Hoopshype Executive Survey: Top Players Under 25 to Build Around

[oldschooled]

Lamelo is getting underrated here. Def bullish on that kid. Better advanced stats (PER/WS/BPM/VORP), better feel for the game, way better playmaking compared to Anthony Edwards.

[Harry Garris]

It's got to be Cade for me. If I'm building a team around a guy it has to be a perimeter playmaker since he can be the focal point of an offense, and I think he's going to be the best one.

The first 3 games he played last season, you can tell he had the understanding and potential to b be very good player.

The first 3 games were rough but he got way better as the season went on

[MotownMadness]

It's got to be Cade for me. If I'm building a team around a guy it has to be a perimeter playmaker since he can be the focal point of an offense, and I think he's going to be the best one.

The first 3 games he played last season, you can tell he had the understanding and potential to b be very good player.

The first 3 games were rough but he got way better as the season went on

Yeah he had me pretty nervous like his first 5 games in. Started the season 1-22 from 3 or something but yeah once he got comfortable his potential was obvious out there.

[BarbaGrizz]

This is gonna be a fun thread to read

[FeatheryTouch]

If Zion could stay healthy he would be at the top of this list, right next to Luka.

It's worth noting that versatile(positionally or skill-wise) and well-rounded players are a lot easier to "build around" than players that might be more skilled but have glaring deficiencies(think Trae Young with size/defense).

[JonFromVA]

If Zion could stay healthy he would be at the top of this list, right next to Luka.

It's worth noting that versatile(positionally or skill-wise) and well-rounded players are a lot easier to "build around" than players that might be more skilled but have glaring deficiencies(think Trae Young with size/defense).

It's easy to integrate a well rounded player, but if the goal is to start winning games; there's no reason to turn away from a player like Trae who can quickly become the engine of your entire offense.

[hauntedcomputer]

Westbrick won MVP for averaging a triple double which is way easier and way less impressive than leading the league in scoring and assists yet no one gives Trae any credit.

Well on his way to being the next Nate Archibald, who is barely remembered.

[Ball4life32]

Westbrick won MVP for averaging a triple double which is way easier and way less impressive than leading the league in scoring and assists yet no one gives Trae any credit.

Well on his way to being the next Nate Archibald, who is barely remembered.

No he isn’t. Mostly recency bias based off 3 bad playoff games despite going to the ECF as a #1 at 22 years old (something Nate didn’t do) the year before.

[Wall_To_Clips]

1 Luka (unaminous #1 pick)
2 Tatum (11 of 15 second place votes)
3 Morant (4 second place votes)
4 Mobley
5 Ant Edwards
6 Zion
7 Scottie Barnes
8 Lamelo
9 Trae
10 Garland
11 Cade
12 Jalen Green
T-13 SGA
T-13 Haliburton

https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-poll-top-players-to-build-around-luka-doncic-jayson-tatum-ja-morant-zion-williamson-lamelo-ball/

What do we think?

SGA should definitely be ahead of Green, Cade, Garland, Lamelo and has an argument vs others. He just put up 30/6/7 in the second half of the season on 49/39 shooting despite being the second most doubled player in the NBA. Is this a joke?

Mobley is amazing, but he isn’t a shot creator really. He’s an elite defensive anchor with pick and pop potential. Is that more valuable than a guy who should be a consistent 25 ppg player and lead playmaker, that can get a shot anytime he wants in 2022?

SGA on a good team would have done every bit as well as Ja or Trae. He’s top 4-5 here with Ant, Morant, Tatum, Trae group. Zion IF he is who they thought he’d be, but we don’t have enough sample size yet

[PhilBlackson]

I would not put Ja in my top 3 personally.

I don't have faith his tiny frame is going to be able to keep up this freakish athleticism throughout his career especially when he's ALREADY starting to get banged up and much of his game is predicated on it. Flame away but I'm taking Mobley and Barnes over him long term for their careers if those guys hit the heights of their potentials.

[bisme37]

Ingram, Bam, and Jamal Murray all fell off the list this time compared to the last survey. But it just occurred to me those 3 are all 25 now and don't qualify anymore. Ayton and MPJ are the only two who fell off the survey despite still being 24.

[Texas Chuck]

If Zion could stay healthy he would be at the top of this list, right next to Luka.

It's worth noting that versatile(positionally or skill-wise) and well-rounded players are a lot easier to "build around" than players that might be more skilled but have glaring deficiencies(think Trae Young with size/defense).

It's easy to integrate a well rounded player, but if the goal is to start winning games; there's no reason to turn away from a player like Trae who can quickly become the engine of your entire offense.

This this this.

KG was always seen as more versatile than Dirk, but while the rosters churned around them in Minny and Dallas, Dirk's offensive anchoring proved to provide a 50 win floor. KG's all-around game a 1st round exit ceiling. Both obviously with strong casts proved more than capable of leading championship level teams, but only Dirk guaranteed you that strong of a base.

More versatile doesn't mean more valuable. Not by a long shot. I can't imagine Scottie Barnes gives you a better chance to compete than Trae Young right now. Now if you already have a franchise player, sure. But this thread is about who you build around, and that would be Trae over him and lots of other players itt.

[JonFromVA]

1 Luka (unaminous #1 pick)
2 Tatum (11 of 15 second place votes)
3 Morant (4 second place votes)
4 Mobley
5 Ant Edwards
6 Zion
7 Scottie Barnes
8 Lamelo
9 Trae
10 Garland
11 Cade
12 Jalen Green
T-13 SGA
T-13 Haliburton

https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-poll-top-players-to-build-around-luka-doncic-jayson-tatum-ja-morant-zion-williamson-lamelo-ball/

What do we think?

SGA should definitely be ahead of Green, Cade, Garland, Lamelo and has an argument vs others. He just put up 30/6/7 in the second half of the season on 49/39 shooting despite being the second most doubled player in the NBA. Is this a joke?

Mobley is amazing, but he isn’t a shot creator really. He’s an elite defensive anchor with pick and pop potential. Is that more valuable than a guy who should be a consistent 25 ppg player and lead playmaker, that can get a shot anytime he wants in 2022?

SGA on a good team would have done every bit as well as Ja or Trae. He’s top 4-5 here with Ant, Morant, Tatum, Trae group. Zion IF he is who they thought he’d be, but we don’t have enough sample size yet

Shai played in just 13 games post-All Star break last season and in spite of the 30/6/7 he somehow managed to drop his +/- to -13.6?

No reason to double team the best player on the other team after going up 17 pts in the first quarter.

[Capn'O]

1 Luka (unaminous #1 pick)
2 Tatum (11 of 15 second place votes)
3 Morant (4 second place votes)
4 Mobley
5 Ant Edwards
6 Zion
7 Scottie Barnes
8 Lamelo
9 Trae
10 Garland
11 Cade
12 Jalen Green
T-13 SGA
T-13 Haliburton

https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-poll-top-players-to-build-around-luka-doncic-jayson-tatum-ja-morant-zion-williamson-lamelo-ball/

What do we think?

SGA should definitely be ahead of Green, Cade, Garland, Lamelo and has an argument vs others. He just put up 30/6/7 in the second half of the season on 49/39 shooting despite being the second most doubled player in the NBA. Is this a joke?

Mobley is amazing, but he isn’t a shot creator really. He’s an elite defensive anchor with pick and pop potential. Is that more valuable than a guy who should be a consistent 25 ppg player and lead playmaker, that can get a shot anytime he wants in 2022?

SGA on a good team would have done every bit as well as Ja or Trae. He’s top 4-5 here with Ant, Morant, Tatum, Trae group. Zion IF he is who they thought he’d be, but we don’t have enough sample size yet

This is why these players play team-up. SGA has the reputation as a loser when he was on a team that lost by 70 points when he was out. What's he gonna do?

[Plossum]

I’m def in the minority but it’s still Zion for me.

The injury concerns are a real threat to his career but I still think he has the highest ceiling of all the players listed.

[Wall_To_Clips]

1 Luka (unaminous #1 pick)
2 Tatum (11 of 15 second place votes)
3 Morant (4 second place votes)
4 Mobley
5 Ant Edwards
6 Zion
7 Scottie Barnes
8 Lamelo
9 Trae
10 Garland
11 Cade
12 Jalen Green
T-13 SGA
T-13 Haliburton

https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-poll-top-players-to-build-around-luka-doncic-jayson-tatum-ja-morant-zion-williamson-lamelo-ball/

What do we think?

SGA should definitely be ahead of Green, Cade, Garland, Lamelo and has an argument vs others. He just put up 30/6/7 in the second half of the season on 49/39 shooting despite being the second most doubled player in the NBA. Is this a joke?

Mobley is amazing, but he isn’t a shot creator really. He’s an elite defensive anchor with pick and pop potential. Is that more valuable than a guy who should be a consistent 25 ppg player and lead playmaker, that can get a shot anytime he wants in 2022?

SGA on a good team would have done every bit as well as Ja or Trae. He’s top 4-5 here with Ant, Morant, Tatum, Trae group. Zion IF he is who they thought he’d be, but we don’t have enough sample size yet

Shai played in just 13 games post-All Star break last season and in spite of the 30/6/7 he somehow managed to drop his +/- to -13.6?

No reason to double team the best player on the other team after going up 17 pts in the first quarter.

I mean he finished the season at 24.5/5/6 ish. Also I’m not referring to all star break. It was the last 30 games I believe for those averages. The point is he’s shown ability to be a legit go to player, something most of these guys haven’t. Those are the players teams tank for, not elite rim protectors really. He had an outlier bad start shooting from 3, outside of that tanking him he had a really impressive season.

Incredibly clutch still, unstoppable driving and getting his shots. He’s maybe the most complete player on this entire list (more so than Ja or Trae). As for his plus minus data, did you see the lineups he played with? No team squandered close to as many open shots as his teammates did.

This is a perfect case of someone being stuck on a bad team and flying under the radar, and simply being on a competent roster.. people will suddenly praise him like a perennial all star. All of the data is there to look at.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

Also better in ISO than any of these guys

1. DeMar DeRozan - 4.3 possessions - 1.13 PPP
2. Luka Doncic - 6.3 possessions - 1.11 PPP
3. Kevin Durant - 5.2 possessions - 1.10 PPP
4. James Harden (PHI) - 7.4 possessions - 1.07 PPP
5. James Harden (BKN) - 7.6 possessions - 1.06 PPP
6. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - 6.8 possessions - 1.03 PPP
7. LeBron James - 4.3 possessions - 1.03 PPP
8. Damian Lillard - 4.4 possessions - 1.01 PPP
9. Kyrie Irving - 5.5 possessions - 1.01 PPP
10. Trae Young - 4.4 poss - 0.98 PPP


I’m not saying he’s the best. I welcome debate. But he’s 100% in the mix with the top 4-5, and nowhere near 13th realistically.

[BK_2020]

If Zion could stay healthy he would be at the top of this list, right next to Luka.

It's worth noting that versatile(positionally or skill-wise) and well-rounded players are a lot easier to "build around" than players that might be more skilled but have glaring deficiencies(think Trae Young with size/defense).

It's easy to integrate a well rounded player, but if the goal is to start winning games; there's no reason to turn away from a player like Trae who can quickly become the engine of your entire offense.

This this this.

KG was always seen as more versatile than Dirk, but while the rosters churned around them in Minny and Dallas, Dirk's offensive anchoring proved to provide a 50 win floor. KG's all-around game a 1st round exit ceiling. Both obviously with strong casts proved more than capable of leading championship level teams, but only Dirk guaranteed you that strong of a base.

More versatile doesn't mean more valuable. Not by a long shot. I can't imagine Scottie Barnes gives you a better chance to compete than Trae Young right now. Now if you already have a franchise player, sure. But this thread is about who you build around, and that would be Trae over him and lots of other players itt.

Dirks worst supporting cast was much better than KGs best.


Sent from my iPad using RealGM mobile app

[Vampirate]

I think Luka might have needed those series wins to have this on lock. I wonder if the Mavs had fallen to the Jazz in round 1 if he wouldn't be unanimous? Obviously his playoff numbers against the Clippers were great and the Mavs won all the minutes where all 3 superstars were on the court, but eventually you have to overcome.

Tatum seems like a no-brainer 2nd choice as well. But after that I'm not nearly as bullish as the league is on some of these other guys. Grizzlies fared just fine without Morant. Edwards is explosive, but are we sure he's ready to be built around without Towns taking all the defensive focus? Mobley is cool, but his archetype isn't someone you build around.

I think Trae's lack of interest in defense combined with his physical limitations is a problem, but he's just so far ahead of all these other cats offensively that I'd push him up the list, target a very strong veteran leader who can play and who plays both ways and see if I can't get him to at least try. He's always going to be a bad defender, but if you could keep him from being utterly tragic, I think he does a lot more for you than these other players have shown they can do.

Trae was also in year 4 compared to Mobley, Cade, Green and Barnes who were rookies. Of course he's going to look better because he's had multiple seasons to refine his game. Go compare rookie Trae to them for a much more fair comparison in terms of future.

What if Lamelo takes a big leap? Then he's basically a 6"7 Trae Young. Ja and Ant currently have a better post season resume in terms of strictly their performance.

In the regular season Trae is awesome, however he's yet to really either bring the Hawks to 50 wins or have his playoff numbers match his lofty regular season numbers.

I also notice that you mention Dirk and completely leave off that Dirk is a 7 tall guy who can just shoot over defenses, his shot was unguidable. Trae is 6"1 and needs to work that much harder to get his shots off, especially near the rim. He's extremely skilled offensively no doubt, but there's obvious questions about his ceiling raising considering his height in terms of winning a championship. Not saying he can't do it, but it'll be a much harder road to build a championship team as Trae as the best player because of his shortcomings.

[MemphisX]

1 Luka (unaminous #1 pick)
2 Tatum (11 of 15 second place votes)
3 Morant (4 second place votes)
4 Mobley
5 Ant Edwards
6 Zion
7 Scottie Barnes
8 Lamelo
9 Trae
10 Garland
11 Cade
12 Jalen Green
13 SGA

https://hoopshype.com/lists/nba-poll-top-players-to-build-around-luka-doncic-jayson-tatum-ja-morant-zion-williamson-lamelo-ball/

What do we think?

you forgot Haliburton.

by draft class:

2017: Tatum
2018: Doncic - Trae - SGA
2019: Zion - Morant - Garland
2020: Edwards - Ball - Haliburton
2021: Cade - Mobley - Barnes - Green

all these players are great, but that 2021 draft class is looking like the best of bunch already. great year to get a top 4 pick.

Just young and haven't had the chance to disappoint yet.

[Battletrigger]

If Zion could stay healthy he would be at the top of this list, right next to Luka.

It's worth noting that versatile(positionally or skill-wise) and well-rounded players are a lot easier to "build around" than players that might be more skilled but have glaring deficiencies(think Trae Young with size/defense).

It's easy to integrate a well rounded player, but if the goal is to start winning games; there's no reason to turn away from a player like Trae who can quickly become the engine of your entire offense.

This this this.

KG was always seen as more versatile than Dirk, but while the rosters churned around them in Minny and Dallas, Dirk's offensive anchoring proved to provide a 50 win floor. KG's all-around game a 1st round exit ceiling. Both obviously with strong casts proved more than capable of leading championship level teams, but only Dirk guaranteed you that strong of a base.

More versatile doesn't mean more valuable. Not by a long shot. I can't imagine Scottie Barnes gives you a better chance to compete than Trae Young right now. Now if you already have a franchise player, sure. But this thread is about who you build around, and that would be Trae over him and lots of other players itt.

Lol.

I didn't know that still remain Mavs fans hurt with the KG Vs Dirk comparative.

Ignoring the Celtic years, KG only had one good team around him and he carried it to the WCF. Almost the rest of the years, Dirk had a clearly better team around him, including the 1st seed, first round exit.

Bringing this here from nowhere is ilarious and a poor revisionist attempt.