RealGM

Both bullish players but different skillsets.

Who would you rather have:

Jalen Duren who is still a 19yr old teenager, or the 21yr old Alperen Sengun?


Jalen Duren
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/durenja01.html


Alperen Sengun
https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/sengual01.html

Kind of like a Dwight Howard Lite vs Nikola Jokic Lite argument/ comparison.

I’m going with Duren. He’s younger than most rookies still. His ceiling is bananas.

Duren.

I just don't trust a team with Sengun at the 5. His talent is fascinating but I think there's a hard cap on any team that he's on, similar to Sabonis.

I’d rather be a fan of Sengun and have him on my team for entertainment value, but I think Duren is easier to build a contender around.

Young Dwight Howard

Obviously Sengun has a more polished skillset right now but Duren's youth and athleticism gives him a higher ceiling IMO. That said, I wouldn't be surprised at all to see both these guys as all-stars within just a few years.

I don't think a modern NBA team can work without a good paint protector at C. So I think Duren. Though I also think you need some semblance of a shot.

Depends on what your team needs. I'd take Duren 10 out of 10 times since he became my favorite, but if I wanted to play my offense out of the post I'd consider Sengun, as right now I don't see Duren developing a crazy dream shake or anything like that. Personally though, I like athletic defensive 5's regardless of the ability to stretch the floor.

Surprised to find out that both these guys are just 6'9

Post game heavy centers with no defense are dinosaurs in today's NBA. Give me Duren

MoneyTalks41890 wrote:I don't think a modern NBA team can work without a good paint protector at C. So I think Duren. Though I also think you need some semblance of a shot.

Bornstellar wrote:Post game heavy centers with no defense are dinosaurs in today's NBA. Give me Duren

But isn't this like Dwight Howard lite vs Nikola Jokic lite argument?

Both have similar skillsets.

Big fan of both. Mini Dwight vs. Jokic light. It's a coin flip for me right now.

Don't build your team around flawed players. Sengun is ball dominant and weak defensively. Duren fits a role perfectly around scorers. Sengun is stalling Jabari Smith's progression.

ItsDanger wrote:Don't build your team around flawed players. Sengun is ball dominant and weak defensively. Duren fits a role perfectly around scorers. Sengun is stalling Jabari Smith's progression.

So you believe it's Sengun and not gunners Jalen Green (and at one point KPJ) and the other young bench guys?

That's an odd twist.

I'm a Thunder fan, so Duran because he'd be such a perfect fit next to Chet. But I wouldn't argue against most of the teams out there choosing Sengun. He's a special talent too.

WillyJakkz wrote:

MoneyTalks41890 wrote:I don't think a modern NBA team can work without a good paint protector at C. So I think Duren. Though I also think you need some semblance of a shot.

Bornstellar wrote:Post game heavy centers with no defense are dinosaurs in today's NBA. Give me Duren

But isn't this like Dwight Howard lite vs Nikola Jokic lite argument?

Both have similar skillsets.

Sengun doesn't belong in the same sentence as Jokic. He can make some nice passes and is a C, that's about where the comparison ends. He's like a disabled homeless man's version of Jokic (no offense to the disabled or homeless)

WillyJakkz wrote:

ItsDanger wrote:Don't build your team around flawed players. Sengun is ball dominant and weak defensively. Duren fits a role perfectly around scorers. Sengun is stalling Jabari Smith's progression.

So you believe it's Sengun and not gunners Jalen Green (and at one point KPJ) and the other young bench guys?

That's an odd twist.

The rest of the roster has issues too.

Bornstellar wrote:

WillyJakkz wrote:

MoneyTalks41890 wrote:I don't think a modern NBA team can work without a good paint protector at C. So I think Duren. Though I also think you need some semblance of a shot.

Bornstellar wrote:Post game heavy centers with no defense are dinosaurs in today's NBA. Give me Duren

But isn't this like Dwight Howard lite vs Nikola Jokic lite argument?

Both have similar skillsets.

Sengun doesn't belong in the same sentence as Jokic. He can make some nice passes and is a C, that's about where the comparison ends. He's like a disabled homeless man's version of Jokic (no offense to the disabled or homeless)

You're kidding right?

Huge disagree because if we're taking the small 3 game sample size into account Alperen is averaging 6.7 asts! In his 3rd yr playing with quite a few gunners on the team.

And he has 3pt range on top of some handles and skills in the post.

If that's the case Duren shouldn't be put in the same sentence as Dwight Howard.

It depends on the rest of the team, tbh... If the 1-4 are all solid on defense, I would rather have Sengun... If its an average/below average defense team, Duren would be perfect

WillyJakkz wrote:

MoneyTalks41890 wrote:I don't think a modern NBA team can work without a good paint protector at C. So I think Duren. Though I also think you need some semblance of a shot.

Bornstellar wrote:Post game heavy centers with no defense are dinosaurs in today's NBA. Give me Duren

But isn't this like Dwight Howard lite vs Nikola Jokic lite argument?

Both have similar skillsets.

Sengun isn't Jokic. And the only reason it even works with Jokic is because he has about as perfect as a team surrounding him as you could ask for (for which Denver deserves a LOT of credit... this is how you build around someone).

I have no doubt Sengun will continue to develop, but I like the potential of Duren a lot more. He's already doing some really great things at such a young age and if you polish his game out, he could be a top 5 center in the league one day.

Man, Duren has had an incredible start but I'm sticking with Sengun unless Duren really keeps it up all year. Sengun has a special, special combo of skill and feel from the Center position that I think are probably the most valuable traits a player can have, given adequate enough size and athleticism. He'll always be a bit undersized and will never be Dwight on defense (Duren might!) but at 21 and with the feel for the game he has it's way too early to write him off as a lost cause on that end. The Nuggets winning a title at least shows that teams with Centers of that archetype can play championship level defense with the right guys around him. He's also taking a few 3s to start the season, and with his age and skill level, it seems reasonable to project him as a decent enough stretch center.