Jarace Walker vs. Taylor Hendricks

[Hal14]

You should draft BPA, over need.

I've come to accept the notion of ranking the prospects in tiers. you can draft for need within a tier but you shouldn't reach for a player from a lower tier to fill a need. if the Pacers were to take a Thompson twin when Walker, Whitmore, or Hendricks were still on the board, I'd accept management's judgement that the twins were in a higher tier.

That's not a bad philosophy. But anyone could technically be a good fit for the Pacers as long as they're a someone who can play alongside Turner (locked in to long term contract extension), Haliberton (the franchise player, PG) and Mathurin (good rookie year after being drafted 6th overall).

Ausar can definitely play alongside all 3 of those guys. So do whitmore, hendricks and Walker. All of them technically are a good fit. So it would just come down to BPA.

If you take Hendricks, great. You have a 4 who can play next to Turner. But then who are you gonna play at the wing, alongside Mathurin? Nembhard is small. Nesmith and Duarte aren't really guys who you want starting on a playoff team. Hield can start in the short term but he's not a long term piece there - and could be traded this summer.

[Wizop]

But anyone could technically be a good fit for the Pacers as long as they're a someone who can play alongside Turner (locked in to long term contract extension), Haliberton (the franchise player, PG) and Mathurin (good rookie year after being drafted 6th overall).

not just anyone. we need to improve rebounding and defense. last year our best defensive forward was Nesmith and we were pretty much forced to play him at the 4. if the draft doesn't give us a defensive 4 who moves Nesmith to the 3, we'll need to find one in free agency or via a trade.

Ausar can definitely play alongside all 3 of those guys. So do whitmore, hendricks and Walker. All of them technically are a good fit. So it would just come down to BPA.

online evaluations have Ausar as a combo guard. that would have him competing with Mathurin, Hield, Duarte, Nembhard, and even Nesmith and Haliburton. I hope he'll play some 3 at the combine so we can see if he can defend wings. Whitmore, Hendricks, and Walker all can defend forwards.

If you take Hendricks, great. You have a 4 who can play next to Turner. But then who are you gonna play at the wing, alongside Mathurin? Nembhard is small. Nesmith and Duarte aren't really guys who you want starting on a playoff team. Hield can start in the short term but he's not a long term piece there - and could be traded this summer.

short term really isn't a concern. we can be patient for a year or two. but we do have more draft picks this year and I haven't given up on our two-way forward Brown from last year.

[Hal14]

But anyone could technically be a good fit for the Pacers as long as they're a someone who can play alongside Turner (locked in to long term contract extension), Haliberton (the franchise player, PG) and Mathurin (good rookie year after being drafted 6th overall).

not just anyone. we need to improve rebounding and defense. last year our best defensive forward was Nesmith and we were pretty much forced to play him at the 4. if the draft doesn't give us a defensive 4 who moves Nesmith to the 3, we'll need to find one in free agency or via a trade.

Ausar can definitely play alongside all 3 of those guys. So do whitmore, hendricks and Walker. All of them technically are a good fit. So it would just come down to BPA.

online evaluations have Ausar as a combo guard. that would have him competing with Mathurin, Hield, Duarte, Nembhard, and even Nesmith and Haliburton. I hope he'll play some 3 at the combine so we can see if he can defend wings. Whitmore, Hendricks, and Walker all can defend forwards.

If you take Hendricks, great. You have a 4 who can play next to Turner. But then who are you gonna play at the wing, alongside Mathurin? Nembhard is small. Nesmith and Duarte aren't really guys who you want starting on a playoff team. Hield can start in the short term but he's not a long term piece there - and could be traded this summer.

short term really isn't a concern. we can be patient for a year or two. but we do have more draft picks this year and I haven't given up on our two-way forward Brown from last year.

Ausar is 6'7", 215 lbs with a 6'10" wingspan and can jump through the gym. His best position is the 2 but I think he'll be able to play the 3 as well.

[Wizop]

Ausar is 6'7", 215 lbs with a 6'10" wingspan and can jump through the gym. His best position is the 2 but I think he'll be able to play the 3 as well.

You'd think so, but podcasters have said Ausar's natural position if he isn't playing besides Amen is the 1. frankly, if the Pacers pick no lower than 8th, I should like whoever they take. I'm much less confident that I'll be happy with who is left on the board at our pick if we fall two spots to 9th.

[kobyz]

Walker reminds me a lot Metta World Peace

[EvanZ]

Walker reminds me a lot Metta World Peace

Man, Artest was a beast who could move and defend on the perimeter. I don't see Jarace being that.

We should put Leonard Miller in this conversation fwiw. Right now I have Hendricks > Miller > Jarace

[DOT]

I just don't see it with Walker

I have Hendricks way above him, I just think his switchability is gonna translate much better, Walker doesn't seem like he has a ton of versatility on that end

And neither are good on offense, but I trust Hendricks more in terms of developing his 3pt shot. I see him as a smaller Jonathan Isaac in terms of just ability.

[BlazersBroncos]

Hendricks - OPJ (Prepared to get heat for this one - think Hendricks is a swing F)
Jarace - Sam Perkins
Miller - Al Harrington

[Wizop]

Watch on YouTube

[8305]

Listening to their take on Walker makes me think of a young Draymond Green.
Best case for Hendricks makes me think of Paul George.
I like Walker’s chances of getting to DG better than Hendricks’ getting to PG.
If Pacers land one of these two with pick 7 I will be happy.

[The Moose]

Read on Twitter

I was actually thinking about this re: Jarace the other day, after watching his freshman/sophomore tape at IMG where he was more of a wing/guard. He even spent some time at PG in 2020 as a sophomore.

I think going to a school like Houston has its pros and cons, but I also think he has a bit more juice offensively that he wasn't really given the room to show in that system.

Think there is a chance he surprises some people offensively

[big-shot-ROB]

Listening to their take on Walker makes me think of a young Draymond Green.
Best case for Hendricks makes me think of Paul George.
I like Walker’s chances of getting to DG better than Hendricks’ getting to PG.
If Pacers land one of these two with pick 7 I will be happy.

Imho, Hendricks has absolutely no path to ever be close in style to PG.

[babyjax13]

I agree that Leonard Miller should also be in this convo. I have:

Jarace > Hendricks > Miller,

But really narrow margins. Hendricks seems the worst at processing the game but has the best shooting form (IMO) and great physical tools. Miller and Walker seem like pretty high level processors of the game and make good reads, but Jarace does a bit better in that regard. Miller has amazing size, though. I like all three quite a bit. Think there could be value for a team in moving down for Miller and pocketing an extra asset.

[8305]

Listening to their take on Walker makes me think of a young Draymond Green.
Best case for Hendricks makes me think of Paul George.
I like Walker’s chances of getting to DG better than Hendricks’ getting to PG.
If Pacers land one of these two with pick 7 I will be happy.

Imho, Hendricks has absolutely no path to ever be close in style to PG.

Similarities:
Both late bloomers
Excellent length
Hendricks actually a better three point shooter coming in
PG a high level foul shooter beyond Hendricks coming in
Both off the radar coming into their draft season, from lesser bb programs

Hendricks looks like he can guard the perimeter and that was PG ticket to playing time early in his career. The big knock on Hendricks is his lack of feel for offense, I don’t recall PG having remarkable offense instincts early in his career. PG’s development as a scorer from year one to year three was remarkable, even rare. I’d say there isn’t that much difference between PG coming into the league and Hendricks today. Chances aren’t that great that Hendricks has the same big jump in him as PG. But, the tools aren’t that far off.

[CptCrunch]

Hendricks vs Walker vs Whitemore is probably the hardest question in the draft if you are drafting 4-7 for a PF as all 3 are fairly similar with none really jumping out. I'm currently A-okay with all 3 going in any order.

Hendricks is a defensive PF; he has some amazing block rates and a decent base for a jump shot. His RSCI is fairly high, and I feel that his ceiling is low. But if you end up with a 3 and D role player like prime Jonathan Isaac without the alt-right political baggage, you'll be pretty happy.

Whitmore is an oversized SF who looked like the best player the summer among all studs the summer before college. Seems like he bulked up and lost some speed/atheleticism. I'm guessing we'll see some Rui Hachimura early career into a Tobias Harris if he his a good developmental path. Without good development (or shall we say regression perhaps between high school and college), he can blow out like a Jabari Parker type.

Walker has the highest RSCI and plays for the best team. He was a core player on the best team in college, which is quite an accomplishment for any player. He has really good stats for blocks, steals and rebounds. His shot isn't great, but a non-broken shot is alreayd good enough for a PF prospect. I can buy the Draymond Green comparisons above with Walker being a glue guy. I like him a bit better than Whitmore as a prospect, but they are highly similar. Walker's ceiling is high and floor fairly low. (Side note: I read a tweet stating that Jarace Walker is the nicest human being you could ever meet, and I believe this. Being a nice guy isn't a good thing right? See Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson?).

[clyde21]

i was hoping the length measurements at the combine killed the Whitmore as a 4 talk but I guess not

[Jamaaliver]

Watch on YouTube

[EvanZ]

Hendricks vs Walker vs Whitemore is probably the hardest question in the draft if you are drafting 4-7 for a PF as all 3 are fairly similar with none really jumping out. I'm currently A-okay with all 3 going in any order.

Hendricks is a defensive PF; he has some amazing block rates and a decent base for a jump shot. His RSCI is fairly high, and I feel that his ceiling is low. But if you end up with a 3 and D role player like prime Jonathan Isaac without the alt-right political baggage, you'll be pretty happy.

Whitmore is an oversized SF who looked like the best player the summer among all studs the summer before college. Seems like he bulked up and lost some speed/atheleticism. I'm guessing we'll see some Rui Hachimura early career into a Tobias Harris if he his a good developmental path. Without good development (or shall we say regression perhaps between high school and college), he can blow out like a Jabari Parker type.

Walker has the highest RSCI and plays for the best team. He was a core player on the best team in college, which is quite an accomplishment for any player. He has really good stats for blocks, steals and rebounds. His shot isn't great, but a non-broken shot is alreayd good enough for a PF prospect. I can buy the Draymond Green comparisons above with Walker being a glue guy. I like him a bit better than Whitmore as a prospect, but they are highly similar. Walker's ceiling is high and floor fairly low. (Side note: I read a tweet stating that Jarace Walker is the nicest human being you could ever meet, and I believe this. Being a nice guy isn't a good thing right? See Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson?).

It’s funny you start by saying they’re “fairly similar” but as you go on it’s clear they’re nothing alike. At least it’s clear to me.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[CptCrunch]

Hendricks vs Walker vs Whitemore is probably the hardest question in the draft if you are drafting 4-7 for a PF as all 3 are fairly similar with none really jumping out. I'm currently A-okay with all 3 going in any order.

Hendricks is a defensive PF; he has some amazing block rates and a decent base for a jump shot. His RSCI is fairly high, and I feel that his ceiling is low. But if you end up with a 3 and D role player like prime Jonathan Isaac without the alt-right political baggage, you'll be pretty happy.

Whitmore is an oversized SF who looked like the best player the summer among all studs the summer before college. Seems like he bulked up and lost some speed/atheleticism. I'm guessing we'll see some Rui Hachimura early career into a Tobias Harris if he his a good developmental path. Without good development (or shall we say regression perhaps between high school and college), he can blow out like a Jabari Parker type.

Walker has the highest RSCI and plays for the best team. He was a core player on the best team in college, which is quite an accomplishment for any player. He has really good stats for blocks, steals and rebounds. His shot isn't great, but a non-broken shot is alreayd good enough for a PF prospect. I can buy the Draymond Green comparisons above with Walker being a glue guy. I like him a bit better than Whitmore as a prospect, but they are highly similar. Walker's ceiling is high and floor fairly low. (Side note: I read a tweet stating that Jarace Walker is the nicest human being you could ever meet, and I believe this. Being a nice guy isn't a good thing right? See Michael Jordan and Mike Tyson?).

It’s funny you start by saying they’re “fairly similar” but as you go on it’s clear they’re nothing alike. At least it’s clear to me.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Similar being PF's projects sure with similar level of value to me. If you need a hole to fill at PF, drafting any of the 3 would be fine. I don't think picking defense, offense, upside matters that much. People like to nitpick about the type of propect, but at the day you draft for NBA positions, not for skillsets to fill a hole on your team (at least this far up in the lotto).

If a team has different takes and values one more than the other 2, sure, draft the BPA. But in my case, I see them are similar in value so I might as well RNG their draft order (with Whitmore proabbly behind the two realistically)

[Hal14]

Read on Twitter

I was actually thinking about this re: Jarace the other day, after watching his freshman/sophomore tape at IMG where he was more of a wing/guard. He even spent some time at PG in 2020 as a sophomore.

I think going to a school like Houston has its pros and cons, but I also think he has a bit more juice offensively that he wasn't really given the room to show in that system.

Think there is a chance he surprises some people offensively

His last year at IMG, Jarace actually played center. They pretty much never had a guy on the floor at the same time as Jarace who was bigger than him. Unless you count Eric Dailey, but I feel like Dailey was the 4 and Jarace was the 5. Dailey was slightly smaller than Jarace.

Thing is, Jarace would often times bring the ball up the floor, handle the ball out on the perimeter, etc. He was basically like a Point Center. That kind of versatility is obviously very valuable - and it's a major reason why he's a top 10 pick.