tooler wrote:WillyJakkz wrote:The Gordon pick reminds me of the HS draft picks back in the day when some panned out and some didn't, the coordination and footwork of Gordon is what has me worried, his handles are decent, not great like people think, especially going to his left.
I've been teasing you but let me ask you a genuine question: do you think his footwork or ability to go left or shoot the ball is more or less easy to correct than say, defensive ability in general?
From that
Dean on Draft article about Gordon:
That level of 180 [complete positive turnaround as a shooter] simply isn’t possible with respect to basketball IQ, athleticism, or defensive instincts.
Personally what I look (and looked for while doing AAU) is fundamental ability and natural instincts. I look at athletic ability like a 1c out of the 3 UNLESS someone just completely stands out in that department which usually cultivates in HS.
When I see Gordon, I see he has very very good/ great DEF instincts in how he positions his body etc to stay ahead or keep up with his man, OFF I don't quite see the hand and foot coordination in unison and creatively to be able to be an effective threat on that end, I see him as a finisher, a guy who if he can develop a shot can be good at the open 3 (possibly if he develops that range) but he will more often than not need someone to create his offense for him to be maximized to the best of his ability.
With the Exum comparison (strictly as the #4 available pick) I see a guy who needs the ball and if he has it (I see him as a PG now that we have proof and not Youtube footage) he makes things so much easier offensively for teams as he has the ability to get guys easy shots and puts them in easy positions to score, he's super quick, he can finish, and his height/ length at the PG spot is gonna be a tough guard for defenses.
In relation to Payton, I like what I'm seeing in him ALOT, he has no fear defensively and is crafty as a distributor with his abiltiy to change speeds on the fly, I don't like how he handled the physicality and turned over the ball but that can be remedied once he gets strength training so he was an excellent pick and I see him as being either the 2nd or 3rd best PG in this draft (ahead of Marcus Smart or slightly behind but I don't like Smart's character at all and am glad we did not pick him).
So to bottomline my view of Gordon though, HS fundamental talent with superb leaping ability but it comes down to us having the coaching staff in place to develop him into an NBA player (fundamentally) or will he go to the wayside and not get developed and just become better at what he does good already but not improve in the areas he needs it most, Exum didn't need the cultivation Gordon is gonna need which is why I said it was a mistake.
I can't speak for the rest of the guys who feel Gordon wasn't worth #4, you'd have to ask their view.
