Hoopshype.com execs poll: Top under 25 players to build around

[robbie84]

Scottie not even on the list? Trash list. And no way should Tatum be #2 on that list.

Scottie doesn’t strike me as a guy that you can build around, at least not yet. At best he’s been a very good supporting piece for a decent Toronto Raptors team. Compare that to Mobley, a guy who is already getting all defense consideration. That’s absurd. When you consider his age, skillset, and the numbers he’s currently putting up… that’s a pretty easy player to build around. Look at how well Cleveland has been playing despite still having some glaring holes in their roster. The comparison just isn’t there. I use Mobley as an example because he’s really the only rookie on this list who should be getting consideration, and if you ask me, he should be higher.

He's great, but can he be the best player on a championship team? Also, as with many of these youngins, how will they fare when their teams best players are gone and they are the go to guy being guarded by the best defenders, night in and night out, and having opposing defenses do everything they can do get the ball out of their hands?
We saw Siakam was amazing as a second fiddle to Kawahi. But as 'the man', he's been a ghost of that player.

[Wilfried]

Who is the bozo that didn’t vote for Luka?

Sacramento exec probably

[hauntedcomputer]

Does anyone else look at that list and think....wow, the league is WIDE open going forward?

None of those names seems to strike much fear as some kind of unstoppable opponent, except for Doncic...and doncic is showing some worrying signs himself.

Yeah, this is me. Objectively it seems like there is a ton of great young talent, but when you look for the two or three guys who the league will revolve around that will determine championships over the next 12 years, I don't see it yet. I'd pick Luka #1 but wouldn't be surprised if he kept regressing. I like Mobley but don't see "dominant #1" in his future. Building around any of these guys is a gamble compared to what Lebron, KD, and Giannis offered early on.

Of course some guys do develop faster and better than anyone can foresee. That's fine with me because I love parity and will be glad when the SooperDooperStar Era ends.

[Gasolina]

Bam, Ingram and MPJ? Really?

The latter two guys aren’t very good. The former is a glorified roleplayer.

[Gasolina]

Their numbers are nearly identical across the board. In his role on defense, Mobley has done exceedingly well but, he also isn't tasked with guarding the best perimeter players on the other team the same way that Barnes has.

Okay? Call me when we have instances of Barnes shutting down some of the best perimeter players, including one time in the final seconds, like Mobley has and then I'll be impressed.

You want to make an argument that Mobley's been better as a rookie, it will definitely have merit. But please stop with this nonsense that he's been head and shoulders above Barnes, because he hasn't been.

Yes, he has. His defensive impact far outweighs Barnes. The fact that their stats are nearly identical across the board with that in mind indicates that Barnes literally has no possible argument over Mobley right now.

They're both very good supporting pieces for decent teams. I don't know why you're acting like the Cavs are world beaters, when they're in 6th place in the East. Mobley's not out there, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 boards a night, he's averaging 15 and 8... the same as Scottie Barnes.

Again, Mobley's defense has been the biggest impact he's had on the team, and right now, he's in all team defense consideration. That is leagues above what Barnes is doing right now. To claim Mobley is a supporting piece for Cleveland is downright laughable. He's literally anchoring their defense, which by the way is third in the league right now.

note. no allen or garland. i'm not saying the execs are right but this IS about perceived value,,,,for all those who this garland/allen are all that

I think the idea is that they're picking the most valuable player from each team. And while Mobley isn't the Cavaliers best player, he is certainly their most valuable one.

I’d take Mobley over Barnes too but people are really getting carried away with the Mobley praise. He’s not going to sniff all defense this year. He’s also not anchoring the defense of the Cavs in any way, shape or form; that would be Jarrett Allen. He’s been downright bad without Allen next to him on the court. He’s a very good defensive 4 who would get bullied mercilessly if he was drafted by any of the other top 4 teams and had to play the 5.

He will almost certainly never be more than a 3rd option on a championship team, which is good enough if you provide great defense. But I don’t really see him bulking out to be able to play center, as he doesn’t have the frame for it. He’s Chris Bosh, which is a great, HoF player. He’s certainly not Dwight or AD.

[shakes0]

Tatum over Ja, Melo and Trae...

Nah.

Tatum continues to be the most overrated player in the NBA while Trae is the most underrated.

[KembaWalker]

I personally would take LaMelo over Trae too but I'm incredibly biased. I'm shocked that he's over him in this poll.

[The Rebel]

Bam, Ingram and MPJ? Really?

The latter two guys aren’t very good. The former is a glorified roleplayer.

MPJ put up 23 and 7 on 70% TS in the 30 games he was the 2nd option with Murray out, in his 2nd year, if you don't think that is good than you really should learn something about basketball.

[everdiso]

Does anyone else look at that list and think....wow, the league is WIDE open going forward?

None of those names seems to strike much fear as some kind of unstoppable opponent, except for Doncic...and doncic is showing some worrying signs himself.

I guess you haven't watched Ja Morant play.

I like Ja and would have him at 2nd on this list for the record!

[everdiso]

Does anyone else look at that list and think....wow, the league is WIDE open going forward?

None of those names seems to strike much fear as some kind of unstoppable opponent, except for Doncic...and doncic is showing some worrying signs himself.

Yeah, this is me. Objectively it seems like there is a ton of great young talent, but when you look for the two or three guys who the league will revolve around that will determine championships over the next 12 years, I don't see it yet. I'd pick Luka #1 but wouldn't be surprised if he kept regressing. I like Mobley but don't see "dominant #1" in his future. Building around any of these guys is a gamble compared to what Lebron, KD, and Giannis offered early on.

Of course some guys do develop faster and better than anyone can foresee. That's fine with me because I love parity and will be glad when the SooperDooperStar Era ends.

Trying to figure out if we're just spoiled or not but it's hard to see any of these guys other than Luka turn into a Lebron/Steph/KD/Kawhi/Giannis level guy.

I guess maybe we just have to wait for surprises to develop like steph/kawhi/giannis did. There should be a couple but it's really tough to see them on this list right now.

[Mavrelous]

Right now Ja is 4th in west, Luka is 5th, I still lean towards Luka, but its not as clear cut as portrayed.

[matt6715]

Glad to see some Evan Mobley love

[KembaWalker]

Does anyone else look at that list and think....wow, the league is WIDE open going forward?

None of those names seems to strike much fear as some kind of unstoppable opponent, except for Doncic...and doncic is showing some worrying signs himself.

Yeah, this is me. Objectively it seems like there is a ton of great young talent, but when you look for the two or three guys who the league will revolve around that will determine championships over the next 12 years, I don't see it yet. I'd pick Luka #1 but wouldn't be surprised if he kept regressing. I like Mobley but don't see "dominant #1" in his future. Building around any of these guys is a gamble compared to what Lebron, KD, and Giannis offered early on.

Of course some guys do develop faster and better than anyone can foresee. That's fine with me because I love parity and will be glad when the SooperDooperStar Era ends.

Trying to figure out if we're just spoiled or not but it's hard to see any of these guys other than Luka turn into a Lebron/Steph/KD/Kawhi/Giannis level guy.

I guess maybe we just have to wait for surprises to develop like steph/kawhi/giannis did. There should be a couple but it's really tough to see them on this list right now.

by the time LaMelo hits the age Curry was his first AS year (25) he'll probably be a 25/10/10 multi time all star/all nba

[Gasolina]

Bam, Ingram and MPJ? Really?

The latter two guys aren’t very good. The former is a glorified roleplayer.

MPJ put up 23 and 7 on 70% TS in the 30 games he was the 2nd option with Murray out, in his 2nd year, if you don't think that is good than you really should learn something about basketball.

Very small sample size. He's a nodefense guy who got hot for a stretch. That describes lots of players. I need to see a lot more from him before I would even consider building a team around him.

[Lamak]

Evan Mobley has been great this year

[Harry Garris]

I don't know why Tatum continues to get so much love on these young player lists. He's not a terrible option by any means but I would rather build around a player that's better at making plays for others, personally. I feel like these voters are still falling for the "guy who can get buckets" archetype and aren't looking carefully enough at things like efficiency and playmaking.

It's not 2005 anymore it's really hard to run an elite offense if your best player isn't a good playmaker these days.

[old skool]

Does anyone else look at that list and think....wow, the league is WIDE open going forward?

None of those names seems to strike much fear as some kind of unstoppable opponent, except for Doncic...and doncic is showing some worrying signs himself.

Yeah, this is me. Objectively it seems like there is a ton of great young talent, but when you look for the two or three guys who the league will revolve around that will determine championships over the next 12 years, I don't see it yet. I'd pick Luka #1 but wouldn't be surprised if he kept regressing. I like Mobley but don't see "dominant #1" in his future. Building around any of these guys is a gamble compared to what Lebron, KD, and Giannis offered early on.

Of course some guys do develop faster and better than anyone can foresee. That's fine with me because I love parity and will be glad when the SooperDooperStar Era ends.

In Giannis' rookie season, averaging 25 minutes per game, he put up 7/4/2 on .414 FGA%. Numbers far below what Lebron, KD, Doncic and almost every player on this Hoopshype rookie list posted in their first season. Antetokounmpo became a top player through physical growth, hard work, and great focus. Only the most optimistic projection would have ever anticipated Giannis 2014 becoming Giannis 2022. And that underscores the peril of projecting tremendous growth of any rookie or second year player.

[Jadoogar]

Poor Zion. Sad to see his stock dropping so much.

It’ll be fine as soon IF as he starts playing again and everyone remembers how good he is

ftfy

[srhcan]

Scottie not even on the list? Trash list. And no way should Tatum be #2 on that list.

Why should tatum be No. 2. Dont ya think the executives know more than you?

I dont like this line of thinking. Basically you want that other person to be a sheep and just accept what executives are saying as divine truth and not think by himself. Not gonna fly.

[JXL]

Ja over Tatum, hell even Trae over Tatum.