Welcome to the Knicks Iman Shumpert

[TheToothFairy]

Ceiling : Andre Iguodala
Floor: DJ Strawberry

[EchelonNYK]

Does anybody else see similarities between Shumpert and Desmond Mason?

Mason was around the same size, slightly more athletic, but was more of a 2/3 rather than a 1/2. Mason had the better tools for offense but he also solely used his athleticism to get recognized as an average defender. Seems like Shumpert has a bit more commitment to the defensive end but has fewer tools for offense.

Also interesting to note that they were both drafted at #17.

Not really

[defjux21]

Does anybody else see similarities between Shumpert and Desmond Mason?

Mason was around the same size, slightly more athletic, but was more of a 2/3 rather than a 1/2. Mason had the better tools for offense but he also solely used his athleticism to get recognized as an average defender. Seems like Shumpert has a bit more commitment to the defensive end but has fewer tools for offense.

Also interesting to note that they were both drafted at #17.

Athletically and rebounding yes but Mason had no handle and no real SG skills

Shumpert doesn't have a solid handle either (at least doesn't look confident in demonstrating it) and considering his offensive inconsistency in college, he does not portray to have truly noteworthy SG skills. I'm sure Shump is a better spot up shooter but that's about it really. Mason was much more of a slasher.

[EchelonNYK]

His handle looks just fine. Stop trying to stir things up.

[Fury]

Yeah he has good handle. Someone looks at a few clips and suddenly he has no handle.

[Marty McFly]

lol. you can't be a pg in high school, let alone college, without a handle. come on.

[ManiaX]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VG6qss_ThRo[/youtube]


Best Comparison : Larry Hughes (76ers)

Not the best quality of video, but a young Larry Hughes when he was on the 6ers could easily be Shumpert's long lost twin. Shumpert seems to have a better spot up jumpshot though. Very similar skillset and style of play.

[Marty McFly]

aside from that broke j and complacency, larry hughes wasn't that a bad player.

[TrueWarrior]

aside from that broke j and complacency, larry hughes wasn't that a bad player.

If Iman becomes Hughes with a J and heart then he will be a perennial All Star . Lets just hope Iman's jumper isnt broke beyond repair, which I dont think it is.

Its funny how Iman's comparisons are everywhere from PGs, SGs, to SFs. It seems we want to develop him as a PG first though who can play SG/SF at times.

Nobody knows what Shumpert's primary position is/will be. Depends on many things. Wouldnt surprise me one bit to see him evolve into a defensive SG if his jumper improves. Not 100% sure if hes got what it takes to be a PG, but we'll see.

[AmareNY]

With his speed and jumping ability, he going to be great in the open court. His ability to be a top notch defender will keep in this league for years to come. I hope he will be the new Raga Bell and help us win a championship very soon.

[EchelonNYK]

I hope he has a good basketball IQ. I would hate to see all that athletic ability go to waste.

[vinnie_vegas69]

http://www.draftexpress.com/article/But-Can-He-Play-Analyzing-the-NBA-Pre-Draft-Combine-Results-1351/

Everybody should read this article from DX about 5 years ago talking about how we should take the combine results with a very heavy grain of salt.

Lets just hope Shumpert isnt the next Troy Bell.

Keep in mind that the Knicks were also looking at their private workout, not just the combine.

Also, in his highlight videos he really gets up there, like on alley oops. You can see him playing way above the rim, and he's only 6-6. He's definitely an outstanding leaper.

He gets up on alley oops and in dunk contests, but I havent seen him get up as much with the ball in his hands in a game though. Maybe its just me. If somebody can show him really getting up not on an alley oop Id appreciate it.

Im not sayin Iman isnt an athletic beast, because he is, but the combine may have skewed it a little bit is all Im saying. I mean I just refuse to believe he jumped 10 inches higher than Iggy and Wade did. Thats crazy talk. How did that happen?

What I have seen from Iman is his strength. Guys just bounce off him.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym8hTmdleW4[/youtube]

Look at the dunks at 2:15 and 3:30. Now they are nice but he doesnt get up close to 42 inches to me. Definitely not more than say Rose gets. Even on some of his layups it seems he doesnt get up as much. He gets high on his alleys though, so maybe when he doesnt have the ball and has some time to load up he jumps a lot higher. Not out of the ordinary, but since hes supposed to be a "freak" I was expecting to watch some insane in-game dunks/explosiveness. This is me nitpicking though.

The alley-oop dunk at 1:10 - He jumps clean over what looks to be a pretty big guy.

I'd say he's a freak. Just because you don't jump way higher than necessary on open court dunks doesn't mean you're not a freak athlete.

EDIT: Further investigation turns up that it was Virginia's 6'9" Will Sherrill.

[Knicksfan20]

Not to mention dunking with his left hand on the clip before, pretty impressive.

[richardhutnik]

Here is my attempt to contribute to the nickname for Iman Shupertman (feel free to work with it):
Shumpertman: The Man of Steals.

Anyhow, considering what was left (Bismack and others off the board), one can quibble that maybe so and so else should of been taken, but will see. Shupert seems to be as good as the Knicks could of gotten out of the draft, also considering they are supposed to have several prospects for the center position, not including Jorts. And yes, Jorts works for me.

- Rich

[richardhutnik]

Well, technically he will be our starting 2 guard but he will also handle the point a lot. He will defend the other shooting guard while mostly playing the point on offense. Donnie hinted that in a interview I saw. He said that Shumpert will play a lot with Chauncey together because Mr. Big Shot is great at playing off the ball. Same with Toney. Shumpert seems to be a nice pick and roll player, so that would allow Chauncey or Toney to spot up for threes. I like it.

If Shumpert can handle the ball like a PG, he is the ideal guard to pair with Douglas.

- Rich

[xsaberx]

This might seem like a conspiracy, but did Shumpert and Marshon Brooks flub their standing reaches to appear to get a higher vertical? Ive heard of players doing it before. Maybe dont stretch out as much as they can?

Shumpert and Brooks have hella long wingspans (7'1'' for Brooks and 6'10'' for Shumpert) but compared to players with similar, and even smaller, height their standing reaches are pretty small, only 8'3.5'' for Shumpert and 8'5'' for Brooks. Teams go by standing reach in order to test their vertical I think.

Lets look at DJ Strawberry. Tested out a half inch shorter than Shumpert with only a 6'6.5'' wingspan, yet he measured with a 8'5'' standing reach? How is this possible? Shumpert is a half inch taller and has 3 inch longer arms. Many other examples...

Derrick Rose is only 6'2.5'' in shoes with a 6'8'' wingspan, but his standing reach is only an inch shorter than Shumpert's. Dwayne Wade is an inch shorter than Shumpert with a 1 inch longer wingspan, but yet has a standing reach of 8'6''. Westbrook is 2 inches shorter than Shumpert in shoes with a 2 inch shorter wingspan, but has a half inch taller standing reach? John Wall is 6'4'' in shoes with a 6'9'' wingspan, but has a standing reach of 8'5.5''? Whaa? I mean I can keep going here.

Shumpert and Brooks must have ridiculously long necks + wide shoulders, but they look normal to me. I guess this is all pointless but its just something I noticed .

It could be true that he didn't really reach like he was supposed to while standing. Maybe he would be more in the 8'6" range with a full reach - this would bring his vertical down to 33.5 stand and 39 max, which is still great.

In any case, his maximum vertical reach of 11'9.5" is completely insane

In fact there are only 8 guards in the entire draft measurement history that have a higher max vertical reach - none of them are point guards, half of them don't/barely play, and the others are: ronnie brewer, josh howard, and jason richardson (who are taller). And there are only 7 players that match his max vertical reach such as brandon roy and joe johnson (who again, are taller).

[TrueWarrior]

It could be true that he didn't really reach like he was supposed to while standing. Maybe he would be more in the 8'6" range with a full reach - this would bring his vertical down to 33.5 stand and 39 max, which is still great.

In any case, his maximum vertical reach of 11'9.5" is completely insane

In fact there are only 8 guards in the entire draft measurement history that have a higher max vertical reach - none of them are point guards, half of them don't/barely play, and the others are: ronnie brewer, josh howard, and jason richardson (who are taller). And there are only 7 players that match his max vertical reach such as brandon roy and joe johnson (who again, are taller).

Hes definitely very athletic, never disagreed with that, its just his and Brooks' verticals seemed off. Mardy Collins measured exactly the same as Iman (6'4.25'' height w/o shoes, 6'10'' wingspan) but managed a standing reach of 8'7''. Ha. How is his standing reach 3.5 inches bigger? To my surprise Mardy had a vertical of 38 inches too. Without knowing that I would have guessed around 31-32 tops. Just goes to show you have to take these measurements lightly. I feel like some of these guys really practice these drills/tests and know how to manipulate them. Lets be real... Jimmer's agility.. .

Even if Iman's true vert is 38ish inches, and Brooks is 34ish inches, thats still very good. Not a big deal. I just dont see any other player who measured as weirdly.

Other guys:

Malcolm Lee is the same height as Iman with the same wingspan, but has a 2 inch standing reach advantage. Darius Morris is an inch shorter than Iman with 2 inch shorter arms, yet has a 3 inch standing reach advantage. Kryie Irving is 2.5 inches shorter than Iman, with only a 6'4 wingspan, but has the same standing reach. Brandon Knight is 3 inches shorter than Iman with 3 inch shorter arms, but yet only has a 1 inch shorter reach.

Is Iman a giraffe?

[EchelonNYK]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym8hTmdleW4&feature=player_embedded[/youtube]

I know it's highlights and all the shots go in. But you can't deny the talent that flashes in this video

STEAL OF THE DRAFT!

[can o peas]

Does anybody else see similarities between Shumpert and Desmond Mason?

Mason was around the same size, slightly more athletic, but was more of a 2/3 rather than a 1/2. Mason had the better tools for offense but he also solely used his athleticism to get recognized as an average defender. Seems like Shumpert has a bit more commitment to the defensive end but has fewer tools for offense.

Also interesting to note that they were both drafted at #17.

statistically desmond mason somehow compared more to marshon brooks (who I admit I wanted as a sg over our man but f*ck him now lol):
http://www.basketballprospectus.com/art ... cleid=1777

mason averaged 0.7 steals for his career, I expect shumpert to average 1.5+ (possibly closer to 2 if he gets the pt). also his 3 point shot won't be as broke as mason's and hopefully his assists are higher. mason might be a better scorer for his career though, but who knows about that.

the main thing is the athletic ability and the in between the legs dunking but if we're going by that, how about we hope he becomes more like jason richardson? granted, one of the better 3 point shooters in the league but he did shoot sub 30% once in college and once in the pros? (more likely to be more like ronnie brewer as his baseline, andre iguodala as his ceiling, marquis daniels as his floor).

[Brownsville's Finest]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzm7FxEsiG0&feature=related[/youtube]
this kid can play!