Mark Williams vs. Jalen Duren

[EvanZ]

It is hard to see how Duren could be 4" taller than Penny.

[EvanZ]

Shaq towers over Penny. You can't tell me it's a difference of 2" only from Duren to Shaq.

[mattao313]

Shaq towers over Penny. You can't tell me it's a difference of 2" only from Duren to Shaq.

I'm guessing like 6'9 barefooted

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[SeattleJazzFan]

don't shoot the messenger. just posting the numbers.

[Upperclass]

Someone is going to draft Duren high lotto, thinking he's Robert Williams and he's far more Khem Birch. Mark Williams will be able to guard the perimeter a bit better in a Javale McGee type sense but neither is an amazing prospect.

[BostonCouchGM]

not convinced Duren is even 6'10". And despite being smaller he's much stiffer than Williams. I have seen flashes of being a good passer, help defender and switchability plus he can really run the floor. But his situation in college was so detrimental to him I think it affected his game. He's got a lot of upside. Williams could be Gobert 2.0 but maybe with more offense. I think I take him and it's not close imo

i mean, you're right. he's not 6'10".

he didn't measure at the combine for a reason. Why do you think that is? Don't trust measurements outside of the combine. They're often puff pieces by agents and schools trying to elevate players. Even the combine doesn't account for hair which can add 1-2 inches and outside of the combine it could be with or without sneakers so it's all so sketchy. I watched plenty of MEM games and he and Emoni Bates (who is 6'9") seem very close in height.

Watch on YouTube

go to 4:09. He is posted up with Drew Timme who is 6'9" and they're the same height. And throughout the game you can clearly see Holmgren is much taller and I'm not sure he's a legit 7'1" tbh.

edit-I'm not necessarily knocking him. I think he has very similar size, athleticism and traits as Bam Adebayo with maybe slightly less potential. The thing is Williams is ready Day 1 imho and Duren has some work to do and may never reach his potential. I don't think more than a 1-3 picks will separate the two no matter who goes first. I can't see either falling out of the lottery

[SelfishPlayer]

I believe in Duren's wingspan/standing reach.

[EvanZ]

I believe in Duren's wingspan/standing reach.

We don't know his standing reach. Even if his wingspan is 7'5" he has broad shoulders (therefore shorter arms), so his sr probably worse than you think. My guess is it's around 9'1" or 9'2" which is fine (similar to Okongwu) but it's not elite by any means.

[SelfishPlayer]

I believe in Duren's wingspan/standing reach.

We don't know his standing reach. Even if his wingspan is 7'5" he has broad shoulders (therefore shorter arms), so his sr probably worse than you think. My guess is it's around 9'1" or 9'2" which is fine (similar to Okongwu) but it's not elite by any means.

1:45-2:24 the defensive mobility he is displaying against those guards matters more than him not having record breaking length. He has the correct amount of length without a shadow of a doubt as well as TIMING.

Watch on YouTube

[bucknut]

I got Williams huge frame great rim protector. What exactly does duren do that's better? And he's smaller than Williams.

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OK to me Duren carries his body better and has more offensive potential then just putback dunks. I can't find Williams scoring from outside 2 feet.....Duren has a faceup game with a spin, a fadeaway off the spin, a dropstep inside...just better footwork and center of gravity and potential to score offensively from 5-6 feet out.

Question is what is difference between Koloko/Williams ? Both just are putback dunkers and blockers.. Of the 3 I think Koloko could turn out to be the best 3 point shooter

[CptCrunch]

Looks like NBA valued Duren and Williams about the same 13/15, a bit below what this would have valued them in terms of absolute draft positions. I would have guessed a 8/11 kind of situation.

We underrate these two, but I think both of them are gonna be awesome role playing centers on their rookie contract.

[EvanZ]

Too many teams passed on him that shouldn't have, but man that Detroit trio looks good.

[bucknut]

Too many teams passed on him that shouldn't have, but man that Detroit trio looks good.

Duren looks very detroitish to boot , with the bad boy persona the franchise has he looks like their new ben wallace fan favorite type of guy. Insane trio

[mattao313]

I got Williams huge frame great rim protector. What exactly does duren do that's better? And he's smaller than Williams.

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OK to me Duren carries his body better and has more offensive potential then just putback dunks. I can't find Williams scoring from outside 2 feet.....Duren has a faceup game with a spin, a fadeaway off the spin, a dropstep inside...just better footwork and center of gravity and potential to score offensively from 5-6 feet out.

Question is what is difference between Koloko/Williams ? Both just are putback dunkers and blockers.. Of the 3 I think Koloko could turn out to be the best 3 point shooter

Williams is huge and a elite shot blocker

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[whitehops]

i wrote this in the pistons' draft thread when someone asked about the two prospects (not knowing them much at all):

i really liked mark williams. obviously development plays a big part but i wouldn't be surprised if he ended up like gobert. even though he averaged 2.8 BPG in college he doesn't hunt blocks and instead plays great positional defense and forces players to shoot over his insane 9'9 reach (gobert's is 9'7). he's not a stiff either, he has decent mobility but doesn't project to defend the perimeter really.

my impression of both players is that mark williams was the safer choice to be a great rim protector while duren had the upside of defending on the perimeter and being a play maker instead of just a play finisher. i guess the picks make sense for both teams because we can wait for duren's potential while charlotte could use williams' rim protection sooner as they figure to compete for playoffs every year.

[tundraknight]

I think the Hornets should’ve just kept both of these centers.

Center was the Hornets biggest weakness. They could’ve had both the starting and back up center position locked up for years to come. And both have different play styles.

But anyway it will be interesting to see which one has the better career.

[NO-KG-AI]

Duren will be 6'11 right when the season starts, once we can get a photo of him next to another 6'9 guy who is the same height as Duren, but has a team lying and saying he grew 2+ inches.

[baldur]

Nba players are like girls online dating apps. They lie 1 to 2 inches about their heights.