Devin Booker = Klay Thompson?

Chuck Everett · Post #21 » by **Chuck Everett** » Thu May 7, 2015 10:25 pm

Just a reminder, Bradley Beal wasn't a great shooter coming out of Florida. But the form was there. Hunter has played for Team USA, they know he has the form to be a good shooter (I won't say great, because there are only a handful of those guys).

atlantabbq99 · Post #22 » by **atlantabbq99** » Thu May 7, 2015 10:31 pm

shangrila wrote:Reddick seems to make the most sense, both stylistically and physically. Klay was more of a play maker in college than Booker ever was, so the comparison falls flat there, and he really isn't good enough to be compared to great shooters like Ray Allen.

He'll be a solid rotation guy on a playoff team...although to be honest I said that about John Jenkins too and that didn't exactly pan out.

John Jenkins currently has a spinal injury. You should look at his numbers, and minutes, before he got hurt.

Chuck Everett · Post #23 » by **Chuck Everett** » Thu May 7, 2015 10:33 pm

Notanoob wrote:
Hunter's numbers look spectacular, but he played against very weak competition at Georgia State, so you cannot take them at face value.

This is a bit unfair because Elfrid Payton came out of the same conference (Sun Belt) at Louisiana-Lafayette. If you can play you can play. Hunter was the preseason POY in the conference, but what happened was Ryan Harrow got hurt and his shooting numbers declined as he had to do so much for the team.

However, check his numbers against legit competition:

vs. Xavier: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block
vs. Baylor: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 3 steals (scored his team's last 13 points)
vs. Colorado State: 19 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 steals
vs. Iowa State: 21 points, 4 assists, 1 steal

I don't see RJ being a star, but he has competent starter/sixth man type potential. And if you're getting that from a late first round pick, that's not half-bad. I could easily see him being in the realm of a taller CJ McCollum (who I love).

MalonesElbows · Post #24 » by **MalonesElbows** » Thu May 7, 2015 10:40 pm

Chuck Everett wrote:Just a reminder, Bradley Beal wasn't a great shooter coming out of Florida. But the form was there. Hunter has played for Team USA, they know he has the form to be a good shooter (I won't say great, because there are only a handful of those guys).

Hunter is a natural talent. But the scoreboard does not discriminate between a bad shooter and bad decision maker. Hunter jacked a ton of bad shots last year. Whether it be against double teams or tremendously off balance. Some team will look past that and believe they can coach it out of him. Everyone wants the next Curry/Thompson type find.

MCtripDub · Post #25 » by **MCtripDub** » Thu May 7, 2015 11:05 pm

Khris Middleton for me http://nbadraftaddict.tumblr.com/post/1 ... vin-booker

shangrila · Post #26 » by **shangrila** » Thu May 7, 2015 11:44 pm

atlantabbq99 wrote:
shangrila wrote:Reddick seems to make the most sense, both stylistically and physically. Klay was more of a play maker in college than Booker ever was, so the comparison falls flat there, and he really isn't good enough to be compared to great shooters like Ray Allen.

He'll be a solid rotation guy on a playoff team...although to be honest I said that about John Jenkins too and that didn't exactly pan out.

John Jenkins currently has a spinal injury. You should look at his numbers, and minutes, before he got hurt.

Fair point. I had looked at his numbers but saw he wasn't playing, should have looked up why.

Maybe Jenkins is a good comparison for Booker then?

californiadude · Post #27 » by **californiadude** » Fri May 8, 2015 2:00 am

MalonesElbows wrote:
californiadude wrote:As Warrior fan. You wanna make the Klay comp it's RJ Hunter to me at least. Klay wasn't that great of a 1 on 1 guy coming out of college but he was certainly farther along than Booker. And that's not where the differences end in my opinion.

Hunter is the guy that really reminds me a lot of Klay. Almost scarily so actually.

Stylistically, yes, but Hunter is 6'5" and Klay is 6'7". Also kind of hard to ignore Hunter shooting 29% from deep even if he has "half court" range.

Actually not really just stylistically imo. Hunter has a 6'10" wingspan where as Klay has 6'9", that definitely brings them closer in "basketball height". Booker has just a 6'6.25" wingspan according to draft express. Hunter actually projects as a better defender then Klay did coming out of college (I don't think many expected Klay to be as good as he is defensively, Jerry West claims he did). The shooting numbers can go either way, it's really just a matter of opinion. 29% is definitely not great, normally I'd be concerned...But when you factor in his release, his range and that he was a one man show at GSU...I think he projects as good shooter at the next level. Will he be a big time scorer? I honestly don't know, what I do know/think that he is farther along then Booker as a scorer, that he projects as a better defender and that in my opinion he's the closest thing I've seen to Klay coming out of college. I don't know if he'll be that good and I don't think he's a top 14 pick either. But he is eerily similar to Klay in my opinion.

californiadude · Post #28 » by **californiadude** » Fri May 8, 2015 2:01 am

shangrila wrote:
atlantabbq99 wrote:
shangrila wrote:Reddick seems to make the most sense, both stylistically and physically. Klay was more of a play maker in college than Booker ever was, so the comparison falls flat there, and he really isn't good enough to be compared to great shooters like Ray Allen.

He'll be a solid rotation guy on a playoff team...although to be honest I said that about John Jenkins too and that didn't exactly pan out.

John Jenkins currently has a spinal injury. You should look at his numbers, and minutes, before he got hurt.

Fair point. I had looked at his numbers but saw he wasn't playing, should have looked up why.

Maybe Jenkins is a good comparison for Booker then?

I liked Jenkins quite a bit coming out of college. It's a shame he hasn't seemed to put it together so far.

RoyalMajesty · Post #29 » by **RoyalMajesty** » Fri May 8, 2015 4:47 am

californiadude wrote:
shangrila wrote:
atlantabbq99 wrote:
John Jenkins currently has a spinal injury. You should look at his numbers, and minutes, before he got hurt.

Fair point. I had looked at his numbers but saw he wasn't playing, should have looked up why.

Maybe Jenkins is a good comparison for Booker then?

I liked Jenkins quite a bit coming out of college. It's a shame he hasn't seemed to put it together so far.

Same here. I thought he would be a good role player off the bench for a team that's looking for someone that can shoot and stretch the floor.

atlantabbq99 · Post #30 » by **atlantabbq99** » Fri May 8, 2015 6:04 am

shangrila wrote:
atlantabbq99 wrote:
shangrila wrote:Reddick seems to make the most sense, both stylistically and physically. Klay was more of a play maker in college than Booker ever was, so the comparison falls flat there, and he really isn't good enough to be compared to great shooters like Ray Allen.

He'll be a solid rotation guy on a playoff team...although to be honest I said that about John Jenkins too and that didn't exactly pan out.

John Jenkins currently has a spinal injury. You should look at his numbers, and minutes, before he got hurt.

Fair point. I had looked at his numbers but saw he wasn't playing, should have looked up why.

Maybe Jenkins is a good comparison for Booker then?

Jenkins is not good to be used as anybody's comparison because his sample size is so small. The only healthy season Jenkins had was during his rookie year were he averaged 6pts, .445fg and .385 3fg in 14 minutes of play, in 60 games.

Not mind blowing, but alot of Atlanta fans were very pleased with Jenkins after his rookie year and were excited for his future and possible replacement to Korver at SG in the next 3 to 4 years.

Old Man Game · Post #31 » by **Old Man Game** » Fri May 8, 2015 12:32 pm

I've seen this comparison thrown around but I just can't get behind it. Booker looks like he can barely get off the floor. The combination of the relatively short arms and the lack of explosiveness do not bode well for him becoming a player of Thompson's caliber.

Booker reminds me more of Anthony Morrow. Offensively but especially on defense. Can still be valuable in the right situation.

guille_4 · Post #32 » by **guille_4** » Thu May 14, 2015 2:17 pm

Measured favorably in the NBA Draft Combine.

6'5.75 Height w/ shoes
6'8.25 Wingspan
8'6.5 Standing reach

Although slightly shorter, he gained 2+ inches in wingspan and standing reach with respect to his previous measurements.

He also gained 4 pounds of muscle (weighted at 206 again whilst reducing body fat from 10.3% to 8.3%).

I'm a fan.

LofJ · Post #33 » by **LofJ** » Thu May 14, 2015 2:36 pm

Booker is also the youngest player in this draft. He is 8 months younger than Russell for example, almost a year younger than a lot of his peers. And from his combine measurements it is obvious that he is still growing.

reanimator · Post #34 » by **reanimator** » Thu May 14, 2015 3:42 pm

Physically, he seems comparable to Beal with the added length. Don't think he is still growing but I'd take the risk in the teens and hope he can round out his game.

Post #35 » by **QUIZ** » Thu May 14, 2015 8:50 pm

I'm a fan of his. He said a lot of nice things here.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4ToJircIXU&spfreload=10[/youtube]

He seems like he has a good head on his shoulders. He would fill a need on my team and I think he could carve out a role for himself.

atlantabbq99 · Post #36 » by **atlantabbq99** » Thu May 14, 2015 9:26 pm

Kelly Oubre and Devin Booker both post up 8'6.5 standing reach. This is a suprise because Booker has been criticized for having short arms or not enough length. At 8'6, it puts him about at average for most NBA shooting guards. Demar Derozan and Gerald Henderson both have a reach of 8'6.5. John Jenkins has a standing reach of 8'2.

Klay Thompson has a standing reach of 8' 7.5, only one inch longer than Booker, which for me is not a big deal. So the Booker and Klay comparisons looks pretty close.

reanimator · Post #37 » by **reanimator** » Thu May 14, 2015 9:30 pm

Its okay if you think he is the next Klay but I personally don't see it without taking large leaps in faith in his projection/growth. Thompson is as big as Booker is in shoes without them. Hezonja is the guy I'd use that comparison for.

cksdayoff · Post #38 » by **cksdayoff** » Thu May 14, 2015 9:51 pm

i see Devin Booker as a role player.

HornetJail · Post #39 » by **HornetJail** » Thu May 14, 2015 10:06 pm

atlantabbq99 wrote:Kelly Oubre and Devin Booker both post up 8'6.5 standing reach. This is a suprise because Booker has been criticized for having short arms or not enough length. At 8'6, it puts him about at average for most NBA shooting guards. Demar Derozan and Gerald Henderson both have a reach of 8'6.5. John Jenkins has a standing reach of 8'2.

Klay Thompson has a standing reach of 8' 7.5, only one inch longer than Booker, which for me is not a big deal. So the Booker and Klay comparisons looks pretty close.

That's a very interesting note. Gerald doesn't lack length in any way you can see on the court. Given that it's a "weakness" for Booker, having Gerald's standing reach is definitely a surprise. Some people had me thinking he had JJ Redick's T-Rex arms.

atlantabbq99 · Post #40 » by **atlantabbq99** » Thu May 14, 2015 10:53 pm

Klay has a vertical of 31 inches. I think Booker will surpise everybody and end up getting a 33 or 35 inch vertical.