RealGM

I'm really trying not to get too excited about this guy. But man, does he have the potential to be special.

He has insanely disruptive length, and his frame is great...broad shoulders, pretty thick legs. Moves well, nice touch around the basket, good shot. Might even be more explosive than we give him credit for (take a look at some videos of VC from HS - his body was underdeveloped and he didn't get that high on his dunks...relied more on his length) The reason I have hope here is mainly going off that video of him doing a reverse dunk while playing for Pinheiros (the one where Araujo congratulates him) and how high he get's up going for blocks, he seems to recognize that he doesn't need to jump very high to slam, so doesn't exert a ton of energy on it. He seems more like Barbosa in the sense that he's trying to get the bucket quickly, hence not looking to explode upwards and slam over people (perhaps is a soccer players mentality - get to the spot before your opponent and get the clean shot off asap)

Some of the key things that I think will really open up his game and are pretty crucial to him reaching his vast potential (but I haven't seen much of yet) are...

How good is his first step? Can he blow by his man?

Can he develop his ball handling? I don't think he's as far along in this regard as some of the guys he's compared to (Durant, Giannis, Batum, McGrady) And I'm not sure it will develop due to his starting to play relatively late (13yrs) Ball handing seems to be something that becomes second nature when you play a lot as guard from a very young age. There are some things going in his favor though, things that I think helped make McGrady, A.I. and Giannis good ballhandlers is again his wingspan. I think that how close your hands are to the ground can aid in becoming a better ball handler. In this regard, Bruno seems blessed.

A little bit more about his length. He has a great wingspan (wide shoulders, long arms), good standing reach due to his shoulders being so high (head and neck don't take up much of his height - compare him at 6'8" to Harrison Barnes, or look at Russel Westbrook, he's not a regular 6'3") and his arms are so long that they also reach much closer to the ground like a guard. He looks as though he's the result of God trying to design the perfect basketball player. He has just about the perfect basketball body. He's even slightly walleyed, which might sound funny, but I think it helps with peripheral vision/court vision. Take a look at TMacs eyes or Steve Nash and compare them to Caboclo.

He definitely has the physical tools, the rest will be up to him and his environment. But this guys looks like he has a good chance to go down as the greatest Brazilian to ever play in the NBA at the very least, hopefully he'll achieve a lot more.

Did you watch the game yesterday?

I don't think he'll ever have an elite first step. He'll be able to take bigger guys off the bounce, and he'll be able to shoot over small guys.

Again, if you watched the game last night, then you'd know why this thread is so premature. Not a single person can give even a semi-educated answer to this. He is far off from being a legitimate NBA player. He can shoot the ball, and he can disrupt lanes. Outside of that, there is nothing there to judge.

I thought these Brazilian guys go by one game. His jersey should just read Bruno, and then Bebe.

What's this thread about?

Who is his competition, Barbs ? Nene ? lol maybe

He has potential. I thought he played a better all round game in summer league then Wiggins. The only things he has to do is get stronger and learn English. Not sure how having another Brazillian on the team is good for him. Yes it allows him to have some familiarity but hopefully he is not speaking portugese to him all the time.

The bar isn't exactly high. Does he have the potential to be better than Barbosa, Varejao, and Nene? I'd certainly hope so!

[tweet]https://twitter.com/ChrisMannixSI/status/487939420595552256[/tweet]

He definitely could be. Way to early to say. Nene, Barbosa, and Varejao were all pretty good and on certain years All Star level.

^ As above, Varejao, Barbosa, Nene are pretty good players.

And Caboclo hasn't even played a single game.
Hate these bandwagon fans just hyping up non-sense.

Overhype can lead to backlashes. He's still many years away and, IMO, right now I see more of a Batum-type minus the passing gifts, than anybody I can imagine as a star. And even the Batum comparison (with less passing) is fairly optimistic given where he is at the moment.

Will judge when he averages 10mins per NBA game

If this kid starts to hang around with DD they may have to build some apartments at the ACC because they will never stop practicing lol .

When you see a 6''9 guy with 7'6 wingspan hitting step back threes with a defender in his face, you get excited.

Even if his ceiling is a Batum-type, can you imagine how disruptive Batum would be with that ridiculous wingspan? He would have been an All Star by now. I also think Bruno is a better shooter than Batum was at the same age.

What's holding him back? He has the body of a kid trying to play a man's game. That in itself will take a season or two to sort itself out. After that it's really up to him, because his potential is sky-high.

He will never handle the ball like Durant imo- that's something you can usually see early- but he runs like a deer, will be able to finish at the rim, defend like a mofo and shoot the heck out of the ball.

I'll roll the dice with Bruno at the 20th pick 10 times out of 10.

I see a Batum/Prince hybride.

I couldn't even vote...

Where's the 'too premature to judge' choice?

Give him a few years before asking something of this nature. He had 1 good summer league game in which he didn't do a lot for most of the game. Keep it in perspective.

It's impossible to forecast Brunos career at this point because his body is so immature.

For all we know, he'll be 3 inches taller & 50 lbs heavier in 4 years.

If he can stay the same height & only add 15-20 lbs of lean muscle to his frame, I see very good things for him as a SF. That's a pretty big "if" though.

Double Helix wrote:Overhype can lead to backlashes. He's still many years away and, IMO, right now I see more of a Batum-type minus the passing gifts, than anybody I can imagine as a star. And even the Batum comparison (with less passing) is fairly optimistic given where he is at the moment.

I think that might apply to offence, although even there I think you are short-changing him. But in terms of defence and rebounding, including shot blocking and shot alteration, I think he has a higher ceiling than Batum who isn't bad. As Bruno's body fills out a bit and he perfects some aspects of the game, I'm more inclined to see a Jamal Mashburn type of small forward: a lengthy, gifted shooter, with both a long and in-between game, who was also a well above average rebounder for his position. Mashburn wasn't a great defender, but Bruno has the potential to be one. And Bruno can be a rim protector from the strong side, which is rare and would be a nice complement to Jonas. It would allow us to go with a Kevin Love-type power forward, a stretch 4 who offers less in the way of rim protection.

Also, I think Msaai has hoodwinked everyone with the fable that he's so raw. Anyone who is that raw doesn't have three point range. He needs a lot of work, but he's putting it in. The consensus of scouts and observers from last night seems to be that he's a lot closer to being a useful player than the guy who is supposedly "two years away from being two years away". I think he's going to be very intriguing in his second year and impactful in his third. No, I don;t think he's going to be a top 10 player, but I do see a very dangerous piece of a very good team in the making.

I bet you that in a redraft of 2014 five years from now, he's a top 10 pick, maybe top 7.

RedX wrote:I couldn't even vote...

Where's the 'too premature to judge' choice?

Give him a few years before asking something of this nature. He had 1 good summer league game in which he didn't do a lot for most of the game. Keep it in perspective.

It under "Hall of Fame" - no one who chooses that option is serious. That's what I did anyways.

Oscar Schmidt.

Google him before you insult the "greatest Brazilian ever" discussion even further with mentioning such mediocrity as Barbs or Nene.