Better prospect: Porzingis or Hezonja?

[doordoor123]

Man, these Dirk comparisons have to stop. Porzingis is about as mobile as Dirk was . . . when Dirk was about 33.

Porzingis is very mobile. It's the reason he's even considered as a top pick.

His mobility X mass isn't strong. Put some weight on him and he'll lose any mobility advantage. Look what happened with Jonas Valanciunas. Even Chris Kaman was considered athletic before he put on muscle.

You're naming two centers. How about this: Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki. All three were skinny, mobile and played 3/4 when they first got in the league. Porzingis would do the same. I bet you also didn't like Nerlens Noel and Nikola Mirotic.

[Barnsey]

Porzingis is very mobile. It's the reason he's even considered as a top pick.

His mobility X mass isn't strong. Put some weight on him and he'll lose any mobility advantage. Look what happened with Jonas Valanciunas. Even Chris Kaman was considered athletic before he put on muscle.

You're naming two centers. How about this: Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki.

2 of those were some of the most athletic 7 footers we'd ever seen (before Dwight & DeAndre), the other one overcame physical limitations with transcendent scoring ability and court instincts.

Dirk is a unicorn. He's not a common occurrence.

[doordoor123]

His mobility X mass isn't strong. Put some weight on him and he'll lose any mobility advantage. Look what happened with Jonas Valanciunas. Even Chris Kaman was considered athletic before he put on muscle.

You're naming two centers. How about this: Kevin Garnett, Pau Gasol and Dirk Nowitzki.

2 of those were some of the most athletic 7 footers we'd ever seen (before Dwight & DeAndre), the other one overcame physical limitations with transcendent scoring ability and court instincts.

Dirk is a unicorn. He's not a common occurrence.

He's not, but we don't really know if Porzingis isn't. Porzingis IS athletic. As he is, he could guard some threes and fours. He's not ready to guard stronger guys, but he definitely has the tools. He might not if he gains enough mass to become a center, but he doesn't need to be a center. He could be as big as Noel and succeed in the league. The NBA, with its more up-temp offenses lend themselves to leaner, more agile bigs.

[No-Man]

Porzingis, and a I like Mario a lot, but he is a bit of a headcase.

[HotelVitale]

You forgot to mention the biggest downside of all: that he is not a fast thinker and is often a step behind the play. No thanks.

the way people talk about Porzingis just makes him sound a lot like Yi Jianlian. Strength and toughness can be gained, but if he's having trouble keeping up with slower and less athletic European teams even though he's longer and more athletic than most of the guys he's going up against, that's not a good sign.

That seems exaggerated. I'm guessing you're getting the 'slow thinking' thing from the dx video, but if you look at the plays they used as examples they're not terrible. Passes are a little behind, he's not quite sure what to do against a closeout, doesn't have a good counter in mind, etc. He's not making the best possible play but iIt's not like he's making a fool of himself out there or playing like a zombie. Dude looks spry and aggressive almost all of the time, and you'd have to hope that an energetic 19 year-old can improve his feel for the game.

Also, Yi didn't wash out because he wasn't athletic enough. He just didn't shoot or move as well as everyone thought he would, and without that he wasn't really a high-level prospect. If he had shot 50% and 38% from three (instead of posting a career TS of 47%), he would've stuck in the league. Plus Porzingis is bigger and quicker than the chairman.

[Greek]

I am not sold on either player but if i have to chose one will be Hezonjia. I dont trust his mentality like at all but he knows how to play the game. If he is drafted from a team with good coaching staff and some veterans his attitude problems are fixable.

Porzingis doesnt seem to have game intelligence nor the body to bang with the big boys.

[mos_def]

Hezonja has a definitive skill for the NBA, he can shoot. I read that 62% of his shots made were above the rim, so from a analytic standpoint he has to be pretty athletic. Supposedly he can play decent defense. The only true flaw seems to be that he is a gunner/ball stopper. I would take Hezonja at 4 since Im not all too thrilled with Mudiay

I read that Porzingis has trouble rebounding and thus is similar somewhat to Andrea Bargnani. If any big is compared to Bargnani then my reading usually stops

[Sir_Woof]

Hezonja because Porzingis looks softer than a dead man's donger.

[Leslie Forman]

Also, Yi didn't wash out because he wasn't athletic enough. He just didn't shoot or move as well as everyone thought he would, and without that he wasn't really a high-level prospect. If he had shot 50% and 38% from three (instead of posting a career TS of 47%), he would've stuck in the league. Plus Porzingis is bigger and quicker than the chairman.

Yi was plenty athletic enough. He was lazy and dumb though. No motor. Not willing to work hard enough to get into good positions. Not willing to go hard for rebounds and defend. Not willing to go strong inside.

If things like that are said about a big man before he's even in the NBA that's trouble. And that's why I'd stay away from Porzingis until later in the draft.