2024-25 NBA Rookie Discussion Thread (Pt. 3)

[jasonxxx102]

Look similar to Polish NT, but not sure, whats with blue lines on sleeves, cant be Polish NT, not sure what jersey that is. At first I thought it was Czech Republic, but their logo is one of those lion things.

I think it's the Serbian jersey from the Euro 2024. The emblem looks different from the eagle (I think it's an eagle?) of the national flag, but if you google 'Serbia Euro 2024 jersey' it looks like the jersey the kid is wearing.

Doesn't matter anyway in this thread. Ware is the ROY unless he gets injured.

Good catch, makes sense, as I also believe they just had Serbian heritage night. A lot of these national badges are very similar to each other, or just a bit different version of same thing. Lithuanian symbol for example is ''Vytis'', which is horseman in red background. But slightly different Vytis is also Belarusian symbol and maybe few other adjacent places, as Belarus, Lithuania and all that place was part of Grand dutchy of Lithuania long time which was a big country at least at one point in history

(One of Lithuanias greatest historic figures is Vytautas the great, who was grand duke and conquerer in 14th, and 15th. century. If Lithuania was in Civilization PC game, great chance the ruler would be Vytautas. And in Lithuania, it is known that he was Lithuanian of course, but in Belarus, schools and their history claim he was ''Belarusian'')

Wow, I went of rails yet again.

It's a 22 Serbia WC jersey

[Dan Z]

Zaccahrie Risacher today against the Cavs: 30 points (11-14 FG....5-6 from three), 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal.

[remi_222]

Zaccahrie Risacher today against the Cavs: 30 points (11-14 FG....5-6 from three), 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal.

O TO as well. HE def polished his game since day 1. He has great steps, good post move and a NBA body and athletism. And most importantly, the ball finally dropsin the net !!

[FarBeyondDriven]

Zaccahrie Risacher today against the Cavs: 30 points (11-14 FG....5-6 from three), 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal.

nice to see him back out there. Not too shabby for a 19 y/o from the worst draft class ever...or so I've been told

[firedavidkahn]

It's so easy to see a path where Rob Dillingham becomes an offensive juggernaut in this league. Already one of the "shiftiest" players in the league, can shoot, can pass, etc.

Hope he realizes his potential and doesn't become another Bones Hyland or someone like that. He is such a fun player to watch.

[jasonxxx102]

It's so easy to see a path where Rob Dillingham becomes an offensive juggernaut in this league. Already one of the "shiftiest" players in the league, can shoot, can pass, etc.

Hope he realizes his potential and doesn't become another Bones Hyland or someone like that. He is such a fun player to watch.

To do this he needs to actually be able to stay on the floor.

Scoring doesn't mean much if you're giving it all up on the other end. I just don't see how he could ever be a passable NBA defender. Unless he is god tier offensively, he's just not gonna be able to stay on the floor.

1 dimensional volume scorers usually end up coming off the bench if they want to stay in the league.

[firedavidkahn]

It's so easy to see a path where Rob Dillingham becomes an offensive juggernaut in this league. Already one of the "shiftiest" players in the league, can shoot, can pass, etc.

Hope he realizes his potential and doesn't become another Bones Hyland or someone like that. He is such a fun player to watch.

To do this he needs to actually be able to stay on the floor.

Scoring doesn't mean much if you're giving it all up on the other end. I just don't see how he could ever be a passable NBA defender. Unless he is god tier offensively, he's just not gonna be able to stay on the floor.

1 dimensional volume scorers usually end up coming off the bench if they want to stay in the league.

Hence the rest of my post

[TheZachAttack]

It's so easy to see a path where Rob Dillingham becomes an offensive juggernaut in this league. Already one of the "shiftiest" players in the league, can shoot, can pass, etc.

Hope he realizes his potential and doesn't become another Bones Hyland or someone like that. He is such a fun player to watch.

To do this he needs to actually be able to stay on the floor.

Scoring doesn't mean much if you're giving it all up on the other end. I just don't see how he could ever be a passable NBA defender. Unless he is god tier offensively, he's just not gonna be able to stay on the floor.

1 dimensional volume scorers usually end up coming off the bench if they want to stay in the league.

Have you watched him play? He competes really well on the defensive end and has great lateral movement to stay in front of players. He forced an air ball on a drive on Drew Eubanks who is like 6'8-6'10+. He struggles to get through screens but recovers well... I think he will get better and I don't even think he's really even a bad defender now. I think his size limitations just mean he's also not an impactful defender in net.

[jasonxxx102]

It's so easy to see a path where Rob Dillingham becomes an offensive juggernaut in this league. Already one of the "shiftiest" players in the league, can shoot, can pass, etc.

Hope he realizes his potential and doesn't become another Bones Hyland or someone like that. He is such a fun player to watch.

To do this he needs to actually be able to stay on the floor.

Scoring doesn't mean much if you're giving it all up on the other end. I just don't see how he could ever be a passable NBA defender. Unless he is god tier offensively, he's just not gonna be able to stay on the floor.

1 dimensional volume scorers usually end up coming off the bench if they want to stay in the league.

Have you watched him play? He competes really well on the defensive end and has great lateral movement to stay in front of players. He forced an air ball on a drive on Drew Eubanks who is like 6'8-6'10+. He struggles to get through screens but recovers well... I think he will get better and I don't even think he's really even a bad defender now. I think his size limitations just mean he's also not an impactful defender in net.

Yea so I've watched him play probably less than 5 games but the one thing that immediately stuck out is just how small he is.

Dude is listed at 6'3 which is insane he looks 6' 160 at best. He's tiny on the court. I watched him play against Boston and Pritchard made him look small.

I just don't think he has the strength or length to be an impact defender. Just look at a guy like Trae (similar build) he's a complete traffic cone and I don't think Dillingham is anywhere near Trae level of playmaking

[life_saver]

Dillingham's shooting splits (although still a small sample size) are very encouraging for a 19 yr old rookie guard..most rookie guards typically have poor shooting numbers. Keep in mind, sample size is still relatively small as he missed some games due to injury but Dillingham's EFG% so far this season has been 61% and he is shooting 50% from 3 (21/42).

He seems to have a decent floater already and his playmaking has been pretty good. His PnR plays with bigs have been quite efficient. Its been pretty crucial for Wolves to have someone else other than Ant that can create off the dribble.

[7seventynine9]

To do this he needs to actually be able to stay on the floor.

Scoring doesn't mean much if you're giving it all up on the other end. I just don't see how he could ever be a passable NBA defender. Unless he is god tier offensively, he's just not gonna be able to stay on the floor.

1 dimensional volume scorers usually end up coming off the bench if they want to stay in the league.

Have you watched him play? He competes really well on the defensive end and has great lateral movement to stay in front of players. He forced an air ball on a drive on Drew Eubanks who is like 6'8-6'10+. He struggles to get through screens but recovers well... I think he will get better and I don't even think he's really even a bad defender now. I think his size limitations just mean he's also not an impactful defender in net.

Yea so I've watched him play probably less than 5 games but the one thing that immediately stuck out is just how small he is.

Dude is listed at 6'3 which is insane he looks 6' 160 at best. He's tiny on the court. I watched him play against Boston and Pritchard made him look small.

I just don't think he has the strength or length to be an impact defender. Just look at a guy like Trae (similar build) he's a complete traffic cone and I don't think Dillingham is anywhere near Trae level of playmaking

Pritchard has like 20 pounds of mass on Dillingham. I'm sure Dillingham could and will gain some weight but he doesn't have the frame to add significantly more. PP also has a 6'5 wingspan, which while isn't great, it's better than Dillingham's 6'3. Dillingham doesn't have the length or bulk.

He'd have to have off the charts lateral quickness to make up for the wingspan. He just doesn't have the measurables to be a good defender.

[Bornstellar]

Looks like Castle has climbed back to #1 on the NBA's official ladder...for now

[Dacost]

I try to look for Jaylen Wells pre draft articles or scouting reports and there is almost nothing the very few that I saw had him going undrafted or in the late 2nd range.

It makes me wonder how in the world did Memphis even pick him at 39 it just goes to show how NBA scouting departments are just in another level especially if you compare it to fans or media.

[Klomp]

It's so easy to see a path where Rob Dillingham becomes an offensive juggernaut in this league. Already one of the "shiftiest" players in the league, can shoot, can pass, etc.

Hope he realizes his potential and doesn't become another Bones Hyland or someone like that. He is such a fun player to watch.

To do this he needs to actually be able to stay on the floor.

Scoring doesn't mean much if you're giving it all up on the other end. I just don't see how he could ever be a passable NBA defender. Unless he is god tier offensively, he's just not gonna be able to stay on the floor.

1 dimensional volume scorers usually end up coming off the bench if they want to stay in the league.

On most teams, I absolutely agree.

But he's on a team with defenders like Rudy Gobert, Jaden McDaniels, Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Jaylen Clark, Anthony Edwards and others. He's very rarely going to be left on an island.

And potentially coming off the bench doesn't have to be a bad thing. Draft prospects are often viewed through a lens of whether they can become a starter, but at worst Dillingham is in a perfect mold to be a sixth man. It's about the expectations being placed on them, but both the organizations they play for and their fan bases. Not every Top 10 pick has to be a starter, and doesn't make them a bad player in the league or even a bad selection. 25 years ago, another shifty scoring guard was also drafted No. 8 overall, but he crafted out a 20-year NBA career from a draft dubbed as one of the worst ever. At worst, that's who I would be modeling my game after as my floor as a young NBA player.

Watch on YouTube

[bisme37]

I honestly don't read this thread a ton but I see Knecht has no votes in the poll. I could move someone else into that spot from the other category. Maybe Dillingham? Dunn? Or am I sleeping on someone else? Let me know if you guys think one of the "others" should have his own option in place of Knecht.

[Klomp]

Per-36 numbers
18.9 points (.514 / .500 / .400), 3.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 4.4 turnovers, 0.9 steals (in 253 minutes) - Rob Dillingham
10.3 points (.315 / .274 / .833), 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 1.7 steals (in 360 minutes) - Reed Sheppard

[Dan Z]

I try to look for Jaylen Wells pre draft articles or scouting reports and there is almost nothing the very few that I saw had him going undrafted or in the late 2nd range.

It makes me wonder how in the world did Memphis even pick him at 39 it just goes to show how NBA scouting departments are just in another level especially if you compare it to fans or media.

Memphis has done a good job of drafting players late. GG Jackson was #45 and Desmond Bane was taken #30.

Someone in their scouting department deserves a raise.

[Bornstellar]

Castle with another solid performance and W - 20/8/6 in 30 mins

[Ruma85]

Per-36 numbers
18.9 points (.514 / .500 / .400), 3.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 4.4 turnovers, 0.9 steals (in 253 minutes) - Rob Dillingham
10.3 points (.315 / .274 / .833), 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 1.7 steals (in 360 minutes) - Reed Sheppard

Per 36 mins is such a useless stat.

[jasonxxx102]

Per-36 numbers
18.9 points (.514 / .500 / .400), 3.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 4.4 turnovers, 0.9 steals (in 253 minutes) - Rob Dillingham
10.3 points (.315 / .274 / .833), 4.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.9 turnovers, 1.7 steals (in 360 minutes) - Reed Sheppard

Per 36 mins is such a useless stat.

Yep it assumes that scaling is perfectly linear, which we all know is not true