Rui Hachimura

[prime1time]

To temper expectations, one concern I do have is just how much Rui's game can continue to improve. It is easy to see Rui struggling to score inside vs. larger better athletes like Embiid, Gobert or Ayton. Could he take those guys off the dribble? With a Kawhi esque one or two dribble step back? But how consistent can he be with it?

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I think this video captures pretty well some of his skills that he does consistently well. At 42 seconds, he does a dribble step back vs Zion. Look at how much separation he gets! Zion is 285 and strong like an oxe. And yet as soon as Rui gives him a little nudge he moves. This mid-range step back is already an elite NBA move. Listen to the announcer. "How many times have we seen this from Hachimura." Another good section of the clip 28 seconds. Rui blows by Reddish. This is impressive because it demonstrates Rui's first step. It'd be one thing if Rui powered through Reddish (Reddish is only 208) but he explodes by him. Then he stops on a dime when the help comes and finishes (eventually he'll get to the point where he's passing that ball).

At 1:08 Rui makes a two dribble pull-up over pretty good defense from Jack White. This is pretty normal for Rui. At 6'8.5 with a 7'2 wingspan and a super high release, he can get his shot off cleanly against tight defense. But just as impressive is his balance, two dribbles a hop and then he elevates on balance. Starting at 1:22, he starts taking Barrett into the low post. Needless to say, Barrett has no chance of stopping him.

It's one thing to be big and strong, but it's a completely other thing to be big and strong and skilled. Rui will make teams pay for switching.

What if we could have traded down and come up with Clarke too? The what ifs...

To be honest in the big picture I don't really care. Let's assume that Brandon Clarke becomes a stud. Would even rank in the top 5 of Wizards misses? We missed on Steph, Giannis, Klay, Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler etc. It's just the nature of the draft. I've decided that I'm going to focus on our players, what we have and where we are going. If I didn't lose sleep about missing on any of the guys listed above, I'm not going to lose sleep over missing on Brandon Clarke.

[UcanUwill]

Japanese Rashard Lewis is his floor I think, which isnt bad.

I see Antawn but he doesnt rebound as well.

Antawn is probably his ceiling if he advances in that area. Likely he is the next Wilson Chandler/Thaddeus Young.

Ehhh... was more excited for Clarke or Dombouya

I think you underrating Rashard Lewis quite a bit.

[SUPERBALLMAN]

I've seen some comps to Antawn Jamison.

If he reaches that level you could do a LOT worse...

[payitforward]

ohhh...please PIF. You really need to come down off your pompous high horse.

Let me ask you do something for me, Zards: first take a deep breath & relax, then reread the sentence of mine you criticized.

& then go up a line, & read the offensive BS that X$#%@%! nuposse sent my way -- to which I was responding.

Now... are you still sure your critique of me was really warranted?

I actually thought I was pretty mild. I erased the first thing I wrote, fortunately.

PIF, I was responding more so to your posts in the immediate aftermath of the draft, where for the umpteenth time you boast about being right regarding numerous Zards personnel decisions, which you have been, and mock others here for being wrong on those occasions, which many of us, including myself, have been. You’ve done this over and over and over again. This kind of self-aggrandizement has grown old and irritating.

Sorry if that comes off as harsh...but it's how I feel. And I suspect that I'm not alone in feeling that way.

I don't recollect "boast"ing about anything in the "immediate aftermath of the draft," though, yes, I criticized the pick of Hachimura @ #9. Of course, like you I hope he becomes great -- & in every other way I also wish him well (along with all these kids entering such an important time in their lives). But that doesn't mean that using that asset, the #9 pick, to take him was a particularly helpful move for a franchise that really needs to help itself!

I have zero interest in "self-aggrandizement," Zards. I'm just a frustrated Wizards fan who can't figure out why -- when it's so utterly obvious that, for example, no one in his right mind would sign Andrew Nicholson for 4 long years -- my team does exactly that.

In fact, I wouldn't say I have anything particular to "boast" about! My approach to these things isn't based on some fabulous ability or on any special, secret-sauce understanding of basketball either. It's based on 2 simple things in fact: 1) a guy's basketball numbers tell you more about his basketball abilities than any other thing you can look at, & 2) the single best guide to what a person will do in the future -- any person in any activity -- is what that person did in the past (in athletics, give or take factors like development over time or, for a veteran, decline over time). That's not always right; nothing is. But, I'm pretty sure it usually is.

As to what I said to nuposse -- it was a direct response to HIS nasty, mocking dig at me, Zards. He hit, I hit back. Period. & to his credit, he didn't continue the scuffle, which I have no interest in doing either.

But, you felt a need to write something insulting. B/c I feel like we've become friends, I did not respond in kind. Instead, I requested that you take a look at that context. You didn't, it seems. Instead, you justified your insult! Not what I expected.

When's the last time I directed anything nasty at you? Let alone twice?

I'm going to drop it. It's not worth any more attention. All of us can always try harder going forward, you, me & everyone. Peace.

[prime1time]

I've seen some comps to Antawn Jamison.

If he reaches that level you could do a LOT worse...

I can see the Antwan comparisons. The problem though is that Antwan was such a unique player. I still remember some of his one hand shots lol. Rui's more physical than Antwan. The dude is a legit post player with enough scoring skill to be a problem. You know how some NBA bigs are soft? Like a team switches and puts a smaller guy on the opposing teams 4 or 5 and then the big man can't make the team pay? That won't be Rui. Rui will make them pay to the point that if you are going to switch the PnR you will be bringing a double team because Rui will score consistently in the low post vs. smaller defenders.

[trast66]

Antawn (a before w) Jamison was a two time all star and played over 37,000 minutes in the NBA. Very slim odds Rui (or 95% of the guys drafted) ever reach that level. I don't think he plays like him much at all either, as said above Antawn was a very unique player.

Rui is raw so he will probably have a Troy Brown like rookie year, which is not a bad thing. We have contract control for 4 or 5 years and he should become a fine contributor over that time. One of him or Thomas Bryant have to learn how to guard the PNR and shoot threes or they can't play together, but that's not an immediate worry as we wont compete this year for playoffs. We may be a historically bad defensive team this year depending on what we do in free agency.

[AWIZZINGBULLET]

Hey, i made the video especially for you, enjoy!

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Vladmir Veeremenko, Andray Blatche, Oleksiy Pecherov, Javale McGee, Hamady N'Diaye, Kevin Seraphin, Trevor Booker, Jan Vesely...only took 14 seasons to draft a legitimate front court, centerpiece of the future.


What a difference an Ernie-less draft day makes. Smh


Thanks!

[payitforward]

...I've already said I think it's pointless to kvetch over potential trade downs. The Celtics, who people targeted for a trade down, traded down themselves....

Why yes, yes you have. So... why'd you bring it up again & present an argument about it?

...And I'm glad Sheppard bought a high 2nd rounder, and showed everyone moving down to recoup 2nd round picks is not a thing. Wizards should easily be able to buy them for the next couple years...

Agree on the first part, 100%. Here's hoping you are right & that it's always easy to buy a R2 any time & any place in the round that we want it to be. If that's what you're saying?

...As for Clarke...

Somehow people can't let it go, can they? & you are one of them I guess. It's almost like they have to prove abstractly & for no particular reason that Brandon Clarke, a guy who absolutely killed it, isn't really good. While Hachimura, who is an improving player but certainly not someone about whom you'd say that he killed it, can't be good unless Clarke is not good. Weird, huh?

...As for Clarke... This guy is 6'8, 200lbs, already 23 years old and can't space the floor. He's about to enter a league with 7'1, 280 lb centers who can space the floor. Derrick Williams had a 69TS% when he was drafted and finished with a career 53TS% in the NBA. The other guy in 2011, Kawhi, had a 51TS% when he was drafted and has a career 60TS% in the NBA. The whole Clarke complaining is getting really old, especially when some people are trying to condemn Rui at the same time. Clarke was taken with the 21st pick, not the 10th. NatP4 already pointed out the players taken around Rui weren't enticing for the Wizards. It's possible Rui will be a much better pro than Clarke, that's not controversial at all, and in my opinion it's pretty likely.

You know so much about poor Brandon Clarke that you don't have his age right. Also you don't have his weight right. Also I'm thinking maybe you've never bothered to watch him play...?

Btw, can you name me a few of those 7'1" 280 lb Centers, if you don't mind? I thought the age of the huge, lumbering Center was over.

Not sure what you are saying about Derrick Williams -- are you saying that Kawhi somehow forced his TS% to go down? Just joking... you are right that he was one of the most astounding failures in recent times. But, he is an example of a guy taken too high in the draft. Where Kawhi is an example of a guy who dropped in the draft, even though he shouldn't have. So I'm not sure I get your point.

As to Kawhi, if Rui does what Kawhi did, then Rui will be a fabulous success. It's not likely, but no one can say it's not possible.

You're not saying that, are you? That Rui Hachimura will become as good as Kawhi Leonard? Are you? If so, I hope you are right, since we picked him. Oh, & what if Zion does what Derrick Williams did? Have you thought of that? Then Zion will be a failure. Sad, huh?

Or are you just saying that given what Derrick Williams did & what Kawhi Leonard did, Rui is the best player in the draft & Zion is a bust -- is that it? I mean... think about it! "Williams" -- "Williamson" Isn't it obvious? "Williamson" is the "son of" -- i.e. the return of -- "Williams!"

& that must be why...

...The whole Clarke complaining is getting really old, especially when some people are trying to condemn Rui at the same time.... It's possible Rui will be a much better pro than Clarke, ...and in my opinion it's pretty likely.

But but but... don't you have this exactly backwards? Isn't it you who somehow feels you have to condemn Clarke as a way of pumping up Rui? Sure sounds like that.

Is it possible that Rui will be a better pro than Clarke? Of course! Just as it's possible Clarke will be a better pro than Rui. It's also possible that they'll both be great! Or crap...

They could both be better pros than Zion Williamson. Even without my point above about the names.

Why not? Anything is possible. Here's one we'll both agree to: I'm willing to bet that they'll both be better pros than Derrick Williams!

I just wish you'd stop complaining about Clarke! You'd think he had Rui by the shoes & was preventing him from flying!

[payitforward]

What if we could have traded down and come up with Clarke too? The what ifs...

To be honest in the big picture I don't really care. Let's assume that Brandon Clarke becomes a stud. Would even rank in the top 5 of Wizards misses? We missed on Steph, Giannis, Klay, Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler etc. It's just the nature of the draft. I've decided that I'm going to focus on our players, what we have and where we are going. If I didn't lose sleep about missing on any of the guys listed above, I'm not going to lose sleep over missing on Brandon Clarke.

Bingo! Thank you prime! Plus, these guys aren't joined at the hip just b/c they played on the same team & some of us preferred Clarke. Who knows? & what if Grant Williams turns out to be better than both of them? It's not impossible after all?

[prime1time]

If you have the time you should really watch this video. I think people are going to be very surprised at how good Rui's game will translate to the NBA. I thought that when he came to Gonzaga he was a very raw player. And that his work at Gonzaga turned him into the player he is. This is not the case. After watching this video, I think if anything Gonzaga was kind of holding him back. And in the NBA Rui will be a force. Remember before you watch the video that Rui started playing basketball at 13/14. He was born in 1998. So in 2014-2016 he between the age of 16-18.

Watch on YouTube

You can talk about the competition and I understand that. But I want to focus on the moves that he's doing. At 10:03 and 10:38 he does dream shakes. Both times the defender jumps to the outside and then he steps inside to rise up for a clean look. And in the rest of the video you'll see a player who is so fundamentally sound. Jump hooks over both hands. Drop steps, counters. At 6:14, look at the body control to avoid the defender take long strides and the lay the ball in. At 7:55 the alley-oop layup. At 8:15, the defender goes for the steal. Rui seamlessly throws the ball behind his back and then proceeds to attack the hoop in a seamless motion.

The drive at 14:17 will work translate seamlessly against big men. And even when you a put a wing player on him, he'll easily discharge with his size when drives. Then you account for the fact that he has dribble pull-ups, dribble step-backs, low post moves with counter and you get a player who's going to be an offensive force on day 1.

I think we need to take a step back and rethink how we see Rui. This is to be expected because Rui is not an American basketball player. He's a Japanese basketball player. In Japan, if you're going to excel in basketball it's going to be because you're more skilled than the other guy. Unlike high school basketball in America where the best players are the most athletic.

Now, people may not like where I'm going to take this but look at the situations that created elite basketball players. Kobe in Italy, MJ in racist NC or LBJ in Ohio a common thread runs through them all. Basketball was their escape. Rui is African and Japanese. As a African-American living in America I guarantee that he faced discrimination because of his skin in a country as homogenous as Japan. And then basketball comes. It's his escape. It transforms his situation from one of being hated to one of being loved. Now I understand what Tommy Sheppard was talking about. The only thing that slowed Rui down in Gonzaga was the English language and the lack of spacing in college.

When he comes to the NBA, and gets space to attack players one-on-one, he's going to be a force. I said earlier in this thread that I had concerns about him scoring against bigger defenders in the post. I no longer do. He's simply too skilled. Even if he struggles initially, which I don't really expect, he already has shown the ability to execute advanced level skills. Something that the vast majority of NBA players still can't do. He was more skilled at 18 than Dwight Howard is right now. There are still question marks about his 3-point shooting but looking at how smooth his form looks, I think he'll be able to do that. The rebounding and defense will still be a question so the juries out on that.

In my completely uneducated opinion, I think Rui has the potential to be an efficient scorer at volume. When you give him floor spacing and room to work one-on-one, he's going to make defenders look silly. So start getting excited.

A while back I read a great article about Brandon Clarke. In the article the writer wrote this line...

Earlier I mentioned Smith’s rarity could be considered a sign for potential optimism. I used this argument in support of Lonzo Ball last year, and many of my favorite NBA players fall within this designation. Essentially, the easiest NBA studs to miss on are those who define their own archetype. Draymond Green, Nikola Jokic, Lonzo Ball, even Andre Iguodala to an extent, are all examples of players who don’t fit a typical NBA mold. Teams undervalued them in the draft because they weren’t able to imagine the roles they would create for themselves.

This is precisely true for Rui. We might as well stop trying to throw out comparisons for Rui because there are simply no players that come close to having his size, length and skill level in recent memory.

[prime1time]

For perspective, this was ESPN draft video...

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To summarize my post from above, I think Rui will be a solid scorer from day 1. When you add in all the freebie points that NBA bigs get I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be able to average 20 points a game. Assuming that we give him the opportunities. I can't say anything about rebounding, but another thing that we have to realize about Rui is that he's coachable. So if Brooks stresses it, Rui will do it. Defense is a concern, but only against elite scorers. And they give everyone trouble. I see Rui as a player who's going to need to be double teamed in the low post, he's simply too skilled. For comparisons...how about this one. Karl Malone.

Watch on YouTube

[payitforward]

Antawn (a before w) Jamison was a two time all star and played over 37,000 minutes in the NBA. Very slim odds Rui (or 95% of the guys drafted) ever reach that level. I don't think he plays like him much at all either, as said above Antawn was a very unique player.

Rui is raw so he will probably have a Troy Brown like rookie year, which is not a bad thing. We have contract control for 4 or 5 years and he should become a fine contributor over that time. One of him or Thomas Bryant have to learn how to guard the PNR and shoot threes or they can't play together, but that's not an immediate worry as we wont compete this year for playoffs. We may be a historically bad defensive team this year depending on what we do in free agency.

Agree 100% with every word -- except that I don't think Rui will play as little as Brown did.

Brown was 18. Plus, it was stupid that he played so little. Part of the EG commitment to "win 50 games" (i.e. sneak into the playoffs & hope to "get hot at the right time").

Troy should have played twice the minutes he did. & I will be surprised if Hachimura doesn't play that -- i.e. 1500 minutes or close to that.

More good reaons not to bring Trevor back (sigh...), not to re-sign Parker (ditto...), etc. We picked these kids; lets commit to them.

Except one thing...

Spoiler:

lets trade next year's #1 pick for Brandon Clarke, ok?

What do you say? &...

Spoiler:

...just yanking your chain: I know we aren't doing that!

[deneem4]

He’s a good pick but his success isn’t going to be decided by him...
It’s going to be decided by brooks and the teams gameplan...
I agree with the kwahi comparison but only on one thing I haven’t seen mentioned and is the biggest concern for him...
He plays best just doing what’s he wants...
Not necessarily isolation not necessarily play making but more so he’s either a weak side offensive player or were going need to play through him too really see.l his potential...

[payitforward]

A while back I read a great article about Brandon Clarke. In the article the writer wrote this line...

Earlier I mentioned Smith’s rarity could be considered a sign for potential optimism. I used this argument in support of Lonzo Ball last year, and many of my favorite NBA players fall within this designation. Essentially, the easiest NBA studs to miss on are those who define their own archetype. Draymond Green, Nikola Jokic, Lonzo Ball, even Andre Iguodala to an extent, are all examples of players who don’t fit a typical NBA mold. Teams undervalued them in the draft because they weren’t able to imagine the roles they would create for themselves.

This is precisely true for Rui. We might as well stop trying to throw out comparisons for Rui because there are simply no players that come close to having his size, length and skill level in recent memory.

I'm really starting to enjoy this. I mean... sure, a week or so ago we might have read that sentence in a description of Zion. But, really... doesn't it apply so much better than to Rui Hachimura? Of course it does!

& how about poor Brandon Clarke?!! Not only does he have to be bad so that Rui can be good (for example, you did know, didn't you, that he's going to turn 32 before his rookie season begins), but now the sentences someone uses to describe Clarke should really be used to describe Rui.

Wow...!

[payitforward]

He’s a good pick but his success isn’t going to be decided by him...
It’s going to be decided by brooks and the teams gameplan...
I agree with the kwahi comparison but only on one thing I haven’t seen mentioned and is the biggest concern for him...
He plays best just doing what’s he wants...
Not necessarily isolation not necessarily play making but more so he’s either a weak side offensive player or were going need to play through him too really see.l his potential...

What? How can you say that? Isn't it obvious that Brooks's only reason for existence is to coach Rui? Brooks was made for this.

We're simply going to have to stop talking about "the weak side." Whatever side Rui is on will be redefined as the strong side -- no, wait a minute: it will be called "the strongest side."

The other side will be weak -- it will be renamed "the Brandon Clarke side."

When a Wizards shot goes in the bucket, the announcer will call out "another Rui for the Wiz." But when the opponent misses a shot, he will say, "Boy, he really Clarked that one!"

Starting to get the idea?

[dckingsfan]

What if we could have traded down and come up with Clarke too? The what ifs...

To be honest in the big picture I don't really care. Let's assume that Brandon Clarke becomes a stud. Would even rank in the top 5 of Wizards misses? We missed on Steph, Giannis, Klay, Jokic, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler etc. It's just the nature of the draft. I've decided that I'm going to focus on our players, what we have and where we are going. If I didn't lose sleep about missing on any of the guys listed above, I'm not going to lose sleep over missing on Brandon Clarke.

Bingo! Thank you prime! Plus, these guys aren't joined at the hip just b/c they played on the same team & some of us preferred Clarke. Who knows? & what if Grant Williams turns out to be better than both of them? It's not impossible after all?

It would have been terrifically cool to grab them both. Both for filling in the weak forward position that we have + creating some excitement for the fan base. But it would have required taking a risk. And if you are trying to "not lose" vs. "win" you will have two different mind sets.

My 1/2 cent.

[FAH1223]

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[deneem4]

He’s a good pick but his success isn’t going to be decided by him...
It’s going to be decided by brooks and the teams gameplan...
I agree with the kwahi comparison but only on one thing I haven’t seen mentioned and is the biggest concern for him...
He plays best just doing what’s he wants...
Not necessarily isolation not necessarily play making but more so he’s either a weak side offensive player or were going need to play through him too really see.l his potential...

What? How can you say that? Isn't it obvious that Brooks's only reason for existence is to coach Rui? Brooks was made for this.

We're simply going to have to stop talking about "the weak side." Whatever side Rui is on will be redefined as the strong side -- no, wait a minute: it will be called "the strongest side."

The other side will be weak -- it will be renamed "the Brandon Clarke side."

When a Wizards shot goes in the bucket, the announcer will call out "another Rui for the Wiz." But when the opponent misses a shot, he will say, "Boy, he really Clarked that one!"

Starting to get the idea?

No I don’t...
I don’t even understand the sarcasm or whatever this is...

[FAH1223]

Rui is going to be playing for Japan in the FIBA World Cup later this summer, right?

EDIT: Found my answer

Read on Twitter

[prime1time]

Someone has posted a bunch of Rui's games on youtube. So I posted some here.
https://youtu.be/S0bP1_dsSIA?t=111
https://youtu.be/kpLQblrLYlU?t=13
https://youtu.be/OhqWdIDvrtQ?t=194
https://youtu.be/OhqWdIDvrtQ?t=215

This is a good clip to watch, because it showcased the some adversity for Rui. Tennessee played him very physically.

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A better version of the Duke game

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This is from Rui's sophomore year and he didn't end up scoring, but thought it was highly indicative of the respect Few had for Rui that he would iso him at the end of the game in his Sophomore season...
https://youtu.be/hqdlBKheEpw?t=265
Another clip from his sophomore year. The last 5 or 6 minutes. Zags go to Hachimura in the post and he delivers each time, either by drawing a foul or scoring.

Watch on YouTube