Officlal Prospect thread

[panth181]

He can't dribble the ball at all, he struggles to shoot, he's not a great passer and his defence relies more on his athleticism and quickness then any sort of fundamentals. Jeff Green is a much better player and was a much better prospect coming out then James ever could be.

I never said James was as good a prospect. Just that Green at #5 and James completely out of the first round is nonsense.

And it is.

[Devilzsidewalk]

Ive been adoring D James for a cool minute, I may have created the bandwagon even, I'm not sure...high 5?

[shangrila]

I've been warming to Stephenson lately too but I don't think there's any way the team takes and keeps Favors along with Love and Jefferson. Both have been playing extremely well so far this year and it'd be tough to move either to the bench, particularly Love who's been the teams best player ever since he came back from injury.

I just don't see Love being a super effective player when he plays 32+ mins. I think his most effective minute range is somewhere between 28-32 mins. If we play him that much and he knows hes gonna get that much each game then he can concentrate on making them count and will be even more of a beast.

Love in my opinion should be aiming to become a multiple 6th man of the year winner. If he can accept that role then he can be as big a game changer as Manu is for the Spurs.

I guess we'll agree to disagree. I think that Love should be playing as many minutes as he can, as he does so much for the team. He's becoming one of those rare players that don't fit a stereotype, like Magic Johnson (obviously not on that level, but you get what I mean with the whole 6-9 point guard?) and I think the team will suffer a little.

I'll admit though, maybe with Favors it could work if he could be able to play centre in a small ball lineup. If he's 6-10 or bigger I could agree but if he's in that 6-9 range then I think getting a better wing player would be a much better option.

[shangrila]

He can't dribble the ball at all, he struggles to shoot, he's not a great passer and his defence relies more on his athleticism and quickness then any sort of fundamentals. Jeff Green is a much better player and was a much better prospect coming out then James ever could be.

I never said James was as good a prospect. Just that Green at #5 and James completely out of the first round is nonsense.

And it is.

Yeah I guess. I suppose the main thing is that scouts look at him, see his lack of improvement and that he's a senior and figure he's plateaued which is fair enough. Green was drafted equal parts for his skill and potential, but yes I'll agree he was a reach at 5.

[Krapinsky]

He can't dribble the ball at all, he struggles to shoot, he's not a great passer and his defence relies more on his athleticism and quickness then any sort of fundamentals. Jeff Green is a much better player and was a much better prospect coming out then James ever could be.

I never said James was as good a prospect. Just that Green at #5 and James completely out of the first round is nonsense.

And it is.

Yeah I guess. I suppose the main thing is that scouts look at him, see his lack of improvement and that he's a senior and figure he's plateaued which is fair enough. Green was drafted equal parts for his skill and potential, but yes I'll agree he was a reach at 5.

I don't think Green was a reach. If you do that draft today, he still goes top 10. Not to mention he's been playing out of position for the betterment of his team. James shouldn't be a 2nd round pick though.

[Foye]

Yeah I guess. I suppose the main thing is that scouts look at him, see his lack of improvement and that he's a senior and figure he's plateaued which is fair enough. Green was drafted equal parts for his skill and potential, but yes I'll agree he was a reach at 5.

I don't think Green was a reach. If you do that draft today, he still goes top 10. Not to mention he's been playing out of position for the betterment of his team. James shouldn't be a 2nd round pick though.

Agreed.
I didn't understand why they picked Green #5 back then. They should have traded down or up (or just draft the best big available) for a big.

[panth181]

He can't dribble the ball at all, he struggles to shoot, he's not a great passer and his defence relies more on his athleticism and quickness then any sort of fundamentals. Jeff Green is a much better player and was a much better prospect coming out then James ever could be.

I never said James was as good a prospect. Just that Green at #5 and James completely out of the first round is nonsense.

And it is.

Yeah I guess. I suppose the main thing is that scouts look at him, see his lack of improvement and that he's a senior and figure he's plateaued which is fair enough. Green was drafted equal parts for his skill and potential, but yes I'll agree he was a reach at 5.

James absolutely has plateaud physically. But this isn't a bad thing. He's got a pro's body, a chiseled frame, perfect for an NBA SF and even undersized PF against certain matchups in an up tempo system.

And while his shooting percentages haven't improved a ton, he's got all the basic tools there. He doesn't need an overhaul on his outside shot. His ability to attack and shoot off the dribble is much improved from where he was as a freshman. His defense will be there if the effort is there, and with James I believe the effort is there.

His rebounding prowess is a huge plus. We all know big, athletic wings that rebound well in college translate better to the NBA than any other position. And what is James if not exactly this?

All in all, you say he hasn't improved much. I say he doesn't need to improve much to be a starting caliber player at the NBA level, especially if somebody can convince him to focus on his complementary skillset rather than his "go-to" one (that's the one thing Green really has on him - not just the skillset of a complementary player, but also the mindset).

Sure would suck to have to draft one of those in the late first round, eh?

[shangrila]

Green has a lot more skills then James has, even when he got drafted. James, for the record, can't dribble the ball or shoot the ball all that well. For someone who projects as a wing player, that isn't good. My comment about him plateauing was more about his skills, not his physical attributes.

At the time Green at #5 was a reach. He was definitely top 10 but he was more in that 7-10 range then a top 5 pick. It was made even weirder that they drafted him after Durant, but it seems to be working out for them.

[Krapinsky]

Personally, I have less of an issue with Green going 5 and James going 45 than I do Aminu going 5 (or top 10) and James going 45 in the same draft.

[Vindicater]

I guess we'll agree to disagree. I think that Love should be playing as many minutes as he can, as he does so much for the team. He's becoming one of those rare players that don't fit a stereotype, like Magic Johnson (obviously not on that level, but you get what I mean with the whole 6-9 point guard?) and I think the team will suff.

We do agree to disagree then (and who said fans can't be civil)

I agree that Love is a special player who helps out in so many different ways. I would like to see him play more minutes and maybe in future years he will. But at the moment when he just cant seem to impatc a game much after that 32 minute mark.

Basically when I watch Love play I see

Love being amazing in minutes 0-25
Love being average in minutes 26-32
Love being slow and his flaws being exposed in minutes 32+

Remember that more doesnt always mean better.

[john2jer]

I agree with Vindi on Kevin Love. It was definitely the case last year. Not sure where to find the stat, but I remember one being posted about his efficiency dropping the more minutes he played.

It's not AS bad this year, but still partly the case it seems.

[revprodeji]

I think he should be a +/-30min. But that is common for energy guys because they are moving constantly.

[shangrila]

Personally, I have less of an issue with Green going 5 and James going 45 than I do Aminu going 5 (or top 10) and James going 45 in the same draft.

To be fair, Aminu is younger and has atleast shown the potential to be able to handle the ball and shoot. He's also got slightly better physical tools. I admit James should go earlier then 45 and probably will but there's definitely a huge gap, prospect wise, between him and Aminu.

[Krapinsky]

Personally, I have less of an issue with Green going 5 and James going 45 than I do Aminu going 5 (or top 10) and James going 45 in the same draft.

To be fair, Aminu is younger and has atleast shown the potential to be able to handle the ball and shoot. He's also got slightly better physical tools. I admit James should go earlier then 45 and probably will but there's definitely a huge gap, prospect wise, between him and Aminu.

Younger, sure, but I disagree on his physical tools and his ability to handle and shoot compared to James right now. Maybe Aminu has more room to improve, but as of right now I don't see a big difference in their games. Aminu is quicker, but James is stronger.

Honestly, I would actually take Harris and Robinson over Aminu, but I know I am in the minority on that one.

[john2jer]

I'm not a fan of Aminu, especially for the Wolves.

[shangrila]

Personally, I have less of an issue with Green going 5 and James going 45 than I do Aminu going 5 (or top 10) and James going 45 in the same draft.

To be fair, Aminu is younger and has atleast shown the potential to be able to handle the ball and shoot. He's also got slightly better physical tools. I admit James should go earlier then 45 and probably will but there's definitely a huge gap, prospect wise, between him and Aminu.

Younger, sure, but I disagree on his physical tools and his ability to handle and shoot compared to James right now. Maybe Aminu has more room to improve, but as of right now I don't see a big difference in their games. Aminu is quicker, but James is stronger.

Honestly, I would actually take Harris and Robinson over Aminu, but I know I am in the minority on that one.

Well he's taller and has a larger wingspan (atleast I've heard it's around the 7-4 range), so while I'll agree Aminu needs strength it's something that can be worked on unlike the other advantages he has over James physically.

He definitely is a better ball handler then James is. It's not always on display since he spends a fair amount of time at power forward but when he does you can tell he seems more comfortable then James ever has. I do want to point out though that I'm not saying he's a finished product or anything and they're both pretty bad, just saying James is worse.

I like Harris too but I don't know why people don't like Aminu for this team. He's got plenty of potential, has improved a fair bit this season and is the type of long, athletic small forward most say the Love-Jefferson combination needs to survive on the defensive end. I don't expect anyone to put him as a candidate for the Wolves pick but if he were available with the Charlotte pick or they had to trade up a little to get him I think he could be a fit on the team.

[Foye]

I'm ok with any 7 footer who plays decent D with Charlotte's pick (or trading up that pick).

[hard49]

The difference between James and Green/Aminu is that he is not a combo forward, he is an undersized PF that can't rebound. He lacks ball skills. He is improved but he is nowhere near those two as defensive prospects. Heis the 4th best prospect at best on his own team as a senior.

[Krapinsky]

James can't rebound?

[Krapinsky]

More on James -- (from DX database)

15th in for EFF/40
11th in WS/40
8th in Reb/40
25th in Stl/40
22nd in FT/40