Rui Hachimura

[Illuminaire]

I don't think that's limited at all. The really good version of Markieff Morris is the perfect starting power forward in today's game - a guy who is switchable 1 through 5, can take on the responsibility of guarding the opposition's best forward, and can backstop the defense with weakside help. Rui isn't there yet as a weakside help defender, but I think he'll get there. It usually takes a good 3 or 4 years for players to really figure out help defense. Rui has played just 100 career games. But if he does, he's an above-average starting forward who cannot be mismatched. That's probably the hardest position to fill in the league. Yeah, that's not an All-Star or anything, but expecting an All-Star at #9 is a tall order. Getting a reliable above-average starter is a totally acceptable outcome at #9.

For perspective, the player Rui might become is exactly the player I wish Brandon Ingram was, but never will be.

Completely unrelatedly, could I interest you in a trade.... <slick car salesman smile>

[Dark Faze]

"Markieff--who was good 20% of the time defensively--is the perfect power forward..." is an awkward way to start the comparison lol.

I don't think there was ever any point where Markieff was competently switching 1-5 defensively.

[Illuminaire]

I think there was. I definitely saw him do that in the playoffs a few times. It's just... it was hard. It required him to actually try and maybe even get tired.

So he never kept it up for long. But he *could* have, if he had only been born with a heart.

[payitforward]

For perspective, the player Rui might become...

...would be an improvement over the level he is at right now.

...would almost certainly be a better player than Kieff. In fact, forget the almost: Markieff Morris has had only 2 or 3 years when he was better than Rui was as a rookie.

...& could be terrific: why not?

But, how about asking whether he could be as good as some other young 4s? Could he become as good as John Collins, who was taking #19 in 2017? That would be a huge leap -- enormous. Collins was already absolutely outstanding as a rookie.

How about lowering the bar substantially? Can Rui be as good as Kyle Kuzma? Well, Rui was better as a rookie than Kuzma was. Ditto his 2d year. & I'm comfortable predicting he'll be better than Kuzma in his 3d year too, because Kuzma got way way worse. But this year, Kyle Kuzma is quite a bit better -- not actually "good." Don't get me wrong. But, at least he's headed in the right direction. &, as you'd expect, he's further along than (i.e. better than) Rui this year. But,. I'd say he's likely to turn out better than Kuzma. Only... that's not saying a lot. Moreover, Kuzma was the #27 pick in the draft.

How about Anunoby? Not quite the same comparison, as the guy has moved over to the 3. He was a bit better than Rui as a rookie, a bit worse than him his 2d year. Then he improved substantially, not that he's some kind of star. He isn't. But he is, to use nate's phrase, "an above average starter." Of course, OG was taken #23 in the draft -- but, really, why is that relevant? Zach Collins went #10 that year & isn't as good as Anunoby.

I'd say that if Rui turned out to be as good as Anunoby, people would be satisfied. He doesn't have to be as good as, say, Domantas Sabonis who went #11. Or Adebayo (a #17 pick).

Heck, he doesn't have to be as good as Keldon Johnson, who went #29 the year Rui was drafted #9 & whom I really don't think SA would swap straight up for Rui, do you?

He doesn't have to be as good as Matisse Thybulle, who went #20 that year. Or as good as Mr. Unnameable, picked #21.

In fact, he doesn't have to be as good as the guy who went #38 in the draft where Rui went #9.

But... he does have to become a player who is actually good. As does Deni.

[DCZards]

Two years into his career and Rui is already the most scrutinized, compared, praised, criticized, doubted player in the history of the Bullets/Wizards franchise.

[Dat2U]

"Markieff--who was good 20% of the time defensively--is the perfect power forward..." is an awkward way to start the comparison lol.

I don't think there was ever any point where Markieff was competently switching 1-5 defensively.

Kieff was always a slug despite being a solid athlete.

[payitforward]

Two years into his career and Rui is already the most scrutinized, compared, praised, criticized, doubted player in the history of the Bullets/Wizards franchise.

It is strange, isn't it?

I'm sure you remember the heat Brad Beal got the first 3-4 years of his career. I recall a multi-post exchange about how he could not be a good player, because his neck was too short!

[WallToWall]

Two years into his career and Rui is already the most scrutinized, compared, praised, criticized, doubted player in the history of the Bullets/Wizards franchise.

It is strange, isn't it?

I'm sure you remember the heat Brad Beal got the first 3-4 years of his career. I recall a multi-post exchange about how he could not be a good player, because his neck was too short!

I think we said the same about Admiral. But, I think the consensus was right about Admiral, and BB.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Biggest criticism I have of Rui is his soft ass mid range fades. Also needs to develop his post game. I think he can get there, but he needs to be more engaged.

[smoothSeph]

Biggest criticism I have of Rui is his soft ass mid range fades. Also needs to develop his post game. I think he can get there, but he needs to be more engaged.

This is my only thing with Rui, but I guess it makes sense when he only touches the ball once every ten possessions.

[ruffian253]

Biggest criticism I have of Rui is his soft ass mid range fades. Also needs to develop his post game. I think he can get there, but he needs to be more engaged.

This is my only thing with Rui, but I guess it makes sense when he only touches the ball once every ten possessions.

Doubt Rui will reach his offensive potential with Russ and Brad on the team. Rui has been relegated to a catch and shoot in the corner player which he isn't, which doesn't help a player like Rui get into rhythm. Create mismatches through switches, then either post him up against a small or let him go iso on a big. Rarely happens as of late.

Brad and Russ putting herculean efforts through 1v1 play is not sustainable and does nothing for any player development or confidence building which young players need

[DCZards]

Biggest criticism I have of Rui is his soft ass mid range fades. Also needs to develop his post game. I think he can get there, but he needs to be more engaged.

This is my only thing with Rui, but I guess it makes sense when he only touches the ball once every ten possessions.

I don't have a problem with Rui taking that midrange shot. It's an aspect of his offensive arsenal that needs to be developed and utilized. Folks used to criticize Beal for taking too many midrange shots now it's a key piece of his offensive game.

I do agree that the infrequent touches is a problem for Rui. Hard for any player to get into a rhythm offensively in a situation like that.

[Illuminaire]

Long PIF ramble

Yo. I made a short, specific comparison that was about role within a team, in reply to Nate's own post about that very thing.

I love discussion. But you're not discussing. You're going off on a soapbox and barely even paying attention to the person you're supposedly talking to.

If you want to quote me, great - do it when you're talking with me. If you want to write a wall of text about something else, also great. Don't at me.

Edit: That last part came out more aggressively than I intended. It's all good, just a personal pet peave about tagging.

[doclinkin]

Biggest criticism I have of Rui is his soft ass mid range fades. Also needs to develop his post game. I think he can get there, but he needs to be more engaged.

This is my only thing with Rui, but I guess it makes sense when he only touches the ball once every ten possessions.

Doubt Rui will reach his offensive potential with Russ and Brad on the team. Rui has been relegated to a catch and shoot in the corner player which he isn't, which doesn't help a player like Rui get into rhythm. Create mismatches through switches, then either post him up against a small or let him go iso on a big. Rarely happens as of late.

Brad and Russ putting herculean efforts through 1v1 play is not sustainable and does nothing for any player development or confidence building which young players need

The bolded part is incorrect. He is less commonly in the corner (less than 50 shots from the corner on the season), he is usually faced up on the perimeter on the left elbow extended. The rest is generally true. Except that Eui has no post up moves or feel against smaller players. So he ends up going face-up against any and every player. And when in doubt he dribbles forward into a fade-away jumpshot in the midrange at the free throw line or just inside it (110 shots this season). That's his go to move. Drive forward to the defense, then jump backwards. It looks pretty when it goes in, it's just sorta strange, he looks like every kid on a playground imitating a move they saw, saying "Kobe..." Or in his case Melo since that is who he initially patterned his game on.

He doesn't yet trust that 3 point shot, so he commonly dribbles into defense when the higher percentage play is to simply go up with it. The only shot he has that is not below league average, is finishing on the interior. ​He hasn't yet figured out how to get there though. He is strong enough to play through contact, has good balance and base even when airborne, he has sufficient ups to dunk, huge hands-- he is simply raw. He doesn't quite have a dribble drive attack game that has a finishing move. Has no footwork against bigs or undersized defenders either way. He is still figuring out what he can do. But he has clearly learned from Russ to be aggressive and has put up 264 shots in the paint this year. It's a positive. he is learning on the fly. He needs a tutor or an example to watch of proper Big Man play, if he had ANY back to the basket footwork or knew how to move off the ball and when to crash the glass he would be a far more dangerous player. He doesn't know how to back down a smaller defender, he still tries to outdribble them, then go up for that midrange low percentage shot over them. I want him to have a savvy vet who can teach him the complexities of the power forward game. If Rui had gone to the serbian basketball academies, he would be a hall of fame caliber player. His raw tools are awesome. He needs skills first and foremost. Any successful go to move that he can trust. It is hard to be aggressive when you don't quite know how to do what you want.

[Ruzious]

Two years into his career and Rui is already the most scrutinized, compared, praised, criticized, doubted player in the history of the Bullets/Wizards franchise.

It is strange, isn't it?

I'm sure you remember the heat Brad Beal got the first 3-4 years of his career. I recall a multi-post exchange about how he could not be a good player, because his neck was too short!

The short neck deal was regarding ex Wiz GREAT Trevor Booker really playing bigger than his height - because his shoulders were higher than other players his height. Remember that one poster who used to insist Booker was a great player? Who was that guy?

[Dark Faze]

To be fair Beals handles were so terrible his first few years that it seemed he'd be permanently capped in terms of his ceiling.

Everything changed once his handles came along.

[CntOutSmrtCrazy]

Biggest criticism I have of Rui is his soft ass mid range fades. Also needs to develop his post game. I think he can get there, but he needs to be more engaged.

This is my only thing with Rui, but I guess it makes sense when he only touches the ball once every ten possessions.

I don't have a problem with Rui taking that midrange shot. It's an aspect of his offensive arsenal that needs to be developed and utilized. Folks used to criticize Beal for taking too many midrange shots now it's a key piece of his offensive game.

I do agree that the infrequent touches is a problem for Rui. Hard for any player to get into a rhythm offensively in a situation like that.

I don’t mind that midranger, he just had a really bad tendency to fade on it a lot.

[Frichuela]

To be fair Beals handles were so terrible his first few years that it seemed he'd be permanently capped in terms of his ceiling.

Everything changed once his handles came along.

This. And I would say Rui has decent handles already for a PF. The kid has great work ethic and physical tools so I am optimistic.

[Ruzious]

This is my only thing with Rui, but I guess it makes sense when he only touches the ball once every ten possessions.

I don't have a problem with Rui taking that midrange shot. It's an aspect of his offensive arsenal that needs to be developed and utilized. Folks used to criticize Beal for taking too many midrange shots now it's a key piece of his offensive game.

I do agree that the infrequent touches is a problem for Rui. Hard for any player to get into a rhythm offensively in a situation like that.

I don’t mind that midranger, he just had a really bad tendency to fade on it a lot.

I think the key for Rui will be both getting better at the 3 and gaining confidence in it - so he stops passing up open 3's in favor of contested long 2's. And when he does pass up open 3's, don't settle for long 2's - go aggressively all the way to the hoop. He'll get some blocked, but he'll also draw more fouls. I thought his aggressive drives to the hoop was the best part of his game in college.

[gambitx777]

I feel so bad for this kid lol like I can only see the posts should have taken rui. If we took someone else not named Brandon Clarke. Yes it would have been legend to some how get both , can you imagine a starting line up of Russ beal rui Clarke and Thomas healthy. The defence would be not great but God damn we would score about 170 every night.

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