Rank the Rooks!

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

In the end, how good do you think this year's rookie crop will be? Who do you think will be the best player? The second best? The third best? Just curious to get everyone's impression. You can change your vote later if you like.

Too late to edit: The more I think about it, the more I think the "titles" of the options for 2 and 6 ought to be reversed.

[LukasBMW]

Tough tough question. Ulis is the best now, but his size will always limit him. Bender will be at least a rotation player, but there is a chance he may never be a starter. Chriss could become the envy of the league, but he also could be out of the league in 3 years.

[jcsunsfan]

I think Ulis will end up being the best of the bunch. He has been so tremendously underrated because of stature. He has such an important combination of skills. He can run a team. He can play really disruptive defense. The defense is the key. It is usually the weakness of small players. He has made it a strength and made his stature irrelevant.

This is NOT a bad thing.

[Saberestar]

I think Ulis will end up being the best of the bunch. He has been so tremendously underrated because of stature. He has such an important combination of skills. He can run a team. He can play really disruptive defense. The defense is the key. It is usually the weakness of small players. He has made it a strength and made his stature irrelevant.

This is NOT a bad thing.

I agree completely.

[NavLDO]

I think talent-wise, Bender will be the best out of the 3. It may take 2-3 years, but you saw what he was capable of in SL. Chriss had some highlight moments, but I worry if he'll ever be consistent, but to me, he was worth the gamble. If he gets his mid in the right place, he could very well be the best.

Ulis I think, will get the most floor time over the next couple of years, getting people to believe he's our best rookie, but I think he has some limitations that he just will not b able to overcome. That said, if the other two 'bust', then Ulis could be the best by default.

I chose selection 4, I believe--Bender, Ulis, Chriss--because I do worry about whether Chriss will ever get there. To me, he's going to need the longest time to develop, and he may be 'given-up' upon too early. If he's allowed 3-4 years to perfect his craft, and he stays healthy, he could very well be special.

[Damkac]

1. Bender - once he will add some weight and get used to NBA 3pt line he will be perfect modern PF. Like tall, thin version of Draymond Green.
2. Ulis - Most NBA ready of all rookies. Would be drafted must earlier if he was 6+ feet. He can play and I think he will overcome his lack of size. Worst case he should be solid backup PG. I wonder how many minutes he will get with all the guards Suns have.
3. Chriss - Opposite of Ulis. Got the tools but has lot to learn. I keep my expectations low to avoid disappointment.

[MrMiyagi]

It's hard for me to rank them like this, and I hope they will all be #1, but I'll instead do who I think has the easiest path to being #1.

I would rank Chriss first. I think he has a very natural position of being a pick and roll/pop 4 with athleticism and shooting form to capitalize on it. I feel like he can become a more spoon-fed version of STAT crossed with Frye. He's on that spectrum, not saying he'll be a perfect blend of the two, but Frye with roll-ability and athleticism or STAT with 3pt range is a very good offensive weapon, even if he never reaches near the peaks of either as a roll/pop man respectively, but I'm seeing a consistent 16 points that causes problems for defenses with Booker/TJ on the wings - rebounding and defense are bigger question marks, but I think he figures the first out well enough with right around 8 a night and won't be a complete sieve on D. This is provided he has a point guard who can navigate the pick and roll/pop and get him into great positions to finish - which brings me to number two...

Ulis is second. To me, having the Booker connection is very good for both of them. I think they understand each other and can push each other to being great. Ulis has demonstrated he knows how to play being smaller than his competition and I think he will eventually adapt to playing the top tier guys at his position, but he's going to have a lot of work to get there. He also is a very good handler and distributor and looks like a very natural partner for Chriss. I don't think he'll ever score a bunch, but I think he has a pretty clear path to having 13 points and 8 assists a night with starter minutes and playing some tenacious defense.

Bender is third. I think being a more jack of all trades makes his path the hardest, but it also gives him greater flexibility in finding a role. If he become a very good defender at multiple positions, I'd be fine with that. If he becomes a secondary ball-handler who can run the offense, I'd be fine with that. If he becomes a lights out shooter from the perimeter, I'd be fine with that. He could become great at one thing, very good at a few things, good at all things, or truly become a unicorn player. I don't even know if I could project an adequate stat-line for the guy. He could be 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists with 2 blocks and 2 steals and I'd be more than okay with that. He could be 15 points with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, a block and a steal and I'd be more than okay with that. He could be 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists with no steals and no blocks and I'd be more than okay with that. There are so many probable outcomes for this kid, and I doubt it'll be 20+ points, 6+ rebounds, 6+ assists, with 1-2 blocks and/or steals, but it could be that too.

[bwgood77]

I voted Bender, Chriss, Ulis, but part of that is based on pure upside, hope, and just size and athletic ability.

Ulis is CLEARLY the best right now. And not considering size, he will be the best of the three. But in the NBA, size plays a big role. He could easily end up the best player long term and have the longest career. Actually if you had to place odds on it, he probably has the best odds of that, mostly because the other two have bust potential.

But long term, with Bender's height, ability to run the floor, dribble, pass, shoot, block, defend on the perimeter. That is just too valuable if he can capitalize on it. Watching summer league it seems his biggest weakness was shooting and getting used to the 3 pt line, and I didn't see a lot of rebounding and of course the fouls. He doesn't really NEED to shoot a lot of threes though, but I think he will get to where he has to be respected from deep.

But to have THAT size and having the skills from playing pg of driving a fast break, dribbling, phenomenal passing, perimeter defending and just the way he sees the floor for an 18 year old while running down the floor is uncanny.

Chriss, to me, will have the biggest wow moments, but probably will also be the biggest WTF? guy. I think he will likely come along more slowly than the others. HIm and Bender should progress similarly, and some (calling JDiddy) will be enamored with his dunks while ignoring everything Bender provides. His highlights will be fun to watch, and he will have awesome moments, but my guess is that he will be fairly hard pressed to be a star. But I love his character, and I hope his work ethic is there. It seems to be.

Perhaps I should have voted Bender, Ulis, Chriss, but just having versatility of being able to guard more positions, see over other people, etc, the bigs have far more upside, but of course they also have far more downside and neither are nearly as good as Ulis at this point.

[batsmasher]

I think the order we drafted em is the correct order.

Bender is the most fundamentally sound, Marquese is the most talented and Ulis is the best at his job (being a point guard).

BUT, I'm not convinced a dude weighing 150lbs with hip issues and no desire to put on muscle is going to survive more than 20 games in the NBA.

Bender comes off as the most professional, and as such is the least likely to bust.

Marquese comes in second simply because we have NFI what he can be nor any idea how likely he is to get there.

[NavLDO]

It's hard for me to rank them like this, and I hope they will all be #1, but I'll instead do who I think has the easiest path to being #1.

I would rank Chriss first. I think he has a very natural position of being a pick and roll/pop 4 with athleticism and shooting form to capitalize on it. I feel like he can become a more spoon-fed version of STAT crossed with Frye. He's on that spectrum, not saying he'll be a perfect blend of the two, but Frye with roll-ability and athleticism or STAT with 3pt range is a very good offensive weapon, even if he never reaches near the peaks of either as a roll/pop man respectively, but I'm seeing a consistent 16 points that causes problems for defenses with Booker/TJ on the wings - rebounding and defense are bigger question marks, but I think he figures the first out well enough with right around 8 a night and won't be a complete sieve on D. This is provided he has a point guard who can navigate the pick and roll/pop and get him into great positions to finish - which brings me to number two...

Ulis is second. To me, having the Booker connection is very good for both of them. I think they understand each other and can push each other to being great. Ulis has demonstrated he knows how to play being smaller than his competition and I think he will eventually adapt to playing the top tier guys at his position, but he's going to have a lot of work to get there. He also is a very good handler and distributor and looks like a very natural partner for Chriss. I don't think he'll ever score a bunch, but I think he has a pretty clear path to having 13 points and 8 assists a night with starter minutes and playing some tenacious defense.

Bender is third. I think being a more jack of all trades makes his path the hardest, but it also gives him greater flexibility in finding a role. If he become a very good defender at multiple positions, I'd be fine with that. If he becomes a secondary ball-handler who can run the offense, I'd be fine with that. If he becomes a lights out shooter from the perimeter, I'd be fine with that. He could become great at one thing, very good at a few things, good at all things, or truly become a unicorn player. I don't even know if I could project an adequate stat-line for the guy. He could be 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists with 2 blocks and 2 steals and I'd be more than okay with that. He could be 15 points with 5 rebounds, 6 assists, a block and a steal and I'd be more than okay with that. He could be 20 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists with no steals and no blocks and I'd be more than okay with that. There are so many probable outcomes for this kid, and I doubt it'll be 20+ points, 6+ rebounds, 6+ assists, with 1-2 blocks and/or steals, but it could be that too.

I could see it happening like this, but Chriss is such a wildcard at this point. IMO, he has the highest ceiling--yes, even over Bender if everything works out right--but could also see him just get lost in he shuffle and lose his way after a couple of years, and never amount to much.

But I like your take on him, and hope he's developed the right way and given the time to do so, and provided the patience to really screw-up and be bad for a short while, while he is putting it all together.

I agree with your take on Bender, too. Very difficult to see his ultimate role in our Offense/Defense, and has a multitude of paths he could take along the way.

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

My perspective on this question is as follows:

Tyler Ulis is going to be a quality NBA player. About that, at this point, I have very little doubt. His high energy level allows him to be disruptive on defense without getting out of position, and it allows him to control the ball on offense. For that reason, I think Ulis has the highest floor - I'm all-but certain that he will be a rotation-level player. I think he cracks the rotation at some point this year, and once he gets PT, I don't see him ever losing it. Bledsoe/Ulis/Knight will force Booker to play more 3 - but I expect this just squeezes PJ further out of the rotation, as TJ sees starter minutes there.

That's why I think Ulis as the #1 player is the "Worst Case Scenario". The reason you take Bender and Chriss so high is because you think they have greater potential than the guy you pick at #34. We want at least one of these guys to be a game changer.

We saw very little of Chriss, unfortunately. But that second game, he did a great job rebounding, which was supposed to be a weakness. His measurables are already great - he's got the bulk to play inside right now. And he looked very confident with that mid-range jumper in game #2. Rebounding, finishing, and shot-blocking will, IMO, get Chriss in the rotation before Bender. I think Bender gets a few chances early in the season, but struggles after a few games, missing a lot of shots. I think if you look at the 4/5 position, Chriss gets his chance before Williams does. So if Len or Chandler sits, I think Chriss gets a shot backing up the other.

Bender I am most worried about. I like his athleticism, but man he needs more meat on his bones before he's ready. I see him living in the weight room for a good part of the year, the way Alex spent much of his first season. So really, I think we're waiting a year before we even know what the player we have is going to look like. That's why him being #3 is worst-case scenario - I think he has the lowest floor (though perhaps not the highest ceiling).

Best case scenario, Chriss is Amare-Bosh and Bender is Korver-Kirilenko.

2018-19

Bledsoe (28) / Muggsy-Stockton (22)
Booker (32) / Knight (28)
Warren (30) / Korver-Kirilenko (20)
Dudley (18) / Amare-Bosh (26)
Len (26) / Williams (8)