Scottie Lewis

[clyde21]

So he doesn't need to develop his world class athleticism on the offensive end? You are drafting him as role player?

i'm drafting him as an elite 3+D utility player, anything more offensively is icing on the cake, but there's not reason for him to return to Florida, that's not gonna help him develop a more sophisticated scoring arsenal

[jman3134]

So he doesn't need to develop his world class athleticism on the offensive end? You are drafting him as role player?

i'm drafting him as an elite 3+D utility player, anything more offensively is icing on the cake, but there's not reason for him to return to Florida, that's not gonna help him develop a more sophisticated scoring arsenal

If he is featured, it might be the best place for him. A ton of elite athletes have left early and been playing in the G League for most of their careers. He is one of those elite athletes that could get lost in the shuffle. G League/NBA bench/or Florida. I would opt for Florida, especially if he is surrounded by talent and can boast his stock. He is a second round pick currently.

[clyde21]

So he doesn't need to develop his world class athleticism on the offensive end? You are drafting him as role player?

i'm drafting him as an elite 3+D utility player, anything more offensively is icing on the cake, but there's not reason for him to return to Florida, that's not gonna help him develop a more sophisticated scoring arsenal

If he is featured, it might be the best place for him. A ton of elite athletes have left early and been playing in the G League for most of their careers. He is one of those elite athletes that could get lost in the shuffle. G League/NBA bench/or Florida. I would opt for Florida, especially if he is surrounded by talent and can boast his stock. He is a second round pick currently.

featured as in what? have him ISO at the top of the key every possession? that's a terrible idea. he's not that kinda player...again, if that's what you're looking for when you take Lewis, you're taking the wrong guy.

and again, he's shooting 50/42/74 and his assist rate has tripled from fs to soph year, aside from being able to consistently create his own shot (which means he should be a top 5 pick at that point), he's fine on offense for the archetype of player he is. anything he gives you outside these numbers offensively + elite defense should be considered icing on the cake.

[Marcus]

i'm drafting him as an elite 3+D utility player, anything more offensively is icing on the cake, but there's not reason for him to return to Florida, that's not gonna help him develop a more sophisticated scoring arsenal

If he is featured, it might be the best place for him. A ton of elite athletes have left early and been playing in the G League for most of their careers. He is one of those elite athletes that could get lost in the shuffle. G League/NBA bench/or Florida. I would opt for Florida, especially if he is surrounded by talent and can boast his stock. He is a second round pick currently.

featured as in what? have him ISO at the top of the key every possession? that's a terrible idea. he's not that kinda player...again, if that's what you're looking for when you take Lewis, you're taking the wrong guy.

and again, he's shooting 50/42/74 and his assist rate has tripled from fs to soph year, aside from being able to consistently create his own shot (which means he should be a top 5 pick at that point), he's fine on offense for the archetype of player he is. anything he gives you outside these numbers offensively + elite defense should be considered icing on the cake.

To piggy back on that point, whatever additional ISO or featured scorer abilities he gains would likely be acquired in the league anyway. Going back to show that at the college level when that either won't be his role or may not translate to the pros just puts him back into this current already league ready skillset. Go play pro ball and add layers under pro coaching especially if you've already shown a translatable pro skill.

For instance we're not asking Scottie Barnes to stay and improve his jumper.

[jman3134]

Fundamentally disagree. It is not about proving you can be an iso scorer. It is about taking on that score-first role and all of the adaptations that come along with it (defenses adjusting to lock you down and how you counter that, etc.). Scottie is currently a role player at the college level who is not going to merit a first round selection in the draft, barring a remarkable NCAA tournament performance.

What this means is that - as a second round pick - he will have notably less opportunity. Whereas someone like Scottie Barnes - who is at a maximum hype level at the moment given his age and production - will not. Barnes is projected to go in the lottery. This is how all of pro sports works - you grant opportunity to the players you awarded with guaranteed contracts. Besides the talent differential, this is why the success level of first round picks is so much higher - because they continue to receive opportunity after opportunity. It is a feedback loop. Look at all the first round retreads over the years.

This means that Scottie Lewis the second round pick will have a lot less opportunity to cement a role in the NBA and will probably go the way of the Louis Kings, etc.

FWIW, I am not alone in this sentiment as every year, scouts advise players whether or not they will be a first round selection. If that had no value and opportunity was equal across the board, then why would players base their entire early decisions on this NBA feedback?

[clyde21]

if he doesn't merit a first rounder this year (i'd highly disagree with anyone who doesn't think so) then he won't next year, coming back to college to 'prove' to be something you're not as a year older as a prospect is just a bad idea...if anything he needs to get the hell out of college asap, NBA's more wide open up and down game fits his skill set wayyyy better.

and I'm not sure what you mean by 'role player' in college...he's 2nd on this Florida team in mpg behind Mann. also the comp to Louis King is just nonsensical, King didn't do anything particularly well at Oregon, Lewis comes in day 1 as an elite wing defender prospect who can defend up or down a position, hit 3s and brings absurd NBA-level athleticism with him.

and I still don't know what u mean by feature him as an offensive player, that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen in college with the lack of spacing and Lewis not really being that type of player.

[jman3134]

if he doesn't merit a first rounder this year (i'd highly disagree with anyone who doesn't think so) then he won't next year, coming back to college to 'prove' to be something you're not as a year older as a prospect is just a bad idea...if anything he needs to get the hell out of college asap, NBA's more wide open up and down game fits his skill set wayyyy better.

and I'm not sure what you mean by 'role player' in college...he's 2nd on this Florida team in mpg behind Mann. also the comp to Louis King is just nonsensical, King didn't do anything particularly well at Oregon, Lewis comes in day 1 as an elite wing defender prospect who can defend up or down a position, hit 3s and brings absurd NBA-level athleticism with him.

and I still don't know what u mean by feature him as an offensive player, that sounds like a disaster waiting to happen in college with the lack of spacing and Lewis not really being that type of player.

This is what I am saying though. If we are to presume that the NBA draft sources are some indicator of leaguewide sentiment (Givony isn't out here making his rankings independent of what scouts are saying), then Lewis is a borderline 2nd round prospect at this point. Some sources have him outside the 2nd round (which is insane imo) and on others he is mostly pegged as a 2nd rounder. I don't have an ESPN subscription so I am not sure how high he is there. But, while I agree with you, that is my point.

I am not comping him to Louis King as a player or even situation, as King came out after his freshman season. It was simply a fellow Jersey kid who came out too early imo when scouts didn't have him pegged as a 1st rounder. King is no where near the defender or player Lewis is, but King does have elite athleticism and has not yet developed in the G League.

I also agree with you that he should be a first round pick. And if he is, I would advise him to leave as well. This is where our opinions are diverging. While Florida could easily make a run and scouts could re-fall in love with Lewis, that hasn't happened yet. So I can only base my position on where I think they are pegging him at the moment.

Coming back to Florida, he can come back and dominate the NCAA; in which case, his stock will rise. Florida has a lot of weapons - I just watched them exploit a really bad matchup against WVU. Look at any of the Nova kids, Deandre Hunter, Ty Jerome, etc. in terms of how you can come back and improve your stock. Lewis already has elite tools and the capacity as a shooter, as you pointed out. The improvements he makes from here on out will be situationally based. If he becomes a 1st round pick, he will have long enough leash to improve in time and earn playing time at the highest level. If he doesn't, the transition will be a lot more difficult.

[clyde21]

we'll agree to disagree, there's 0 reason why he should go back to school imo, could cause more harm than good to his development actually. the plan should be to go to the NBA as soon as possible where it's more tailored to his game anyways.

[Duke4life831]

Yea I’m in the boat if not seeing the point of Lewis returning. It’s pretty obvious what kind of prospect he is. An elite athlete that projects to be a day 1 player because of his defense. His shot is also solid as well.

You’re not drafting Lewis with the thought of him being your #1 or #2 scoring option or a guy that is going to run your offense. So what will be the point of Lewis returning? All that can really happen is he loses a year of “potential” (he is going to be 21 already by the draft).

You draft Lewis with the thought of him being a higher potential Dort/Thybulle. He’s the better athlete than those two, his jumper is at a far better position than those two at the same stage.

The gap between Lewis on ball game now, vs where it would need to be to be any kind of big boost in his draft position is just too big to realistically expect to be gained in a year in college.

[gswhoops]

I'm praying Lewis will be around for GS's 1st if we keep it. He's exactly what we need.

[gorz]

Wasn't scottie lewis thought of as player with star potential coming out of high school? Scottie lewis reminds me alot of theo pinson long wiry bouncy athlete w/ hype coming in but became a complete dud @ unc and goes undrafted. I agree w/ the sentiment of him coming back to florida will only hurt his stock even further.. like jman previously mentioned his stock is pretty low right and faces risk of going undrafted. Even if he were to return i dont see any likely scenario he can make significant improvement in his game to boost his stock to a 1st round pick..hes not a pure scorer or an offensive weapon who can carry his team his team to make a ncaa run.. his prospects revolve around his potential. Returning another year will only expose him further imo. That being said I won't be shocked if he gets selected late 1st rd or goes undrafted.

[clyde21]

wouldn't be surprised if teams completely overlook him because per usual they have no idea what they are doing

[Catchall]

I could see the Jazz being interested in the late 1st, depending on who is still left on the board.

[jman3134]

Wasn't scottie lewis thought of as player with star potential coming out of high school? Scottie lewis reminds me alot of theo pinson long wiry bouncy athlete w/ hype coming in but became a complete dud @ unc and goes undrafted. I agree w/ the sentiment of him coming back to florida will only hurt his stock even further.. like jman previously mentioned his stock is pretty low right and faces risk of going undrafted. Even if he were to return i dont see any likely scenario he can make significant improvement in his game to boost his stock to a 1st round pick..hes not a pure scorer or an offensive weapon who can carry his team his team to make a ncaa run.. his prospects revolve around his potential. Returning another year will only expose him further imo. That being said I won't be shocked if he gets selected late 1st rd or goes undrafted.

I will clarify my stance on it - I think he has shown some offensive signs. I agree with clyde that he is a first round talent and pick. What he can bring defensively is absolutely worth it.

I think his middling production (inconsistent at times) has his stock low. But, that can change with a good tournament and/or positive workouts. Still love Scottie Lewis' future as an NBA player.