2019 NBA Draft Prep

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

Wait..why would u want to trade with the Celts?

1. Never wanna deal with them.
2. You can’t have 4-6 rookies on the roster this year...I mean I think!

I want 5 on the roster, and a sixth stashed in Europe.

1. Zion.

Then...

1. Fernando. (laugh if you must, but this kid reminds me of a Olajuwon, except 2 inches shorter and flashing 3 pt range)
2. Jerome. (a notch below Trae in scoring and dimes, which actually is more praise than it is criticism... but taller and a couple of notches above Trae in defense)
3. Thybulle. (projects to be all the best things about Thabo, and maybe more, straight out of school)
4. Okpala or Doumbouya (big projectable SF, possible eventual replacement for Prince... though I'm not one trying to get rid of Prince)

Then...

1. Semanic. (that's Luka Semanic, btw... and there's some serious Luka to this PF's game)

Fernando is Olajuwon now? Maaaaan, Supes get in here with the Alice Karl Malone thing...it’s closer..sadly.

He's not yet Olajuwon.

But he reminds me enough, and so he's become my pet cat... highest ceiling of any one in this draft not named Zion, imo.

[King Ken]

April hot take: There is no one in this draft that I want more than Reddish other than Zion.

Has anyone ever shot <36% in college and been a good pro? I bumped it up to 37.5% and skimmed through the first 500 names of this list. I could have missed someone (and I don't watch much CBB), but the only name that jumped out was Dee Brown. And he obviously wasn't NBA caliber. Bumping it up to <40% and skimming through the first few hundred names gives better results. C.J. McCollum and Allen Iverson shot slightly under 40%. The best player I saw who was relatively close to Reddish was Michael Finley at 37.9%. But that's still not 35.6%.

I understand being intrigued by what Reddish could be, but y'all are weirdly confident in his ability given what he's shown.

I know what his flaws are. But I love his talent, tools and system fit. I think he will be better for us than anyone in this class outside of Zion.

I've posted a lot on Reddish. I can repost it but it really doesn't do him justice if you didn't watch him.

[King Ken]

April hot take: There is no one in this draft that I want more than Reddish other than Zion.

Has anyone ever shot <36% in college and been a good pro? I bumped it up to 37.5% and skimmed through the first 500 names of this list. I could have missed someone (and I don't watch much CBB), but the only name that jumped out was Dee Brown. And he obviously wasn't NBA caliber. Bumping it up to <40% and skimming through the first few hundred names gives better results. C.J. McCollum and Allen Iverson shot slightly under 40%. The best player I saw who was relatively close to Reddish was Michael Finley at 37.9%. But that's still not 35.6%.

I understand being intrigued by what Reddish could be, but y'all are weirdly confident in his ability given what he's shown.

Weirdly confident? Nah. Just watch the tape.

This is generally what it comes down to. The tape. His tape is just a lot better than his numbers. Just like some prospects numbers are a lot better than the tape. I remember watching Denzel Valentine and giving him a mid 2nd round grade but the numbers were the best in the nation at the time. Sometimes the eye test is too critical. We all like when the eye test matches the numbers but that's just doesn't happen all of the time.

Look at Giannis numbers as a prospect, I still had him as a top 10 prospect and the player I would draft and his numbers were very underwhelming especially considering his league was weak af.

Look at it today, no one will pass on Giannis. Eye test is critical but for Reddish, he does have flaws and he is not the no brainer that Giannis was potentially.

[High 5]

This is generally what it comes down to. The tape. His tape is just a lot better than his numbers. Just like some prospects numbers are a lot better than the tape. I remember watching Denzel Valentine and giving him a mid 2nd round grade but the numbers were the best in the nation at the time. Sometimes the eye test is too critical. We all like when the eye test matches the numbers but that's just doesn't happen all of the time.

Look at Giannis numbers as a prospect, I still had him as a top 10 prospect and the player I would draft and his numbers were very underwhelming especially considering his league was weak af.

Look at it today, no one will pass on Giannis. Eye test is critical but for Reddish, he does have flaws and he is not the no brainer that Giannis was potentially.

I'm not saying he can't or won't be good. But I know you've been wrong about tape before. And those players almost certainly had better numbers than Reddish. It's just interesting to me how people have been so attached to him all season and don't seem bothered by all the red flags.

[_s_t_u_r_t_]

April hot take: There is no one in this draft that I want more than Reddish other than Zion.

Has anyone ever shot <36% in college and been a good pro? I bumped it up to 37.5% and skimmed through the first 500 names of this list. I could have missed someone (and I don't watch much CBB), but the only name that jumped out was Dee Brown. And he obviously wasn't NBA caliber. Bumping it up to <40% and skimming through the first few hundred names gives better results. C.J. McCollum and Allen Iverson shot slightly under 40%. The best player I saw who was relatively close to Reddish was Michael Finley at 37.9%. But that's still not 35.6%.

I understand being intrigued by what Reddish could be, but y'all are weirdly confident in his ability given what he's shown.

I know what his flaws are. But I love his talent, tools and system fit. I think he will be better for us than anyone in this class outside of Zion.

I've posted a lot on Reddish. I can repost it but it really doesn't do him justice if you didn't watch him.

I'll say this much.

Many if not most of us have spent most of our lives assessing the draft inventory pool... and for many if not most of our lives, those players were mostly seniors... the prominence of younger players is a relatively new evolution.

I think we tend to fail to adjust our thinking sometimes, and not take into account that our yardsticks are measuring much less finished products than before.

So, brace yourselves for another whopper that maybe goes beyond anything supes has said...

Though I think Reddish floor is too low for me to justify drafting him in the top 10, I believe his ceiling is something just short of Kobe.

(*spud's jaw drops*)

What about those shooting numbers? If we as ATL fans know anything, it's that you can develop shooting. I don't consider Cam's 19 year-old shot to be anything but a baseline.

[EazyRoc]

Reddish is guy who’s going to be good enough to stay on a roster but fall way short of his potential and expectations. The more I watched him, the more I saw he COULD be really good. My opinion of him has been tainted by what I read leading up to this season and then watching him be non factor in the Duke games I did happen to catch.

When I watch the games and watch the scouting tape, I feel like it’s more hype/hope than substance. Then you watch videos like Supes posted by the Phillips guy and it like confirms it. “OMG the guy just looks like a NBA player..” is such a head scratcher.

He’s got the ball handling and shooting form to be a great scorer as a pro. He’s a mental disappearing act though and that’s what scares me the most. This is why I think he really becomes a Harrison Barnes level impact guy.

[High 5]

'll say this much.

Many if not most of us have spent most of our lives assessing the draft inventory pool... and for many if not most of our lives, those players were mostly seniors... the prominence of younger players is a relatively new evolution.

I think we tend to fail to adjust our thinking sometimes, and not take into account that our yardsticks are measuring much less finished products than before.

So, brace yourselves for another whopper that maybe goes beyond anything supes has said...

Though I think Reddish floor is too low for me to justify drafting him in the top 10, I believe his ceiling is something just short of Kobe.

(*spud's jaw drops*)

What about those shooting numbers? If we as ATL fans know anything, it's that you can develop shooting. I don't consider Cam's 19 year-old shot to be anything but a baseline.

It's easy to say he can just fix his problems, but it's significant to me if a player possibly has a worse FG% than any good NBA player in history. That's more than just mechanics or bad luck. You have to question his effort/commitment and BBIQ. Especially for someone with his measurables.

[socialsavant]

Cam Reddish will be one of the 3 or 4 best players out of this draft. You can't use the shooting numbers as the only metric to judge a prospect and especially in the case of Mr. Reddish. Yeah he shot poorly from the field but most of the season he shot over 37% from 3. They ran very few plays for him at Duke mostly because Zion is legit a walking bucket in college and RJ Barrett hunted his shot like he was Captain Ahab.

His skill level on tape jumps out. Handling, shooting (forget the % watch his form), and passing in a frame that's legit 6'8" is rare. He's the type of talent that would be the #1 option 99.99% of the time in college but that Duke team was built poorly regardless of their HS rankings.

However, when the game was on the line, and this happened more than a few times, and Duke needed a jumpshot, they drew up a play for Mr. Reddish. The reason being, everyone in that program and probably college basketball knew he was the best shooter on that team and it didn't matter if he was 0-10 he was gonna have the confidence to rise up and knock it down when it mattered most. He's gonna fit in so well with Trae Young and co. that it's almost already a done deal. Cam is coming to the A and he'll be an all-star by year 4, if not sooner.

[socialsavant]

Also, in my opinion, I think Cam is a better defender than the other wings in this draft. The numbers actual can help back me up on that but if you watch the tape, his on-ball defense jumps off. Just keep your eyes locked on him on defense. He can switch onto guards, has quick hands, moves his feet well, and he contests shots.

There is only 1 red flag with him and that is the fact that he didn't shoot the ball from a high percentage last year but I can make the argument that the situation was terrible for him in an offense that he was not a focal point and that he had to adjust a lot more than either Zion or RJ. I think that bodes well for his future.

[King Ken]

This is generally what it comes down to. The tape. His tape is just a lot better than his numbers. Just like some prospects numbers are a lot better than the tape. I remember watching Denzel Valentine and giving him a mid 2nd round grade but the numbers were the best in the nation at the time. Sometimes the eye test is too critical. We all like when the eye test matches the numbers but that's just doesn't happen all of the time.

Look at Giannis numbers as a prospect, I still had him as a top 10 prospect and the player I would draft and his numbers were very underwhelming especially considering his league was weak af.

Look at it today, no one will pass on Giannis. Eye test is critical but for Reddish, he does have flaws and he is not the no brainer that Giannis was potentially.

I'm not saying he can't or won't be good. But I know you've been wrong about tape before. And those players almost certainly had better numbers than Reddish. It's just interesting to me how people have been so attached to him all season and don't seem bothered by all the red flags.

I haven't been wrong much lately since I've watched a lot of games and improved a lot of the tools I've use.

A lot of my eras came from my 2005-2014 era. Where I was too high on all prospects.

[marco102]

'll say this much.

Many if not most of us have spent most of our lives assessing the draft inventory pool... and for many if not most of our lives, those players were mostly seniors... the prominence of younger players is a relatively new evolution.

I think we tend to fail to adjust our thinking sometimes, and not take into account that our yardsticks are measuring much less finished products than before.

So, brace yourselves for another whopper that maybe goes beyond anything supes has said...

Though I think Reddish floor is too low for me to justify drafting him in the top 10, I believe his ceiling is something just short of Kobe.

(*spud's jaw drops*)

What about those shooting numbers? If we as ATL fans know anything, it's that you can develop shooting. I don't consider Cam's 19 year-old shot to be anything but a baseline.

It's easy to say he can just fix his problems, but it's significant to me if a player possibly has a worse FG% than any good NBA player in history. That's more than just mechanics or bad luck. You have to question his effort/commitment and BBIQ. Especially for someone with his measurables.

Well most 19 year olds do improve. If that means that Cam is just a 37% 3 point shooter in the NBA with excellent defense, then for this draft that is great. I see him being more than that, to me his floor is pretty high (3 & D wing) and his ceiling is even higher (Joe Johnson, Paul George esq) I'm more excited about his playmaking in the NBA.

I also believe your stats above are flawed, did you run it for one and done players that were 19 or did you just use his shooting percentage? If Cam was a four year college player shooting that, no way he'll get drafted. If he were to come back for a sophomore season, you'll probably see a dramatic improvement, just like we saw with Culver and John Collins in their sophomore seasons.

I'm all about upside in this draft. Give me 1. Zion. 2. Cam 3. Kevin Porter. Jr. 4. Jontay Porter (should be a second rounder, but his fit would be amazing with the Hawks) 5. Jaxson Hayes 6. Goga Bitz(sp) 7. Bol Bol

[King Ken]

Cam Reddish will be one of the 3 or 4 best players out of this draft. You can't use the shooting numbers as the only metric to judge a prospect and especially in the case of Mr. Reddish. Yeah he shot poorly from the field but most of the season he shot over 37% from 3. They ran very few plays for him at Duke mostly because Zion is legit a walking bucket in college and RJ Barrett hunted his shot like he was Captain Ahab.

His skill level on tape jumps out. Handling, shooting (forget the % watch his form), and passing in a frame that's legit 6'8" is rare. He's the type of talent that would be the #1 option 99.99% of the time in college but that Duke team was built poorly regardless of their HS rankings.

However, when the game was on the line, and this happened more than a few times, and Duke needed a jumpshot, they drew up a play for Mr. Reddish. The reason being, everyone in that program and probably college basketball knew he was the best shooter on that team and it didn't matter if he was 0-10 he was gonna have the confidence to rise up and knock it down when it mattered most. He's gonna fit in so well with Trae Young and co. that it's almost already a done deal. Cam is coming to the A and he'll be an all-star by year 4, if not sooner.

I wouldn't go this far, he clearly has flaws but he is best in areas that matter for how we play.

Which is:
Transition offense
Aggressive defense and playing the passing lanes which is what LP wants.
Versatile three point shooting. Look at Trae and Kevin for example.
Making open shots.
Having some PnR handler skill as our system requires all wings and guards to be PnR handlers.


Our system doesn't value offensive shot creation which is his weakness.

Our system doesn't value having an all around game as you just need to finish in the paint and shoot threes at a high volume.

We play similar to the Rockets but with more PnRs from all types of players. There's is mainly in the hands of Rivers, Harden, and Paul.

[Night Traen]

I can't wait till we draw the #1 so everyone can stop talking about Cam Reddish.

[marco102]

I can't wait till we draw the #1 so everyone can stop talking about Cam Reddish.

I would love to see your reaction if we traded #1 for a King's Ransom and still drafted Cam.

[High 5]

Well most 19 year olds do improve. If that means that Cam is just a 37% 3 point shooter in nba shooter with excellent defense, then for this draft that is great. I see him being more than that, to me his floor is pretty high (3 & D wing) and his ceiling is even higher.

I also believe your stats above are flawed, did you run it for one and done players that were 19 or did you just use his shooting percentage? If Cam was a four year college player shooting that, no way he'll get drafted. If he were to come back for a sophomore season, you'll probably see a dramatic improvement, just like we saw with Culver and John Collins in their sophomore seasons.

I'm all about upside in this draft. Give me 1. Zion. 2. Cam 3. Kevin Porter. Jr. 4. Jontay Porter (should be a second rounder, but his fit would be amazing with the Hawks) 5. Jaxson Hayes 6. Goga Bitz(sp) 7. Bol Bol

Those stats include all individual seasons. They aren't career stats.

Again, it's totally possible that he improves and becomes a great player. I'm just saying that it's a big red flag that every successful NBA player in the history of the game shot better than he did (unless I missed someone, which is why I asked). 35.6% is astonishingly low.

[High 5]

I haven't been wrong much lately since I've watched a lot of games and improved a lot of the tools I've use.

A lot of my eras came from my 2005-2014 era. Where I was too high on all prospects.

Just last draft you said Ayton's floor was Cousins, Mo Bamba had a good chance to be the best player in the draft, and Bagley was a Westbrook/Bosh/Rodman hybrid. I would say you still go overboard projecting players. On the flip side, you also underestimated Doncic. Those are just the things I remember.

It's perfectly fine to be wrong about the draft. People who do it for a living miss all the time. There are too many variables.

[King Ken]

I haven't been wrong much lately since I've watched a lot of games and improved a lot of the tools I've use.

A lot of my eras came from my 2005-2014 era. Where I was too high on all prospects.

Just last draft you said Ayton's floor was Cousins, Mo Bamba had a good chance to be the best player in the draft, and Bagley was a Westbrook/Bosh/Rodman hybrid. I would say you still go overboard projecting players. On the flip side, you also underestimated Doncic. Those are just the things I remember.

It's perfectly fine to be wrong about the draft. People who do it for a living miss all the time. There are too many variables.

I didn't say his floor was Boogie in his prime. I never use stars in their prime for comparisons as a floor.

Blend, not hybrid. I say that Morant is a Dennis Schroder/Russell Westbrook/Trae Young blend. That doesn't mean he is the best of. He just had shades of those guys in his abilities and overall package.

I didn't underrated Luka. I was very high on him.

Bamba as a prospect did have that potential and his ceiling is still exceptionally high. I always said, he is the one that needs the most time with Trae Young. He didn't go to the ideal situation. Give him some time.

The player I said has a chance to be the best was Bagley. Then Bamba/Ayton. Trae had an elite ceiling but I wasn't sure if he would get the right situation. Even us at the time didn't seem ideal.

I always said Luka was the most NBA ready. Man, we need HS back. You trying to play me like I wasn't on my game.

[Spud2nique]

Has anyone ever shot <36% in college and been a good pro? I bumped it up to 37.5% and skimmed through the first 500 names of this list. I could have missed someone (and I don't watch much CBB), but the only name that jumped out was Dee Brown. And he obviously wasn't NBA caliber. Bumping it up to <40% and skimming through the first few hundred names gives better results. C.J. McCollum and Allen Iverson shot slightly under 40%. The best player I saw who was relatively close to Reddish was Michael Finley at 37.9%. But that's still not 35.6%.

I understand being intrigued by what Reddish could be, but y'all are weirdly confident in his ability given what he's shown.

I know what his flaws are. But I love his talent, tools and system fit. I think he will be better for us than anyone in this class outside of Zion.

I've posted a lot on Reddish. I can repost it but it really doesn't do him justice if you didn't watch him.

I'll say this much.

Many if not most of us have spent most of our lives assessing the draft inventory pool... and for many if not most of our lives, those players were mostly seniors... the prominence of younger players is a relatively new evolution.

I think we tend to fail to adjust our thinking sometimes, and not take into account that our yardsticks are measuring much less finished products than before.

So, brace yourselves for another whopper that maybe goes beyond anything supes has said...

Though I think Reddish floor is too low for me to justify drafting him in the top 10, I believe his ceiling is something just short of Kobe.

(*spud's jaw drops*)

What about those shooting numbers? If we as ATL fans know anything, it's that you can develop shooting. I don't consider Cam's 19 year-old shot to be anything but a baseline.

Wow Kobe? Hmmm..skill wise and smoothness, absolutely, desire and will to win, I haven’t seen it a ton but not saying it’s not there. I always take heart and grit over anything.

I still have to see Cam and Culver in a head to head personal and with interviews and all. I don’t wanna take the wrong guy.

Somebody likened Cam to TMac and I can see that.

[King Ken]

I just want to put out there, Cam has flaws and some noticeable ones.

Half court offensive creation skills is poor.
While spacing will help, it's not like this is going to go away.
Shot selection has been an issue but that said, he can really shoot it so it's not as bad as say someone like Bazemore.
In college he had overaggressness getting in foul trouble early.
The biggest issue is his lack of explosiveness that will limit him from ever being a #1 option at any point of his career.

That said, he fits what we do and we don't need a #1 option. We need a two way freak who chucks threes, mainly open and finishes in transition which is our motto. He fits us perfectly. For other teams outside of GS, us, Hou, Sacramento, he has legit cap on his potential. For us, he is going to be special!

[King Ken]

My real issue with Hunter is that I'd prefer to take him lower than where he's likely to be picked.

And the GT stuff is hurtful. My feewings are hurt rite now. 'Scuse me, I got dust in my eyes.

that’s allergies broh. Wasn’t trying to hurt I only make you smile I hope. I think in this draft Hunter at about 5-10 makes sense. Out of everyone in that top ten he is probably a top 2 or 3 in terms of fit for us. Now, we have to determine how much we’d prefer him over Prince. With Prince though, I don’t even know what we have, aggressive but controlled three point shooting and good D Prince or inconsistent offense clogging Prince. He seems like the ideal wing we’ve wanted. Having said that, I wish he showed more dog in him. If he had more dog with that body, game over. Imagine a Trae heart and will inside a Hunter body. That’s a top 3 pick maybe.

I am not sure about that.
I think Zion is obviously #1.
Reddish #2
Clarke #3
Hayes #4
Fernando, #5
Then Hunter/Goga B. at #6t best fits.

The issue with Hunter is the issue I always had with Hunter in our system. Slow hands, won't cause a lot of turnovers which is no issue in a system like Cleveland or Memphis but could be a major one with our tempo. Heavy for a wing which is good for switching which we do but can be problematic in a high pace system which will ask him to guard top defensive assignments and need defensive numbers. Not sure if we are a good fit in that area. The biggest issue I question his is range. He has a decent shot if open but honestly, his three point shooting isn't much. He lacks volume and struggles at it if he is asked to score at a higher volume. I think which the Final Four hurt Culver's standing with fans, I feel like Hunter maybe got too much of a boost. His offense won't be that great in the NBA. We are looking at a potential 15 ppg career scoring with a projected .356 3pt shooter which is solid but I question if he can shoot it at a high volume just from what I seen from his college shooting. Another issue is, I don't think his range is great. He doesn't often any range versatility that I look for in an extreme spacing system like we have.

That said, Hunter is a tremendous prospect overall for me. I think he is a low bust player for ANY team and one that offers a value that you see in Otto Porter Jr. That's has tremendous value for a lot of NBA teams, including ours but when it's time to paid him, it will be the max. I have an issue with that considering what our system and how I still don't think his defense best fit is our personnel where he will be more limited in minutes just due to our personnel and the way we play. Easily the most NBA ready SF in the draft but he is literally 2 years older than Reddish, 3 years older than Sekou, 2.5 years older than Zion and R.J. For someone who already has ceiling issues, you know you are getting a player who most of these players could be better than Hunter when they are at the same age as him. That is another area for me that I have issues with.

I have to say, if you look at Feb 14 of 2019. You look at this class differently.
Look at Cam Reddish, he had a .390 projected 3pt. That's beyond elite. Consider this, .368 was Kevin's projected 3pt estimate. Think about that for a minute.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190214164840/http://www.tankathon.com/big_board

Look, I get it, the tournaments matter but for freshman, I always say they generally lose impact as teams know what their weaknesses are. I always look at two snapshots for them. 3/4 of the season and the end. This is how Trae Young was the most dynamic PG to ever play college and then at the end looked like a scrub. Now if you watched the end, Trae Young is ass. But if you watched for first 3/4 of season, Trae was a no brainer. Look at our Trae. No brainer, duh! We have to understand freshman need time in the NCAA's.

https://web.archive.org/web/20190214192729/http://www.tankathon.com/players/cam-reddish
http://www.tankathon.com/players/cam-reddish

It's normal with most prospects:

https://web.archive.org/web/20190214203053/http://www.tankathon.com/players/romeo-langford
http://www.tankathon.com/players/romeo-langford

https://web.archive.org/web/20190214172835/http://www.tankathon.com/players/r-j-barrett
http://www.tankathon.com/players/r-j-barrett

https://web.archive.org/web/20190214201508/http://www.tankathon.com/players/zion-williamson
http://www.tankathon.com/players/zion-williamson

While it's normal to see steady play from Soph to upperclassmen throughout the year regardless of tournament play or not. This why drafting freshman, you gotta scout everything. The final result is not indicative of how good of a NBA prospect one is.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180620055834/http://www.tankathon.com:80/big_board

https://web.archive.org/web/20180626164909/http://www.tankathon.com/players/trae-young
https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020228/http://www.tankathon.com:80/players/trae-young - Jan 25th
https://web.archive.org/web/20180108003202/http://www.tankathon.com:80/players/trae-young - Jan 8th
https://web.archive.org/web/20171221165224/http://www.tankathon.com:80/players/trae-young

Cam is a special prospect for our style of play.

Watch on YouTube

https://web.archive.org/web/20190214192729/http://www.tankathon.com/players/cam-reddish

I'll say this again. Feb 14th and before, he was a legit no brainer top 3-4 prospect. His injury killed his impact to a sereve degree. His projected NBA 3 is listed as excellent till that point of the season. Note, this is .02 higher than Klay's
http://www.tankathon.com/players/klay-thompson

.06 higher than Paul George who played in a much weaker conference with a horrendous SOS

http://www.tankathon.com/players/paul-george

.22 higher than Kevin H was just based on this time period.

http://www.tankathon.com/players/kevin-huerter

I want you to understand the what Cam is. He is a flawed prospect. One of the reasons why a lot of people have him all over the board and you seen PG comparisons but you see Rodney Hood, Rudy Gay, Barnes, Wiggins, etc.

He is not any of those players. He is Cam Reddish.

He has obvious strengths and weaknesses. For our personnel and style of play, he is perfect.

For others, he maybe too much of a bust risk.

Watch on YouTube