George de Paula

[doordoor123]

This guys is super underrated. There is literally no one that has him on their board other than me. He has huge hands, huge wingspan, good defender, shoots threes well, he's a good play maker, good handler and he's athletic. He has a lot to learn because his coaching is ducking terrible, but he has a lot of upside. Oh yeah, and he's a lefty.
Does everyone only watch YouTube videos? Because it seems like that. I went to one of his games a while ago and was blown away.
After doing some research, I found a video some of you YouTube viewers can watch and hopefully you guys can finally put him on your board.

Watch on YouTube

He didn't shoot it well in this game, but he's shooting around 40% from 3.

Another game:

Watch on YouTube

And another:

Watch on YouTube

Other stuff:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

[NatiboyB]

I thought he was high on the boards last seasons draft. I assumed someone picked him in the 2nd rd.

[doordoor123]

I thought he was high on the boards last seasons draft. I assumed someone picked him in the 2nd rd.

I don't think he even declared for the draft last year if I'm remembering correctly. Two years ago he declared and pulled out. People were high on him then because he was 19. Now he's 21, he's much better and all of a sudden there is no coverage on him whatsoever. I don't understand why at all. It's like these guys whose job it is to talk about prospects don't do their job to the fullest extent. I was confused when no one heard of Bruno Caboclo when he got drafted too. Dude, it's your job to know this stuff (talking to all the guys from draft sites, blogs and podcasts).

This guy is a legitimate prospect and he's not anywhere. He's going to be the Georgios Papagiannis this year in the sense that he's going to be drafted high and everyone is going to be confused because no one talked about him.

Sorry I've been asking about him on twitter to all the draft guys for the past year (ever since I saw him live) and every time they ignore my questions about him. Would love to hear second opinions, but it's like no one is even paying attention to him. It's like they saw him two years ago and made their minds up. But hes gotten a lot better and he has a lot to offer. Why wouldn't a team like Portland use a pick on him? He's a good defender that is strong and can play combo guard as a back up.

[Coeur]

Yeah I get 2 years older but can't get how people can be so into frank but not this guy at all.

I know I hope one of my teams grabs this guy

[Prez]

Yeah I get 2 years older but can't get how people can be so into frank but not this guy at all.

I know I hope one of my teams grabs this guy

Two years is a pretty substantial age difference in terms of development for guys like these two who aren't close to finished products.

[doordoor123]

Yeah I get 2 years older but can't get how people can be so into frank but not this guy at all.

I know I hope one of my teams grabs this guy

Two years is a pretty substantial age difference in terms of development for guys like these two who aren't close to finished products.

I really don't think De Paula needs that much development. The game he's playing now doesn't fit him. In the NBA I think he'll be better. His coaching as I said is terrible and the slower style of play doesn't suit him. He's already a good defender and has a big NBA-type body. He can also shoot threes. He needs to tighten his handle and his shot as well as learn NBA offenses and schemes, but I don't think he's that far away. He might also need to condition himself and get in better shape.

[GimmeDat]

I liked him when he was raw a few years ago, but he was supposedly very far off back then. I'll need to give these videos a watch.

One thing's for sure though, this is a deep 2nd round, so it'll be hard for a guy like George to really carve much stock.

[doordoor123]

I liked him when he was raw a few years ago, but he was supposedly very far off back then. I'll need to give these videos a watch.

One thing's for sure though, this is a deep 2nd round, so it'll be hard for a guy like George to really carve much stock.

IMO he's a first round pick. If DJ Wilson is a first round pick, De Paula should also be one. Same with Ike Anigbogu. I would even argue him over any centers in this draft, especially with the league trending small. His defense, size, shot and feel is more valuable than a lot of players in this draft. I'd also take him over Frank Jackson, who could easily not even make the league because there are tons of scoring point guards who don't even make the league. Also over Dozier.

[Gam]

Watched a random 10 minute stretch of the first video and he was clearly the best player on the court by a mile. Does anyone have his averages or a good idea how good the Brazilian league is compared to the NCAA? I have to imagine they're worse than any first division european league or the D-League.

It sure does seem like he should be getting mocked at least in the mid 2nd from the tiny bit I watched though.

DX has him going in the 2nd next year, is he even draft eligible this year?

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/George-De-Paula-80325/

[UcanUwill]

Watched a random 10 minute stretch of the first video and he was clearly the best player on the court by a mile. Does anyone have his averages or a good idea how good the Brazilian league is compared to the NCAA? I have to imagine they're worse than any first division european league or the D-League.

It sure does seem like he should be getting mocked at least in the mid 2nd from the tiny bit I watched though.

DX has him going in the 2nd next year, is he even draft eligible this year?

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/George-De-Paula-80325/

HE is 21 so I imagine he is auto eligible this year? Or you have to be 22 to be auto eligible, I dont remember?

Acording to realGM :

I know basically nothing about that league, but looking at stats, a lot of Americans I havent heard dominate that league. Former Euroleague scrub Marcelinho Machado who is now 42 years old still averaged 14.6 point per game in that league. So, doesnt look that competitive, not sure its worse than D league, but it probably is.

George : 10.8 ppg. (37.0 FG% : 32.9 3PT% : 50,7 TS%), 4.2 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 stl. 16.1 PER : 27.2 minutes per game.

Pretty versatile numbers, but his scoring and shooting percentages are abysmal bad.

[SKR]

lol i thought it was a bash thread for Paul George, as he is a princess

[UcanUwill]

lol i thought it was a bash thread for Paul George, as he is a princess

His full name is George Lucas Alves de Paula, or "Georginho", or just George Lucas...

Who doesn't want guy named George Lucas to succeed?

[doordoor123]

Watched a random 10 minute stretch of the first video and he was clearly the best player on the court by a mile. Does anyone have his averages or a good idea how good the Brazilian league is compared to the NCAA? I have to imagine they're worse than any first division european league or the D-League.

It sure does seem like he should be getting mocked at least in the mid 2nd from the tiny bit I watched though.

DX has him going in the 2nd next year, is he even draft eligible this year?

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/George-De-Paula-80325/

HE is 21 so I imagine he is auto eligible this year? Or you have to be 22 to be auto eligible, I dont remember?

Acording to realGM :

I know basically nothing about that league, but looking at stats, a lot of Americans I havent heard dominate that league. Former Euroleague scrub Marcelinho Machado who is now 42 years old still averaged 14.6 point per game in that league. So, doesnt look that competitive, not sure its worse than D league, but it probably is.

George : 10.8 ppg. (37.0 FG% : 32.9 3PT% : 50,7 TS%), 4.2 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 stl. 16.1 PER : 27.2 minutes per game.

Pretty versatile numbers, but his scoring and shooting percentages are abysmal bad.

He has gone stretches where his scoring and shooting has been better. Again, he has bad coaching and the spacing just isn't good.

[Novocaine]

He just hasn't progressed that much in the last couple of seasons. A 18/19 year old with great athletic tools has an allure that a 21 year old with great athletic tools doesn't. I saw their game yesterday - he was a non-factor (and his team really needed him to step up after Lucas went down with an ankle injury - btw, Lucas might have surpassed Georginho as the best NBA prospect) and his counterpart, a 38 years old, completely dominated the game. And they spent a good amount of time guarding each other. If a guy who wasn't good enough for the NBA in his prime (and he actually had a season with the Spurs some 15 years ago) is tearing him apart at 38, perhaps De Paula isn't quite yet the NBA material OP seems to think he is. He's a very good defender on the ball, great tools, active arms, shaky but improving fundamentals - yet annoying bad off the ball, always ball watching - teams target him there. Reminiscent of John Wall. He's mediocre all round offensively and I'm not sure his potential is all that high at this point. He's fast and fluid but not explosive - he's a diesel who needs space or a recovering defend to take off. Although his first step has some promise, but he does lack a second and a third one. His dribble is way too high and wild, lacking advanced dribble moves, or any sort of shiftiness. Doesn't really have an easy time creating his own shots even with the low level of the current Brazilian league. He's very altruistic and a pretty good passer, and he can be quite prolific from the low post (although in part because he's often being defended by ~5'7'' guy that he wouldn't meet in the NBA) but at creating separation off the dribble, he's pedestrian. Not even the best lead guard in his own team.

I think picking him in the 2nd round and stashing him in Europe, or in the D-League with a 2-way contract, makes the most sense. Once he corrects his defensive flaws, then he might be worth minutes (and a contract) in the NBA as defensive guard. A Marcus Smart with less defensive playmaking - Smart is actually a good comparison for him. But as of now he has too many defensive lapses to play that role.

He didn't shoot it well in this game, but he's shooting around 40% from 3.

That's not correct. If it were, then yeah, he'd probably be a very enticing prospect. But he's shooting 40% from 2 and 32% from 3. If he had a good shooting touch, then he'd be what you think he is.

I know basically nothing about that league, but looking at stats, a lot of Americans I havent heard dominate that league. Former Euroleague scrub Marcelinho Machado who is now 42 years old still averaged 14.6 point per game in that league. So, doesnt look that competitive, not sure its worse than D league, but it probably is.

Marcelinho was still the 6th man of the year last season. Brazilian basketball is going through a huge crisis, at all levels: financial, organizational, talent drought. The national team is suspended from international competitions (Brazil won't be sending a team to the U18 FIBA Americans championship or the Americup this Summer), ~youth leagues/tourneys have ended; the only thing still working is actually the pro-league - although, as one would expect, clubs weren't immune to the economic crisis and the quality of the imports plummeted and any decent national player is abroad - except the young, the old and the mediocre. Hence why guys who were dominating the league in their prime 10/15 years ago are still doing the same in their late 30s.

He has gone stretches where his scoring and shooting has been better. Again, he has bad coaching and the spacing just isn't good.

This is completely untrue. Obviously he doesn't have NBA level coaching, but he has the best coaching he could get in Brazil - ironically, the most promising prospect in Brazilian basketball right now might be his team's head-coach. They're playing the league finals with a roster of kids and rejects and no imports. 5 players in the rotation under 22 years old. And their spacing is fine, they almost always play with a stretch 4.

ps - I'm going to guess you don't really follow George and Paulistano as closely as you pretended to. In fact, I'm positively sure you don't.

[doordoor123]

He just hasn't progressed that much in the last couple of seasons. A 18/19 year old with great athletic tools has an allure that a 21 year old with great athletic tools doesn't. I saw their game yesterday - he was a non-factor (and his team really needed him to step up after Lucas went down with an ankle injury - btw, Lucas might have surpassed Georginho as the best NBA prospect) and his counterpart, a 38 years old, completely dominated the game. And they spent a good amount of time guarding each other. If a guy who wasn't good enough for the NBA in his prime (and he actually had a season with the Spurs some 15 years ago) is tearing him apart at 38, perhaps De Paula isn't quite yet the NBA material OP seems to think he is. He's a very good defender on the ball, great tools, active arms, shaky but improving fundamentals - yet annoying bad off the ball, always ball watching - teams target him there. Reminiscent of John Wall. He's mediocre all round offensively and I'm not sure his potential is all that high at this point. He's fast and fluid but not explosive - he's a diesel who needs space or a recovering defend to take off. Although his first step has some promise, but he does lack a second and a third one. His dribble is way too high and wild, lacking advanced dribble moves, or any sort of shiftiness. Doesn't really have an easy time creating his own shots even with the low level of the current Brazilian league. He's very altruistic and a pretty good passer, and he can be quite prolific from the low post (although in part because he's often being defended by ~5'7'' guy that he wouldn't meet in the NBA) but at creating separation off the dribble, he's pedestrian. Not even the best lead guard in his own team.

I think picking him in the 2nd round and stashing him in Europe, or in the D-League with a 2-way contract, makes the most sense. Once he corrects his defensive flaws, then he might be worth minutes (and a contract) in the NBA as defensive guard. A Marcus Smart with less defensive playmaking - Smart is actually a good comparison for him. But as of now he has too many defensive lapses to play that role.

He didn't shoot it well in this game, but he's shooting around 40% from 3.

That's not correct. If it were, then yeah, he'd probably be a very enticing prospect. But he's shooting 40% from 2 and 32% from 3. If he had a good shooting touch, then he'd be what you think he is.

I know basically nothing about that league, but looking at stats, a lot of Americans I havent heard dominate that league. Former Euroleague scrub Marcelinho Machado who is now 42 years old still averaged 14.6 point per game in that league. So, doesnt look that competitive, not sure its worse than D league, but it probably is.

Marcelinho was still the 6th man of the year last season. Brazilian basketball is going through a huge crisis, at all levels: financial, organizational, talent drought. The national team is suspended from international competitions (Brazil won't be sending a team to the U18 FIBA Americans championship or the Americup this Summer), ~youth leagues/tourneys have ended; the only thing still working is actually the pro-league - although, as one would expect, clubs weren't immune to the economic crisis and the quality of the imports plummeted and any decent national player is abroad - except the young, the old and the mediocre. Hence why guys who were dominating the league in their prime 10/15 years ago are still doing the same in their late 30s.

He has gone stretches where his scoring and shooting has been better. Again, he has bad coaching and the spacing just isn't good.

This is completely untrue. Obviously he doesn't have NBA level coaching, but he has the best coaching he could get in Brazil - ironically, the most promising prospect in Brazilian basketball right now might be his team's head-coach. They're playing the league finals with a roster of kids and rejects and no imports. 5 players in the rotation under 22 years old. And their spacing is fine, they almost always play with a stretch 4.

ps - I'm going to guess you don't really follow George and Paulistano as closely as you pretended to. In fact, I'm positively sure you don't.

I would pick apart this whole thing, but it's so long. It would take me forever. I'll just say that you're wrong. In terms of getting beaten by older players, yes, he's young and still learning the game. I didn't think I'd need to say this, but the older you get, the better your know your game and the game in general. The game in Brazil really isn't about how athletic you are and how capable you are on defense. They play a lot of zone and have a lot of weird defensive movement overall. It's even confusing to the players, which is why there is often wide open shots. If you're decent and know the game, you'll have success in this league.
I'm not saying he's going to jump in and be elite, but he can jump into the NBA and be useful. His handle does get out of control at times, but he has huge hands and his game is much more adept to the NBA game. And yes, he doesn't have explosiveness, but he's a big, strong and he's quick enough to attack close outs. He's also a creative dribbler that has flashes of brilliance when he has a man on him. His crossovers and hesitations are NBA-level, but he doesn't do them consistently enough.
And yes, I have been following him for quite some time even though I don't watch every one of his games.
He also has been up and down in terms of shooting, but he's not a bad shooter. The proof is in his free throw percentage at 75%. There is also an issue with confidence, but all of that stuff is very adjustable. He also needs to learn to box out and be a better rebounder, but he needs to learn because again, his coaching ducking sucks. However, like Lonzo Ball, he's really good at filling lanes and cutting to the basket, which again is another reason he will be better in a more fast pace offense.
I'm positive you think you know what you're talking about, but you really don't.

[MalonesElbows]

lol he's shooting 37%. If you're a PG that no one needs to guard your team is dead. The Jazz know this very well as they deal with Exum.

[NatiboyB]

I thought he was high on the boards last seasons draft. I assumed someone picked him in the 2nd rd.

I don't think he even declared for the draft last year if I'm remembering correctly. Two years ago he declared and pulled out. People were high on him then because he was 19. Now he's 21, he's much better and all of a sudden there is no coverage on him whatsoever. I don't understand why at all. It's like these guys whose job it is to talk about prospects don't do their job to the fullest extent. I was confused when no one heard of Bruno Caboclo when he got drafted too. Dude, it's your job to know this stuff (talking to all the guys from draft sites, blogs and podcasts).

This guy is a legitimate prospect and he's not anywhere. He's going to be the Georgios Papagiannis this year in the sense that he's going to be drafted high and everyone is going to be confused because no one talked about him.

Sorry I've been asking about him on twitter to all the draft guys for the past year (ever since I saw him live) and every time they ignore my questions about him. Would love to hear second opinions, but it's like no one is even paying attention to him. It's like they saw him two years ago and made their minds up. But hes gotten a lot better and he has a lot to offer. Why wouldn't a team like Portland use a pick on him? He's a good defender that is strong and can play combo guard as a back up.

maybe it was the ear before but I do recall him being an early 2nd late 1st in mock drafts thats why i thought he was drafted as a stash player it is shocking to not here his name mentioned maybe the other draft pundints don't see NBA potential in him any longer or he is unlikely to come over anytime soon.

[BarbaGrizz]

I have him going #48 to Milwaukee. Kid really improved this season and is the starting PG to a top2 team in Brazil. BTW, he received the best coaching he could get in Brazil, both now and with his previous team.

[JamesConway]

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[doordoor123]

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Nice, Kaba is kind of underrated for how he performed recently. He's a fluid 6'10 PF with 7-5 wingspan and he can shoot/rebound. I'm actually kind of surprised no one has considered him a first round pick (myself included).