Goldbum wrote:I see himmin Portland with the 2nd round pick. The Blazers need size in a big way. I don't think he ever plays more than 12 minutes a game in the PNW but that's 12 less minutes of being disgustingly under sized.
Portland is EXACTLY who I feel should take him.
Ideally, Portland acquires a Thompson twin/Hendricks/Walker and Edey.
Either that or the Hornets could use a combination like this to put next to LaMelo.
Now, here's a neat stat. Some may find it arbitrary but as a threshold type stat, it hasn't really failed (you're free to go out and do your own comparisons):
Basically, traditional centers of the modern era (1980-now) who, as college freshmen that play significant minutes on their Div I caliber team, averaged
12/8.5 on mid-50 FG% per 28 minutes (Shaq's minutes, he was my template here).....have all practically gone on to become quality centers.
Of those who meet that criteria and demonstrated elite athleticism, footwork, skills (aka top prospects): Shaq, Robinson, Hakeem, Sampson, Embiid, KAT, Ayton, Oden
Of those who meet that criteria, in general (proven themselves relative to their draft position): DeMarcus Cousins, Robert Williams III, Wendell Carter Jr, Hassan Whiteside.
Young and promising players like Jalen Duren, Walker Kessler, and maybe Holmgren if you count him as a traditional center, have also met this benchmark.
None of these guys are truly failures as players/talents. A player like Whiteside may be the worst player listed but his problem wasn't his size or skills so much as his effort/IQ.
To me, what that stat demonstrates is that if you show elite productivity as a freshmen, you're simply so far ahead of your peers that you'll succeed in the NBA.
Now, Zach Edey barely misses this cut off point by .1 rebound. In which case, I think you may allow lee way here because I don't think 8.4 rebounds versus 8.5 rebounds is a big enough drop off point that Edey is disqualified.
Personally, I was big on Duren and Kessler. They seem to be doing well, so far. I can see something similar for Zach Edey.
I think, at worst, you'll get an Enes Kanter/Hassan Whiteside type player who can put up stats but struggle defensively. That's a decent starter and high quality bench guy.
At best, you get the next Jokic - a quality center prospect who was skipped out on simply for being too slow and unathletic to keep up in the modern NBA.