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Tip-off is scheduled for 5:30 pm PST inside the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

feed your Clipper jones

Preston is solid.

Boston is just a ridiculous player. My goodness.

Diabate has struggled for whatever reasons.

Darling is a pure shooter. Surprised he hasn’t gotten a call up.

KL2 wrote:Preston is solid.

Boston is just a ridiculous player. My goodness.

Diabate has struggled for whatever reasons.

Darling is a pure shooter. Surprised he hasn’t gotten a call up.

Preston has NBA talent although probably not starter level. Boston is FRP-level trade bait but we should wait until the deadline to make sure KL and PG are gonna make it to the playoffs. Otherwise we might as well keep him.

Darling was great last night too. Somebody's got to scoop him up on us, at least on a 10-day. This is a showcase tournament, and lots of scouts and GMs are there.

As for Diabate, as noted on the other thread, he's not as tall [6'9.25” barefoot] as I thought and although a combine superstar

Michigan forward Moussa Diabate turned heads at the NBA Draft Combine. The 19-year-old posted the lowest body-fat percentage (2.7 percent), the second-highest max vertical reach (12 feet, two inches) and the fourth-fastest shuttle run time (2.90 seconds). His wingspan exceeded 7 feet, two inches, he jumped higher than 36 inches and he reached higher than nine feet without even jumping. He also finished first or second among centers in lane agility, three-quarter court sprint, standing vertical, max vertical and shuttle run.

except for the fast break, that ranginess and athleticism is not really translating to the basketball court yet. Not sure where he fits. To my eye, he lacks explosiveness, which is the real definition of athleticism, the fast-twitch thing.

Need to get open up a lane for Boston on the second unit. If not this year then definitely next season. Mosssa was up and down in this game. I'm still not seeing that one good thing that Preston is good at whether it's a sick handle, great court vision, an excellent shooter, or something. Clipps might want to see how they can keep Darling around and not let him get poached by another team. He's a hell of a shooter. Maybe go ahead and give Moussa that final roster spot and sign Darling to a two way contract

esqtvd wrote:

KL2 wrote:Preston is solid.

Boston is just a ridiculous player. My goodness.

Diabate has struggled for whatever reasons.

Darling is a pure shooter. Surprised he hasn’t gotten a call up.

Preston has NBA talent although probably not starter level. Boston is FRP-level trade bait but we should wait until the deadline to make sure KL and PG are gonna make it to the playoffs. Otherwise we might as well keep him.

Darling was great last night too. Somebody's got to scoop him up on us, at least on a 10-day. This is a showcase tournament, and lots of scouts and GMs are there.

As for Diabate, as noted on the other thread, he's not as tall [6'9.25” barefoot] as I thought and although a combine superstar

Michigan forward Moussa Diabate turned heads at the NBA Draft Combine. The 19-year-old posted the lowest body-fat percentage (2.7 percent), the second-highest max vertical reach (12 feet, two inches) and the fourth-fastest shuttle run time (2.90 seconds). His wingspan exceeded 7 feet, two inches, he jumped higher than 36 inches and he reached higher than nine feet without even jumping. He also finished first or second among centers in lane agility, three-quarter court sprint, standing vertical, max vertical and shuttle run.

except for the fast break, that ranginess and athleticism is not really translating to the basketball court yet. Not sure where he fits. To my eye, he lacks explosiveness, which is the real definition of athleticism, the fast-twitch thing.

He's only 20 years old. His defense, high motor, and switchability is already ahead of schedule and borderline high level. He could've been tired last night because every other G League game he's played in he dominated on both ends of the floor. The team is definitely high on him. Next season he'll have more strength and finish up under the paint on a more consistent basis. He's got a bright future imo. Also there's no way we're trading Boston. You have to let his development play out until year three before you even remotely think about moving him. Plus he's on a cheap contract and we still owe OKC a couple of 1st round picks

Clemenza wrote:

esqtvd wrote:

KL2 wrote:Preston is solid.

Boston is just a ridiculous player. My goodness.

Diabate has struggled for whatever reasons.

Darling is a pure shooter. Surprised he hasn’t gotten a call up.

Preston has NBA talent although probably not starter level. Boston is FRP-level trade bait but we should wait until the deadline to make sure KL and PG are gonna make it to the playoffs. Otherwise we might as well keep him.

Darling was great last night too. Somebody's got to scoop him up on us, at least on a 10-day. This is a showcase tournament, and lots of scouts and GMs are there.

As for Diabate, as noted on the other thread, he's not as tall [6'9.25” barefoot] as I thought and although a combine superstar

Michigan forward Moussa Diabate turned heads at the NBA Draft Combine. The 19-year-old posted the lowest body-fat percentage (2.7 percent), the second-highest max vertical reach (12 feet, two inches) and the fourth-fastest shuttle run time (2.90 seconds). His wingspan exceeded 7 feet, two inches, he jumped higher than 36 inches and he reached higher than nine feet without even jumping. He also finished first or second among centers in lane agility, three-quarter court sprint, standing vertical, max vertical and shuttle run.

except for the fast break, that ranginess and athleticism is not really translating to the basketball court yet. Not sure where he fits. To my eye, he lacks explosiveness, which is the real definition of athleticism, the fast-twitch thing.

He's only 20 years old. His defense, high motor, and switchability is already ahead of schedule and borderline high level. He could've been tired last night because every other G League game he's played in he dominated on both ends of the floor. The team is definitely high on him. Next season he'll have more strength and finish up under the paint on a more consistent basis. He's got a bright future imo. Also there's no way we're trading Boston. You have to let his development play out until year three before you even remotely think about moving him. Plus he's on a cheap contract and we still owe OKC a couple of 1st round picks

Watch on YouTube

Well, the highlights are never in doubt. He runs the floor great. And his age [20] is a plus. But explosiveness is part athleticism and part instinct for the game, and a lot of these guys who picked up basketball later in their youth never quite catch up. My caution is that he may not have a position, like Darius Miles. He may never bulk up enough to bang under the boards, or shoot well enough to be a 4 or stretch-5. Miles put up some encouraging numbers in the NBA at age 19 but never really progressed, blew out a knee and was out of the league by 24.

As for Boston, I look over at Sabonis and think he could be just what we need, and you gotta give up something to get something. I agree, we don't really want to part with any more FRPs so IMO Boston is the shiniest trade chip we have. But again, you gotta be sure KL and PG are gonna make it to the finish line this year before you trade away any more of our future. OTOH, if they are, their window is shrinking fast and no G-league 2nd-rounder is an untouchable.

esqtvd wrote:

Clemenza wrote:

esqtvd wrote:

Preston has NBA talent although probably not starter level. Boston is FRP-level trade bait but we should wait until the deadline to make sure KL and PG are gonna make it to the playoffs. Otherwise we might as well keep him.

Darling was great last night too. Somebody's got to scoop him up on us, at least on a 10-day. This is a showcase tournament, and lots of scouts and GMs are there.

As for Diabate, as noted on the other thread, he's not as tall [6'9.25” barefoot] as I thought and although a combine superstar

Michigan forward Moussa Diabate turned heads at the NBA Draft Combine. The 19-year-old posted the lowest body-fat percentage (2.7 percent), the second-highest max vertical reach (12 feet, two inches) and the fourth-fastest shuttle run time (2.90 seconds). His wingspan exceeded 7 feet, two inches, he jumped higher than 36 inches and he reached higher than nine feet without even jumping. He also finished first or second among centers in lane agility, three-quarter court sprint, standing vertical, max vertical and shuttle run.

except for the fast break, that ranginess and athleticism is not really translating to the basketball court yet. Not sure where he fits. To my eye, he lacks explosiveness, which is the real definition of athleticism, the fast-twitch thing.

He's only 20 years old. His defense, high motor, and switchability is already ahead of schedule and borderline high level. He could've been tired last night because every other G League game he's played in he dominated on both ends of the floor. The team is definitely high on him. Next season he'll have more strength and finish up under the paint on a more consistent basis. He's got a bright future imo. Also there's no way we're trading Boston. You have to let his development play out until year three before you even remotely think about moving him. Plus he's on a cheap contract and we still owe OKC a couple of 1st round picks

Watch on YouTube

Well, the highlights are never in doubt. He runs the floor great. And his age [20] is a plus. But explosiveness is part athleticism and part instinct for the game, and a lot of these guys who picked up basketball later in their youth never quite catch up. My caution is that he may not have a position, like Darius Miles. He may never bulk up enough to bang under the boards, or shoot well enough to be a 4 or stretch-5. Miles put up some encouraging numbers in the NBA at age 19 but never really progressed, blew out a knee and was out of the league by 24.

As for Boston, I look over at Sabonis and think he could be just what we need, and you gotta give up something to get something. I agree, we don't really want to part with any more FRPs so IMO Boston is the shiniest trade chip we have. But again, you gotta be sure KL and PG are gonna make it to the finish line this year before you trade away any more of our future. OTOH, if they are, their window is shrinking fast and no G-league 2nd-rounder is an untouchable.

Moussa is already cut muscle wise, he'll just need to add bulk and probably more muscle which doesn't seem like it'll be an issue for him. And I don't even see a Darius Miles in him. He's way hungrier and has a three ball to his game which he can't unleash yet especially on the main squad. Darius was all alley-opps with some defense mixed in but he could never shoot one lick nor had any go to moves or even any post up moves for that matter. I wouldn't project his career and skillset on Moussa like that.

On paper Boston is a G League second rounder but in reality he was projected top five in the 2021 draft and low key could be playing like a top 10 pick if all these other players weren't on the team that needed minutes. I just don't know how you trade a youngster with sky high potential like this when PG & Kawhi are getting up in age and have major issues staying healthy and playing on a nightly basis. I personally won't be nice and give the team a pass if he blows up and becomes something on another team and we end up with yet another SGA situation version 2.0. Especially when we got this guy for nothing and he's on a super duper cheap contract. We need to win now but Ballmer and company also have to think about what the roster is going to look like when opening up the new arena in 2024

Clemenza wrote:

esqtvd wrote:

Clemenza wrote:
He's only 20 years old. His defense, high motor, and switchability is already ahead of schedule and borderline high level. He could've been tired last night because every other G League game he's played in he dominated on both ends of the floor. The team is definitely high on him. Next season he'll have more strength and finish up under the paint on a more consistent basis. He's got a bright future imo. Also there's no way we're trading Boston. You have to let his development play out until year three before you even remotely think about moving him. Plus he's on a cheap contract and we still owe OKC a couple of 1st round picks

Watch on YouTube

Well, the highlights are never in doubt. He runs the floor great. And his age [20] is a plus. But explosiveness is part athleticism and part instinct for the game, and a lot of these guys who picked up basketball later in their youth never quite catch up. My caution is that he may not have a position, like Darius Miles. He may never bulk up enough to bang under the boards, or shoot well enough to be a 4 or stretch-5. Miles put up some encouraging numbers in the NBA at age 19 but never really progressed, blew out a knee and was out of the league by 24.

As for Boston, I look over at Sabonis and think he could be just what we need, and you gotta give up something to get something. I agree, we don't really want to part with any more FRPs so IMO Boston is the shiniest trade chip we have. But again, you gotta be sure KL and PG are gonna make it to the finish line this year before you trade away any more of our future. OTOH, if they are, their window is shrinking fast and no G-league 2nd-rounder is an untouchable.

Moussa is already cut muscle wise, he'll just need to add bulk and probably more muscle which doesn't seem like it'll be an issue for him. And I don't even see a Darius Miles in him. He's way hungrier and has a three ball to his game which he can't unleash yet especially on the main squad. Darius was all alley-opps with some defense mixed in but he could never shoot one lick nor had any go to moves or even any post up moves for that matter. I wouldn't project his career and skillset on Moussa like that.

On paper Boston is a G League second rounder but in reality he was projected top five in the 2021 draft and low key could be playing like a top 10 pick if all these other players weren't on the team that needed minutes. I just don't know how you trade a youngster with sky high potential like this when PG & Kawhi are getting up in age and have major issues staying healthy and playing on a nightly basis. I personally won't be nice and give the team a pass if he blows up and becomes something on another team and we end up with yet another SGA situation version 2.0. Especially when we got this guy for nothing and he's on a super duper cheap contract. We need to win now but Ballmer and company also have to think about what the roster is going to look like when opening up the new arena in 2024

I hope you're right about Diabate. But we are talking about a kid who played ONE season of college ball and averaged 9 and 6 in 24 minutes. Pretty much EXACTLY what Darius Miles did in the NBA at age 19, come to think of it. [26 mpg, 9.4/5.9]

I think we're agreeing about Boston--I said he was a FRP-level trade chip. But if there's a guy out there who can put us over the top, Ballmer's gonna pull the trigger and Boston is our shiniest nickel.

esqtvd wrote:

Clemenza wrote:

esqtvd wrote:

Well, the highlights are never in doubt. He runs the floor great. And his age [20] is a plus. But explosiveness is part athleticism and part instinct for the game, and a lot of these guys who picked up basketball later in their youth never quite catch up. My caution is that he may not have a position, like Darius Miles. He may never bulk up enough to bang under the boards, or shoot well enough to be a 4 or stretch-5. Miles put up some encouraging numbers in the NBA at age 19 but never really progressed, blew out a knee and was out of the league by 24.

As for Boston, I look over at Sabonis and think he could be just what we need, and you gotta give up something to get something. I agree, we don't really want to part with any more FRPs so IMO Boston is the shiniest trade chip we have. But again, you gotta be sure KL and PG are gonna make it to the finish line this year before you trade away any more of our future. OTOH, if they are, their window is shrinking fast and no G-league 2nd-rounder is an untouchable.

Moussa is already cut muscle wise, he'll just need to add bulk and probably more muscle which doesn't seem like it'll be an issue for him. And I don't even see a Darius Miles in him. He's way hungrier and has a three ball to his game which he can't unleash yet especially on the main squad. Darius was all alley-opps with some defense mixed in but he could never shoot one lick nor had any go to moves or even any post up moves for that matter. I wouldn't project his career and skillset on Moussa like that.

On paper Boston is a G League second rounder but in reality he was projected top five in the 2021 draft and low key could be playing like a top 10 pick if all these other players weren't on the team that needed minutes. I just don't know how you trade a youngster with sky high potential like this when PG & Kawhi are getting up in age and have major issues staying healthy and playing on a nightly basis. I personally won't be nice and give the team a pass if he blows up and becomes something on another team and we end up with yet another SGA situation version 2.0. Especially when we got this guy for nothing and he's on a super duper cheap contract. We need to win now but Ballmer and company also have to think about what the roster is going to look like when opening up the new arena in 2024

I hope you're right about Diabate. But we are talking about a kid who played ONE season of college ball and averaged 9 and 6 in 24 minutes. Pretty much EXACTLY what Darius Miles did in the [b]NBA at age 19, come to think of it.[/b] [26 mpg, 9.4/5.9]

I think we're agreeing about Boston--I said he was a FRP-level trade chip. But if there's a guy out there who can put us over the top, Ballmer's gonna pull the trigger and Boston is our shiniest nickel.

I just don't see the same player in the two at all. The best thing good about DMiles -and I don't want to rip him because I liked him a lot and he's a good guy off the court- was the head tap thing he and Richardson used to do after they scored a sick basket. He never worked on his shot and game really and just relied on his athleticism exclusively. I just don't see that with Moussa who's trying to improve in multi-facets of his game. But we'll just have to agree to disagree. And I don't think Balmer and Frank wants to part with BBJ. I think RoCo and Coffey would be up to bat first if a trade was going down.

Clemenza wrote:

esqtvd wrote:
I hope you're right about Diabate. But we are talking about a kid who played ONE season of college ball and averaged 9 and 6 in 24 minutes. Pretty much EXACTLY what Darius Miles did in the [b]NBA at age 19, come to think of it.[/b] [26 mpg, 9.4/5.9]

I think we're agreeing about Boston--I said he was a FRP-level trade chip. But if there's a guy out there who can put us over the top, Ballmer's gonna pull the trigger and Boston is our shiniest nickel.

I just don't see the same player in the two at all. The best thing good about DMiles -and I don't want to rip him because I liked him a lot and he's a good guy off the court- was the head tap thing he and Richardson used to do after they scored a sick basket. He never worked on his shot and game really and just relied on his athleticism exclusively. I just don't see that with Moussa who's trying to improve in multi-facets of his game. But we'll just have to agree to disagree. And I don't think Balmer and Frank wants to part with BBJ. I think RoCo and Coffey would be up to bat first if a trade was going down.

But if I'm your trading partner, I don't them. I want Boston. If he's not part of the deal I'm hanging up.

Of course I hope you're right about Diabate, but I'm not impressed by G-League numbers. Miles put up the same numbers in the NB F**kingA at the same age as Diabate did in college. Now that's impressive.

And I'm still not sure Diabate has a position. He doesn't shoot the 3-ball, turns it over a lot, is well under 7-feet and skinny as hell.

https://stats.gleague.nba.com/player/1631217/

Darius was a freak of nature who started for us opening night right out of high school (we weren't a great team but still...I think we ended the year 30-52.) So so raw and so fun to watch, but never really put it all together in the NBA. I don't blame him that much though, because not every guy is gonna be a great shooter or ball handler or have the absolute determination to dramatically improve their game. He was picked on raw potential back when high schoolers at the top of the draft were the norm, but you had so little to go on to pick these guys.

Anyway, since he was mentioned I couldn't resist reminiscing a bit. I thought Moussa looked pretty athletic with good defensive instincts/potential but have not seen him all that much TBH. I get the comparisons to Darius but find it hard to compare them as Darius was pretty unique.

madmaxmedia wrote:Darius was a freak of nature who started for us opening night right out of high school (we weren't a great team but still...I think we ended the year 30-52.) So so raw and so fun to watch, but never really put it all together in the NBA. I don't blame him that much though, because not every guy is gonna be a great shooter or ball handler or have the absolute determination to dramatically improve their game. He was picked on raw potential back when high schoolers at the top of the draft were the norm, but you had so little to go on to pick these guys.

Anyway, since he was mentioned I couldn't resist reminiscing a bit. I thought Moussa looked pretty athletic with good defensive instincts/potential but have not seen him all that much TBH. I get the comparisons to Darius but find it hard to compare them as Darius was pretty unique.

What I liked about Diabate from the very first is that he knows where to go and where to stand. You can give him NBA minutes right now at age 21 [in January] and he won't kill you out there with stupid mistakes and blown assignments. That's rare.

But you can teach that--you can't teach explosiveness. As you know, there have been many combine warriors [in the NFL too] whose athleticism is static and theoretical, and they don't make the translation. I'm just wondering if his ceiling is in sight.

I brought Darius in as an example of real NBA-level athleticism at an early age. Right now Diabate's production in G-League [17 and 11] is pretty close to Kabengele's, and you know how that turned out.

esqtvd wrote:

madmaxmedia wrote:Darius was a freak of nature who started for us opening night right out of high school (we weren't a great team but still...I think we ended the year 30-52.) So so raw and so fun to watch, but never really put it all together in the NBA. I don't blame him that much though, because not every guy is gonna be a great shooter or ball handler or have the absolute determination to dramatically improve their game. He was picked on raw potential back when high schoolers at the top of the draft were the norm, but you had so little to go on to pick these guys.

Anyway, since he was mentioned I couldn't resist reminiscing a bit. I thought Moussa looked pretty athletic with good defensive instincts/potential but have not seen him all that much TBH. I get the comparisons to Darius but find it hard to compare them as Darius was pretty unique.

What I liked about Diabate from the very first is that he knows where to go and where to stand. You can give him NBA minutes right now at age 21 [in January] and he won't kill you out there with stupid mistakes and blown assignments. That's rare.

But you can teach that--you can't teach explosiveness. As you know, there have been many combine warriors [in the NFL too] whose athleticism is static and theoretical, and they don't make the translation. I'm just wondering if his ceiling is in sight.

I brought Darius in as an example of real NBA-level athleticism at an early age. Right now Diabate's production in G-League [17 and 11] is pretty close to Kabengele's, and you know how that turned out.

It's interesting, because Kabengele is a guy who I felt like wouldn't be able to fundamentally guard at the NBA level. He didn't seem to have that low post stance/flow/whatever to me, whereas Moussa does. But you are right, his size and overall physical attributes may hold him back or at the very least limit his upside.

I felt like Darius belonged on an NBA floor from day 1 regardless of his rawness because of his physical attributes. I may be remembering with nostalgia, but he was a pretty effective NBA defender right from the get go. And he got enough points and rebounds on pure athleticism from Day 1, as you point out.

Diabete is exactly the size/type of player we want and need. This is the “modern” 4/5—a rangy guy that move fast on PnR’s, and has the wingspan to contest both passing lanes and shots if he plays inside. The consideration is that if you’re within an inch or two in reach and 20-25 pounds in weight, you can hang with the increasingly few truly big, tall, and heavy guys. DeAndre Ayton is a pretty good example. He’s a big dude; 6’11.75” in shoes in pre-draft measurements; 243 pounds. Standing reach of 9’3”. He’s a true C. But, really, he’s an inch to an inch and a half taller and about 20-25 pounds heavier than Diabate. Not a huge difference; measurable, but not that significant--especially for a second unit guy.

Other guys that are so close to be the same are Nic Claxton, Jaxson Hayes, Bobby Portis, Christian Wood, Jarrett Allen and Zach Collins. Some of those guys are a little taller, or a little shorter, or have a little more or less reach. Almost all weighed 215-233; Portis was heavier, but was considered to be “out of shape” when young. I’ve mentioned Trey Lyles as the type/size of guy we need. He had the out of shape moniler hung on him at the draft camp too, but in retrospect he just grew into his body earlier. Or maybe he was fat then and is normal now. Anyway, he’s 6’9” barefoot, 6’10.25” in shoes, and weighed 242 at the combine. He’s listed at 235 now. Last year, he got traded mid season, and still managed to play 75 games and average 10.5 and 5.1 in 20 minutes a game. According to basketball-reference, he played 57% at PF, and 42% at C. So Moussa’s size isn’t an issue.

Darius Miles isn't the right comparison. To compare him to a recent big that, IMO, is a ceiling sort of comparison--Physically, Moussa is a carbon copy of Jalen Smith—so close it’s eerie



The biggest difference is that Smith played a second year of college ball. (They actually were quite similar in their first years.) Smith improved enough to be a lottery pick and now, at 23 (actually 22 and 10 monhts), is a good young rotation player on a decent team. For me, that’s the goal and pretty much ceiling for Diabate. I don’t think Jalen Smith was much, if any better in his second year at Maryland than Moussa is now. I agree that Moussa lacks (or, to be precise, is average in) vertical quickness. He doesn't get up in the air fast enough to be a huge shot blocker. Nic Claxton--he does. Jalen Smith may be a little better, but not much. And that's fine. If he can be 85-90% of what Smith is right now, Diabate will be both a good player and terrific pick.

FWIW, I’d still look into Trey Lyles right now.