Does Zach Lavine look like a Future Star?

[brutalitops]

RPM has him ranked as the worst player in the entire league.

I doubt any future star has started out dead last. His ceiling is probably a stat producer on a bad team.

Not hard for a 19 year old SG playing PG on the leagues worst team to gain a bad RPM

[Wolf_Cry]

Please stop comparing him to Gerald Green's weakass. Green has absolutely no handles, especially at age 19, and shies away from contact even till this day. LaVine's handle's aren't the best, but they suffice for a starting SG. Realistically speaking, me and most Wolves fan are just hoping he'll be a solid starter, but wishing (and wouldn't be surprise) if he did become an elite guard.

Also, just an FYI, for some stupid reason Flip keeps playing him at PG when he's clearly a SG.

[Saints14]

Also, just an FYI, for some stupid reason Flip keeps playing him at PG when he's clearly a SG.

I read some posts from Orlando fans who felt the same way about Oladipo last year, but now they're happy he got exposure as a PG because he improved his ball handling and other PG skills because of it. Maybe we'll see something similar with LaVine - taking him out of his comfort zone to improve aspects of his game, then moving him to SG?

[SOUL]

Exum looked/still looks like a combo-guard-Kobe, whilst LaVine is a physical freak.

in what sense? @ exum

@ lavine, its way too early to tell. i thought he'd be more PG than he's shown but maybe its good that hes not

[Crazy-Canuck]

8 people voted for certified HOF'er?

Zach has the look and feel of a gunner off the bench. He has that chuckers mentality and confidence along with the inability to play a lick of defense.

My guess is 6th man.

[Sixerscan]

He's very good. Unless you are talking about the whole basketball thing

[oldschooled]

Depends on one thing

1.) Work ethic/Drive
2.) Ability of Minny's FO to develop players

This is sig worthy

[Blkbrd671]

Depends on one thing

1.) Work ethic/Drive
2.) Ability of Minny's FO to develop players

This is sig worthy

Feel free, i always appreciate shout outs

[Frank Dux]

To be honest he reminds me a bit of Curry in his rookie year. Has a decent skill level and shows flashes of being really good but is very weak/underdeveloped and not ready to play nba caliber defense.

I'm not sure if Lavine ever becomes better than Curry was as a rookie. Curry was miles ahead at this stage.

[californiadude]

To be honest he reminds me a bit of Curry in his rookie year. Has a decent skill level and shows flashes of being really good but is very weak/underdeveloped and not ready to play nba caliber defense.

I'm not sure if Lavine ever becomes better than Curry was as a rookie. Curry was miles ahead at this stage.

Yeah I'd definitely agree with you on that. I can't quite put my finger on what makes me actually think that. But there's just something about him that reminds me of rookie Steph.

[j-ragg]

Exum looked/still looks like a combo-guard-Kobe, whilst LaVine is a physical freak.

in what sense? @ exum

@ lavine, its way too early to tell. i thought he'd be more PG than he's shown but maybe its good that hes not

Right? Exum has looked average at best this year. I think he's let a lot of people down, thought he'd show more.

And when I think physical freak I think Orlando Shaq or Anthony Davis or LeBron. LaVine is an athletic freak but needs a steak or two.

[C.lupus]

Yeah, the Gerald Green comparisons are lazy. LaVine has already shown more. It took Green six years to become a decent NBA player.

With LaVine, it's just really hard to tell at this point. He was drafted as a raw player with a ton of potential and he still kind of is that, although he has improved on some aspects a lot this year. What is clear to me at this point is that he is not a point guard. His handles are fine and his passing has improved but his decision making is not there to be a floor general. I think his future is as a ball-handling 2 who can score in a variety of ways. Probably a sixth man scorer or a starter on the right team.

He really needs to work on his body and get stronger and he needs to work on his defense, because right now that is horrible. But he is by all accounts a gym rat and has a great work ethic and he has just the right amount of cockiness. Those give me hope that he will end up closer to his ceiling than his floor.

[jpengland]

He's not a PG, I agree with an earlier poster who said that he's being played there to force him to develop his handles and reading of the game.

His first step and athleticism are elite, his shot is currently inconsistent but the form is nice and it appears to be developing (he's shooting 36% from deep which is not bad at all for a rookie). Lateral quickness is obviously good and hand speed is pretty quick so he projects as a decent defensive player.

If his handle tightens up (and it appears to be getting there) and his decision making improves (he seems to panic a lot currently) then he's a potentially very good scorer. I think he has shown enough that his floor is a decent rotation option as a scorer off the bench and he still has a ceiling of multiple all star. He probably lands somewhere in the middle as either a solid starter or he may well suit being a 6th man bomber.

[Chance1117]

To be honest he reminds me a bit of Curry in his rookie year. Has a decent skill level and shows flashes of being really good but is very weak/underdeveloped and not ready to play nba caliber defense.

I'm not sure if Lavine ever becomes better than Curry was as a rookie. Curry was miles ahead at this stage.

Curry played 3 years in college, LaVine 1. Just something to consider when comparing their rookie seasons.

[rumdiary]

Exum looked/still looks like a combo-guard-Kobe, whilst LaVine is a physical freak.

in what sense? @ exum

@ lavine, its way too early to tell. i thought he'd be more PG than he's shown but maybe its good that hes not

Right? Exum has looked average at best this year. I think he's let a lot of people down, thought he'd show more.

And when I think physical freak I think Orlando Shaq or Anthony Davis or LeBron. LaVine is an athletic freak but needs a steak or two.

Re: Exum. I mean how he looks on the court, his mannerisms and body movement. To be *really specific*, I'm talking about when Exum does this thing where he lets his hands go limp at the wrists whilst holding his forearm parallel to the ground. But I'm referring mainly to how Exum looks on the court as opposed to individual mannerisms. Exum looks like Kobe the same way Jahli Okafor looks like Tim Duncan.

Exum has really, really let me down so far. He's wayyyy too raw coming out of High School and, more importantly in my opinion, doesn't have the right mentality. But he recognizes his weaknesses and hopefully he can work to become the All Star he was supposed to be.

Re: LaVine, I suppose by "physical freak" I meant what you're saying is an "athletic freak".

[thamadkant]

He can't do his "exciting" moves when defended... so No.. at this point he doesnt have what it takes to be a star.
He cannot do anything when defended, maybe he's not physically strong enough yet, but the moment you put a defender between him and his path to the ring and his athleticism is a non factor. Star players are able to put their athleticism to good use under pressure and when defended.

When he gets stronger... and when he starts getting it... he may become a better ball handling Gerald Green.. which is a darn good and exciting player. But thats maybe in 3-4 seasons time.

[MrKnox]

Nothing more than a Blue Edwards/Richard Jeferson slasher type who'll throw down a nice dunk occasionally but has nothing to offer other than athleticism.

[Grits n Gravy]

He's shooting 45% from 3 since the all star break on 2.6 attempts per game which is a great sign that he is becoming used to the NBA three point line. I'm one that thinks he will be an all star caliber player. He can create a shot anytime in the halfcourt and has one of the smoothest/unguardable looking pull up/fade away jumpers in the league albeit it is not consistent at this time. He does need to improve his defense, decision making and body but I think they will come. He is very unselfish and does play with a point guard mindset.

[MinneOOPalis]

He's shown he can finish over and through defenders in flashes. It's just a matter of being consistent and continuing to build his body. One thing about Zach is that he isn't scared and will come right at you when given the opportunity. Here are some recent highlights from the past few games. You can see a big change now because he isn't playing PG as often.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbE_8WVi428[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHP1S_0Hcug[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_-EbIqhqR4[/youtube]