Devin Booker

[lilfishi22]

Portis RHJ or Harrell or even Payne would have been better picks imo

Funny to look back at this thread haha

I was dead wrong about Devin Booker, that’s for sure. I’ve since given up any pretense that I know who’s best for us to draft, just hoping for the best.

I think a lot of us were. Same as those who weren't high on guys like Donovan Mitchell. Sometimes these late lotto guys blossom. It happens and we should just be happy we have one of those guys

[Revived]

Watch on YouTube

Yeah...I don’t think he’ll be cool with waiting on that super max extension lol.

[GeraldsGreenery]

Watch on YouTube

Yeah...I don’t think he’ll be cool with waiting on that super max extension lol.

to be fair, he's had that Ferrari for over 2 years now

[bigfoot]

Watch on YouTube

Yeah...I don’t think he’ll be cool with waiting on that super max extension lol.

Who's the lady? Why is she tipping the valet? Weird!

[Damkac]

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=64&p=67036867#p67036867
Tatum has 2x more votes.
I'm wondering how it would be if Booker was playing on the Celtics and Tatum on the Suns. I guess Tatum would be "inefficient, empty stats scorer who don't playe defense" and we would see threads on the GB like "Who would you start your team with: young Kobe or Devin Booker?" or "If Devin Booker would retire today whould he make HOF?".

[lilfishi22]

It's really hard to get a win on these polls when you've been on a team for 3 years winning on average 23 games and you're still a horrible defender. Tatum has the benefit of playing for a great coach, in a great system next to role players who allow him to shine, he plays both ends of the court and had some big moments on a team that won 55 games and took Lebron to 7 games in the ECF. I'm not surprised by the results and I don't blame fans for going with the younger, more complete player who played a pivotal role on a great team.

I also think Suns fan are a bit salty by the fact that a young rookie has come in and done what he did in his first season in the league while Booker is somewhat putting up stats on a team that hasn't won more than 24 games in the last 3 seasons. Is it entirely his fault? No but Suns fans just have to face the facts that Tatum is on a good team with a good system that allows him to win and it's not fair to diminish his accomplishment and value just because he's on a great team.

Tatum is a really good player and in isolation, I might even take him over Booker just because he does almost everything Booker can do but also play D. But I still lean towards Booker because he's a Phoenix Sun and should have our support.

[8on]

It is fair. You cannot have as much responsibility if you are surrounded by great players. Great players make you better.

Ludicrous.

[lilfishi22]

It is fair. You cannot have as much responsibility if you are surrounded by great players. Great players make you better.

Ludicrous.

OK fine. Then, on the other side, you can't just artificially prop up Booker because he's had more responsibility yet has zero accomplishments

[8on]

It is fair. You cannot have as much responsibility if you are surrounded by great players. Great players make you better.

Ludicrous.

OK fine. Then, on the other side, you can't just artificially prop up Booker because he's had more responsibility yet has zero accomplishments

I can. He’s 21. Scoring 70 on Brad Stevens is an accomplishment.

I don’t actually expect players under 21 to accomplish anything by themselves, but he is progressing nicely.

[lilfishi22]

It is fair. You cannot have as much responsibility if you are surrounded by great players. Great players make you better.

Ludicrous.

OK fine. Then, on the other side, you can't just artificially prop up Booker because he's had more responsibility yet has zero accomplishments

I can. He’s 21. Scoring 70 on Brad Stevens is an accomplishment.

I don’t actually expect players under 21 to accomplish anything by themselves, but he is progressing nicely.

Being 21 is an accomplishment? 70 is a legendary scoring game but I'd take a 18..5ppg on great efficiency in the playoffs and this

Read on Twitter

Over anything Booker has ever done in his career. Also since when did Smart, Mook, Horford, Rozier, Brown, Baynes and Ojeleye become great?

I love Booker but I'm sorry, he hasn't done jack in the league except for score

[8on]

OK fine. Then, on the other side, you can't just artificially prop up Booker because he's had more responsibility yet has zero accomplishments

I can. He’s 21. Scoring 70 on Brad Stevens is an accomplishment.

I don’t actually expect players under 21 to accomplish anything by themselves, but he is progressing nicely.

Being 21 is an accomplishment? 70 is a legendary scoring game but I'd take a 18..5ppg on great efficiency in the playoffs and this

Read on Twitter

Over anything Booker has ever done in his career. Also since when did Smart, Mook, Horford, Rozier, Brown, Baynes and Ojeleye become great?

How efficient would Devin Booker have been if he were playing with Al Horford, described by many as the NBA’s best or second best two way big?

[lilfishi22]

I can. He’s 21. Scoring 70 on Brad Stevens is an accomplishment.

I don’t actually expect players under 21 to accomplish anything by themselves, but he is progressing nicely.

Being 21 is an accomplishment? 70 is a legendary scoring game but I'd take a 18..5ppg on great efficiency in the playoffs and this

Read on Twitter

Over anything Booker has ever done in his career. Also since when did Smart, Mook, Horford, Rozier, Brown, Baynes and Ojeleye become great?

How efficient would Devin Booker have been if he were playing with Al Horford, described by many as the NBA’s best or second best two way big?

5%? 10%? 20%? 90%? Who knows but that's completely subjective and I'm more interested in the objectivity of actual production/performance rather than subjectively/artificially propping up one player via some made up scenario. Horford is excellent, he's an all-star but great? He's probably on the very low end of great.

[8on]

Being 21 is an accomplishment? 70 is a legendary scoring game but I'd take a 18..5ppg on great efficiency in the playoffs and this

Read on Twitter

Over anything Booker has ever done in his career. Also since when did Smart, Mook, Horford, Rozier, Brown, Baynes and Ojeleye become great?

How efficient would Devin Booker have been if he were playing with Al Horford, described by many as the NBA’s best or second best two way big?

5%? 10%? 20%? 90%? Who knows but that's completely subjective and I'm more interested in the objectivity of actual production/performance rather than subjectively/artificially propping up one player via some made up scenario. Horford is excellent, he's an all-star but great? He's probably on the very low end of great.

Extremely valuable to his team. A two way shooting, playmaking big. The prototypical NBA big.

Beyond numbers, Booker’s individual skills look much more impressive. Boston primarily uses ball movement, and their success must come from a coach who is often hailed as the best coach in the league. If Stevens isn’t a positive factor for Tatum’s production, there isn’t much point to coaching, then, is there?

Tatum, a very good rookie with a lot of help, pales in comparison to an extremely good scorer with the worst supporting cast in the league. It’s hard to compare, but I tend to value the guy with more responsibility over the guy with less if it’s close.

[8on]

The point of my penultimate comment was that Booker would have been more efficient with the same volume of shots. More is enough.

[lilfishi22]

It's not an unreasonable projection. But if you're going to project, then you should also project Tatum with 3 seasons under his belt and also include his value on the defensive side of the ball.

[8on]

It's not an unreasonable projection. But if you're going to project, then you should also project Tatum with 3 seasons under his belt and also include his value on the defensive side of the ball.

With Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning, plus the emergence of Jaylen Brown, I cannot project a significant increase in production.

[lilfishi22]

It's not an unreasonable projection. But if you're going to project, then you should also project Tatum with 3 seasons under his belt and also include his value on the defensive side of the ball.

With Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning, plus the emergence of Jaylen Brown, I cannot project a significant increase in production.

What about for us? Additions of Ayton, Bridges and the project increased production of JJ, Bender/Chriss and whoever is our new PG. Do you see Booker's 32% usage rate increasing? What about defensively? We're going completely gloss over that?

With added help, I see Booker's efficiency going up but I see his offensive production stay at around the 25ppg mark.

[8on]

It's not an unreasonable projection. But if you're going to project, then you should also project Tatum with 3 seasons under his belt and also include his value on the defensive side of the ball.

With Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning, plus the emergence of Jaylen Brown, I cannot project a significant increase in production.

What about for us? Additions of Ayton, Bridges and the project increased production of JJ, Bender/Chriss and whoever is our new PG. Do you see Booker's 32% usage rate increasing? What about defensively? We're going completely gloss over that?

With added help, I see Booker's efficiency going up but I see his offensive production stay at around the 25ppg mark.

We are going to gloss over that, because when you are a scoring talent like Booker, defense is optional. See: Harden, James; Lillard, Damian; Irving, Kyrie; Iverson, Allen.

It comes down to who Coach prioritizes in the offense. I don’t know who will benefit in our new offense, or what it will be, but Book does not have to compete with three All Stars for touches like Tatum does.

[lilfishi22]

With Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward returning, plus the emergence of Jaylen Brown, I cannot project a significant increase in production.

What about for us? Additions of Ayton, Bridges and the project increased production of JJ, Bender/Chriss and whoever is our new PG. Do you see Booker's 32% usage rate increasing? What about defensively? We're going completely gloss over that?

With added help, I see Booker's efficiency going up but I see his offensive production stay at around the 25ppg mark.

We are going to gloss over that, because when you are a scoring talent like Booker, defense is optional. See: Harden, James; Lillard, Damian; Irving, Kyrie; Iverson, Allen.

It comes down to who Coach prioritizes in the offense. I don’t know who will benefit in our new offense, or what it will be, but Book does not have to compete with three All Stars for touches like Tatum does.

And what about the combined impact ? Booker's great scoring plus turnstile defense vs Tatum's efficient scoring plus great D

Booker is more negative defensively than he is positive offensively so he's a net negative and this is with already great offense. Tatum's offense is not levels behind Booker but his defense is significantly better, like magnitudes better.

[8on]

What about for us? Additions of Ayton, Bridges and the project increased production of JJ, Bender/Chriss and whoever is our new PG. Do you see Booker's 32% usage rate increasing? What about defensively? We're going completely gloss over that?

With added help, I see Booker's efficiency going up but I see his offensive production stay at around the 25ppg mark.

We are going to gloss over that, because when you are a scoring talent like Booker, defense is optional. See: Harden, James; Lillard, Damian; Irving, Kyrie; Iverson, Allen.

It comes down to who Coach prioritizes in the offense. I don’t know who will benefit in our new offense, or what it will be, but Book does not have to compete with three All Stars for touches like Tatum does.

And what about the combined impact ? Booker's great scoring plus turnstile defense vs Tatum's efficient scoring plus great D

Booker is more negative defensively than he is positive offensively so he's a net negative and this is with already great offense. Tatum's offense is not levels behind Booker but his defense is significantly better, like magnitudes better.

Efficiency decreases as volume increases. Tatum’s value is multiplied by the cumulative effect of Stevens’ system, Horford’s value as one of the most valuable spacing big men in the spacing era, Kyrie’s ability to penetrate, the value of Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart, and the playoff value of Terry Rozier. That’s a lot for which to account. With all that said, I cannot evaluate Tatum in a vacuum.

Of course Booker was a negative defensively. He can only do so much. Anchoring the team on defense is not what we ask offensive superstars to do. If Booker is going to be one, we probably won’t ask him to be a defensive stopper. We’ll hide him.

Negative environments usually include exponential decay. Positive environments usually include exponential growth. With all of the help around Tatum, it is impossible to compare him to Booker because he has a modicum of Booker’s responsibility to his team.