Dalek wrote:PushDaRock wrote:Dalek wrote:
The way a person carries themselves says a lot to me. If people looks phased by cameras and the spotlight then they may not handle the NBA well.
Or maybe you should consider that English isn't Kasparas' first language and that might be why he isn't comfortable enough or able to show off the "cool swag" you are looking for because of that.
I mean I am not solely judging off swag but looking confident and articulate is important for a lead guard. There were many elite Euroleague guards who never made it in the NBA and lack of comfortability, communication all played a part.
When things tightened up on KJ he looked bad having 6 turnovers in two of his last couple games. I still am interested in him, but I get the feeling he won't be the same type of player in the NBA. He might be more like Bogdanovic more than a lead PG. Not a primary engine but a good role player.
I'll start off by saying idk what to make of Kasp...he's obv still very young & coming to a new country, trying to learn the language/culture etc all plays a part in the "swag" element of it but to me that's not really one of the main defining factors for on court success. I think it certainly helps BUT the most important is...
Inner confidence....not outward.
Sure some of the most elite players of all time had/have next level aura like MJ, Ant, Shaq...even LeBron is confident as hell. BUT on the flip side there are soft spoken greats like Kawhi, Duncan, Luka etc. Likewise you have big mouths like Pat Bev who really ain't sh*t, then you have someone quiet like Ingram who can ball. Embiid can troll like he's the man until the moment gets big then he looks for a scapegoat or excuse, Harden claims to be the system until it's crunch time then suddenly he blames his lack of scoring on his supposed role. So it's not really about how they outwardly speak or emote but what is their confidence like in the big moments?!
What I'm saying doesn't mean I believe Kasp belongs in the later category because as you said he had high turnovers and I do recall him losing some key matchups where you wondered where was this guy who at one point was in top 5 consideration?! Which is why I'm sort of indifferent to KJ now because I really liked some of the skill & bball IQ buuut I don't recall him having some huge performances against the real top teams in college and that isn't so much concerning but certainly doesn't boost my confidence that he can be a true lead guard to carry a team. Someone compared him to Podz which I don't think is quite accurate but I get the line of thinking where he should be a really good player but star?! I need to be sold more and since I'm not as encouraged as some are, right now he seems more a Podz level player to me than a mini Luka which is why if we're likely dealing with high level role players that we're just hoping to developing into a star...I'll elect to take one that can defend at a high level & shoot so I know I have at least a couple of things I can count on and develop from there (ie/ Bryant or Coward instead) because if KJ isn't great offensively, I'm not sure what to make of his impact overall.