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Sean Marks is trolling the league adding a Big 3 of ‘ready to play’ rookies. We came away with a couple steal picks with Thomas and Sharpe.

Cam is definitely going to score in bunches. I like that he can shoot over guys and score in traffic, usually translates. He has good size at guard too and he's a knockdown shooter. His shot looks a little awkward but it goes in. Hopefully he can play some defense.

Sharpe will also be an impact player that will fit right into our team. I love that he finishes strong and is not afraid of contact. He's also a fine athlete as a center, he runs the floor well and will get us easy points in transition. He has a good touch around the rim and also has decent enough footwork. I can see him improving his shot. Rebounds and block shots well. He won't be getting pushed around alot like Allen did (no shade).

Kessler Edwards should make the roster. Can't go wrong with a 6'8 young 3&D wing player. He can shoot the lights out the ball and rebound well.

Yo! The Cam Thomas pick is by far my favorite pick. He is a walking bucket and if he is getting mentoring from the likes of Harden, KD, and Kyrie his future will be bright! Excited to see him get into camp, summer league and showcase his ability to score. To be able to see quality minutes his defense will need to be polished up. Hopefully the veterans push him to be a better defender.

Born_Ready wrote:Yo! The Cam Thomas pick is by far my favorite pick. He is a walking bucket and if he is getting mentoring from the likes of Harden, KD, and Kyrie his future will be bright! Excited to see him get into camp, summer league and showcase his ability to score. To be able to see quality minutes his defense will need to be polished up. Hopefully the veterans push him to be a better defender.

He is a walking bucket in the same way nick young is a walking bucket. in that he loves to chuck, has tons of YOLO moments, isnt all that efficient, and DGAF about anything but getting those buckets.

im skeptical. im not saying awful pick or killing marks on #27 which is always gonna be a guy with flaws, but im not optomistic

Papi_swav wrote:Cam is definitely going to score in bunches. I like that he can shoot over guys and score in traffic, usually translates. He has good size at guard too and he's a knockdown shooter. His shot looks a little awkward but it goes in. Hopefully he can play some defense.

Sharpe will also be an impact player that will fit right into our team. I love that he finishes strong and is not afraid of contact. He's also a fine athlete as a center, he runs the floor well and will get us easy points in transition. He has a good touch around the rim and also has decent enough footwork. I can see him improving his shot. Rebounds and block shots well. He won't be getting pushed around alot like Allen did (no shade).

Kessler Edwards should make the roster. Can't go wrong with a 6'8 young 3&D wing player. He can shoot the lights out the ball and rebound well.

Do you think Sharpe will play? If Blake is back, he would need to find minutes over blake/claxton/smallball

i think regular season he will get some burn when blake sits back to back and maintenance days. i hope he shows enough. but i fear it will be more Green/smallball/claxton and no sharpe.

Calamity had said that Cam reminds him of Marshon Brooks and the more I read/watch scouting reports on him the more I see that.

Still a good pick where we got him, but I do think he's got a very long way to go to be a contributor outside of scoring. The good thing is that his catch and shoot numbers were good (not great) so I can see him thriving with Harden.

My biggest concern isn't just his shot selection, but his BBIQ.

Prokorov wrote:

Papi_swav wrote:Cam is definitely going to score in bunches. I like that he can shoot over guys and score in traffic, usually translates. He has good size at guard too and he's a knockdown shooter. His shot looks a little awkward but it goes in. Hopefully he can play some defense.

Sharpe will also be an impact player that will fit right into our team. I love that he finishes strong and is not afraid of contact. He's also a fine athlete as a center, he runs the floor well and will get us easy points in transition. He has a good touch around the rim and also has decent enough footwork. I can see him improving his shot. Rebounds and block shots well. He won't be getting pushed around alot like Allen did (no shade).

Kessler Edwards should make the roster. Can't go wrong with a 6'8 young 3&D wing player. He can shoot the lights out the ball and rebound well.

Do you think Sharpe will play? If Blake is back, he would need to find minutes over blake/claxton/smallball

i think regular season he will get some burn when blake sits back to back and maintenance days. i hope he shows enough. but i fear it will be more Green/smallball/claxton and no sharpe.

Sharpe will absolutely play. Remember Perry got a bunch of minutes. I think Sharpe will start the season stuck on the bench and slowly bring him in like we did with Claxton. He's a rebounder/shot blocker/enforcer that we need in the paint and he can also move his feet well.

We should still get another vet big man though. I don't feel comfortable with just Claxton/Blake/Sharpe/small ball at the 5.

Paradise wrote:

Watch on YouTube

I watched this video for a 2nd time today. Cam lacks nothing for confidence. Mike does a good job of asking tough questions on a nice way, but concerns over defensive effort seem not to bother him, or even register. I actually think that KD is thrilled for a draft pick like this, although I believe Kevin will not enjoy playing on the same team as Thomas nearly as much as he *thinks* he will. Some superstars think that if all 15 players on their team thought the way they do, they would be unbeatable. But when you don't have the NBA length, strength, speed and skill to pair with that Keyshawn Johnson "gimme the d@&% ball!" attitude, it can ruin a marginal prospect.

I believe MJ's high school coach once joked that if Jordan hadn't found a discipline in which he could be the best in the world that Michael probably would have driven himself insane. That kind of pressure busts pipes, and creates diamonds. Diamonds are awesome in the late 1st, but busted pipes can stink up an entire locker room.

I'm rooting for both guys, because they're ours. I'm hoping for clarity in how we'll utilize Sharpe, and humility from our young gunner.

Sharpe is my favorite pick. Some say he’s not an upgrade to what we have in Jordan but I disagree. He has similar size but that’s where the comparison stops. He is going to be a beast compared to Jordan defensively and is a really good rebounder. Another difference though is going to be his shot development which is improving. Jordan was no outside threat whatsoever. Teams could simply sag off him and disrupt any attempt we made in the paint. Not so with a shooting big. Sharpe at this point reminds me a bit of of a big body Montrez that is not a defensive liability. Offensively he has similarities, very athletic, can post up on a mismatch and has sneaky speed when rotating to the rim. He can handle the ball on a break and is not a plodding center that would quickly look to dump out of that situation. Of course he’s not as nimble and refined as Montrez but he can clean the glass and finish near the rim similarly. On defense though you won’t be pushing this guy around or going over him easily. If his 3 ball develops into the high 30 percent range on a few per game this will be a huge pickup. I know he’s not the post season answer but he can help at least defensively in spurts right now against a big lineup. Would like to keep him and trade Perry if we have to.

HardenGoat wrote:Sharpe is my favorite pick. Some say he’s not an upgrade to what we have in Jordan but I disagree. He has similar size but that’s where the comparison stops. He is going to be a beast compared to Jordan defensively and is a really good rebounder. Another difference though is going to be his shot development which is improving. Jordan was no outside threat whatsoever. Teams could simply sag off him and disrupt any attempt we made in the paint. Not so with a shooting big. Sharpe at this point reminds me a bit of of a big body Montrez that is not a defensive liability. Offensively he has similarities, very athletic, can post up on a mismatch and has sneaky speed when rotating to the rim. He can handle the ball on a break and is not a plodding center that would quickly look to dump out of that situation. Of course he’s not as nimble and refined as Montrez but he can clean the glass and finish near the rim similarly. On defense though you won’t be pushing this guy around or going over him easily. If his 3 ball develops into the high 30 percent range on a few per game this will be a huge pickup. I know he’s not the post season answer but he can help at least defensively in spurts right now against a big lineup. Would like to keep him and trade Perry if we have to.

Maybe he is an upgrade to Jordan, given Jordan didn't play the playoffs or last 25 regular season games. So the bar is low. expecting the more, or even the same as pre-benching Jordan, in year 1, seems EXTREMELY unlikely.

I mean take a look at what we have seen from guys like Jaxson Hayes, Mo Bamba, Wendell Carter Jr., Zack Collins to date, let alone in their first year, and these were guys taken in the lottery the past 3 drafts. Then he also has to compete with Claxton (who is a better defender), Blake (better all-around and from three) and "small ball"/Jeff Green at C which was our 2nd most minutes at center this year.

Add to that he is coming to a win-now team that didnt play youth much in year 1 (Claxton/Alize/etc...). I can see if Claxton is nursing and injury and Blake is out the second of a back to back, but even then Nash chose to start Brown at center over playing Claxton a few times this year when DJ was out pre-Blake.

I dont see a clear path to minutes even if he was better then Jordan year 1, and given what we see from rookie bigs, even lotto rookie bigs, its unlikely he has a big impact year 1 other then finishing dunks claxton would also finish spoon fed from harden

I think Cam makes the most impact in year one. Sharpe won't have the size or strength to compete with other bigs in the NBA. I'm holding Claxton can bulk up and make a jump.

Cam will be a spark plug off the bench. Will get a ton of wide open shots and iso opportunities. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Hello Brooklyn wrote:I think Cam makes the most impact in year one. Sharpe won't have the size or strength to compete with other bigs in the NBA. I'm holding Claxton can bulk up and make a jump.

I think Sharpe comes in as big/bigger then most NBA bigs. its a really small league. I mean, he is 6'11"/270 lbs. Thats a hair bigger then Deandre. Like you, I don't see him playing since as-is Claxton struggles to find minutes and he is clearly ahead on any depth chart. Sharpe would need to take advantage of a Claxton injury + blake missing a back to back to raise eyebrows with a big game on both ends and 3-4 made threes or something like that... but i dont think size is an issue, dude is a bull with height.

Cam will be a spark plug off the bench. Will get a ton of wide open shots and iso opportunities. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Interested to see what he looks like as a catch and shoot guy. he was really like 100% on ball step back shooter in college. He is like a middle-class mans Nick young. thinks he great but he is actually just ok and shoots shots more difficult then he needs to and doesnt make close to enough of them to warrant it.

Marshon brooks comparisons are a bit unfair but not totally offbase. even if he is nick young, nick young has been relegated to the big3 with 50 year old cattino mobley

Hello Brooklyn wrote:I think Cam makes the most impact in year one. Sharpe won't have the size or strength to compete with other bigs in the NBA.

I can't predict what will happen with Cam and Day'ron, but bro Day'ron is 6'11, 265 He's bigger than Jarrett Allen was as a rookie and he's as big as DeAndre Jordan is now. He's got legit NBA center size and weight.

Prokorov wrote:

Hello Brooklyn wrote:I think Cam makes the most impact in year one. Sharpe won't have the size or strength to compete with other bigs in the NBA. I'm holding Claxton can bulk up and make a jump.

I think Sharpe comes in as big/bigger then most NBA bigs. its a really small league. I mean, he is 6'11"/270 lbs. Thats a hair bigger then Deandre. Like you, I don't see him playing since as-is Claxton struggles to find minutes and he is clearly ahead on any depth chart. Sharpe would need to take advantage of a Claxton injury + blake missing a back to back to raise eyebrows with a big game on both ends and 3-4 made threes or something like that... but i dont think size is an issue, dude is a bull with height.

Cam will be a spark plug off the bench. Will get a ton of wide open shots and iso opportunities. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Interested to see what he looks like as a catch and shoot guy. he was really like 100% on ball step back shooter in college. He is like a middle-class mans Nick young. thinks he great but he is actually just ok and shoots shots more difficult then he needs to and doesnt make close to enough of them to warrant it.

Marshon brooks comparisons are a bit unfair but not totally offbase. even if he is nick young, nick young has been relegated to the big3 with 50 year old cattino mobley

Do we have any catch and shoot data on Cam? I tried to find some but came up blank.

Sharpe looks like he can be a solid player to develop but I wouldn't count on it right away. seems like the knock on him is that if he gets caught away from the rim his effectiveness as a defender drops...he's pretty much the opposite of Claxton.

MrDollarBills wrote:

Prokorov wrote:

Hello Brooklyn wrote:I think Cam makes the most impact in year one. Sharpe won't have the size or strength to compete with other bigs in the NBA. I'm holding Claxton can bulk up and make a jump.

I think Sharpe comes in as big/bigger then most NBA bigs. its a really small league. I mean, he is 6'11"/270 lbs. Thats a hair bigger then Deandre. Like you, I don't see him playing since as-is Claxton struggles to find minutes and he is clearly ahead on any depth chart. Sharpe would need to take advantage of a Claxton injury + blake missing a back to back to raise eyebrows with a big game on both ends and 3-4 made threes or something like that... but i dont think size is an issue, dude is a bull with height.

Cam will be a spark plug off the bench. Will get a ton of wide open shots and iso opportunities. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Interested to see what he looks like as a catch and shoot guy. he was really like 100% on ball step back shooter in college. He is like a middle-class mans Nick young. thinks he great but he is actually just ok and shoots shots more difficult then he needs to and doesnt make close to enough of them to warrant it.

Marshon brooks comparisons are a bit unfair but not totally offbase. even if he is nick young, nick young has been relegated to the big3 with 50 year old cattino mobley

Do we have any catch and shoot data on Cam? I tried to find some but came up blank.

Sharpe looks like he can be a solid player to develop but I wouldn't count on it right away. seems like the knock on him is that if he gets caught away from the rim his effectiveness as a defender drops...he's pretty much the opposite of Claxton.

Cam shot 40% in catch and shoot opportunities. That's both from 2 and 3 pt range though. I had been looking to see if there was any further breakdown of those chances but didn't find anything else.

In any case like I've said before, ideally he plays a catch and shoot role whenever Harden is out there with the bench unit. If he accepts and sticks to that role early on he'll be successful. If we ask him to do anything more than that then I'd start to worry.

Prokorov wrote:

Hello Brooklyn wrote:I think Cam makes the most impact in year one. Sharpe won't have the size or strength to compete with other bigs in the NBA. I'm holding Claxton can bulk up and make a jump.

I think Sharpe comes in as big/bigger then most NBA bigs. its a really small league. I mean, he is 6'11"/270 lbs. Thats a hair bigger then Deandre. Like you, I don't see him playing since as-is Claxton struggles to find minutes and he is clearly ahead on any depth chart. Sharpe would need to take advantage of a Claxton injury + blake missing a back to back to raise eyebrows with a big game on both ends and 3-4 made threes or something like that... but i dont think size is an issue, dude is a bull with height.

Cam will be a spark plug off the bench. Will get a ton of wide open shots and iso opportunities. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Interested to see what he looks like as a catch and shoot guy. he was really like 100% on ball step back shooter in college. He is like a middle-class mans Nick young. thinks he great but he is actually just ok and shoots shots more difficult then he needs to and doesnt make close to enough of them to warrant it.

Marshon brooks comparisons are a bit unfair but not totally offbase. even if he is nick young, nick young has been relegated to the big3 with 50 year old cattino mobley

He took a ton of bad shots in college but his catch and shoot 3 rate was good according to Jay Bilas.

I think its a good situation for him. He won't be taking dumb shots with the Big 3 playing.

And he has legit scoring ability and will be taking on every teams 3rd or 4th defender.

Getting some quick buckets off the bench is a low pressure role for him. One I think he can excel in.

Hello Brooklyn wrote:

Prokorov wrote:

Hello Brooklyn wrote:I think Cam makes the most impact in year one. Sharpe won't have the size or strength to compete with other bigs in the NBA. I'm holding Claxton can bulk up and make a jump.

I think Sharpe comes in as big/bigger then most NBA bigs. its a really small league. I mean, he is 6'11"/270 lbs. Thats a hair bigger then Deandre. Like you, I don't see him playing since as-is Claxton struggles to find minutes and he is clearly ahead on any depth chart. Sharpe would need to take advantage of a Claxton injury + blake missing a back to back to raise eyebrows with a big game on both ends and 3-4 made threes or something like that... but i dont think size is an issue, dude is a bull with height.

Cam will be a spark plug off the bench. Will get a ton of wide open shots and iso opportunities. I'm cautiously optimistic.

Interested to see what he looks like as a catch and shoot guy. he was really like 100% on ball step back shooter in college. He is like a middle-class mans Nick young. thinks he great but he is actually just ok and shoots shots more difficult then he needs to and doesnt make close to enough of them to warrant it.

Marshon brooks comparisons are a bit unfair but not totally offbase. even if he is nick young, nick young has been relegated to the big3 with 50 year old cattino mobley

He took a ton of bad shots in college but his catch and shoot 3 rate was good according to Jay Bilas.

I think its a good situation for him. He won't be taking dumb shots with the Big 3 playing.

And he has legit scoring ability and will be taking on every teams 3rd or 4th defender.

Getting some quick buckets off the bench is a low pressure role for him. One I think he can excel in.

yeah, interesting to see how it pans out... the whole "he wont take bad shots on a good team" thing could go either way. Didnt help Nick Young, it did help JR smith. could be either.

"taking on the other teams 3rd or 4th defender" isnt really a thing. if he is on with the big three, he isnt touching the ball to take anyone on. he is a catch and shoot guy in that instance and probably not on the floor as that trio doesnt need an on ball scorer with them. he likely plays with 1-2 of our big three, is again related to more off ball.

His best chances to showcase will be when kyrie or harden or kd sit for rest/injury. and in those cases, he likely wont face a 4th best defender.

im not going to say anything definitive, other then i didnt love him as a college player. he is talented, i dont like the fit, harden makes everyone better and he has spacing around him, so we will see. I just have visions of him chucking up a 40 foot step back in a close game while harden and kyrie are calling for the ball.

Prokorov wrote:

Hello Brooklyn wrote:

Prokorov wrote:
I think Sharpe comes in as big/bigger then most NBA bigs. its a really small league. I mean, he is 6'11"/270 lbs. Thats a hair bigger then Deandre. Like you, I don't see him playing since as-is Claxton struggles to find minutes and he is clearly ahead on any depth chart. Sharpe would need to take advantage of a Claxton injury + blake missing a back to back to raise eyebrows with a big game on both ends and 3-4 made threes or something like that... but i dont think size is an issue, dude is a bull with height.



Interested to see what he looks like as a catch and shoot guy. he was really like 100% on ball step back shooter in college. He is like a middle-class mans Nick young. thinks he great but he is actually just ok and shoots shots more difficult then he needs to and doesnt make close to enough of them to warrant it.

Marshon brooks comparisons are a bit unfair but not totally offbase. even if he is nick young, nick young has been relegated to the big3 with 50 year old cattino mobley

He took a ton of bad shots in college but his catch and shoot 3 rate was good according to Jay Bilas.

I think its a good situation for him. He won't be taking dumb shots with the Big 3 playing.

And he has legit scoring ability and will be taking on every teams 3rd or 4th defender.

Getting some quick buckets off the bench is a low pressure role for him. One I think he can excel in.

yeah, interesting to see how it pans out... the whole "he wont take bad shots on a good team" thing could go either way. Didnt help Nick Young, it did help JR smith. could be either.

"taking on the other teams 3rd or 4th defender" isnt really a thing. if he is on with the big three, he isnt touching the ball to take anyone on. he is a catch and shoot guy in that instance and probably not on the floor as that trio doesnt need an on ball scorer with them. he likely plays with 1-2 of our big three, is again related to more off ball.

His best chances to showcase will be when kyrie or harden or kd sit for rest/injury. and in those cases, he likely wont face a 4th best defender.

im not going to say anything definitive, other then i didnt love him as a college player. he is talented, i dont like the fit, harden makes everyone better and he has spacing around him, so we will see. I just have visions of him chucking up a 40 foot step back in a close game while harden and kyrie are calling for the ball.

Yup, he's a 6'4 Mike James without the nifty passes or effort on D. He's gonna have to humble himself, I love the young man's confidence but he's got to do the dirty work in order to contribute anything positive to our team loaded with elite playmakers. Only then will I really enjoy his offensive prowess.

If Cam is blowing defensive assignments and missing basic passes to open teammates in order to hotdog and shot inefficiently (as he did countless times at LSU), I'm out. That said, or front office is giddy to have him, so I have faith they've seen a side of him we've yet to see.

ecuhus1981 wrote:

Prokorov wrote:

Hello Brooklyn wrote:
He took a ton of bad shots in college but his catch and shoot 3 rate was good according to Jay Bilas.

I think its a good situation for him. He won't be taking dumb shots with the Big 3 playing.

And he has legit scoring ability and will be taking on every teams 3rd or 4th defender.

Getting some quick buckets off the bench is a low pressure role for him. One I think he can excel in.

yeah, interesting to see how it pans out... the whole "he wont take bad shots on a good team" thing could go either way. Didnt help Nick Young, it did help JR smith. could be either.

"taking on the other teams 3rd or 4th defender" isnt really a thing. if he is on with the big three, he isnt touching the ball to take anyone on. he is a catch and shoot guy in that instance and probably not on the floor as that trio doesnt need an on ball scorer with them. he likely plays with 1-2 of our big three, is again related to more off ball.

His best chances to showcase will be when kyrie or harden or kd sit for rest/injury. and in those cases, he likely wont face a 4th best defender.

im not going to say anything definitive, other then i didnt love him as a college player. he is talented, i dont like the fit, harden makes everyone better and he has spacing around him, so we will see. I just have visions of him chucking up a 40 foot step back in a close game while harden and kyrie are calling for the ball.

Yup, he's a 6'4 Mike James without the nifty passes or effort on D. He's gonna have to humble himself, I love the young man's confidence but he's got to do the dirty work in order to contribute anything positive to our team loaded with elite playmakers. Only then will I really enjoy his offensive prowess.

If Cam is blowing defensive assignments and missing basic passes to open teammates in order to hotdog and shot inefficiently (as he did countless times at LSU), I'm out. That said, or front office is giddy to have him, so I have faith they've seen a side of him we've yet to see.

You guys are so down on the kid for no reason. Comparing him to Mike James?

You mean the guy who can't score. Cam Johnson is already 3x the scorer Mike James is.

And you act like D isn't something that can change or be taught.

Every team needs a 6th man type scorer off the bench including this one. Why can't he be the next Levert or Dinwiddie?