Frank Ntilikina

[WalterBenjamin]

NBA teams draft period. Ntilikina has upside on both positions. What does it mean you draft him as a SG?! His position is unknown maby but it's not like you hope he can be this or that. His high floor and positional mobiliti make him an low risk pick eaven withouth the biggest cealling. I don't understand whats not to like on Ntilikina. He floor is Danny Green on the SG position. If someone liked Dunn last year he for sure has to love Ntilikina as he at least will be a good spot up shooter with elite defense.

[jrob23]

NBA teams draft period. Ntilikina has upside on both positions. What does it mean you draft him as a SG?! His position is unknown maby but it's not like you hope he can be this or that. His high floor and positional mobiliti make him an low risk pick eaven withouth the biggest cealling. I don't understand whats not to like on Ntilikina. He floor is Danny Green on the SG position. If someone liked Dunn last year he for sure has to love Ntilikina as he at least will be a good spot up shooter with elite defense.

imho he doesn't have the handle to be a PG in the NBA right now. I could be wrong of course. But I do think he can step in Day 1 and be a SG. What does it mean to draft him as a SG? real question? It means that's where you play him of course. That's the position he learns and plays as during Summer League, training camp, and beyond. If you draft him as a SG you aren't letting him take the ball up and initiate the offense.

That's something he apparently likes but that's because he's successful against kids and Europeans. He's not going to like being a PG in the NBA when he has trouble getting the ball over half court or trying to keep his dribble against NBA defenders. Whereas, he can be a SG in his sleep with his size, speed, length and because he does have PG skills he'll have more skills to work with than a guy like say...Avery Bradley who can't pass to save his life or create on his own.

If a team drafts him as a PG I would think they already have a PG and he'll be made to sit for a 1-2 years. He'll get sporadic minutes kinda like Dunn and Murray. I'm not pigeon holing him into the SG position. I'm just saying his quickest path to PT will be as a combo guard or SG. He could very well start in year 1 at some point if he's taken by a team who wants him at SG. He's a 3 and D with more skill than typical. Teams will find him minutes.

It's possible with him being the youngest player of the draft that teams might just not care about early PT and take him as a PG. In that case, like I said, he'll be the 4th PG taken. I know if I had a chance to be the #1 SG or #4 PG I'd choose SG.

[WalterBenjamin]

I don't disagre. But the main thing is to add skills. Specialy if u have that size and lenght. You train him to be a PG on the offense. I don't think that it takes out anything of him playing SG long term. What skills do you sacrifice if u think he will be a PG, focus on that and maby it doesn't go that way?! Obviously the lower he goes in the draft the higher the chances that he is thought of as a SG. But he adds the possibility to play 2 point guards on a team. Thats the scenario which teams should hope for with him. My ideal fit for him are the Lakers if he could develope the handles and penetration to the basket.

[Prez]

I could totally see the Bucks liking him, and we likely pick around his range too, 7-10. He'd have less pressure on him to be a true PG too, with Giannis and Middleton (when back in form) doing most of the creating. How's his defense? I've seen highlights but not full games.

[WalterBenjamin]

I could totally see the Bucks liking him, and we likely pick around his range too, 7-10. He'd have less pressure on him to be a true PG too, with Giannis and Middleton (when back in form) doing most of the creating. How's his defense? I've seen highlights but not full games.

Future DPOY candidate.

[916fan]

Am I the only one who thinks he has the floor of 2016/17 Dante Exum? Basically an offball PG/SG who can play lockdown defense? Knowing that he has a decent floor, I don't think it's a very high risk taking him early lotto. He's a raw player who needs more developing, but he already has the physical tools you want.

[Dr Positivity]

Am I the only one who thinks he has the floor of 2016/17 Dante Exum? Basically an offball PG/SG who can play lockdown defense? Knowing that he has a decent floor, I don't think it's a very high risk taking him early lotto. He's a raw player who needs more developing, but he already has the physical tools you want.

Well 16/17 Exum sucks. But beyond that, Frank right now is producing like Exum in the French league. So I don't think Frank's floor is NBA Exum.

[shawn_hemp]

I don't know if measuring his defensive ability playing professional basketball in France is an accurate indication of how he will play in the NBA.

Not gonna lie, I really don't see this guy becoming much in the league.

[coutournant]

I don't know if measuring his defensive ability playing professional basketball in France is an accurate indication of how he will play in the NBA.

Not gonna lie, I really don't see this guy becoming much in the league.

France always produced great defenders in NBA : Gobert, Batum, Diaw, Pietrus, Tariq Abdul Wahad...
Pro A league is very athletic, defense translates well in the NBA.
Ntilikina is a real beast on defense at this level, locking down every one, making steals without gambling, chasing blocks and doing all the small things needed on that side of the game. His wingspan and lateral speed are elite, his defensive awareness too. I think he will not have any trouble with defense in NBA

[916fan]

I don't know if measuring his defensive ability playing professional basketball in France is an accurate indication of how he will play in the NBA.

Not gonna lie, I really don't see this guy becoming much in the league.

It's not about level of competition at all. He has the physical tools to become a lock-down defender. He's 6'5 with a 7ft wingspan. He has really good lateral quickness and side-to-side speed. He's moves extremely quick and looks very light on his feet. He's quick enough to guard against any PG. He has a huge size advantage against them, and can use his length to contest really well. SGs are more different to guard than PGs, but he shows the skillset of being able to chase shooters off the 3pt line and recovering with his foot-speed. Being able to flash a lot of defensive potentially in Pro A is just another +. He needs to get stronger, but he doesn't need to bulk up.

Just evaluating him from a physical stand-point alone, he has all of the tools to become a lockdown defender. This isn't Mudiay 2.0 where he just has a raw untapped physical body(on defense). Mudiay also doesn't have the lateral quickness that Ntilinka has. Mudiay's been getting beat off the dribble a lot because of his inexperience and footspeed. Ntilikina is a player who would actually be able to recover on plays like that.

Why don't you think he pans out in the NBA? I know he's really raw, but I think at the very least, he's at least a good defensive player.

[reanimator]

Exum has a great first step and no shift
Ntilikina has shift but an average first step
I am more confident in Ntilikina as a shooter, too
As for defense, Ntilikina seems to always stand out at the Euro Fiba youth tournaments against other 1st round talents like Dzanan Musa. If you watch footage, then you clearly see he has great anticipation skills, knows how to leverage his length and moves his feet well. I see him guarding 1-3 fairly well once he adds the requisite mass.

[jrob23]

Exum has a great first step and no shift
Ntilikina has shift but an average first step
I am more confident in Ntilikina as a shooter, too
As for defense, Ntilikina seems to always stand out at the Euro Fiba youth tournaments against other 1st round talents like Dzanan Musa. If you watch footage, then you clearly see he has great anticipation skills, knows how to leverage his length and moves his feet well. I see him guarding 1-3 fairly well once he adds the requisite mass.

I have failed to articulate this as another reason why he'll be a SG at the next level. I can see him easily putting on 20 lbs of muscle and being a physical specimen. But that extra bulk will soundly put him as a SG because he'll lose some quickness but gain power. He really does have both a very high floor and as high a ceiling as anyone in the draft. I just have a sneaking suspicion that as we near the draft and everyone sees more of him i.e. workouts, combine, tape...it'll be more apparent how great a prospect he is. So good that I'm predicting he'll be getting top 3 (if not #1) buzz

[jrob23]

I don't disagre. But the main thing is to add skills. Specialy if u have that size and lenght. You train him to be a PG on the offense. I don't think that it takes out anything of him playing SG long term. What skills do you sacrifice if u think he will be a PG, focus on that and maby it doesn't go that way?! Obviously the lower he goes in the draft the higher the chances that he is thought of as a SG. But he adds the possibility to play 2 point guards on a team. Thats the scenario which teams should hope for with him. My ideal fit for him are the Lakers if he could develope the handles and penetration to the basket.

Just the nuances of playing SG. How to run through traffic and off screens, shooting spot up threes off passes, posting up on mismatches, drawing contact/getting to the line and generally running around without the ball. You don't pick these skills up by playing PG. I actually think he goes lower if a team takes him to be a PG because he's raw in that regard and it may never be his position anyway. So teams that need a PG will have to pass on more NBA ready PG in Ball, DSJ and Fox (no not Fultz as well) to take him if going high. If viewed as a SG teams can see he's the best SG in the draft over Monk, Hart, Allen, etc so maybe that equates to going a bit higher. I really would not put it past Danny to draft him no matter what pick they get. AB is on his last year of his contract going into next season so they actually do need a SG. Danny likes to take guys that go against the grain. He also loves versatility and if Ntilikina can guard 1-3 and play 1-2 on offense he'll love it. Ntilikina is a good shooter and IT needs shooters around him in Brad's system. It all points to Danny taking him. IT makes me think PG is out of the question and Jackson isn't an option because of the presence of Brown.

[shawn_hemp]

I don't know if measuring his defensive ability playing professional basketball in France is an accurate indication of how he will play in the NBA.

Not gonna lie, I really don't see this guy becoming much in the league.

It's not about level of competition at all. He has the physical tools to become a lock-down defender. He's 6'5 with a 7ft wingspan. He has really good lateral quickness and side-to-side speed. He's moves extremely quick and looks very light on his feet. He's quick enough to guard against any PG. He has a huge size advantage against them, and can use his length to contest really well. SGs are more different to guard than PGs, but he shows the skillset of being able to chase shooters off the 3pt line and recovering with his foot-speed. Being able to flash a lot of defensive potentially in Pro A is just another +. He needs to get stronger, but he doesn't need to bulk up.

Just evaluating him from a physical stand-point alone, he has all of the tools to become a lockdown defender. This isn't Mudiay 2.0 where he just has a raw untapped physical body(on defense). Mudiay also doesn't have the lateral quickness that Ntilinka has. Mudiay's been getting beat off the dribble a lot because of his inexperience and footspeed. Ntilikina is a player who would actually be able to recover on plays like that.

Why don't you think he pans out in the NBA? I know he's really raw, but I think at the very least, he's at least a good defensive player.

I dont see the "extremely quick" praise everyone is throwing at him. He's got good length for a PG and can move his feet well enough, but its not like he jumps off the screen with how fast he is like De'Aaron Fox does. I also feel like Dante Exum is a decent comparison except Exum seems more athletic than Ntilikina

He better be good on defense, because I dont see him being good at the offensive level in the NBA.

He is not a good 3 point shooter, not really good at shooting off the dribble period, doesnt have the floor vision to make up for his lack of shooting, and needs the ball in his hands to be effective.

He is a damn good isolation player who can slash to the net seemingly at will, and has a really smooth handle on the basketball, but that style of play doesnt really mesh with the NBA anymore. Again, he is also playing in France. Not knocking the French league, because im sure there is talent there, but I dont think Ntilikina has the same level of success attacking the rim with someone like Gobert or Anthony Davis lurking about

I see him being a Tyreke Evans / Iman Shumpert type of player at best in the NBA.

again, decent player if you dont ask too much from him, but I wouldnt touch him in the top 10 and expect a franchise changing player

Tyreke Evans has been one of my favorite players to watch since he's been in high school, but I have to admit that his skill set is more suited to a pick-up game than an NBA arena

[cksdayoff]

tyreke evans had a pretty quick first step didn't he?

when I watch big frank, I don't see it. you can't tell how quick he is from the highlight clips, because his long stride can sort of make up for his lack of good quickness. If it's true that Frank moves well laterally then he will have potential as an elite lockdown defender, from far away he looks toothpick thin, but then you see him up close and he is ripped. if you look at his frame, he can pack on quite a bit more muscle too. and he is a legit condor, wingspan wise.

regards to shooting, I think he'll be a pretty good shooter, the concerns I have is his dribble penetration, and his lack of aggressiveness to attack the basket. Even his coaches and teammates for his current team get on him about his lack of desire to attack the rim (this was back in early Jan). From things I have read, this kid is a fiery competitor, who really beats himself up over missed shots, so I believe the work ethic is there for him to be a really good shooter at the next level...just don't see him as a guy who will attack the rim and get to the foul line, YET.

[reanimator]

Evans is a guy who pounds his dribble because he can't get where he wants with quicks/speed. I really don't get that comparison since I don't see Ntilikina approaching the game that way.

[916fan]

I don't know if measuring his defensive ability playing professional basketball in France is an accurate indication of how he will play in the NBA.

Not gonna lie, I really don't see this guy becoming much in the league.

It's not about level of competition at all. He has the physical tools to become a lock-down defender. He's 6'5 with a 7ft wingspan. He has really good lateral quickness and side-to-side speed. He's moves extremely quick and looks very light on his feet. He's quick enough to guard against any PG. He has a huge size advantage against them, and can use his length to contest really well. SGs are more different to guard than PGs, but he shows the skillset of being able to chase shooters off the 3pt line and recovering with his foot-speed. Being able to flash a lot of defensive potentially in Pro A is just another +. He needs to get stronger, but he doesn't need to bulk up.

Just evaluating him from a physical stand-point alone, he has all of the tools to become a lockdown defender. This isn't Mudiay 2.0 where he just has a raw untapped physical body(on defense). Mudiay also doesn't have the lateral quickness that Ntilinka has. Mudiay's been getting beat off the dribble a lot because of his inexperience and footspeed. Ntilikina is a player who would actually be able to recover on plays like that.

Why don't you think he pans out in the NBA? I know he's really raw, but I think at the very least, he's at least a good defensive player.

I dont see the "extremely quick" praise everyone is throwing at him. He's got good length for a PG and can move his feet well enough, but its not like he jumps off the screen with how fast he is like De'Aaron Fox does. I also feel like Dante Exum is a decent comparison except Exum seems more athletic than Ntilikina

He better be good on defense, because I dont see him being good at the offensive level in the NBA.

He is not a good 3 point shooter, not really good at shooting off the dribble period, doesnt have the floor vision to make up for his lack of shooting, and needs the ball in his hands to be effective.

He is a damn good isolation player who can slash to the net seemingly at will, and has a really smooth handle on the basketball, but that style of play doesnt really mesh with the NBA anymore. Again, he is also playing in France. Not knocking the French league, because im sure there is talent there, but I dont think Ntilikina has the same level of success attacking the rim with someone like Gobert or Anthony Davis lurking about

I see him being a Tyreke Evans / Iman Shumpert type of player at best in the NBA.

again, decent player if you dont ask too much from him, but I wouldnt touch him in the top 10 and expect a franchise changing player

Tyreke Evans has been one of my favorite players to watch since he's been in high school, but I have to admit that his skill set is more suited to a pick-up game than an NBA arena

Well when you're comparing Fox and Ntilikina, they're players with different athleticism. You also have to keep in mind that Ntilikina is 6'5 190 with a 7ft wingspan. Fox is 6'3 175 with a 6'4.25 wingspan. Different players with different bodys and frames.

What makes you think Frank isn't a good shooter? He's improved his shot a lot this year, through 30 games in Europe, he's shot 38.2%. In the U18, he shot 58.6%. This year on his Pro A team, he's played exclusively off-ball. So I'm not sure why you would think he needs the ball in his hands to be effective.

I would actually disagree with you. I don't think he has a smooth handle on the ball. He doesn't keep it tight enough to his body. I think moving forward, he has to improve on his handles. Funny you bring up Gobert since he played in the same league as Frank does now. I understand your point though. I don't think Ntilinka is a good finisher at the rim right now. He has no problem getting there, but when it comes to finishing, it's not great. However, there's nothing to make me think he wouldn't be able to have some type of success in the NBA. He has the NBA size, length, and athleticism to get into the paint.

I don't think he plays anything like Tyreke.

Evans is a guy who pounds his dribble because he can't get where he wants with quicks/speed. I really don't get that comparison since I don't see Ntilikina approaching the game that way.

Evans was actually really quick. He was quick+elite handles. It wasn't until the Kings asked him to bulk up and play SF, where he started loosing his quickness.

[LuessiT]

I don't know if measuring his defensive ability playing professional basketball in France is an accurate indication of how he will play in the NBA.

Not gonna lie, I really don't see this guy becoming much in the league.

It's not about level of competition at all. He has the physical tools to become a lock-down defender. He's 6'5 with a 7ft wingspan. He has really good lateral quickness and side-to-side speed. He's moves extremely quick and looks very light on his feet. He's quick enough to guard against any PG. He has a huge size advantage against them, and can use his length to contest really well. SGs are more different to guard than PGs, but he shows the skillset of being able to chase shooters off the 3pt line and recovering with his foot-speed. Being able to flash a lot of defensive potentially in Pro A is just another +. He needs to get stronger, but he doesn't need to bulk up.

Just evaluating him from a physical stand-point alone, he has all of the tools to become a lockdown defender. This isn't Mudiay 2.0 where he just has a raw untapped physical body(on defense). Mudiay also doesn't have the lateral quickness that Ntilinka has. Mudiay's been getting beat off the dribble a lot because of his inexperience and footspeed. Ntilikina is a player who would actually be able to recover on plays like that.

Why don't you think he pans out in the NBA? I know he's really raw, but I think at the very least, he's at least a good defensive player.

I dont see the "extremely quick" praise everyone is throwing at him. He's got good length for a PG and can move his feet well enough, but its not like he jumps off the screen with how fast he is like De'Aaron Fox does. I also feel like Dante Exum is a decent comparison except Exum seems more athletic than Ntilikina

He better be good on defense, because I dont see him being good at the offensive level in the NBA.

He is not a good 3 point shooter, not really good at shooting off the dribble period, doesnt have the floor vision to make up for his lack of shooting, and needs the ball in his hands to be effective.

He is a damn good isolation player who can slash to the net seemingly at will, and has a really smooth handle on the basketball, but that style of play doesnt really mesh with the NBA anymore. Again, he is also playing in France. Not knocking the French league, because im sure there is talent there, but I dont think Ntilikina has the same level of success attacking the rim with someone like Gobert or Anthony Davis lurking about

I see him being a Tyreke Evans / Iman Shumpert type of player at best in the NBA.

again, decent player if you dont ask too much from him, but I wouldnt touch him in the top 10 and expect a franchise changing player

Tyreke Evans has been one of my favorite players to watch since he's been in high school, but I have to admit that his skill set is more suited to a pick-up game than an NBA arena

That's wrong on so many levels. He's made 17/29 3's at the U18 and both in the domestic league as well as the CL he's over 40% from 3. He is a good shooter, showing a variety of shots, especially off the dribble due to his decent handles. He's probably the best shooting point guard prospect in the draft.

He really struggles to slash, because even if he has the defense beat by his handles, he doesn't have the first step, nor the physicality to absorb contact at the rim or finish creatively. And that is exactly the way that is played in the NBA currently, no idea where you are coming from.

[GritAndMind]

Seems like he would be an upside pick due to the potential he shows and what has been covered in this thread so far.

I have wondered myself how he projects as a top 10 pick almost everywhere but it has been like that for months. I could see a team looking to swing for the fences in the 6-12 range looking to take that gamble.

[Curmudgeon]

Ntilikina could be the best guard in this draft-- better than Fultz or Ball. Watch his defense. It's elite. And his pg skills are outstanding for a player with his length. He can shoot the corner three, shoot off the dribble and get to the rim. No weaknesses.

Fultz and Ball are good-- but so is Ntilikina.