Ranma wrote:It's great to hear from you here, TrueLAfan! Hopefully, we'll be treated to more of your posts in the future.
I've watched some video clips on Gilgeous-Alexander last night and I'll say that he's adept at the hesitation dribble to shift gears while showing a fondness for the Euro-step in drives to the basket. His finishing ability and perimeter shot needs work, but his game and body require projection to justify a lottery selection as he's far from a finished product. He's also shown glimpses of solid playmaking ability, especially on his drives to the hoop but I still don't see a natural playmaker in him. Like I said, I don't think he'll ever be as good as Shaun Livingston because of those lack of innate instincts. Maybe he'll be a better version of Michael Carter-Williams but MCW was much more polished as a playmaker as a college sophomore than SGA as a freshman on a deeper Kentucky team.
It may be unfair to compare the two and the statistics you cited are impressive, but it seems a lot to anticipate that Shai will have a similar impact coming into the league as Michael did. Right now, I still see him more as developing into a capable utility player off the bench, but he certainly has raw ability to do more.
I agree with you about our current backcourt situation and I neglected to include Milos Teodosic in my initial assessment, but like you said, he's not the long-term answer given his age and inability to stay healthy thus far. Since the PG position carries the burden of playmaking and facilitating as the floor general, I prefer my point guards to have natural, if not preternatural, instincts for the position while also providing at least solid defense, which again is why I advocated strongly for trading for Ricky Rubio when he was available, who only cost the Jazz OKC's lottery-protected 2018 first-round pick. I'd even make due with someone like Jrue Holiday, which is why keeping Patrick Beverley makes sense to me for now unless we're offered a deal we just can't refuse.
As I said, I'm just lacking confidence overall in this draft class for a long-term answer to be found for the Clippers. Trevon Duval arguably has the best profile for what I want out of a PG in this draft class and he's far from perfect right now. I was high on Duval as a 2017 McDonald's All-American and consensus 5-star recruit given his playmaking ability, athleticism, and length in a 6'2" frame. However, he's disappointed thus far at Duke with inconsistent play, questionable decision-making and a lacking perimeter game with shot mechanics that have not shown much of any progress towards improvement as a college freshman. Duval currently projects to be a late first-round or second-round pick.
Personally, I'm more inclined to nab Duval in the second round (if we somehow acquire one) as a reclamation project with tools than I am to spend a lottery pick on Gilgeous-Alexander, but I'm going against consensus opinion at the moment.
Thanks for the kind words, Ranma. We’re still diehard Clipper fans.
I agree with you to some extent about Alexander. I don’t know if he’s a 7-10 apg guy (supernatural passer); he could be, but he’s probably not. But I can see his ceiling being a somewhat better Tyreke Evans—less of a scorer, but better range and better D and better leadership (and, knock on wood, fewer injuries). One thing we all need to remember is that the chances of getting a superstar at #12 or #13—even in a deep draft—are not good. But I do think Alexander’s ceiling is fairly achievable given his age and physical/mental makeup. A 16/4/6 guy that shot and defended pretty well would be a valuable player. It’s nice to dream about drafting the next Kobe or MJ—but I’d be very, very happy to get the next Derek Harper, and that’s more possible in this case.
I totally agree about Beverley, who is a flawed but useful player—and wants to be here. Notice that neither of us are really talking about Bradley. There are aspects of his game I like, but I continue to see his value to us being a sign-and-trade piece. Bradley was talking about asking for $16 million at the beginning of the year; I feel for him. He had a bad, injury riddled year and he’s going into free agency in a year where few teams are more than the MLE under the cap…and I’m sure that’s where he’d like to be. Still, you have to think that a 27 year old two-time All-D player that is one season removed from being a rising star on a good to very good team has value. I think he does—just not for us as a player. But in a sign-and-trade? The name of Bradley Beal has been tossed around. Beal is better than any SG we have because … well, he just is. He’s probably worth his salary. Is he worth it to Washington, who has Satoransky on board … and had Jodie Meeks play 77 games as a rotation player? Would Bradley and the expiring contract of Austin be tempting to them given their financial situation?
I hear you about Duval; I wish his shot would come around. The FT% makes me worry. Of course, if it did, he’d be a lottery pick. My sleeper pick is Jontay Porter. He skipped his final year of high school to play alongside his brother, so he’s the youngest person in the draft. He’s moving up on boards now, unfortunately—I think he’s going to be a very good player in just a couple of years. 6’11”, 240, good rim protector, hits threes, passes well … as a 17 year old.
