Devin Booker = Klay Thompson?

HornetJail · Post #1 » by **HornetJail** » Wed May 6, 2015 12:25 am

I've been seeing that comparison a lot lately. Anyone else want to expand on that or tear it down? If he's anything close to Thompson, you better believe we're interested at #9.

Post #2 » by **bwgood77** » Wed May 6, 2015 12:35 am

I've seen that comparison more for RJ Hunter.

No-Man · Post #3 » by **No-Man** » Wed May 6, 2015 1:05 am

bwgood77 wrote:I've seen that comparison more for RJ Hunter.

Hunter is more like Kevin Martin
I'd say Booker reminds me of Wesley Person, Daquan Cook,...
Far from Klay both physically and skill wise, Thompson was a really complete player at WSU, pretty good passer, solid D and more of a play maker.

atlantabbq99 · Post #4 » by **atlantabbq99** » Wed May 6, 2015 1:21 am

Booker could be another Klay or Danny Green. The new NBA is moving towards shooters and Booker already has the innate skill of shooting, that would lead most of beleive he could be a productive NBA player.

Booker doesn't have Kobe or Vince athleticism, but he does have average NBA athleticism, on the same level as Klay, Ray Allen, or Harden.

Not much is known about Booker because he only played one year ball and was over shadowed by alot of really good UK players, but from the little we saw, he doesn't seem to be a selfish player and he does seem to be a team player who doesn't make bonehead plays, so he might have an IQ.

The Klay comparison is a good one because like Klay, Booker is a good pure shooter and is not too selfish.

I am a fan of Booker, and i do think he could be a top 5 shoot guard in the NBA with an outside shot of being 2nd best SG in the NBA like a prime Ray Allen.

As for Hunter, both are great shooters but Booker has the athleticism like Ray Allen, while Hunter has athleticism like Jimmer or Redick.

atlantabbq99 · Post #5 » by **atlantabbq99** » Wed May 6, 2015 1:23 am

Fischella wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:I've seen that comparison more for RJ Hunter.

Hunter is more like Kevin Martin
I'd say Booker reminds me of Wesley Person, Daquan Cook,...
Far from Klay both physically and skill wise, Thompson was a really complete player at WSU, pretty good passer, solid D and more of a play maker.

You are not making a good compairison, because you are compairing freshmen Booker to Klay's senior season. If you look at Klay's numbers and skill as a freshmen, they are the same as Booker.

Post #6 » by **bwgood77** » Wed May 6, 2015 1:24 am

Fischella wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:I've seen that comparison more for RJ Hunter.

Hunter is more like Kevin Martin
I'd say Booker reminds me of Wesley Person, Daquan Cook,...
Far from Klay both physically and skill wise, Thompson was a really complete player at WSU, pretty good passer, solid D and more of a play maker.

I'm sure he'd take that career too. If he goes where projected and turns into a Kevin Martin, that will be a great pick.

Post #7 » by **bwgood77** » Wed May 6, 2015 1:29 am

atlantabbq99 wrote:
Fischella wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:I've seen that comparison more for RJ Hunter.

Hunter is more like Kevin Martin
I'd say Booker reminds me of Wesley Person, Daquan Cook,...
Far from Klay both physically and skill wise, Thompson was a really complete player at WSU, pretty good passer, solid D and more of a play maker.

You are not making a good compairison, because you are compairing freshmen Booker to Klay's senior season. If you look at Klay's numbers and skill as a freshmen, they are the same as Booker.

Yeah he does that. Or compares freshman to how guys currently are in the nba (or were in the nba) instead of what they played like as freshmen in college.

reanimator · Post #8 » by **reanimator** » Wed May 6, 2015 1:42 am

Two completely different physical dimensions.

atlantabbq99 · Post #9 » by **atlantabbq99** » Wed May 6, 2015 1:51 am

At age 18

Klay 12.5ppg 4.2rpg 1.9apg .421fg .412 3fg .903ft 33.1mpg

Booker 10.0ppg 2.0rpg 1.1apg .470fg .411 3fg .828ft 21.5mpg

Ray Allen 12.6ppg 4.6rpg 1.6apg .510fg .402 3fg .792ft 21.6mpg

Similar in points and shooting. Klay played 33min. Booker only played 21min and got an impressive 10ppg but Booker also played with alot better teammates.

NoKneeBledsoe · Post #10 » by **NoKneeBledsoe** » Wed May 6, 2015 3:41 am

Is it because he is light skinned???

HotelVitale · Post #11 » by **HotelVitale** » Wed May 6, 2015 5:25 pm

atlantabbq99 wrote:At age 18
Klay 12.5ppg 4.2rpg 1.9apg .421fg .412 3fg .903ft 33.1mpg
Booker 10.0ppg 2.0rpg 1.1apg .470fg .411 3fg .828ft 21.5mpg
Ray Allen 12.6ppg 4.6rpg 1.6apg .510fg .402 3fg .792ft 21.6mpg
Similar in points and shooting. Klay played 33min. Booker only played 21min and got an impressive 10ppg but Booker also played with alot better teammates.

I guess that's kind of interesting but it tells you zilch about the players themselves. Booker doesn't have anything close to Allen's handle or overall scoring repertoire, for example. He might develop it but there's no point in comparing them now; Booker has none of that now, it's anyone's guess if he develops it. I'm also sure you could find dozens and dozens of no-names who posted similar stats. Posting the stats of great guys before they became great doesn't tell us much about who they were as mature players.

Klay too has developed a more complex set of scoring moves than anyone could've realistically anticipated. 99% of guys don't develop that well or that quickly, and there's nothing to suggest that Booker is just on the verge of that. Right now he's a guy who can shoot well and has basic NBA size and okay athleticism, and that's it.

ColdBlooded · Post #12 » by **ColdBlooded** » Wed May 6, 2015 8:41 pm

Booker's lack of length just kills the comparison.

With his short arms, you're only left with a J.J Redick comp.

nicnac215 · Post #13 » by **nicnac215** » Wed May 6, 2015 8:51 pm

ColdBlooded wrote:Booker's lack of length just kills the comparison.

With his short arms, you're only left with a J.J Redick comp.

Redick freshman stats: 15ppg 2.5rpg 2.0apg .413fg .399 3fg .919ft 30mpg
Booker freshman stats: 10.0ppg 2.0rpg 1.1apg .470fg .411 3fg .828ft 21.5mpg

Scored about the same volume per 40, but Redick shot much higher volume as a freshman.

teerfour+40LG · Post #14 » by **teerfour+40LG** » Wed May 6, 2015 8:54 pm

BizGilwalker wrote:I've been seeing that comparison a lot lately. Anyone else want to expand on that or tear it down? If he's anything close to Thompson, you better believe we're interested at #9.

He's not even as good as Nik Stauskas.

brackdan70 · Post #15 » by **brackdan70** » Thu May 7, 2015 3:32 am

atlantabbq99 wrote:
Fischella wrote:
bwgood77 wrote:I've seen that comparison more for RJ Hunter.

Hunter is more like Kevin Martin
I'd say Booker reminds me of Wesley Person, Daquan Cook,...
Far from Klay both physically and skill wise, Thompson was a really complete player at WSU, pretty good passer, solid D and more of a play maker.

You are not making a good compairison, because you are compairing freshmen Booker to Klay's senior season. If you look at Klay's numbers and skill as a freshmen, they are the same as Booker.

pretty sure Klay didn't have a senior season, but a good point none the less, however Klay did have great instincts on D and as a full court player as a freshman. not sure Booker has shown this...feel for the game.

brackdan70 · Post #16 » by **brackdan70** » Thu May 7, 2015 3:38 am

I like Booker. think he will be a good pick for some team in the early to mid teens. but I don't think Thompson is a good comp. I don't have one, but aside from both being good shooters I don't see much else thats similar.

shangrila · Post #17 » by **shangrila** » Thu May 7, 2015 10:20 am

Reddick seems to make the most sense, both stylistically and physically. Klay was more of a play maker in college than Booker ever was, so the comparison falls flat there, and he really isn't good enough to be compared to great shooters like Ray Allen.

He'll be a solid rotation guy on a playoff team...although to be honest I said that about John Jenkins too and that didn't exactly pan out.

californiadude · Post #18 » by **californiadude** » Thu May 7, 2015 4:45 pm

As Warrior fan. You wanna make the Klay comp it's RJ Hunter to me at least. Klay wasn't that great of a 1 on 1 guy coming out of college but he was certainly farther along than Booker. And that's not where the differences end in my opinion.

Hunter is the guy that really reminds me a lot of Klay. Almost scarily so actually.

Notanoob · Post #19 » by **Notanoob** » Thu May 7, 2015 8:43 pm

No one in this draft is going to be Klay Thompson. I know the draft is where people get all optimistic, but it isn't happening. On the off chance that someone here does become the next Klay, it's Russell, not Booker or Hunter.

Booker can't do anything except shoot. If he develops into something more than a three point shooter, great, but don't count on it. None of his physical tools are particularly impressive, and no part of his offensive game is good beyond his 3 point shot. If he turns into a contributor in the NBA with anything besides his shooting, it'll be a pleasant surprise, since he hasn't shown any NBA-level skills outside of his wet jumper.

Hunter can handle the ball and create a bit, but his jump shot is nowhere near elite, or even great. Competent at best.

Also, to you guys comparing wings based on their points per40? Stop. Points scored says very little about players, and they don't do anything to help you compare or project these guys. They're just a mater of who's getting shots on their team- it's role dependent. If you want to make comparisons, you need to look at steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds, and A/TO ratio all before points and FG%. FT% is basically irrelevant too, unless a guy is particularly good or bad at it, and that is after taking into account how many FTs the guy shot.
All numbers from freshman years, per40 pace adjusted.
Booker: .8 steals, .1 blocks, .8 offensive rebounds, 2.9 defensive rebounds, 1.14A/To
Redick: 1.4 steals, .1 blocks, .7 offensive rebounds, 2.3 defensive rebounds, 1.24A/To
Thompson: 1.2 steals, .8 blocks, 1.1 offensive rebounds, 4.6 defensive rebounds, .89A/To
Hunter: 2.1 steals, 1 block, 1.2 offensive rebounds, 4.9 defensive rebounds, 1.08A.To

These numbers make it pretty clear that Booker and Thompson are nothing alike. Booker is much closer to Redick, but he's worse where it really maters for a guard, in steals and A/To.

Hunter's numbers look spectacular, but he played against very weak competition at Georgia State, so you cannot take them at face value.

MalonesElbows · Post #20 » by **MalonesElbows** » Thu May 7, 2015 9:31 pm

californiadude wrote:As Warrior fan. You wanna make the Klay comp it's RJ Hunter to me at least. Klay wasn't that great of a 1 on 1 guy coming out of college but he was certainly farther along than Booker. And that's not where the differences end in my opinion.

Hunter is the guy that really reminds me a lot of Klay. Almost scarily so actually.

Stylistically, yes, but Hunter is 6'5" and Klay is 6'7". Also kind of hard to ignore Hunter shooting 29% from deep even if he has "half court" range.