2018 NBA Draft

[The-Power]

Athletic ability is the most glaring difference. The fact that Durant was more advanced in other areas where they are similar as well and the fact that Durant went on to improve greatly in the NBA doesn't mean that the comparison isn't worthwhile.

They seem like very different body types to me. Porter's frame is much bigger than Durant, like I said above, it's more like Blake Griffin at this stage. Porter is going to bulk up considerably by the time he gets to the NBA. Hopefully for his sake he doesn't lose his bounce in doing so. Durant is much longer than Porter.

Yes, Durant is longer. But I still see more Durant than Griffin in terms of body types although purely in terms of physiognomie there are better comparisons for Porter than Durant.

Durant in the pre-draft camp was measured 6'10.3'' in shoes, 7'4.8'' wingspan, 9'2'' standing reach and 215 lbs. Griffin in pre-draft camp was measured 6'10'' in shoes, 6'11.3'' wingspan, 8'9'' standing reach and 245 lbs. Porter at the Hoop Summit was measured 6'10'' in shoes, 7'0'' wingspan, 9'0'' standing reach and 216 lbs. So yes, KD is longer but Porter himself is longer than Griffin and the weight is the most obvious difference between Griffin and Durant/Porter. I doubt Porter will bulk up nearly enough to even be close to Griffin in terms of weight, he doesn't have that type of body - around 225 lbs seems much more likely in my eyes.

I agree that Porter's frame is bigger than Durant's but quite clearly not as big as Griffin's. Griffin has broader shoulders, a stronger core, weighs more. He's also much more explosive and jumps higher, and relies on power more than finesse. I really don't see Blake Griffin in him to be honest. Physically he's closer to Durant even though, as I wrote above, Durant isn't a perfect example from a strictly physical point of view either. It's just that with the similarities in terms of playing style, skill set and mental approach it's a good comparison because they aren't that far off in terms of body built - despite Durant's superior athleticism.

[nolang1]

scorers first. They can shoot from anywhere on the floor and over people, get to the rim and draw fouls. Both players don't have the most advanced handles and this can be an issue against certain match-ups or strategies. Both are lean, long and have great size for their position. Both have some defensive potential as rebounders and shot blockers but haven't focused on it at a younger age. Both players create primarily off being a scoring threat, i.e. both aren't natural playmakers but can make plays for others.

There are easily a dozen other players whom this would describe as well. No need to zero in on the one exception who has legitimate guard skills while being even longer and more athletic than the rest. Rudy Gay, Harrison Barnes, Rashard Lewis, Otto Porter, Marvin Williams, Luol Deng, and so on.

The problem with saying "they can shoot from anywhere on the floor" is that for Porter there's not much to base that off of other than highlight clips; for all we know he's shooting 32 percent from the high school line and is just jacking up enough of them that he has some nice-looking makes. From what I can find, he's 1-8 from 3 in the two high school all-star games he's played in and 6-20 at the FIBA Americas U18. That plus the handle and frame (he's a little too tall and upright to be chasing guys around screens) makes him seem like more of a 4 than a 3, and it remains to be seen how he would handle the physicality of that position full-time.

[nolang1]

scorers first. They can shoot from anywhere on the floor and over people, get to the rim and draw fouls. Both players don't have the most advanced handles and this can be an issue against certain match-ups or strategies. Both are lean, long and have great size for their position. Both have some defensive potential as rebounders and shot blockers but haven't focused on it at a younger age. Both players create primarily off being a scoring threat, i.e. both aren't natural playmakers but can make plays for others.

There are easily a dozen other players whom this would describe as well. No need to zero in on the one exception who has legitimate guard skills while being even longer and more athletic than the rest. Rudy Gay, Harrison Barnes, Rashard Lewis, Otto Porter, Marvin Williams, Luol Deng, and so on.

The problem with saying "they can shoot from anywhere on the floor" is that for Porter there's not much to base that off of other than highlight clips; for all we know he's shooting 32 percent from the high school line and is just jacking up enough of them that he has some nice-looking makes. From what I can find, he's 1-8 from 3 in the two high school all-star games he's played in and 6-20 at the FIBA Americas U18. That plus the handle and frame (he's a little too tall and upright to be chasing guys around screens, for example) makes him seem like more of a 4 than a 3, and it remains to be seen how he would handle the physicality of that position full-time.

[The-Power]

scorers first. They can shoot from anywhere on the floor and over people, get to the rim and draw fouls. Both players don't have the most advanced handles and this can be an issue against certain match-ups or strategies. Both are lean, long and have great size for their position. Both have some defensive potential as rebounders and shot blockers but haven't focused on it at a younger age. Both players create primarily off being a scoring threat, i.e. both aren't natural playmakers but can make plays for others.

There are easily a dozen other players whom this would describe as well. No need to zero in on the one exception who has legitimate guard skills while being even longer and more athletic than the rest. Rudy Gay, Harrison Barnes, Rashard Lewis, Otto Porter, Marvin Williams, Luol Deng, and so on.

See, I simply disagree with the guys you mentioned. Not saying there aren't similarities but they aren't as striking as the similarities between Durant and Porter and for each player there are a couple of aspects mentioned above I wouldn't use to describe them. No comparison is perfect and, to repeat myself, being compared to a great player doesn't mean the expectations are accordingly high. If you disagree or see a more apt comparison then that's fair - but not every comparison is lazy just because it includes a great player.

[nolang1]

Not saying there aren't similarities but they aren't as striking as the similarities between Durant and Porter and for each player there are a couple of aspects mentioned above I wouldn't use to describe them. No comparison is perfect and, to repeat myself, being compared to a great player doesn't mean the expectations are accordingly high. If you disagree or see a more apt comparison then that's fair - but not every comparison is lazy just because it includes a great player.

Except that when you're talking about top of the draft prospects the range of possible outcomes is much, much wider. In terms of on-court impact, the difference between having Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward is bigger than the difference between Hayward and a bench player. It's possible for Porter to be good enough to make multiple All-Star teams in his career and for his actual impact to be closer to that of Rudy Gay's than Durant's.

"Kevin Durant but 20% worse at everything" is a bad comparison because it needlessly makes you work out just what 20% means () when you could have just said "Rudy Gay." In fact, a player with those same dimensions projected later in the lottery would be compared to Gay more often than Durant, but for anyone projected at the top of the draft they're just shoehorned into a comparison with whichever current All-Star is closest to them in height and weight. If you were to look at the current top 10 players in the league, you'd find that most of them are pretty much singular in terms of their skillset - maybe Kawhi and Pippen would be the closest, but that's still a stretch.

[The-Power]

Not saying there aren't similarities but they aren't as striking as the similarities between Durant and Porter and for each player there are a couple of aspects mentioned above I wouldn't use to describe them. No comparison is perfect and, to repeat myself, being compared to a great player doesn't mean the expectations are accordingly high. If you disagree or see a more apt comparison then that's fair - but not every comparison is lazy just because it includes a great player.

Except that when you're talking about top of the draft prospects the range of possible outcomes is much, much wider. In terms of on-court impact, the difference between having Kevin Durant and Gordon Hayward is bigger than the difference between Hayward and a bench player. It's possible for Porter to be good enough to make multiple All-Star teams in his career and for his actual impact to be closer to that of Rudy Gay's than Durant's.

I'm not sure where you're going with this as I've never disputed that Porter is less likely to become Durant than a useful starter. That wasn't my point at all. I was strictly talking about similar profiles - fully aware that some differences in terms of skills and skill levels exist as it is the case for any comparison - while you are the one who brought (expected) quality level into the discussion.

Let's make it very simplistic (note that this isn't an adequate presentation of my view): if I expect Porter to be a less athletic Durant who does everything else Durant does 20% worse then Durant is still the best comparison when we're talking about similarities and not impact. In that scenario, Porter wouldn't be more than a useful starter or something along those lines. Since we are unable to predict future impact reliably, using stylistic comparisons while outlining differences is a much more worthwhile exercise - especially when it's used to describe a player's game.

[doordoor123]

I love Sexton so much. He's my new favorite player. I will be bias from here on out.

[grubs10]

Whats the scouting report on Jontay Porter? Is he gonna reclassify? How old is he compared to michael porter?

[No-Man]

Whats the scouting report on Jontay Porter? Is he gonna reclassify? How old is he compared to michael porter?

He is one year and a few months younger, he turns 18 in November.
He is a versatile big, good touch, good IQ, looks like a baller, he doesnt have the same athletic tools his brother got but has a stronger built.

[Worm122]

Any news?

[The-Power]

Any news?

On what exactly? The uncommited prospects? Expect Knox to announce his decision within the next days as his father recently said it should be done until May 7th. Duval should announce his decision soon as well (though probably a bit later if I had to guess, wouldn't be surprised if it takes another week or two) while Bamba might take some more time, he seems to feel no pressure at all (it is expected that he's either going to Texas or Kentucky, though). No idea when Bowen is going to decide. Or were you speaking of Jontay Porter potentially reclassifying?

[Worm122]

Any news?

On what exactly? The uncommited prospects? Expect Knox to announce his decision within the next days as his father recently said it should be done until May 7th. Duval should announce his decision soon as well (though probably a bit later if I had to guess, wouldn't be surprised if it takes another week or two) while Bamba might take some more time, he seems to feel no pressure at all (it is expected that he's either going to Texas or Kentucky, though). No idea when Bowen is going to decide. Or were you speaking of Jontay Porter potentially reclassifying?

Exactly my friend, great post.

[The-Power]

In case anybody didn't know yet, Kevin Knox decided to take his talents to Kentucky.

[DirtyDez]

In case anybody didn't know yet, Kevin Knox decided to take his talents to Kentucky.

Green/Alexander
Knox/Baker
Vanderbilt/Gabriel
PJ/SKJ
Bamba/Richards

Cal has so many options if Bamba commits. He could super big with Richards/Bamba together or run with Vanderbilt at the 4, Knox 3 and Baker for shooting purposes. Of course we have to find out if a bunch of freshman gel first.

[Duke4life831]

In case anybody didn't know yet, Kevin Knox decided to take his talents to Kentucky.

Green/Alexander
Knox/Baker
Vanderbilt/Gabriel
PJ/SKJ
Bamba/Richards

Cal has so many options if Bamba commits. He could super big with Richards/Bamba together or run with Vanderbilt at the 4, Knox 3 and Baker for shooting purposes. Of course we have to find out if a bunch of freshman gel first.

Knox at the 2 is not going to work at all. I know the word on the street is that is what Cal sold Knox on but he just doesnt have the perimeter skills for it. With that said if they land Bamba, I honestly dont know how you score on that team.

[Kolkmania]

In case anybody didn't know yet, Kevin Knox decided to take his talents to Kentucky.

Green/Alexander
Knox/Baker
Vanderbilt/Gabriel
PJ/SKJ
Bamba/Richards

Cal has so many options if Bamba commits. He could super big with Richards/Bamba together or run with Vanderbilt at the 4, Knox 3 and Baker for shooting purposes. Of course we have to find out if a bunch of freshman gel first.

Knox at the 2 is not going to work at all. I know the word on the street is that is what Cal sold Knox on but he just doesnt have the perimeter skills for it. With that said if they land Bamba, I honestly dont know how you score on that team.

Not sure how Kentucky is going to score as well, they will have some severe spacing issues.

[No-Man]

In case anybody didn't know yet, Kevin Knox decided to take his talents to Kentucky.

Green/Alexander
Knox/Baker
Vanderbilt/Gabriel
PJ/SKJ
Bamba/Richards

Cal has so many options if Bamba commits. He could super big with Richards/Bamba together or run with Vanderbilt at the 4, Knox 3 and Baker for shooting purposes. Of course we have to find out if a bunch of freshman gel first.

Knox at the 2? Wenyed and Vanderbilt at SF full-time? yikes, that team has 0 shooting, they have no shot to do anything in the Tnmt.

I think Bamba is Texas bound honestly, UK might get Diallo back tho, won't help with the shooting.

Calipari doesnt know much about team building.

[No-Man]

In case anybody didn't know yet, Kevin Knox decided to take his talents to Kentucky.

Green/Alexander
Knox/Baker
Vanderbilt/Gabriel
PJ/SKJ
Bamba/Richards

Cal has so many options if Bamba commits. He could super big with Richards/Bamba together or run with Vanderbilt at the 4, Knox 3 and Baker for shooting purposes. Of course we have to find out if a bunch of freshman gel first.

Knox at the 2 is not going to work at all. I know the word on the street is that is what Cal sold Knox on but he just doesnt have the perimeter skills for it. With that said if they land Bamba, I honestly dont know how you score on that team.

Green fights but he is small, Vanderbilt is an intense defender but gets beaten a ton, he is better as a help defender, you involve two guys in the PnR and bring Bamba out and they are cooked, they have nobody to guard perimeter guys if they are running that sort of lineup, shooting teams are gonna blow them out.

[DirtyDez]

Green/Alexander
Knox/Baker
Vanderbilt/Gabriel
PJ/SKJ
Bamba/Richards

Cal has so many options if Bamba commits. He could super big with Richards/Bamba together or run with Vanderbilt at the 4, Knox 3 and Baker for shooting purposes. Of course we have to find out if a bunch of freshman gel first.

Knox at the 2 is not going to work at all. I know the word on the street is that is what Cal sold Knox on but he just doesnt have the perimeter skills for it. With that said if they land Bamba, I honestly dont know how you score on that team.

Green fights but he is small, Vanderbilt is an intense defender but gets beaten a ton, he is better as a help defender, you involve two guys in the PnR and bring Bamba out and they are cooked, they have nobody to guard perimeter guys if they are running that sort of lineup, shooting teams are gonna blow them out.

People say this about UK every year. They didn't have much defensive personnel last season and they were still top-10 in AdjD. Green, Knox and Baker can shoot and they're still in on grad-transfer Cam Johnson. If this team is severely flawed we should talk about the other 300 D1 teams that are more flawed.

[Duke4life831]

Knox at the 2 is not going to work at all. I know the word on the street is that is what Cal sold Knox on but he just doesnt have the perimeter skills for it. With that said if they land Bamba, I honestly dont know how you score on that team.

Green fights but he is small, Vanderbilt is an intense defender but gets beaten a ton, he is better as a help defender, you involve two guys in the PnR and bring Bamba out and they are cooked, they have nobody to guard perimeter guys if they are running that sort of lineup, shooting teams are gonna blow them out.

People say this about UK every year. They didn't have much defensive personnel last season and they were still top-10 in AdjD. Green, Knox and Baker can shoot and they're still in on grad-transfer Cam Johnson. If this team is severely flawed we should talk about the other 300 D1 teams that are more flawed.

Ya I'm not the biggest fan of Cal's coaching ability but the dude does know how to coach up the defense. Then throw in 4-5 premier athletes that are 6'8-6'9 and then throw in Bamba into that mix. Ya that has #1 defense written all over it. Offensively is a whole different conversation, but defensively that has a ton of potential, probably as much defensive potential as their 15 team.