PrimeThyme wrote:Knightro wrote:Man that's tough.
I definitely agree that Mobley needs to add size and strength, but the actual skill gap between he and Bamba seems massive to me.
Bamba at Texas only had 10 assists his entire freshman season. Mobley has 60.
Mo racked up a ton of rebounds and blocks because of his wingspan, but outside of lobs and scoring off offensive rebounds, he really showed very little ability to do much of anything offensively with the ball in his hands at Texas. If you asked him to take even one dribble, he really had a hard time.
I'd even go so far as to say Bamba's shot transformation (which is still very much a work in progress to this day) didn't even happen until he hooked up with Drew Hanlen who completely overhauled his shot mechanics in the summer between his final college game and the draft.
Mobley has tangible skill as a short roll man, both as a passer and as a shotmaker which is something Bamba is unlikely to ever possess.
Candidly, I don't really want my bigs posting up all that much anyway, so the fact that Mobley is moved off his spot relatively easily right now isn't a huge deal for me either.
The Bamba comment wasn't me trying to make an apples-to-apples comparison between him and Mobley. They are pretty different players, && I would tend to agree that Mobley is much more skilled offensively at this stage than Bamba was. His playmaking ability is the most impressive thing about him as a prospect, which has never been in Bamba's repertoire. I was just simply stating that a lot of the production Mobley is getting in the mid-post/low post area where he is drawing nearly 6 FTA's a game, is going to come harder at the next level.
That relegates him to taking a lot more of those long 2's, which he's shown to be quite good at, but is not a skillset I covet whatsoever out of my stretch 5's. I see him being more than content with doing so though. I've seen a player who has too often shied away from contact this year. I believe much of his value early on is going to hinge on the development of his 3pt shot, which he quite honestly just hasn't hit consistently enough this season.
Everything I've seen from Mobley has come in bursts and inconsistent stretches. I just can't agree with the notion that he is one of the best players in the country. One of the most talented, and an intriguing project?
Sure. But many centers before him have had intriguing offensive skillsets with a lot of talent to go with it. Intangibles matter though. I worry about a center that shies away from contact and disappears for stretches, as I've seen throughout the year. Perhaps I'm still jaded from the promise that was Mo Bamba, but I'd like to think I have a pretty good grasp on Mobley as a prospect.
He could certainly prove me wrong, put all the skills together, && develop into a force offensively, but I wouldn't bet on it.
I’m not taking Mobley for the same reasons I didn’t want us to draft Bamba or Ayton in 2018...
I don’t care if he’s AD, Love, or Bosh...
None of those players have ever been successful to “build around” on non-big-market rosters. In reality, they are always secondary to a playmaker or a wing as a primary option.
If you land a top 5 pick in a draft such as this, you take the non-big. Why? Because you are likely making that selection knowing that kind of player is a cornerstone moving forward.
Now I’m not saying the FO holds that same belief/standard. They likely don’t considering their draft history and who they’ve taken toward the top. Taking Mobley, or even Barnes, ahead of any of those wings/guards slated toward the top makes zero sense not only from the Magic’s situation, but from a square one perspective in my opinion.
Having said all this, I could 100% see this clueless front office selecting Mobley, Barnes, or Kuminga with the #3 pick and it wouldn’t shock me at all.
