Cameron Boozer

[King Ken]

What are we thinking? What's a very optimistic ceiling outcome?

D. Sabonis but with K. Love shooting & Sengun-level defense? You get Domantas' efficient below-the-rim bully-ball interior finishing, rebounding, and DHO/elbow passing game. You get Kevin's spot-up & movement catch-and-shoot three-point game. You get better defense than either of them offers; something more akin to Sengun - a clear step up.

That's a PF/C that can put up - in the optimal role/scheme/supporting cast - 22-25 ppg, 10-13 rpg, 5-8 apg on 60-65% TS, do it in a team-friendly way/in the flow, and be good enough on defense to be #1 in minutes played on a top-ranked defense.

Sounds like Jokic-lite, almost, but with less positional rigidity/more lineup & roster flexibility because you can play him at PF.

I like his defense is better than Sengun at the same stage. He's the closest I've seen to Jokic but he's a lot like his pops but he's further along than Jokic was at the same age even if the upside isn't as high as it was for Jokic just due to some of the physical limitations.

Jokic was off the charts data wise before it appeared visually to even the hard-core NBA supporter.

Sengun was an exceptional defender prior to being in the NBA.

From my scout, I had him as a defender without a position or a true strength at that time. Even as a rookie, it was rough. I was impressed by his yearly improvement. Especially as a non 5.

[ReggiesKnicks]

I like his defense is better than Sengun at the same stage. He's the closest I've seen to Jokic but he's a lot like his pops but he's further along than Jokic was at the same age even if the upside isn't as high as it was for Jokic just due to some of the physical limitations.

Jokic was off the charts data wise before it appeared visually to even the hard-core NBA supporter.

Sengun was an exceptional defender prior to being in the NBA.

From my scout, I had him as a defender without a position or a true strength at that time. Even as a rookie, it was rough. I was impressed by his yearly improvement. Especially as a non 5.

He was statistically dominant defensively in Euro league.

[Duke4life831]

I saw one guy say that but i wont name drop lol.

That was me haha.

Sarr started off really hot with his shot. It’s been real ugly since, so ya I can admit that was a bad hot take haha.

With the said, I still haven’t changed my views on Cam. I still have a hard time pointing to a player right now that has a similar physical profile as Cam does and is a legit franchise player. With that said, I also said from the start that I think Cam has a legit shot at being NPOY. So him being dominant really isn’t something I wasn’t expecting.

Just don’t know how high his ceiling is in the NBA and how likely it is for him to get there

I mean what makes his ceiling any lower than what Al Horford was?

Is Domantas Sabonis really much bigger? Cam seems like he has a higher ceiling than Sabonis and appears to be a similar size.

Two of Horford's strengths coming into the NBA was his athleticism and defense. Horford at Florida was a very good athlete. He moved up and down the court ridiculously well for his size and his defense was high level. Probably the 2 question marks that Boozer has had from day 1.

I think Sabonis has maybe 2 inches on Boozer, I think Boozer ends up 6'8.5" without shoes. Sabonis was always from day 1 ridiculously efficient on offense. Boozer was elite last night, but 2 of his actual 3 games so far this season he has shot 25% from the floor and 41%. Id like to see Boozer against better competition more before I put him in the same level of Sabonis when it comes to that level of efficient scoring. But lets say he is the next Sabonis.

Im still not taking him top 5 in this draft. Sabonis is about to turn 30 and he's never won a playoff series. For the majority of his career the talk has been is he a 4 or a 5, and now the talk is can you ever win with a player like Sabonis being a key piece.

Then again the question Ive been asking when it comes to a comp like Sabonis or Sengun is, what happens if Cam is just slightly less efficient than those guys. What happens if Cam doesnt turn into a 6-7 assists per game level passer, but just a really good big man passer and say 4-5 assists per game. What happens if he is Sengun's level of efficiency as a scorer (aka league average). But then throw in you not being able to play him at the 5 in a drop coverage on defense? Is that even a starting archetype in today's NBA? Or is that more of a Bobby Portis kind of, offensive 4 spark off the bench kind of role?

Again I cant say this enough, I love Boozer as a prep player. Ive said on here multiple times I think he was one of the best high school players in the last 20+ years and I think he is the favorite to win NPOY in college. I just think his window to being a high level impact player in the league is very small. He basically has to be elite of the elite in this specific niche, and even then we're not even sure that is a high impact player in today's game. And I feel like if he doesnt hit his ceiling, the most likely outcome is an offensive spark off the bench. Because Im having a very hard time finding 6'8'-6'9 below the basket, slow footed forwards who are high impact or high level starters in the league.

Now with that said, if there is someone to break that mold, it would be Boozer. Im just not sure Id be willing to spend a top 5 pick on him hoping he is the one to break the mold.

[ReggiesKnicks]

That was me haha.

Sarr started off really hot with his shot. It’s been real ugly since, so ya I can admit that was a bad hot take haha.

With the said, I still haven’t changed my views on Cam. I still have a hard time pointing to a player right now that has a similar physical profile as Cam does and is a legit franchise player. With that said, I also said from the start that I think Cam has a legit shot at being NPOY. So him being dominant really isn’t something I wasn’t expecting.

Just don’t know how high his ceiling is in the NBA and how likely it is for him to get there

I mean what makes his ceiling any lower than what Al Horford was?

Is Domantas Sabonis really much bigger? Cam seems like he has a higher ceiling than Sabonis and appears to be a similar size.

Two of Horford's strengths coming into the NBA was his athleticism and defense. Horford at Florida was a very good athlete. He moved up and down the court ridiculously well for his size and his defense was high level. Probably the 2 question marks that Boozer has had from day 1.

Yes and No. Horford's strength in the NBA was his high-accumen IQ, passing ability, and touch both around the rim but also as a shooter.

I think Sabonis has maybe 2 inches on Boozer, I think Boozer ends up 6'8.5" without shoes. Sabonis was always from day 1 ridiculously efficient on offense. Boozer was elite last night, but 2 of his actual 3 games so far this season he has shot 25% from the floor and 41%. Id like to see Boozer against better competition more before I put him in the same level of Sabonis when it comes to that level of efficient scoring. But lets say he is the next Sabonis.

This isn't right. Sabonis was measured at 6' 10" with shoes. Sabonis was also far behind the development curve of Boozer as a freshman.

[tontoz]

Just got done watching the game. One thing that I didn't like about Boozer was that he always seemed to try to play bully ball on his drives. If that didn't work he didn't have a plan B.

This game he showed something I've wanted to see. He got inside and kept his pivot foot down, using footwork and fakes to get his shot off. That is how a below the rim plodder has to play.

I don't care about the big statline. Some of that was just bad defense by Arkansas.

[Duke4life831]

I mean what makes his ceiling any lower than what Al Horford was?

Is Domantas Sabonis really much bigger? Cam seems like he has a higher ceiling than Sabonis and appears to be a similar size.

Two of Horford's strengths coming into the NBA was his athleticism and defense. Horford at Florida was a very good athlete. He moved up and down the court ridiculously well for his size and his defense was high level. Probably the 2 question marks that Boozer has had from day 1.

Yes and No. Horford's strength in the NBA was his high-accumen IQ, passing ability, and touch both around the rim but also as a shooter.

I think Sabonis has maybe 2 inches on Boozer, I think Boozer ends up 6'8.5" without shoes. Sabonis was always from day 1 ridiculously efficient on offense. Boozer was elite last night, but 2 of his actual 3 games so far this season he has shot 25% from the floor and 41%. Id like to see Boozer against better competition more before I put him in the same level of Sabonis when it comes to that level of efficient scoring. But lets say he is the next Sabonis.

This isn't right. Sabonis was measured at 6' 10" with shoes. Sabonis was also far behind the development curve of Boozer as a freshman.

Im talking about Horford coming out of college. His athleticism and defense were 100% considered 2 of his biggest strengths, this isnt even debatable. Go look up old Horford pre draft scouting reports. Youre going to see his athleticism (especially his agility and movement) and his defense as some of his biggest strengths. Yes he was/is a very IQ player and skilled, which is why his career has gone as long as it has. But coming out of college, Horford was on very different tiers when it came to his athleticism and defense compared to Boozer.

Fine, Sabonis is 1 inch taller. I truly dont care if its an inch or 2 inches difference. If you think Cam can be a full time 5 in the NBA, great we can agree to disagree on that. Because I dont, I think he is position locked at the 4. Duke has Cam listed at 6'9, and just like every other college Duke tends to list their guys slightly higher than their real numbers. Flagg was listed at 6'9 last year at Duke, he ended up measuring sub 6'8 barefoot. I dont think Cam is any taller than Flagg. And I dont think Cam has anywhere near the foot speed to try and defend out in space in the NBA against NBA perimeter players.

Which again brings me to my 2 main question marks with Cam. Where do you play him defensively? And what happens if he doesnt turn into being a truly elite offensive hub as a big man, but just turns out to be a really good and versatile big man offensively, but not elite. Is that combination a starter in today's NBA?

[tontoz]

Yeah young Horford ran the court like a deer. He had no problem on defense getting switched onto a guard.

[Caneman786]

When it comes to Cameron Boozer's height, I think he will measure between 6' 8" and 6' 9" barefoot. I'm thinking 6' 8.5".

Carlos Boozer measured at 6' 7.75" barefoot at the combine, and Cameron seems taller than his dad in the photos I've seen.

[FrodoBaggins]

I am going to be honest, I am scared to pass on Boozer. Moreso than Peterson or Dybantsa. World class impact guys almost always translate. That said the other two are impact players and they have more upside.

Agreed.

I don't envy the guys who'll be making the lottery picks. In a league where (according to EPM) 7 of the top 12 players (Shai, Jokic, Luka, Curry, Reaves, Harden, Brunson) play "below-the-rim," I'm extremely hesitant to cap Cam's ceiling. We could be looking at the PF/C Jokic-lite; this could be 2018 all over again, where the outlier-productive player with physical limitations gets overlooked in favor of more conventional top prospects.

[FrodoBaggins]

What are we thinking? What's a very optimistic ceiling outcome?

I don't know about very optimistic, but realistic outcome is better rebounding, more energetic and better shooting (especially FT% and midrange) Blake Griffin 2019. And Blake that year was at 25, 8, 5, +2 rTS with 5.0 BPM and All-NBA nodes. I don't think that there's a better comparison in terms of potential playing style and size. You may wonder about his superstar ceiling (will he become a facilitator and scorer on the level of ~top5 players? Can he become a really impactful defender), but his floor is ridiculously high: he already shoots 39% from 3s and 76% from FT (was even higher in HS) as an 18yo, his shooting projection is really nice and it will expand his game much further. His feel for the game is great and he's already a very skilled guy.

Watch on YouTube

Yeah, it may not be fluid and eye-catching, but his scoring bag is so great for a freshman: he can shoot from perimeter, attack off the dribble, play a bully ball, run the offense in transition, and he's a decent roller.

Detroit Blake is a good comp.

I do wonder whether he'll be more "perimeter" (DET Blake, current Randle) or "paint" (Sabonis, Sengun) in the NBA. He looks like he does both quite well. He can operate with a live dribble as a PnR ball handler & in isolation, and also be the primary screener/DHO guy, picking apart defenses rolling/driving, shooting, and passing.

Also, I forgot to mention:

The underrated part of Boozer's game is that he's at 6.8 TOV% and 3.9 APG per game, his feel for the game and efficiency with touches that he has is already elite. If you have doubts (IMHO - rightfully so) if he can become a superstar-offensive facilitator on the NBA level, he'll be such a great 2nd option with his passing and (potentially) shooting.

One of the reasons why he's so far at 39.6 PER and 21.8 BPM at the start of the season: 39% from 3s, 67TS%, 3-1 assists-turnovers ratio. Yeah, boxscore production on NCAA level isn't everything, but these are highly portable skills.

Very exciting shooting and playmaking package for a player of his archetype. I'm scared to say Jokic-lite. Maybe Sengun/Sabonis passing with better shooting is a safer bet.

[FrodoBaggins]

2018-19 Blake:



2025-26 Randle:



2022-23 Sabonis:



2023-24 Sengun:

[FarBeyondDriven]

one and only concern is the NBA is dominated by guys that have the ball in their hands running offenses and he doesn't have or ever will have (imo) that type of ability. He's too slow and his handle isn't good enough. Obviously he will improve but I don't think he'll ever have that on-ball helio-centric role and without that it's very difficult to be a superstar which is why I have him more as an elite role-player. I still think the offense can go through him at times like it does for Sengun, Sabonis and Jokic but because he's much smaller than them and won't have a mismatch like they do, I don't think quite as much.

[FrodoBaggins]

Is he smaller than Sengun and Sabonis, though?

We'll have to wait for the NBA Draft Combine for the official measurements, but he's likely at least 6'9" in shoes, 7'0"+ wingspan, and a standing reach somewhere around 9 feet. Already 250 pounds at 18.5 years old, with no fat/extra weight. His dad was 6'9" in shoes, 258 lbs (at the combine, age 20.5 or so) with a 7'2.25" wingspan, and 9'0.5" standing reach.

Sabonis is like 6'10" in shoes with a 6'10.5" wingspan. Has short arms and low-set shoulders/a big head/long neck.

Sengun may be a little closer to 6'11" in shoes, but only has a 7'0.5" wingspan. Long neck, too.

[King Ken]

one and only concern is the NBA is dominated by guys that have the ball in their hands running offenses and he doesn't have or ever will have (imo) that type of ability. He's too slow and his handle isn't good enough. Obviously he will improve but I don't think he'll ever have that on-ball helio-centric role and without that it's very difficult to be a superstar which is why I have him more as an elite role-player. I still think the offense can go through him at times like it does for Sengun, Sabonis and Jokic but because he's much smaller than them and won't have a mismatch like they do, I don't think quite as much.

His handles are fine for his position and will only improve.

You don't run an helio-centric offense around him like he's Harden or Queen. You run your offense through him with movement, screens, like Sacramento Webber.