ranger001 wrote:CoachJReturns wrote:ranger001 wrote:The average nba vertical is apparently 28 inches so he's right there.
Have you actually looked at tape to call him a slow player? There's a lot more to athleticism than vertical. First step, lateral movement, reflexes. And stuff like craftiness, change of speed and acceleration alter that too.
jp tokoto had a crazy vertical and was drafted 58th then got cut.
Read the research and use your brain.
So you're confessing that you haven't actually looked yourself. You were the one wrong about vertical so yeah I am going to not trust your regurgitation.
Don't be an ass and put words in people's mouths. That's childish ****. I've seen the video and to me he's a very, very average player and a below average NBA athlete. On top of lacking explosiveness I've read scouting reports describing his lack of lateral quickness, which I think anyone would agree is pretty significant for a wing. If we want to say his vertical jump is average at the NBA level(great that means I'm an NBA level explosive athlete lol) we're forgetting that position matters a great deal. There are still a few slow, plodding centers(JV, Kanter etc.) who bring down the average athleticism of the league, but for other positions it's significantly higher. A wing with good size doesn't need to fly like a point guard, but to be a good defender(not player, defender) at the next level requires being a decent athlete at your position.
Drafting a guy who is a poor athlete at his respective position and expecting him to be anything other than a poor defender is an unrealistic expectation to say the least. The guys who manage to do so are typically players who were not average in their prime and are living off of years and years of pro experience. So I will admit it's possible to be a good team defender with average to below average athleticism at your position as an NBA veteran, but not as a player in his early years. He's going to be one of the worst defenders taken in the 1st round. To be fair to Kurucs and every other rookie, most rookies struggle defensively. In his case though I think he's never going to be much of a defender.
This is all a moot point however, because, in my opinion, there is little chance our front office would even draft this guy. As much as I'm not interested in him as a pick, I think even Semi is a more likely candidate. Kurucs won't suck as an NBA player. He's a skilled Euro scorer. He'll be a one way player, however, in my own opinion and this current Raptor team seems to value defensive potential a great deal.
