Jamaal Franklin

[Dr Positivity]

Hasn't had much play on this board so far. I think he could go top 10/lotto. His physical tools, IQ, productivity will play really well in the draft process. Just needs to shoot better.

[ManualRam]

IQ? he plays like a spazz.
he's got great tools but i don't care for his skills. he's athletic and aggressive but his handle is not good, he's a poor decision maker, is TO prone, isn't a good shooter and has bad shot selection. physically he's a first rounder, but he has the game of a mid 2nd rounder.
he's like a combination of will barton and terrence williams.

[jman3134]

He is being drafted on his potential to develop into a lockdown defender given his length and physical tools imo. Offensively, his game does not translate to the pros. Poor shooter, poor handle, poor decision making, not a post up threat imo.....

[Nolan]

Like others have already said the kids got great tools but he's lacking in the B-ball IQ department. I like him as a late first rounder, with the right coach he could turn into a great role player but he's got no chance of going in the top 10 or in the lottery.

[teamjosh04]

I echo what everyone else is saying. The more you see him, the less impressed you get. He can tear up summer leagues and make some highlights, but I see him as a second rounder who will be out of the league in 2 years.

One thing he has going for him is work ethic and toughness

[gw795]

I watched on espn3 a few SDSU games when they played that OOC tourney in Hawaii just a week or two ago, and came away pretty impressed with Franklin. The guy's a beast and just has a knack for scoring. He draws fouls in bunches, and has great athleticism. Despite all I've heard about his lack of bball IQ, I actually thought he made some nice passes during the tournament and showed flashes of good court vision.

That being said, Franklin is pretty old for his class, which is partly why he's able to bully so many of his opponents. He needs to become a more consistent shooter as well. I could see him going in the late 1st round this year. Big athletic wings who can drive to the basket, score, and draw fouls are always in demand.

[teamjosh04]

This was the latest thing Ive written on Franklin after Hawaii.

"I zeroed in on Franklin on defense during the tournament and came away impressed. He brings great intensity to that end of the floor and takes on the challenge of locking down the oppositions best player. Franklin is a tough competitor with good anticipation skills. He is always thinking out there on defense and attempting to read what the offense is doing in order to get an edge. Since he was on the opposition's best player most of the time, he had to run through a lot of screens and he looked for the best routes to take around them. He can get caught up in screens as he isn't the biggest guy, but he does have good strength for his frame. He looks like a cornerback on defense the way he stays on his toes and he actually hoped to go to the University of Florida as a wide receiver. It is obvious he has a football background. One concern is he has probably already done plenty of weight training throughout his career and still lacks a impressive frame. There may not be much room for him to grow physically.

Offensively, Franklin has an old man's game and uses ball fakes and hesitations to his advantage. He plays with the referees in mind, always trying to draw a foul. He can also take his man into the post, where he is solid as long as he remembers to keep his pivot foot in place. He's a streaky shooter with improving form, but is having a bad year from behind the arc. He forces up a lot of bad outside shots. Franklin also is able to get all the way to the rim with explosive dunks thanks to his quick first step and shiftiness. His ability to get to the basket comes at a cost though - Franklin will turn it over a lot as well. The turnovers comes from his high, long dribbles and his lack of control going to the rim. He seems to get called for at least one charge a game.

Franklin was a problem child growing up and has learned to channel that energy on the basketball court. He still shows maturity issues at times - he picked up a DUI and flipped off fans last year. After a freshman season stuck behind Kawhi Leonard, he actually considered leaving SDSU for the draft. Instead, he learned for Leonard's work ethic and has transformed himself into a tireless worker."

[Dr Positivity]

I continue to be a fan of this guy

[Jersey Generals]

Yeah, he was good tonight. Penetrated and got into the lane just about every time he tried. Still can't go left, though.

[ManualRam]

Yeah, he was good tonight. Penetrated and got into the lane just about every time he tried. Still can't go left, though.

exactly. he was being checked by katin reinhardt, which basically means he wasn't really guarded at all. play off of him, shade him toward his left and watch him go 6-20.

are TO prone, inefficient volume shooters really valuable off the bench?

[Ruzious]

Well, he does get to the foul line a lot - which makes up for his poor shooting percentage - which is correctable. His rebounding is phenominal, and he fills up the scoreboard. He is the classic boom or bust prospect. If you could bring him along slowly on a good team that understands player development, you might have something special.

[TRaw187]

What happend with Kawaii Leonard? Same thing, he had the same college game as Franklin. Look what he's doing for the Spurs, another SDSU prospect. He deserved to go top 15 easy. Kawaii couldn't shoot at all in college look at him now.

[ManualRam]

What happend with Kawaii Leonard? Same thing, he had the same college game as Franklin. Look what he's doing for the Spurs, another SDSU prospect. He deserved to go top 15 easy. Kawaii couldn't shoot at all in college look at him now.

they're different types of players.
franklin is a spazz who tries to do way too much since he doesn't know his limitations.
that's not a good combination for a likely bench player. he's this yr's will barton.

[mattg]

What happend with Kawaii Leonard? Same thing, he had the same college game as Franklin. Look what he's doing for the Spurs, another SDSU prospect. He deserved to go top 15 easy. Kawaii couldn't shoot at all in college look at him now.

they're different types of players.
franklin is a spazz who tries to do way too much since he doesn't know his limitations.
that's not a good combination for a likely bench player. he's this yr's will barton.

Yeah I don't see any similarity with Leonard. When kawhi was still in school he often blended in and contributed in the flow of the game.

[Eoghan]

He is the classic boom or bust prospect. If you could bring him along slowly on a good team that understands player development, you might have something special.

This is how I feel about him. If he went to a team with good teachers he could end up being special. His flaws seem pretty correctable to me for the most part.

[Fat]

His ceiling is CJ MILES

[dorkestra]

I might even take him eleventh for Philly.

[reapaman]

Big Fan of Franklin. He really improved his ball handling and his facillitating skils. That combination allowed him to nearly double his assist which put him towards the top in assist for his position. He also really ramped up his defensive ability and showed promise of lock-down potential. Meanwhile he still is great at getting to the line and is a excellent rebounder. He's not your typical inefficent volume shooter, he's clearly doing it out of neccessity. He's more willing and likely to blend into an offense than people might realize. I mean how often have you seen guys FGA drop by 2 attempts per game (Per 40) and assist nearly double (Per 40)? This while towards the top in most categories for his position including very good defensively? Hardly ever. He has high turnovers but so did Paul Pierce who was another wing who made the rare big improvement in ball handling and facillitating. Most of Franklin's inefficiency is very decieving. Once he makes adjustments to his shot like Leonard did (Franklin shot is easily correctable like Leonards) then he will be effecient because that was clearly his biggest problem. BTW Franklin also became more of a leader and tone down alot on some of the maturity issues people though he had the year before.

People need to start taking in consideration these guy's situation and judge them accordingly. He's nothing like Terrence Williams, Marshon Brooks, Nick Young, Cj Miles or any of the guys people compared him to. He's more like Leonard and Marion, in that he can and is willing to do pretty much everything for his team. Once he makes adjustments to his shot, he will be very good. Franklin should be a Lottery pick and could easily end up a top 5 or higher best player in this draft.

[Golabki]

Franklin feels like a 2nd rounder.

Offensively, he's looks like a guy who stands in the corner and hit's 35% on wide open corner 3s... and gets a few points from his energy in transition/broken plays. In other words, barely adequate for a 2 guard.

If you draft Franklin it's hoping he becomes great defensive player (similar to Thabo S. or T. Allen). It's a long shot, but worth a 2nd round pick.

[Mlockhart]

I only saw him play twice and it looked like he played hard, but made a lot of questionable decisions. He does fill up a stat sheet and and and manages to contribute on both sides of the ball. I think it's going to come down for fit for Franklin. He doesn't shoot it as well as Allen Crabbe or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Those are the two people that are likely the guys teams are likely considering as well as some of the Euro prospects.

Another scenario for teams to consider...would you want a 22 year old Jamaal Franklin, or a 19 year old Archie Goodwin? When you start looking at all these factors, he starts going further down the board in my mind.