The official Walker Kessler thread

[Krapinsky]

Here’s another one. Watch the breakdown of his mobility as a weakness. It’s ugly folks. Really ugly. Now imagine NBA level guards.

Watch on YouTube

[KGdaBom]

Here’s another one. Watch the breakdown of his mobility as a weakness. It’s ugly folks. Really ugly. Now imagine NBA level guards.

Watch on YouTube

Keep trying. Another one of your cherry picked videos. First thing it says is GOOD DISCIPLINE which you were trying to act like he had none. Second thing it said was solid vertical jump. You said he can't jump. Third thing I notice was good reaction/ground coverage for his size. Does a decent job moving his feet against smaller drivers. That doesn't sound like a guy who has poor quickness and mobility. I'm loving it. It gets better and better. Physical forwards may not be able to get by him 1v 1. then it talks about him having mobility to occasionally switch/contest jumpers. So decent, but not quite perfect there. Keep on making the case for all of us who like him. I will continue watching the video. It is a strengths and weaknesses video so I'm sure it will support something you said negative about him.
OK I finished watching. The video talked out of both sides of it's mouth. Praised his quickness and mobility in the strengths section then said it could be better in the weaknesses. Shifty drivers sometimes got past him. OMG sometimes shifty drivers get past him. How terrible. Shifty drivers sometimes get past every defender who ever played. Overall this video was far more positive about him than negative. I really enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.

[Neeva]

Miami players made him look really bad but in regular season he looked great against Kentucky,Arkansas, texas a&m etc.

I really hope that Connelly’s first draftee for the wolves isn’t a bust but I still can’t believe Connelly picked Nnaji and RJ Hampton over Jaden McDaniels in 2020 draft. It was great for the wolves obviously,

[younggunsmn]

Interesting thought: Kessler is comparable to Naz Reid in that they both had absurdly high body fat percentages at the combine. As Kessler improves his eating habits as a professional, what body transformations could we see?

Really? He sure doesn't look that way. All I know about Kessler is he got so good because of obviously his size, but also his eating, breathing and sleeping basketball.

14.7% (Reid's was 14.0%)

Weirdly this has me a bit concerned but also optimistic, because it shows there's a lot of loom for physical improvement.
Also, easier to cut muscles into a fat guy than build them up on a skinny guy.

Naz as an example, he looked a ton quicker in year 3 than year 1.
I don't know if he has the NBA body yet to be successful, but at 20, with basketball as a full time job and world class training and culinary artists available to him, I'm optimistic that he can be successful.

[younggunsmn]

Here’s another one. Watch the breakdown of his mobility as a weakness. It’s ugly folks. Really ugly. Now imagine NBA level guards.

Watch on YouTube

I watched this before the draft, and this kind of tape is likely what pushed him out of the lottery and into the 20's.
He's out of position and takes bad angles on those plays.
But there's also plenty of tape where he takes good angles and recovers well, like the LSU game where he was phenomenal against real NBA talent like Eason.

I remember the 2 games early in the year where Jonas Valanciunas put on an absolute clinic in walling off drivers against us, and he's not the most mobile guy either.

Reality is, even if I didn't like Kessler, would be hard for me to get too mad about anyone they potentially passed on because I wasn't super excited about anyone left at 19 anyway.

[LibertyPrime]

Let me ask this:

Is this pick considered a miss if Towns and Kessler don’t share the floor regularly? Towns has averaged 33-37 MPG, and is particularly healthy for a big man, rarely missing games. If Kessler is exclusively a back up, is this too big an investment? Or does this indicate Finch plans to play Karl as a PF more this season?

Honestly, if you can get a reliable rotation player out of the #19 pick in the draft you're doing fine. That's what he needs to be to be considered a win in my book.

I don't expect he'll start for a couple years; it's a cliche' (but one with an ounce of truth) that most bigs take time to adjust to the league. I think he'll be a defensive super sub for a while while the shot comes around. That won't make me think of him as a bust. That 15-20 minutes of bench play every night makes or breaks NBA teams, and if having Walker come off the bench shaves 5 points off the other bench's scoring every night, that makes him worth this pick.

So the pick of Kessler doesn't necessarily mean Karl moves to PF. If he does, whether Walker is the guy who takes the starting 5 spot is up in the air, and should be for now until the fall roster gets settled - you don't draft a guy at #19 to be an immediate starter. There's a general need for more size and rebounding generally, whether it be from the starters or not; we can't continue having Naz as primary big off the bench with his low rebounding numbers and aversion to D. I think it's indicative of a sea change more than a specific change.

[younggunsmn]

Miami players made him look really bad but in regular season he looked great against Kentucky,Arkansas, texas a&m etc.

I really hope that Connelly’s first draftee for the wolves isn’t a bust but I still can’t believe Connelly picked Nnaji and RJ Hampton over Jaden McDaniels in 2020 draft. It was great for the wolves obviously,

Nnaji is going to be good (46% 3PT% last year), its just going to be hard for him to find playing time in Denver, and he did use Hampton to land Aaron Gordon.
And a lot of teams passed on McDaniels. I still can't believe we traded up for Bolmaro over him.

[Krapinsky]

Here’s another one. Watch the breakdown of his mobility as a weakness. It’s ugly folks. Really ugly. Now imagine NBA level guards.

Watch on YouTube

I watched this before the draft, and this kind of tape is likely what pushed him out of the lottery and into the 20's.
He's out of position and takes bad angles on those plays.
But there's also plenty of tape where he takes good angles and recovers well, like the LSU game where he was phenomenal against real NBA talent like Eason.

I remember the 2 games early in the year where Jonas Valanciunas put on an absolute clinic in walling off drivers against us, and he's not the most mobile guy either.

Reality is, even if I didn't like Kessler, would be hard for me to get too mad about anyone they potentially passed on because I wasn't super excited about anyone left at 19 anyway.

I get this line of thinking. My main draft crushes were mostly off the board, but I think Branham was a player that still had some significant upside that we passed up on. I saw him as a Beasley replacement with upside to be better than Beasley based on his youth, age, and rapid ascent. Taking Moore Jr. softens that blow a bit, as I like Moore Jr. as a glue guy/Jack of all trades, master of none pick.

I also get wanting a developmental big in the front court. You have to spread your resources around the roster. I just think the gap between Mark Davis and Kessler is a large one, much larger than the 8 pick difference between the two would suggest.

[Baseline81]

I get this line of thinking. My main draft crushes were mostly off the board, but I think Branham was a player that still had some significant upside that we passed up on. I saw him as a Beasley replacement with upside to be better than Beasley based on his youth, age, and rapid ascent. Taking Moore Jr. softens that blow a bit, as I like Moore Jr. as a glue guy/Jack of all trades, master of none pick.

I also get wanting a developmental big in the front court. You have to spread your resources around the roster. I just think the gap between Mark Davis and Kessler is a large one, much larger than the 8 pick difference between the two would suggest.

Think you meant Mark Williams.

I, too, am not sold on Kessler. Only I've given up relaying my thoughts, otherwise KGdaBom and his tunnel vision swoops in. For him, Kessler is a sure-fire prospect. Nothing can change his mind.

[Krapinsky]

I get this line of thinking. My main draft crushes were mostly off the board, but I think Branham was a player that still had some significant upside that we passed up on. I saw him as a Beasley replacement with upside to be better than Beasley based on his youth, age, and rapid ascent. Taking Moore Jr. softens that blow a bit, as I like Moore Jr. as a glue guy/Jack of all trades, master of none pick.

I also get wanting a developmental big in the front court. You have to spread your resources around the roster. I just think the gap between Mark Davis and Kessler is a large one, much larger than the 8 pick difference between the two would suggest.

Think you meant Mark Williams.

I, too, am not sold on Kessler. Only I've given up relaying my thoughts, otherwise KGdaBom and his tunnel vision swoops in. For him, Kessler is a sure-fire prospect. Nothing can change his mind.

Doh! Yes Williams, not to be confused with the Raiders' owner with the funny haricut. Some of these prospects are giving me trouble this year. I have caught myself calling Wendell Moore -- Wes Moore a number of time already.

[Nick K]

Really? He sure doesn't look that way. All I know about Kessler is he got so good because of obviously his size, but also his eating, breathing and sleeping basketball.

14.7% (Reid's was 14.0%)

Weirdly this has me a bit concerned but also optimistic, because it shows there's a lot of loom for physical improvement.
Also, easier to cut muscles into a fat guy than build them up on a skinny guy.

Naz as an example, he looked a ton quicker in year 3 than year 1.
I don't know if he has the NBA body yet to be successful, but at 20, with basketball as a full time job and world class training and culinary artists available to him, I'm optimistic that he can be successful.

This 14.7% body fat on Kessler really surprised me. Reid looked far heavier than Kessler 1st year. Kessler doesn't look "fat" to me. I wonder if that # is even right?

[jpatrick]

I get this line of thinking. My main draft crushes were mostly off the board, but I think Branham was a player that still had some significant upside that we passed up on. I saw him as a Beasley replacement with upside to be better than Beasley based on his youth, age, and rapid ascent. Taking Moore Jr. softens that blow a bit, as I like Moore Jr. as a glue guy/Jack of all trades, master of none pick.

I also get wanting a developmental big in the front court. You have to spread your resources around the roster. I just think the gap between Mark Davis and Kessler is a large one, much larger than the 8 pick difference between the two would suggest.

Think you meant Mark Williams.

I, too, am not sold on Kessler. Only I've given up relaying my thoughts, otherwise KGdaBom and his tunnel vision swoops in. For him, Kessler is a sure-fire prospect. Nothing can change his mind.

Doh! Yes Williams, not to be confused with the Raiders' owner with the funny haricut. Some of these prospects are giving me trouble this year. I have caught myself calling Wendell Moore -- Wes Moore a number of time already.

Wasn’t Mark Davis also a Wolves second round pick a long time ago? Athletic wing that couldn’t shoot maybe.

I too think the gap between Williams and Kessler is large. I think Williams moves better and is longer. Gives real Gobert vibes.

But my issue is taking a player in the middle of the first round that I just don’t see as a playoff asset. And, yea, we needed rim protection, but it seems those type of backup centers are available each offseason (I see you Hartenstein).

In the end, it doesn’t matter. If Kessler/Moore become rotation pieces, that’s a win for the 22/26 picks. I just like shooting for a bit more upside.

[KGdaBom]

Really? He sure doesn't look that way. All I know about Kessler is he got so good because of obviously his size, but also his eating, breathing and sleeping basketball.

14.7% (Reid's was 14.0%)

Weirdly this has me a bit concerned but also optimistic, because it shows there's a lot of loom for physical improvement.
Also, easier to cut muscles into a fat guy than build them up on a skinny guy.

Naz as an example, he looked a ton quicker in year 3 than year 1.
I don't know if he has the NBA body yet to be successful, but at 20, with basketball as a full time job and world class training and culinary artists available to him, I'm optimistic that he can be successful.

He's already very good despite being a little pudgy I guess. He doesn't look it. I'm expecting him to get better and better.

[KGdaBom]

Here’s another one. Watch the breakdown of his mobility as a weakness. It’s ugly folks. Really ugly. Now imagine NBA level guards.

Watch on YouTube

I watched this before the draft, and this kind of tape is likely what pushed him out of the lottery and into the 20's.
He's out of position and takes bad angles on those plays.
But there's also plenty of tape where he takes good angles and recovers well, like the LSU game where he was phenomenal against real NBA talent like Eason.

I remember the 2 games early in the year where Jonas Valanciunas put on an absolute clinic in walling off drivers against us, and he's not the most mobile guy either.

Reality is, even if I didn't like Kessler, would be hard for me to get too mad about anyone they potentially passed on because I wasn't super excited about anyone left at 19 anyway.

Watching this Analysis I thought it was way more positive than negative. I came away from it feeling even better about him. You can always find some bad plays and good plays. His good plays seem to easily outnumber his bad.

[KGdaBom]

I get this line of thinking. My main draft crushes were mostly off the board, but I think Branham was a player that still had some significant upside that we passed up on. I saw him as a Beasley replacement with upside to be better than Beasley based on his youth, age, and rapid ascent. Taking Moore Jr. softens that blow a bit, as I like Moore Jr. as a glue guy/Jack of all trades, master of none pick.

I also get wanting a developmental big in the front court. You have to spread your resources around the roster. I just think the gap between Mark Davis and Kessler is a large one, much larger than the 8 pick difference between the two would suggest.

Think you meant Mark Williams.

I, too, am not sold on Kessler. Only I've given up relaying my thoughts, otherwise KGdaBom and his tunnel vision swoops in. For him, Kessler is a sure-fire prospect. Nothing can change his mind.

His college production was incredible and his game film looks really good. I'm not saying sure fire can't miss prospect, but I see no reason for anything other than optimism.

[Klomp]

I this is on track… that’s the nuts and bolts of filling some critical team needs, and to be successful, he will need to do it efficiently and without being a hack. Who he plays with will be determined

I think the flaw in this argument is that it fails to address the flaw in the scheme. The only way Kessler stays a backup is if we bring in a legit big at either PF or C who can play next to KAT. Moreover. Finch kept talking about not having the size to do things like defend the paint and rebound. I seriously doubt he squanders it when he finally gets it. Some people talked about Naz moving to the 4 with Kessler at the 5, (I like this idea as I have been campaigning for Naz to the 4 for over a year.) I could see this happening as Finch played either Knight or Naz with Monroe for brief spurts during the Covid catastrophe last year. Either way, I doubt we willing choose to keep playing small ball.

If I never see the Wolves play small ball again it will still be too soon for me. I get nightmares just thinking about it.

It's not going anywhere, don't be fooled. This draft pick is about diversifying their options, not making a drastic schematic shift.

[KGdaBom]

I think the flaw in this argument is that it fails to address the flaw in the scheme. The only way Kessler stays a backup is if we bring in a legit big at either PF or C who can play next to KAT. Moreover. Finch kept talking about not having the size to do things like defend the paint and rebound. I seriously doubt he squanders it when he finally gets it. Some people talked about Naz moving to the 4 with Kessler at the 5, (I like this idea as I have been campaigning for Naz to the 4 for over a year.) I could see this happening as Finch played either Knight or Naz with Monroe for brief spurts during the Covid catastrophe last year. Either way, I doubt we willing choose to keep playing small ball.

If I never see the Wolves play small ball again it will still be too soon for me. I get nightmares just thinking about it.

It's not going anywhere, don't be fooled. This draft pick is about diversifying their options, not making a drastic schematic shift.

I hope to never see small ball again. I probably will and I will hate it when I do. I will still cheer for the Wolves even when they're playing small ball.

[Klomp]

But my issue is taking a player in the middle of the first round that I just don’t see as a playoff asset. And, yea, we needed rim protection, but it seems those type of backup centers are available each offseason (I see you Hartenstein).

22 is in the last third of the 1st, not the middle.

And Hartenstein could get the MLE this year, so it might be a $40 million investment. I'd rather go the cheaper option. It's not going to be a heavy role.

[jpatrick]

But my issue is taking a player in the middle of the first round that I just don’t see as a playoff asset. And, yea, we needed rim protection, but it seems those type of backup centers are available each offseason (I see you Hartenstein).

22 is in the last third of the 1st, not the middle.

And Hartenstein could get the MLE this year, so it might be a $40 million investment. I'd rather go the cheaper option. It's not going to be a heavy role.

I get this. And, especially if we plan on using cap space summer 2023, I think I may agree after thinking it over.

[Dewey]

Kessler clearly has good sense, but he will have a rough first year if overplayed IMO. His conditioning will need time to adapt to the NBA, needs to refine a baby/jump hook inside, hit the mid-range and pop form 3-pt line, and hit his free-throws so he isn't a hack-a shaq big that takes a beating; etc.. Lots of work to do, but I like his no-whine attitude and feel for being in the right places...