Jstock12 wrote:Ghost of Kleine wrote:Although I really love the idea of acquiring a 2nd late first or early 2nd to possibly use on Grant Nelson (budget Markannen/Kirilenko) for our long term core 3/4 development.
So is it Markkanen or Kirilenko?
Since aside from them both being white, their games were polar opposite.
Markkanen is a great jumpshooting big with below average defense and not much playmaking, while Kirilenko was a legit DPOY candidate throughout the first half of his career and was a great passer, but not much of a shooter.
I'm sorry man, I probably should of elaborated a big more on that aspect. You're absolutely right about them being polar opposites in style of play and skillset obviously. Markannen being very versatile offensively and Kirilenko being a high energy swiss army knife much better defensively and in terms of underrated playmaking. I think on a very base level, Nelson falls somewhere in the middle of both players abilities, but obviously needing more development to reach those comps more closely. So overall what I was speaking to perspectively was in them both being very fluid, mobile and versatile bigs for their size being able to do a lot for their size and playmaking more like wing/ forwards than traditional bigs. And being capable of doing a multitude of things on the court due to their skillset versatility.
But to focus more individually on what (I just happen personally see in Grant in comparison to each)
Similarities to MarkannenGrant's abilities to score from three ( although shooting needs more polish/ development). Ability to put the ball in the deck and get to the rim, score in the post and just offensive versatility overall. Whether it dunks, 3PT floor spacing potential, post scoring, is scoring. The base indicators are present there.
Similarities to KirilenkoGrant aside from being long, skinny, and lanky is ( in my personal perspective) similar to Kirilenko in that he's versatile, high energy, plays with intensity defensively (at times, will need more growth/ discipline here of course), He similarly can be disruptive defensively all over the court, making deceptive quick recovery plays and energizing blocks out of nowhere similar to what Kirilenko would do. Similar to Kirilenko, Grant is also a very quick dunker that can energize his teammates with deceptive dunks that you aren't expecting. Like Kirelenko, he utilizes his ballhandling to get to the rim well for his size and is crafty in the post. Like Kirelenko he can be a swiss army knife type of player that fills up the stat sheet in multiple categories ( when he's focused). Like Kirelenko had, he's got a long, lanky frame with a long wingspan and uses his versatility and intensity to make plays ( whether offensively or defensively) when you least expect it and out of nowhere at times. But do to the skinny, slight frame their are of course potential injury concerns you'd have for both upon their entrance into the league.
Now to be clear, obviously Nelson currently isn't on either player's level yet, and I realize that my comps here are to be considered somewhat outrageous and outlier most likely. HOWEVER, I still do ( for my part) do see a mix of both player's outlier attributes and versatile skillsets/ abilities present in Nelson. And of course he'll need significant development and dedication to get to those projection archs. But he shares subtle aspects/ parallels (currently) to both player's unique versatilities in my opinion. Which is wherein I find confidence in those comps.
