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I think Fernando is a better Bam.

GimmeDat wrote:I need to have him even higher than I do. He's probably fringe lottery. He's a real plus athlete who makes the most of it. I've been riding Gafford>Fernando in that sort of archetype most of the season but I think I may end up flipping that.

From 6-26 in this draft, they could go as high at 6 and as low as 26. Just one of those years.

Harrell is much faster running the floor and despite being shorter is frequently able to dunk from a standstill position or after taking contact. I don't see why I'd even need to go into specifics to say Harrell is a freak athlete given that he's an effective center in the NBA despite being 6'8" tops and having no outside shot.

He's closer to Bismack biyombo and he won't be impractful

Upperclass wrote:He's closer to Bismack biyombo and he won't be impractful

what is that comp even based on?

EvanZ wrote:I think Fernando is a better Bam.

Bam's probably the best comp I've heard.

Reminds me Vin Baker

I don't know why, but these Maryland guys fit our system hella well around Trae. He might be an option as a developmental big.

King Ken wrote:I don't know why, but these Maryland guys fit our system hella well around Trae. He might be an option as a developmental big.

I don't think he's necessarily even a 'developmental' guy. He'll have to polish things up as many young bigs do, but he should be pretty productive in his role from the get-go imo.

GimmeDat wrote:

King Ken wrote:I don't know why, but these Maryland guys fit our system hella well around Trae. He might be an option as a developmental big.

I don't think he's necessarily even a 'developmental' guy. He'll have to polish things up as many young bigs do, but he should be pretty productive in his role from the get-go imo.

He might be somewhat ready for a vet laden team but we need guys who can protect our youth as it is especially Collins. Fernando can be great once he develops but for now, we need a quality vet which we currently don't have

I don't know why more people aren't talking about Fernando. I'm sure he has his question marks just like anyone else in this draft, but to me his foundations are as good as anyone in this draft (bar Zion). He's a strong and fluid athlete at 6'10". His shooting mechanics are nice. He carves out space easily and jumps quickly. He seems to play with aggression and fire. He has really nice body control/balance. He can attack closeouts with straight line drives and looks good doing it. He has some nice offensive moves in his arsenal and looks to be able to defend and rebound too.

Look at this:


^ Players with his kind of body control/fluidity are usually able to develop more quickly because they can add moves more easily.

Considering how many question marks every single player from 3 to 20 have, i don't understand why Fernando isn't in that mix. Am i missing something? Or is this a legitimate sleeper?

He's shooting 62% from 2pt range as a sophomore. His FT% is 77.9%. His TS% is 65.3%. He's averaging a double-double, and his per40 stats are: 18.1 pts, 14.2 rebs, 2.7 asts, 0.9 stls, 2.5 blks, 3.7 TO's.

There's huge upside there, I don't think it'd be unreasonable for him to be drafted between 5 and 10. And if it was me personally drafting 4th, i'd give Fernando a serious look.
Hell, if he develops at a good rate his peak season could end up being better than RJ Barrett's peak season.

EvanZ wrote:I think Fernando is a better Bam.

Bam was who came to my mind while watching him too.

The problem with the Harrell comparison that some are throwing around here is that the reason why Harrell comes off the bench is because of lack of height for the center position + lack of shooting. He makes up for lack of height with incredible athleticism, but you can't start him. He doesn't space the floor. Bruno wont have the height problem, and his shooting mechanics look promising, as does his FT%.

He’s not Harrell at all, but he can play the same role, or the same role as Nene right away where he can just go in off the bench and score from the inside, pass out of the post, take mid-range jumpers, roll to the rim, defend the inside a little, rebound.

This guy feels like the typical player that finds their way to Houston and kills it

Players that get double teamed night to night and still find production are so underrated and players that aren’t guarded by the best guards on the other team/aren’t doubled are overrated.

I get worried a lot about drafting guys to these new age “small ball” positions. Is this guy a small ball center or can he play legit center or legit power forward.


I really like him as a center in today’s game. Until he matches up with the real legit sized centers. And that list is actually growing not shrinking right now.

Coeur wrote:I get worried a lot about drafting guys to these new age “small ball” positions. Is this guy a small ball center or can he play legit center or legit power forward.


I really like him as a center in today’s game. Until he matches up with the real legit sized centers. And that list is actually growing not shrinking right now.

He's not small-ball, he's a legit center - probably stronger than most NBA centers. He does have a ways to go in developing his skills, but he can over-power small-ball bigs, and he can out-quick bigger centers. But when he's going 1 on 1, he's gotta be quicker in decision-making - otherwise, it's too easy for a second defender to come and strip the ball from him - a problem Okafor had. He's a very good foul shooter, so there is hope for him developing a good perimeter shot.

Coeur wrote:I get worried a lot about drafting guys to these new age “small ball” positions. Is this guy a small ball center or can he play legit center or legit power forward.


I really like him as a center in today’s game. Until he matches up with the real legit sized centers. And that list is actually growing not shrinking right now.

small? Bruno is a legit 6'10 with a 7-4 winspan and 9-1 standing reach.

clyde21 wrote:

Coeur wrote:I get worried a lot about drafting guys to these new age “small ball” positions. Is this guy a small ball center or can he play legit center or legit power forward.


I really like him as a center in today’s game. Until he matches up with the real legit sized centers. And that list is actually growing not shrinking right now.

small? Bruno is a legit 6'10 with a 7-4 winspan and 9-1 standing reach.

Adams, nurkic, embiid, gobert... yeah small. Just wondering. Not aware of the wingspan. He has big arms but is prototype pf size.

Coeur wrote:

clyde21 wrote:

Coeur wrote:I get worried a lot about drafting guys to these new age “small ball” positions. Is this guy a small ball center or can he play legit center or legit power forward.


I really like him as a center in today’s game. Until he matches up with the real legit sized centers. And that list is actually growing not shrinking right now.

small? Bruno is a legit 6'10 with a 7-4 winspan and 9-1 standing reach.

Adams, nurkic, embiid, gobert... yeah small. Just wondering. Not aware of the wingspan. He has big arms but is prototype pf size.

so if he's not Joel Embiid size he's small?

what about Montrezl Harrell and Domantas Sabonis?

Ruzious wrote:

Coeur wrote:I get worried a lot about drafting guys to these new age “small ball” positions. Is this guy a small ball center or can he play legit center or legit power forward.


I really like him as a center in today’s game. Until he matches up with the real legit sized centers. And that list is actually growing not shrinking right now.

He's not small-ball, he's a legit center - probably stronger than most NBA centers. He does have a ways to go in developing his skills, but he can over-power small-ball bigs, and he can out-quick bigger centers. But when he's going 1 on 1, he's gotta be quicker in decision-making - otherwise, it's too easy for a second defender to come and strip the ball from him - a problem Okafor had. He's a very good foul shooter, so there is hope for him developing a good perimeter shot.

A couple things with this. First, I actually don’t think he’s very strong. He gets pretty abused by stronger guys and gets less rebounds in those games. Second, he’s actually great at passing out of doubles.