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knicksh20b wrote:Surprised you guys like him so much. Most Knicks fans are scared.
bwgood77 wrote:knicksh20b wrote:Surprised you guys like him so much. Most Knicks fans are scared.
I noticed you guys are very high on Monk and Fox/DSJ. I think if you trade Melo this guy would be a nice forward you can guard multiple positions. He may slide in better at PF though when KP played some C.
There is another writeup on DSJ near the bottom of the page combined with the Fultz write up so it starts after all the Fultz comments.
sunsbum wrote:Yo, lets get the next article up, JI does nothing for me. Like 0. Plus, we arent falling low enough to draft him. Gimme Tatum/Jackson. Lez go juice!
Thanks for all your hard work!
darealjuice wrote:Hey guys, sorry about the delay with Tatum's write-up, had some family stuff come up through the weekend and didn't have a chance to finish it off. Shouldn't be too much longer, hopefully I'll have it up tomorrow.
Until then, I'd recommend taking a look at DXs updated profiles and videos on Josh Jackson and Jayson Tatum. Both are probably better than anything I'll put together in all honesty.
we move up):
In all of college basketball last season, I'm not sure there was a defender who saw such a wide variety of matchups. Against Miami, Isaac often checked uber-athletic guard Bruce Brown or long, 3-and-D wing Davon Reed; against Duke, he went against fellow NBA Draft Lottery prospect and gifted shot creator Jayson Tatum; against Notre Dame, he faced off with physical, undersized center Bonzie Colson.
Isaac took all of those players out of their comfort zones. The key was his footwork. On the ball, Isaac is capable of sliding with guards in isolation toward the basket, either cutting off penetration, forcing a pass, or contesting a shot. After contesting, he's terrific at sealing off his man and grabbing rebounds himself, as illustrated by his 25 percent defensive rebounding rate. In pick-and-roll coverage, Isaac uses his quickness to show on guards in order to cut cut them off before recovering onto rollers. He occasionally gets caught on screens, but most of the time he fights his way over them.
Isaac's length also comes in handy on help defense away from the basket, where he has shown the ability to dig on ball-handlers and show a double, then get back to his man to contest. He has disruptive hands and good hand-eye coordination, which helps him force turnovers. He's quick enough to strip ball-handlers in isolation, and can get get into passing lanes to create transition opportunities—in fact, he was the tallest freshman in the country to post a steal rate of at least 2.4 percent. Roaming defenders have extreme value in today's NBA, and Isaac fits the bill.
Of course, playing mobile defensive bigs isn't nearly as effective if they can't provide some rim protection, too. Isaac excels ther: his 6.2 block rate finished in the top 100 of all qualified college basketball players, and he showed well on lane-to-lane weak side rotation as a help defender. He'll need to put on much more upper body strength to be an effective primary rim protector at the NBA level, but his timing already is impeccable, and whoever taught him about defensive verticality did a good job.
Statistically, Isaac was a difference-maker at Florida State, and the company he kept bodes well for his future. He was one of only five high major defenders since 2009-10 to post a 25 percent defensive rebounding rate, six percent block rate, and 2.4 percent steal rate.
bwgood77 wrote:Needless to say, Isaac's ceiling has NBA scouts drooling. One scout told me Isaac is the one player in this draft he sees as being in the rarefied air of "freak NBA athletes," a term the scout reserves for players like LeBron James and Paul George and just a handful of others. So is this label a blessing? Or is it a curse, the idea that in the future this player could outperform his past?
The answer depends, I believe, on the individual. An arrogant young man who hears this talk about himself can get lazy. He can see himself as The Anointed One and not put in the work. This is the type of player for whom the "high ceiling" label will become a curse.
Luckily, this is not the case with Jonathan Isaac. And because of not only his basketball attributes but also his grounded and humble personality, I earnestly believe that five years from now we could look back at the 2017 NBA Draft and say, "How the hell did a player like Jonathan Isaac last all the way until the seventh pick?!?"
"There's no question about it," Isaac's college coach, Leonard Hamilton, told me the other day, agreeing with me on both Isaac having the highest ceiling in this draft and the constitution to live up to the label. "Jonathan is an extremely humble person, but he's also a very hard worker, extremely focused. Of all the players I've coached, he comes in as a youngster with an extremely high basketball IQ, one of the highest basketball IQs I've seen. He sees the game through a mature set of eyes, almost coach-like. He values all the little things that are important about the game."
That's exactly the type of mentality that turns a high-ceiling player into an NBA All-Star. A nationally respected evaluator of high school basketball talent -- someone who has watched Isaac develop for years -- told me what jumps out to him most about Isaac's game is how unselfish he is (he also referred to Isaac as a "mini Kevin Durant," if that gives you any sense of Isaac's ceiling). He's not the type of player who is so concerned about filling up the box score. He knows that he'll get his. Instead, he's out there to make his team better, not just make himself look good.
In an NBA that spreads the floor like it does, Isaac is the type of player who fits the modern league like a glove. He's a near 7-footer who can put the ball on the floor and knock down 3s, which he did at a 35 percent clip in college at an average of nearly three attempts per game. He rebounds in traffic, he makes free throws, he doesn't pass up open looks, he makes the pass that leads to the pass that gets the assist. He was the most effective shot-blocker and rebounder for one of the tallest teams in college basketball. But what Hamilton believes will make him most valuable in the NBA isn't necessarily just his effectiveness close to the rim. It's that he's as comfortable under the rim as he is out on the perimeter -- on offense, and on defense. There's not a big man in this draft who'll be as effective switching on pick-and-rolls as Isaac is.
"He has the versatility to be whatever a coach wants him to be," Hamilton told me. "He's so rare in terms of having such a talented guy who just really, really gets it. He's a confident person. He'll respect authority and respect the culture of the team, but he'll speak up when there's something that needs to be talked about. He's not a 'yes' man. He respects right from wrong. He's the kind of young man parents want their kids to grow up to be."
Look, I am well aware that NBA teams won't be making their selections on draft night based on whether a player seems like a nice young man or a guy with a nose for trouble. The fact that Hamilton raves about how enthusiastic of a cheerleader Isaac was for his teammates when he was on the bench won't register with NBA teams. But you better believe that in a draft that's chock-full of players with all the measurable basketball attributes you'd ever want, it'll be those personal intangibles that can turn a player from "high ceiling" into "franchise cornerstone."
When you take the whole package with Jonathan Isaac -- the phenomenal physical profile, the off-the-charts basketball IQ, the humility, the focus -- he strikes me as the rarest of high-ceiling players. He's the high-ceiling prospect who could also be the safest of bets.
http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/why-mini-kevin-durant-jonathan-isaac-has-the-nba-drafts-highest-ceiling/
Clapping on the bench.... well we know who earl "were tracking high fives" Watson wants the suns to select
bwgood77 wrote:Not that the Magic forum needs any more Isaac insight, but this writeup and thread is much better served in the Magic forum in case anyone was interested in reading......good luck with Isaac guys..he was my favorite prospect.
Skin wrote:bwgood77 wrote:Not that the Magic forum needs any more Isaac insight, but this writeup and thread is much better served in the Magic forum in case anyone was interested in reading......good luck with Isaac guys..he was my favorite prospect.
I was afraid you guys were going to take him. I think both of our teams came away winners though. Jackson was my favorite prospect.
I thought he was going to go #3, but BOS saved us both! Congrats to you bwgood77!
bwgood77 wrote:Skin wrote:bwgood77 wrote:Not that the Magic forum needs any more Isaac insight, but this writeup and thread is much better served in the Magic forum in case anyone was interested in reading......good luck with Isaac guys..he was my favorite prospect.
I was afraid you guys were going to take him. I think both of our teams came away winners though. Jackson was my favorite prospect.
I thought he was going to go #3, but BOS saved us both! Congrats to you bwgood77!
Thanks skin...it's funny..I was just watching espn and they were going over Isaac...and I almost cringe when they talk about what he could be knowing we don't have him..but then again, shortly before that, they said JJ would come in immediately and ask "who do you want me to guard"?
The specifically asked the guy "Who will be the impact players in this draft?" and those were the two talked about. Jackson is actually a better fit for us since we have a great scoring non defensive 3 in Warren, and took 2 PFs last year, and Isaac is star potential for you and by far BPA at that spot. BPA is always a copout though since it's subjective...I think Fultz, Jackson and Isaac are the 3 best prospects..maybe throw Ball in there. I think Fox could become good if he learns to shoot...Tatum kind of bores me but in Boston surrounded by defenders he would shine. In Phx, many wanted him but it would just me another iso guy who couldn't play D very well..we don't need that.
Skin wrote:bwgood77 wrote:Skin wrote:I was afraid you guys were going to take him. I think both of our teams came away winners though. Jackson was my favorite prospect.
I thought he was going to go #3, but BOS saved us both! Congrats to you bwgood77!
Thanks skin...it's funny..I was just watching espn and they were going over Isaac...and I almost cringe when they talk about what he could be knowing we don't have him..but then again, shortly before that, they said JJ would come in immediately and ask "who do you want me to guard"?
The specifically asked the guy "Who will be the impact players in this draft?" and those were the two talked about. Jackson is actually a better fit for us since we have a great scoring non defensive 3 in Warren, and took 2 PFs last year, and Isaac is star potential for you and by far BPA at that spot. BPA is always a copout though since it's subjective...I think Fultz, Jackson and Isaac are the 3 best prospects..maybe throw Ball in there. I think Fox could become good if he learns to shoot...Tatum kind of bores me but in Boston surrounded by defenders he would shine. In Phx, many wanted him but it would just me another iso guy who couldn't play D very well..we don't need that.
Yeah, Josh was definitely a piece that makes your team more complete. The odd thing about PHX fans liking Isaac so much was that from my POV, Bender and Chriss were already in place as your big men. So I saw Isaac's fit in PHX more along the lines of a SF... Don't get me wrong, I think Isaac is a better SF than Tatum, but I only "like" him as a SF. As a PF or C... I LOVE him.
In ORL, my hope is that Isaac will help re-invent the Magic. It's not going to happen over night. A lot of people who worry about Isaac worry about where he fits on Day 1.... but the fact of the matter is that it's going to take time for him to settle into his true position. As his body develops, eventually, I see him as our future Center. Until that happens, I imagine he will be sliding between the 3, 4, and 5 earning minutes all over the floor.
bwgood77 wrote:Skin wrote:bwgood77 wrote:Not that the Magic forum needs any more Isaac insight, but this writeup and thread is much better served in the Magic forum in case anyone was interested in reading......good luck with Isaac guys..he was my favorite prospect.
I was afraid you guys were going to take him. I think both of our teams came away winners though. Jackson was my favorite prospect.
I thought he was going to go #3, but BOS saved us both! Congrats to you bwgood77!
Thanks skin...it's funny..I was just watching espn and they were going over Isaac...and I almost cringe when they talk about what he could be knowing we don't have him..but then again, shortly before that, they said JJ would come in immediately and ask "who do you want me to guard"?
The specifically asked the guy "Who will be the impact players in this draft?" and those were the two talked about. Jackson is actually a better fit for us since we have a great scoring non defensive 3 in Warren, and took 2 PFs last year, and Isaac is star potential for you and by far BPA at that spot. BPA is always a copout though since it's subjective...I think Fultz, Jackson and Isaac are the 3 best prospects..maybe throw Ball in there. I think Fox could become good if he learns to shoot...Tatum kind of bores me but in Boston surrounded by defenders he would shine. In Phx, many wanted him but it would just me another iso guy who couldn't play D very well..we don't need that.
bwgood77 wrote:but Isaac...what scares me is I see potential superstar in him. I just do.
