SeattleJazzFan wrote:short guy, below the rim player (iow, he's no ja or donovan) who who is a subpar shooter. very good college basketball player, but short guys who can't shoot don't get taken in the 1st round. #sharifcooper. 2nd rounder. and imo, cooper was probably a better overall player than chandler.
Chandler is shooting 34% from three on reasonable volume, and I think he'd get more spot up opportunities in the NBA (also 71% from the line). He also has a weird two game sample pulling his freethrow percentage way down. His first game against LSU where he shot 6-10, and a game against Colorado where he shot 0-2. Take those out and he is more like an 80% freethrow shooter (82% in 10 home games, 50% in three away games). Chandler can also dunk in-game (see his very first highlight on ESPN: https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/player/splits/_/id/4432646/kennedy-chandler) though no, he is not Mitchell or Ja. Athletically he reminds me a mid of Jeff Teague during the tail end of his prime when he was no longer dunking in traffic and really just got a couple on breakaways, but his main advantage was just being fast (Teague was also a bit taller). Chandler, I think, is a much more heady player than Teague, though. I keep returning to the Conley comp although it's not perfect.
OTOH Cooper shot 23% from three (84% from the line which is usually a good indicator of whether a player can be a good NBA shooter, but just looking at his form it was clear he would not be). I like Cooper, but they are very different players, and I think Chandler has a more easily translatable game. I still have him late lottery - mid first, and expect him to be either a solid starter or high-end backup, a la Jalen Brunson.
