center help until we decide on I Jax and Smith’s future. True they emphasized shooting with our second pick and the G league picks. Maybe/hopefully they have plans to get some front court help in free agency. They’ve mentioned it enough about trying to trade for veteran forwards.

[basketballwacko2]

Wasted pick!!

[Pacers_Freak]

Just got picked by Washington at 57.

Pacers werent the only team to pass on him. I think teams just don't see his game translating in the nba?

Picked for GS.


But yeah. Indy went all in on guards and shooting, for the most part. And with Myles, Jalen, Isaiah, and Theis here, there's just not room to develop at center. Especially when they've made it clear that a guy like TJD would only be a center, and that they absolutely will not play 2 of these guys next to each other. Certainly seems like a devaluing of the position, and that they're going to play a lot of 3 and 4 guard type lineups.

I was thinking he could play the 4. We definitely don’t need center help until we decide on I Jax and Smith’s future. True they emphasized shooting with our second pick and the G league picks. Maybe/hopefully they have plans to get some front court help in free agency. They’ve mentioned it enough about trying to trade for veteran forwards.

I don’t think he can play the 4 in the NBA. Offensively he doesn’t shoot it well enough to stretch the floor and defensively I think he would struggle to guard 4s.

[basketballwacko2]

This forum does not allow me to express the amount of disgust and contempt that I have for how this draft was handled, drafting these guards was "_______" and "_____" Stupid.

[Wizop]

I don’t think he can play the 4 in the NBA. Offensively he doesn’t shoot it well enough to stretch the floor and defensively I think he would struggle to guard 4s.

29 teams agreed with you. maybe 30 as GS could see him as a small ball 5.

[jowglenn]

This forum does not allow me to express the amount of disgust and contempt that I have for how this draft was handled, drafting these guards was "_______" and "_____" Stupid.

Bro I think maybe you're having a kneejerk reaction in the moment. The 55th pick is almost always going to be a "wasted pick" no matter who you choose. Now if Davis ends up having any sort of meaningful NBA career, then sure, you're right. Who would you have chosen?

[Scoot McGroot]

Just got picked by Washington at 57.

Pacers werent the only team to pass on him. I think teams just don't see his game translating in the nba?

Picked for GS.


But yeah. Indy went all in on guards and shooting, for the most part. And with Myles, Jalen, Isaiah, and Theis here, there's just not room to develop at center. Especially when they've made it clear that a guy like TJD would only be a center, and that they absolutely will not play 2 of these guys next to each other. Certainly seems like a devaluing of the position, and that they're going to play a lot of 3 and 4 guard type lineups.

I was thinking he could play the 4. We definitely don’t need center help until we decide on I Jax and Smith’s future. True they emphasized shooting with our second pick and the G league picks. Maybe/hopefully they have plans to get some front court help in free agency. They’ve mentioned it enough about trying to trade for veteran forwards.

I think we, as fans of TJD, and fans who would like to see Myles play the 5 and Jackson and Jalen still get playing time, are more willing to stretch the 4 position a bit and play guys and make them fit.

It certainly seems like this coaching staff is pretty consistent in how they view the 4/5 spots SHOULD be played, and what skills are necessary there.

We see TJD as a guy that could learn to play the 4. They seem to see him as a pure 5, which was echoed in interviews today with Buchanan (with Jake Query), where he basically said “we really like TJD but we already had 4 centers and didn’t see a route to playing time or development there”.

[basketballwacko2]

The Pacers front office is full of hacks should all be fired and the team run an ad on Indeed.com and easily find a better executive for $85,000 a year.

[Wizop]

I think we, as fans of TJD, and fans who would like to see Myles play the 5 and Jackson and Jalen still get playing time

TJD's agent is the brother of the Warrior's GM. the Warriors took advantage of a new 2nd round exception to sign him to a tax friendly deal. Doyle is reporting in the Star that TJD presumably through his agent told teams not to draft him if they were only going to offer a two-way contract.

[Pacers_Freak]

I think we, as fans of TJD, and fans who would like to see Myles play the 5 and Jackson and Jalen still get playing time

TJD's agent is the brother of the Warrior's GM. the Warriors took advantage of a new 2nd round exception to sign him to a tax friendly deal. Doyle is reporting in the Star that TJD presumably through his agent told teams not to draft him if they were only going to offer a two-way contract.

Heard an interview with Pacers front office where that was basically said. TJD had no interest in Indy because of the log jam at center. Maybe wacko can breath again?

[Grang33r]

TJD's agent is the brother of the Warrior's GM. the Warriors took advantage of a new 2nd round exception to sign him to a tax friendly deal. Doyle is reporting in the Star that TJD presumably through his agent told teams not to draft him if they were only going to offer a two-way contract.

Interesting. Same deal with that Kentucky guy they were telling teams not to draft him so he could land with Milwaukee.

[Pacers Forever]

I think we, as fans of TJD, and fans who would like to see Myles play the 5 and Jackson and Jalen still get playing time

TJD's agent is the brother of the Warrior's GM. the Warriors took advantage of a new 2nd round exception to sign him to a tax friendly deal. Doyle is reporting in the Star that TJD presumably through his agent told teams not to draft him if they were only going to offer a two-way contract.

Heard an interview with Pacers front office where that was basically said. TJD had no interest in Indy because of the log jam at center. Maybe wacko can breath again?

Reporting after the draft said that this happens often in the second round with agents arranging promises from teams to fit both players and teams needs. Something new behind the scenes to me which makes sense.