The VJ Edgecombe thread

[Braggins]

I'm not sure if its right, but I hope the pick is Edgecombe.

[JustBuzzin]

While VJ is not in my top 3 I realize why people consider him the best fit.

I think at worst he will be a good role player. If the handle can develop with his athleticism that's when I can see him becoming something much more than a role player.


All signs do point to him being the favorite if he's on the board.

[KingCat]

https://youtu.be/7XxTLPW2sic?si=pG9YpB5PeE6dj8BN

Haven't had a chance to watch this yet. Anyone feel free to provide Cliff Notes.

Sent from my SM-G973U using RealGM mobile app

He just doesn't know when to jump or how to fully use his athleticism. Reaffirms my belief that he will be a good coaching staff away from either being a pedestrian role player or multi time two way all star.

Would be unfair to call this current coaching staff bad at player development considering we've had one year with them; I'm just kinda nervous Lee will think he's is just another Josh Green and stick him in the 3pt corner all game.

[LofJ]

VJ has a lighting quick first step. If we draft him and don't help him develop as a ball handler we need to be relegated as a franchise (well, that might justified already, )

[MasterIchiro]

Wish I liked him more since he's been sounding inevitable. But I don't see agility in his handles, so burst can only get you so far. And if his shot doesn't develop high accuracy, those lanes won't open up for straight line drives in the NBA. While he excels in the open floor and looks great in transition due to his superb athleticism, he leaves me wanting in halfcourt sets. I think he's going to struggle in halfcourt for many years.

Exciting to watch - hustle - motor - energy - hops - speed - burst - defensive tenacity.

Yet halfcourt skill on offense does nothing to justify him landing on some tier that's clear cut above the field.

Yet here he stands.

[fatlever]

Read on Twitter

[KingCat]

Wish I liked him more since he's been sounding inevitable. But I don't see agility in his handles, so burst can only get you so far. And if his shot doesn't develop high accuracy, those lanes won't open up for straight line drives in the NBA. While he excels in the open floor and looks great in transition due to his superb athleticism, he leaves me wanting in halfcourt sets. I think he's going to struggle in halfcourt for many years.

Exciting to watch - hustle - motor - energy - hops - speed - burst - defensive tenacity.

Yet halfcourt skill on offense does nothing to justify him landing on some tier that's clear cut above the field.

Yet here he stands.

I'm in the same boat. He feels so inevitable that I keep reminding myself he isn't officially a Hornet yet.

His main strength in his defensive skill is something that I'm not certain will fully translate due to his size and not amazing lateral speed. At the very least I don't think he will be a teams top POA defender which is what we desperately need

I also am worried that the eye test shows he struggled to adjust to dealing with better athletes from a highschool to college level; the NBA will of course be an even bigger shell shock. The offensive scheme Lee ran last year doesn't help either. Very little creativity, almost no cutting of rime pressure. I think he will have a pretty slow start to his career of we take him. A none volume shooter like VJ will disappear in an offense like that.

This is an opinion loosely held atm, but I just think Tre is a more complete player.

[JMAC3]

Let's live in the world that Hornets do select VJ #4. Then what? Are you proceeding with long-term vision of Melo-VJ-Brandon-Miles-Mark starting group?

Are you making any big trades or follow up moves post draft? What position or player archetype are you looking to trade for?

Is Josh Green still starting Day1? Or is he now the first guard off the bench? Do you resign Tre Mann?

What are you doing at Center for the foreseeable future? Resigning Mark to extension or looking to enter RFA after this year? Are you riding Nurkic out as 3rd center and letting him expire?

[yosemiteben]

I personally think moves are coming and who we draft at 4 will not impact that.

There's a wide variety of options available in FA and I'm very curious to see what the strategy will be.

I get people may not like the direction the FO has taken, but they've been nothing if not active and I expect that to continue this summer.

[fatlever]

Let's live in the world that Hornets do select VJ #4. Then what? Are you proceeding with long-term vision of Melo-VJ-Brandon-Miles-Mark starting group?

Are you making any big trades or follow up moves post draft? What position or player archetype are you looking to trade for?

Is Josh Green still starting Day1? Or is he now the first guard off the bench? Do you resign Tre Mann?

What are you doing at Center for the foreseeable future? Resigning Mark to extension or looking to enter RFA after this year? Are you riding Nurkic out as 3rd center and letting him expire?

Good question but also one that can be asked of pretty much anyone that we draft, right?

Is Josh Green still starting Day1?
- Honestly, there's probably few players in this draft I think walk into the starting lineup day one. I don't particularly have a problem with letting a rookie come off the bench for the first month and prove without a doubt that they belong in the starting lineup... This is all assuming that the Hornets start the year with the actual goal of trying to at least compete for the play in. And also assuming that whoever we draft isn't just so head and shoulders above the vet they would be replacing, day one, in the lineup that not starting them would be criminal. So in this case I would probably still start a vet And bring vj off the bench. This is also assuming we don't sign a starting level guard in free agency with our MLE money. I wouldn't start Josh Green though. I would actually start okogie, Who I feel is a better player than green in every aspect other than 3 pointers, And I don't see that gap as so large to overlook the rest of it. vj to start by january.

Do you resign Tre Mann?
- With very limited information about the actual progress of his back injury, let's just assume it's 95% healed and not an issue heading into the season. I'm still probably not offering him a deal this summer, or Is one that I would be comfortable offering and then I think he would accept. I would match any offers that he got that were within reason. Though I can't imagine a world where another team is offering him a deal that we wouldn't match with him coming off of major back problems and missing 70 games. So can't see a world where he accepts a lowball multi year offer to stay with us when he knows his value is probably at its lowest. So probably ends up signing the qualifying offer on a prove it deal and then we try to work something out with him as an unrestricted free agent next summer. Probably the best and most realistic scenario for all parties.

What are you doing at Center for the foreseeable future? Resigning Mark to extension or looking to enter RFA after this year? Are you riding Nurkic out as 3rd center and letting him expire?
- This is the one that I just really don't know about. I just have no idea how Mark is actually feeling after being traded. Is he holding her grudge against the front office and playing nice until he gets the first chance to leave? Or is it water under the bridge and he understands businesses business? If we could lock him up on a 3 or 4 year deal, something that was reasonable, maybe a deal similar to pj's deal, Then I would probably try to get that done. But again similar to mann, I kind of expect mark to hold off on signing anything long term and try to prove he's healthy and rehab his value a little bit next year. I wouldn't be trying to trademark unless moose Somehow made some miraculous progress on shooting threes over the summer, But even in that case that would project moves to be more of a 4. Obviously that's very unlikely. I still think there's a pretty decent chance he's traded this summer and the Hornets do what we always do, have a massive hole at center next year with Nurk and Moose. Maybe there's a world where the Hornets consolidate some future assets to make a run at a more long term stable solution at center.

[JMAC3]

I personally think moves are coming and who we draft at 4 will not impact that.

There's a wide variety of options available in FA and I'm very curious to see what the strategy will be.

I get people may not like the direction the FO has taken, but they've been nothing if not active and I expect that to continue this summer.

Yes and No. I think you draft BPA, why? Because that player is likely with the team for 4-8 years... but I don't agree that who we draft shouldn't impact our future moves.

If we draft Maluach 4th, then I probably am moving Mark, probably not trading for Sabonis.
If we draft VJ, probably less likely to go and trade a future first for Jrue Holiday.
Or if we draft Ace Bailey, probably a higher chance I am resigning Tre Mann then if I draft Jeremiah Fears.

Etc, etc...

Big difference between drafting for need and totally ignoring needs and roster makeup altogether.

[Braggins]

Read on Twitter

[fatlever]

Read on Twitter

[yosemiteben]

I personally think moves are coming and who we draft at 4 will not impact that.

There's a wide variety of options available in FA and I'm very curious to see what the strategy will be.

I get people may not like the direction the FO has taken, but they've been nothing if not active and I expect that to continue this summer.

Yes and No. I think you draft BPA, why? Because that player is likely with the team for 4-8 years... but I don't agree that who we draft shouldn't impact our future moves.

If we draft Maluach 4th, then I probably am moving Mark, probably not trading for Sabonis.
If we draft VJ, probably less likely to go and trade a future first for Jrue Holiday.
Or if we draft Ace Bailey, probably a higher chance I am resigning Tre Mann then if I draft Jeremiah Fears.

Etc, etc...

Big difference between drafting for need and totally ignoring needs and roster makeup altogether.

Realizing mine wasn't a great response to your post because I was more thinking of activity level in general. Obviously if we draft a big top 5, that highlights a pending decision that we'll need to make considering the fact that we'll have 4 rotation-worthy centers on the roster. I just think we're going to have an active summer and I don't view the draft as a reason we won't, regardless of who we pick.

With the exception of a big, I also don't think who we draft would substantially impact my perspective on any other moves, but that's probably because I see most if not all of our possible draft options as either offering at least some positional versatility or as playing a position that would be good to duplicate from either a position or skill perspective.

[MasterIchiro]

Read on Twitter

Agree he's polarizing. But his proponents thus far have been more vocal than his skeptics and that comes from his placement in mock drafts.

The film is misleading because his highlights concentrate mostly on full court basketball, and while offenses look to push in the NBA and try to catch a defense before it sets, it's not the norm. And if you're not a ballhandler capable of breaking down a defense in a halfcourt set when they're ready for you, you don't get the same mileage out of your athleticism/motor/energy, which is his VJ's calling card.

I think the mocks that place him 4 are buying the hype of his eye-popping fast break highlights, and rim attacks early in a given possession.

If his highlights exclusively showed him in halfcourt sets the narrative would change, and trust me, you wouldn't see him breaking down a defense like Fears or touching the paint at will like him.

I think Fears 5 in some mocks is starting to balance perspective. But you just never hear about Hornets taking the player projected to go 5 at best. All we hear is VJ 4.

[wilson115]

Suggs is one of the reasons I'm confident about VJ as an NBA player. Was seen as a disappointment for a while because of his offense coming along slowly but his defense and roleplayer mentality made it so he'd always get enough playing time to improve on-the-job. Could maybe say the same about Dyson Daniels, Jalen Johnson, and basically all of the OKC and Pacers rotation.
https://orlandomagicdaily.com/posts/orlando-magics-2024-25-season-hinges-on-jalen-suggs-growth

Yes, offensively right now, obviously VJ's strength is in transition, but how does he get ridiculous numbers there in the first place? Again, thanks to his defense. The numbers says he's always out on the perimeter meeting the tip of the spear and being a disruptor on D thanks to his effort, tools, and, clearly, unteachable instincts.

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Rays Pompadour]

What makes me intrigued with Edgecomb is that he's so SUDDEN. There are athletes that move with power and speed, but there are a chosen few that move with a suddenness in both power and speed. Also, I witnessed Edgecomb use his left hand a lot on his drives into the lane, which tells me he works at the craft and projects to better his skill in the years ahead. And then, of course, he''s still a kid like just about all these other top ten draft hopefuls. I think we tend to forget this as fans, pushing expectations upon teenagers not yet finished growing.

All lottery draftees will need time to mature. All should have a three year developmental arc. It's why these kids rush to reclassify and come out early as they can so they can get to the second and third contracts earlier. The NIL money entices marginal talents to stay in school, but the real money is in the second and third contracts. So, Hornets fans should reasonably temper expectations of any child they draft at #4. The Hornets certainly aren't drafting for 2025-26.

[Diop]

this playoffs is helping his stock as well, as we're seeing the likes of Caruso, Dort and Mathurin shine with their defense. defensive "stars" are being valued more.

[Diop]

Let's live in the world that Hornets do select VJ #4. Then what? Are you proceeding with long-term vision of Melo-VJ-Brandon-Miles-Mark starting group?

Are you making any big trades or follow up moves post draft? What position or player archetype are you looking to trade for?

Is Josh Green still starting Day1? Or is he now the first guard off the bench? Do you resign Tre Mann?

What are you doing at Center for the foreseeable future? Resigning Mark to extension or looking to enter RFA after this year? Are you riding Nurkic out as 3rd center and letting him expire?

Flag was the only draft pick i saw starting from day 1, but thats generally always my opinion with rookies. you let them ease in.

i believe this front office will definitely want to trade. im sure they would love to offload Miles, they have already shown a willingness to trade Mark if need be.

personally, even if we're signing VJ, my first move is trying to organise a sign n trade for Q Grimes with Philly. They can't afford to keep him and we can give them something in return.

[JMAC3]

Let's live in the world that Hornets do select VJ #4. Then what? Are you proceeding with long-term vision of Melo-VJ-Brandon-Miles-Mark starting group?

Are you making any big trades or follow up moves post draft? What position or player archetype are you looking to trade for?

Is Josh Green still starting Day1? Or is he now the first guard off the bench? Do you resign Tre Mann?

What are you doing at Center for the foreseeable future? Resigning Mark to extension or looking to enter RFA after this year? Are you riding Nurkic out as 3rd center and letting him expire?

Flag was the only draft pick i saw starting from day 1, but thats generally always my opinion with rookies. you let them ease in.

i believe this front office will definitely want to trade. im sure they would love to offload Miles, they have already shown a willingness to trade Mark if need be.

personally, even if we're signing VJ, my first move is trying to organise a sign n trade for Q Grimes with Philly. They can't afford to keep him and we can give them something in return.

Philly is 30 million below the first tax apron, I don't know if I would agree they can't afford him. What are you offering Philly for him? We have no cap space to even sign him to an offer sheet.