Countdown to NBA Draft: Prospect Talk

[DaGawd]

This thread finna reach 2,000 by draft night

[NBA Fan 1234]

Mudiay doesn't have bad form though, so his numbers will improve - if form isn't broken, it's the easiest thing to correct.

As for Mario -- he's talented, yes, but he's reliant on his jumper, takes some bad shots (BBIQ?), and I'm pretty sure there were reports about him clashing with his team.

Btw, I liked how Stanley Johnson shot the ball during a workout... pretty good form and a soft touch!!

And I like his toughness, especially on the defensive end... Has a great upside! Maybe the best prospect from the lower 5

It's nice form, but it's a little low - he's gotta work on raising it. He's gotta fix his inability to finish in the paint before I start harping on him again. It's a shame, too, because I really really liked him as a player coming into the season. Especially after his measurements from the USA camp came out where he was built like rookie / soph LeBron in height / weight.

[Besart19]

Mudiay doesn't have bad form though, so his numbers will improve - if form isn't broken, it's the easiest thing to correct.

As for Mario -- he's talented, yes, but he's reliant on his jumper, takes some bad shots (BBIQ?), and I'm pretty sure there were reports about him clashing with his team.

Btw, I liked how Stanley Johnson shot the ball during a workout... pretty good form and a soft touch!!

And I like his toughness, especially on the defensive end... Has a great upside! Maybe the best prospect from the lower 5

It's nice form, but it's a little low - he's gotta work on raising it. He's gotta fix his inability to finish in the paint before I start harping on him again. It's a shame, too, because I really really liked him as a player coming into the season. Especially after his measurements from the USA camp came out where he was built like rookie / soph LeBron in height / weight.

yeah... its a bit lower than the perfect one, but Melo can help in that regard (who according to sport science has the best shooting mechanics in the league - two motion shot)... Kobe has a bit lower arc than the perfect one and he's still won 5 rings with that (at least the first 3 when his shot was a bit flat until he improved his 3pt shot in 2004-05)...

[NBA Fan 1234]

Btw, I liked how Stanley Johnson shot the ball during a workout... pretty good form and a soft touch!!

And I like his toughness, especially on the defensive end... Has a great upside! Maybe the best prospect from the lower 5

It's nice form, but it's a little low - he's gotta work on raising it. He's gotta fix his inability to finish in the paint before I start harping on him again. It's a shame, too, because I really really liked him as a player coming into the season. Especially after his measurements from the USA camp came out where he was built like rookie / soph LeBron in height / weight.

yeah... its a bit lower than the perfect one, but Melo can help in that regard (who according to sport science has the best shooting mechanics in the league - two motion shot)... Kobe has a bit lower arc than the perfect one and he's still won 5 rings with that (at least the first 3 when his shot was a bit flat until he improved his 3pt shot in 2004-05)...

Eh, I'm not sure if I've ever heard of a player helping fix form - it's usually coaches that do it. As for the Kobe comparison - he was also an absolute master at creating separation - footwork, using his body, etc. Kobe's moves were the kinds of things that come once every generation; I doubt Stanley can develop that kind of skill set.

[TrueWarrior]

I keep going back to the Mario Vids. I swear his weaknesses are easily fixable, and have nothing at all to do with mechanics. hes an all around beast. he just likes to dominate the ball. when hes in a system, and not trying to be a top pick, i think hes easily coachable. and nothings broke. hes fun to watch man...

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Mario-Hezonja-6392/

He has meh handle, shot creating ability, and passing/vision. He also has one of the lowest free throw rates. That isnt easily fixable. Some of his lack of driving may be due to role, but how much is a guess. He seems like a great shooter who can throw down some dunks and defend when motivated. The JR Smith comps arent far off, which isnt bad if his attitude becomes a good thing. Mudiay just has more playmaking skill and a higher BBIQ which is what elevates him for me. Hezonja would be great if we already had a playmaker who could set him up, a la LeBron/JR.

Mudiay has no Jumper, gets to the Line, but cant make them. and I dont see the same BBIQ you do. and while I appreciate the TW scouting report, im looking at reports from guys that actually have seen him play before.

Im taking directly from the DX vids my man.

Mudiay's jumper is not broke, but keep repeating it if you must. His BBIQ is very good if you watch him. Larry Brown raves about the kid and he's notoriously strict with his PGs. Mudiay's weaknesses, essentially just his jumper, are much more fixable than Hezonja's. We need a creator/playmaker/penetrator more than another JR type.

[mrpoetryNmotion]

Mudiay doesn't have bad form though, so his numbers will improve - if form isn't broken, it's the easiest thing to correct.

As for Mario -- he's talented, yes, but he's reliant on his jumper, takes some bad shots (BBIQ?), and I'm pretty sure there were reports about him clashing with his team.

Disagree with the bold unless there were some recent vids that I haven't seen.

Slow release and slow load of the jumpshot; doesn't load properly--90 degree angle of the shooting arm, ball not in the correct spot above the head/shooting shoulder; releases after the height of his jump often...center of gravity is off often, creating a lot of drag. That's a lot to fix and develop a consistency for my liking but I think he will at least be serviceable in the next few years with proper teaching.

Hezonja should not be in the discussion for 4.

[darkjedi4z]

If he turns out to reach his potential comparisons of John Wall/Russell Westbrook, then I'd rather we draft a future all-star/superstar than a role player. Can't teach height/size, jump shot can be worked on, I really hope he does well in the workouts so we won't pass on him if he's there at #4.

[Besart19]

It's nice form, but it's a little low - he's gotta work on raising it. He's gotta fix his inability to finish in the paint before I start harping on him again. It's a shame, too, because I really really liked him as a player coming into the season. Especially after his measurements from the USA camp came out where he was built like rookie / soph LeBron in height / weight.

yeah... its a bit lower than the perfect one, but Melo can help in that regard (who according to sport science has the best shooting mechanics in the league - two motion shot)... Kobe has a bit lower arc than the perfect one and he's still won 5 rings with that (at least the first 3 when his shot was a bit flat until he improved his 3pt shot in 2004-05)...

Eh, I'm not sure if I've ever heard of a player helping fix form - it's usually coaches that do it. As for the Kobe comparison - he was also an absolute master at creating separation - footwork, using his body, etc. Kobe's moves were the kinds of things that come once every generation; I doubt Stanley can develop that kind of skill set.

Correct!! Coaches do, because they have more time to spend with them... Players are busy with themselves... I remember when Melo was helping Blake to fix his form and the pull up J move(s) He looked so hopeless, it was funny as hell...

Melo has both talent and confidence... But Johnson can develop into Sprewell type of player... Spree had a soft touch but a bit lower release. In the mid range game, especially off the turnaround J inside the 12 feet isn't a big issue!!

But in nowdays NBA where the 3pt shot has a higher value, the lower arc is a bigger problem than before!

And Johnson could be Melo's complimentary piece at the forward position if we get a star C in Gasol (with Melo at 4)

[NBA Fan 1234]

Mudiay doesn't have bad form though, so his numbers will improve - if form isn't broken, it's the easiest thing to correct.

As for Mario -- he's talented, yes, but he's reliant on his jumper, takes some bad shots (BBIQ?), and I'm pretty sure there were reports about him clashing with his team.

Disagree with the bold unless there were some recent vids that I haven't seen.

Slow release and slow load of the jumpshot; doesn't load properly--90 degree angle of the shooting arm, ball not in the correct spot above the head/shooting shoulder; releases after the height of his jump often...center of gravity is off often, creating a lot of drag. That's a lot to fix and develop a consistency for my liking but I think he will at least be serviceable in the next few years with proper teaching.

Hezonja should not be in the discussion for 4.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QCcsR9ZlLk[/youtube]

It's not bad form. Elbow in, nice follow through, and he's squared up. Check the first shot - best angle. It's not perfect form, but it's far from broken. Go through the first shot in slow motion. I've done it a few times and can't see anything wrong with it. Maybe a slightly late release, but that's it?

[Besart19]

Mudiay doesn't have bad form though, so his numbers will improve - if form isn't broken, it's the easiest thing to correct.

As for Mario -- he's talented, yes, but he's reliant on his jumper, takes some bad shots (BBIQ?), and I'm pretty sure there were reports about him clashing with his team.

Disagree with the bold unless there were some recent vids that I haven't seen.

Slow release and slow load of the jumpshot; doesn't load properly--90 degree angle of the shooting arm, ball not in the correct spot above the head/shooting shoulder; releases after the height of his jump often...center of gravity is off often, creating a lot of drag. That's a lot to fix and develop a consistency for my liking but I think he will at least be serviceable in the next few years with proper teaching.

Hezonja should not be in the discussion for 4.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QCcsR9ZlLk[/youtube]

It's not bad form. Elbow in, nice follow through, and he's squared up. Check the first shot - best angle. It's not perfect form, but it's far from broken. Go through the first shot in slow motion. I've done it a few times and can't see anything wrong with it. Maybe a slightly late release, but that's it?

It's not broken at all... just not enough sharp shot... With intensive training he can improve that a lot... at least the mid-range shot and the pull-up J... And with his ability to post up smaller players, that would be huge for him in the future

[NBA Fan 1234]

http://www.youtubeslow.com/watch?v=4QCcsR9ZlLk

Slow motion is better than no motion

[92Knicksfan93]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Ana ... raft-5021/

Most draft analytic models have Russell as #1 prospect, followed by Towns, Winslow, and Okafor.

The consensus of those analytic guys actually came out like this:

1 D'Angelo Russell
2 Jahlil Okafor
3 Karl-Anthony Towns
4 Justise Winslow
5 Stanley Johnson
5 Kevon Looney
7 Myles Turner
7 Tyus Jones
9 Delon Wright
10 Frank Kaminsky
11 Christian Wood
12 Bobby Portis
13 Cameron Payne
14 Kelly Oubre
15 Jerian Grant
16 Willie Cauley-Stein
17 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
18 Chris McCullough
19 R.J. Hunter
20 Montrezl Harrell
21 Sam Dekker
22 Richaun Holmes
23 Robert Upshaw
24 Trey Lyles
25 Jarell Martin
26 Terry Rozier
27 Justin Anderson
28 Wesley Saunders
28 Jordan Mickey
30 Vince Hunter

Been saying Winslow is a top 4 prospect. I disagree with Kevon Looney whose as raw as Marvin Williams was coming out of UNC. I hate when guys like Looney leave early as they dilute the quality of the NBA product.

[mrpoetryNmotion]

Mudiay doesn't have bad form though, so his numbers will improve - if form isn't broken, it's the easiest thing to correct.

As for Mario -- he's talented, yes, but he's reliant on his jumper, takes some bad shots (BBIQ?), and I'm pretty sure there were reports about him clashing with his team.

Disagree with the bold unless there were some recent vids that I haven't seen.

Slow release and slow load of the jumpshot; doesn't load properly--90 degree angle of the shooting arm, ball not in the correct spot above the head/shooting shoulder; releases after the height of his jump often...center of gravity is off often, creating a lot of drag. That's a lot to fix and develop a consistency for my liking but I think he will at least be serviceable in the next few years with proper teaching.

Hezonja should not be in the discussion for 4.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QCcsR9ZlLk[/youtube]

It's not bad form. Elbow in, nice follow through, and he's squared up. Check the first shot - best angle. It's not perfect form, but it's far from broken. Go through the first shot in slow motion. I've done it a few times and can't see anything wrong with it. Maybe a slightly late release, but that's it?

That first shot looked better from that angle.

The other ones look like he may been just screwing around, but still see signs of a late release...and a sloppy load into the shooting position. Nitpicky, but it determines so much. Don't know why but it looks like he aims a lot of his shots in there.

That being said, if he's the last available of the 4 you pick him and don't look back because he looks like a young stud in every other facet of the game.

[NBA Fan 1234]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/Ana ... raft-5021/

Most draft analytic models have Russell as #1 prospect, followed by Towns, Winslow, and Okafor.

The consensus of those analytic guys actually came out like this:

1 D'Angelo Russell
2 Jahlil Okafor
3 Karl-Anthony Towns
4 Justise Winslow
5 Stanley Johnson
5 Kevon Looney
7 Myles Turner
7 Tyus Jones
9 Delon Wright
10 Frank Kaminsky
11 Christian Wood
12 Bobby Portis
13 Cameron Payne
14 Kelly Oubre
15 Jerian Grant
16 Willie Cauley-Stein
17 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
18 Chris McCullough
19 R.J. Hunter
20 Montrezl Harrell
21 Sam Dekker
22 Richaun Holmes
23 Robert Upshaw
24 Trey Lyles
25 Jarell Martin
26 Terry Rozier
27 Justin Anderson
28 Wesley Saunders
28 Jordan Mickey
30 Vince Hunter

Been saying Winslow is a top 4 prospect. I disagree with Kevon Looney whose as raw as Marvin Williams was coming out of UNC. I hate when guys like Looney leave early as they dilute the quality of the NBA product.

That article / stats only used the guys who played in college -- ignored Mudiay, Porzingis, Hezonja, etc.

Williams was less raw than Looney is, but I get what you're saying.

[92Knicksfan93]

I dont know what youre basing this off of but I have seen him play plenty, he can certainly play right now. He already logs a good amount of minutes against good competition professionally at 19. He certainly needs to get on an NBA strength and conditioning program but he can step on the court now and play.

Right now he looks a skinnier less coordinated version of Andris Biedrins. If he looked like 2007 Biedrins (the one who had the ability to put up 21 pts 14 rebounds and 3 blocks while matching up against Pau Gasol, I'd sign off on it).

You obviously havent watched him play. The only thing they have in common is they both are built similar and from Latvia.

I've watched his draft express cutups in doing research on him. In my eyes Biedrins was the fairest comp I could come up with having seen a ton of his Warriors games from the mid-late 00s. I honestly had no idea both players were from Latvia until you brought it up. Where Porzingis is from had no influence on my comparison-it was how he looked and what his playing style sorta reminded me of.

[NBA Fan 1234]

Right now he looks a skinnier less coordinated version of Andris Biedrins. If he looked like 2007 Biedrins (the one who had the ability to put up 21 pts 14 rebounds and 3 blocks while matching up against Pau Gasol, I'd sign off on it).

You obviously havent watched him play. The only thing they have in common is they both are built similar and from Latvia.

I've watched his draft express cutups in doing research on him. In my eyes Biedrins was the fairest comp I could come up with having seen a ton of his Warriors games from the mid-late 00s. I honestly had no idea both players were from Latvia until you brought it up. Where Porzingis is from had no influence on my comparison-it was how he looked and what his playing style sorta reminded me of.

He's a significantly better offensive player than Biedrins ever was. As someone who has been watching him since before last year's draft, I can say that they play nothing alike on offense. Only defensively because of the quick feet, slight frame, and shot blocking ability.

[Besart19]

http://www.youtubeslow.com/watch?v=4QCcsR9ZlLk

Slow motion is better than no motion

Hopla still holds part-time summer trainings

A month with Hopla woudn't be bad for him... He might suprise us with a 3pt shot coming into the training camp

If he plays PG, a corner 3pt shot would be more than enough in the triangle, unless we play him as a lead guard (then he has to be good from the wings and pull up J, too)... I like Dave Hopla a lot... Idn why Phil didn't gave him a new contract

[92Knicksfan93]

The consensus of those analytic guys actually came out like this:

1 D'Angelo Russell
2 Jahlil Okafor
3 Karl-Anthony Towns
4 Justise Winslow
5 Stanley Johnson
5 Kevon Looney
7 Myles Turner
7 Tyus Jones
9 Delon Wright
10 Frank Kaminsky
11 Christian Wood
12 Bobby Portis
13 Cameron Payne
14 Kelly Oubre
15 Jerian Grant
16 Willie Cauley-Stein
17 Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
18 Chris McCullough
19 R.J. Hunter
20 Montrezl Harrell
21 Sam Dekker
22 Richaun Holmes
23 Robert Upshaw
24 Trey Lyles
25 Jarell Martin
26 Terry Rozier
27 Justin Anderson
28 Wesley Saunders
28 Jordan Mickey
30 Vince Hunter

Been saying Winslow is a top 4 prospect. I disagree with Kevon Looney whose as raw as Marvin Williams was coming out of UNC. I hate when guys like Looney leave early as they dilute the quality of the NBA product.

That article / stats only used the guys who played in college -- ignored Mudiay, Porzingis, Hezonja, etc.

Williams was less raw than Looney is, but I get what you're saying.

Even if we factor in the two euros and Mudiay I'd still have Winslow in my top 4 ahead of Russell and both Euro prospects as a matter of preference. The only player I would be upset with is Porzingis though.

[NBA Fan 1234]

Been saying Winslow is a top 4 prospect. I disagree with Kevon Looney whose as raw as Marvin Williams was coming out of UNC. I hate when guys like Looney leave early as they dilute the quality of the NBA product.

That article / stats only used the guys who played in college -- ignored Mudiay, Porzingis, Hezonja, etc.

Williams was less raw than Looney is, but I get what you're saying.

Even if we factor in the two euros and Mudiay I'd still have Winslow in my top 4 ahead of Russell and both Euro prospects as a matter of preference. The only player I would be upset with is Porzingis though.

I wouldn't take Winslow above Porzingis or Mudiay...to each his own, though.

[Jeff Van Gully]

i just read chris bosh as a comparison for porzingis... and so far, that's the best comparison i can think of.

Chris Bosh averaged 11.5 pts, 7.4 rbds, 1.4 blks (3.1 block%) in 33minutes/game with a 15 PER his rookie season. Can Porzingis come in and do that his rookie season? I highly doubt it.

who knows? but it was a comparison of skills and playing style. not first NBA season contributions.