2019 Draft Class - Part 2

[clyde21]

Baz has pretty ridiculous handles and shot making ability at his size if he can put it all together, this play was KD like

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[clyde21]

Brandon Clarke looked incredible today, 18/12 in 25 with 3 blocks, went 2/4 at 3 too.

another 25 point game from Edwards too.

[clyde21]

NAW and hayes look damn good...what a draft for them

NAW especially looks incredible

[jman3134]

Bad game tonight for NAW imho despite the stats. He didn't move the ball well early and Miami had no business being in that game without Herro or Nunn.

[clyde21]

Clarke was pretty bonkers in this tourney...he's as close as it gets to contributing right away for Memphis

[clyde21]

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some of these moves look NBA level already, couple of turnaround Js, step-backs, shooting off-dribble, etc.

[Illmatic12]

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some of these moves look NBA level already, couple of turnaround Js, step-backs, shooting off-dribble, etc.

So yeah.. pretty sure this guy is going to be a major problem in the league.

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First of all he might be a top 3 athlete from this class , just in terms of pure power and fluidity I don’t think he was given enough credit pre-draft.

People questioned whether he had the IQ to take advantage of his athletic tools, but he’s very quickly starting to tap into his court awareness and anticipation which would make him a hellacious two-way player.

[clyde21]

i don't know about top 3 athlete from the class, off top Zion, Ja, and Clarke are better athletes

but he's been unconscious so far, you're right about the strength, he's been bullying people out there in the post, makes defenders lose balance easily and has enough footwork and quickness to make them pay.

still FIBA play of course, but he's impressive.

[Illmatic12]

i don't know about top 3 athlete from the class, off top Zion, Ja, and Clarke are better athletes

but he's been unconscious so far, you're right about the strength, he's been bullying people out there in the post, makes defenders lose balance easily and has enough footwork and quickness to make them pay.

still FIBA play of course, but he's impressive.

Part of that is I don't think Ja is the level of athlete he's hyped to be. Perfect example - in that highlight Rui had a poster dunk off his left, and poster dunk off his right, and a poster dunk off both feet. It sounds like a small thing but a lot of really high-level athletes aren't fluid and balanced enough to do that. Ja in particular struggles when he doesn't have a runway to load off of both feet ,which I worry might affect his finishing ability against NBA defenses.

Strength is a hugely underrated aspect of NBA athleticism imo (another reason I'm relatively lower on Morant) - not gym strength but functionally having a strong base and being able to uproot other players on the court. I think it was either Cole Zwicker or Sam Vecenie who I heard on a podcast? They were describing how functional strength is massively underrated as a swing skill for star players. When you go down the list the Giannis, Lebron, Embiid's are obviously monsters, but even with smaller guys like Kawhi, Harden, Derozan, Klay, Butler a lot of their success comes down to the fact that those dudes are strong as **** , they can absorb contact and fluidly move/turn in any direction without losing balance. It's ironic because both Zwicker and Vecenie were aggressively down on Hachimura, who is easily one of the strongest + most physical 3/4s I've seen in the last few drafts.

It's what's holding Jayson Tatum back atm, he has good balance and dexterity but is still a few years away from getting his "grown man strength" where he can just go through people.. Hachimura is the same age as Tatum but from a physical standpoint he is a different species, and hasn't even touched an NBA weight room yet.

[Stillwater]

i don't know about top 3 athlete from the class, off top Zion, Ja, and Clarke are better athletes

but he's been unconscious so far, you're right about the strength, he's been bullying people out there in the post, makes defenders lose balance easily and has enough footwork and quickness to make them pay.

still FIBA play of course, but he's impressive.

Part of that is I don't think Ja is the level of athlete he's hyped to be. Perfect example - in that highlight Rui had a poster dunk off his left, and poster dunk off his right, and a poster dunk off both feet. It sounds like a small thing but a lot of really high-level athletes aren't fluid and balanced enough to do that. Ja in particular struggles when he doesn't have a runway to load off of both feet ,which I worry might affect his finishing ability against NBA defenses.

Strength is a hugely underrated aspect of NBA athleticism imo (another reason I'm relatively lower on Morant) - not gym strength but functionally having a strong base and being able to uproot other players on the court. I think it was either Cole Zwicker or Sam Vecenie who I heard on a podcast? They were describing how functional strength is massively underrated as a swing skill for star players. When you go down the list the Giannis, Lebron, Embiid's are obviously monsters, but even with smaller guys like Kawhi, Harden, Derozan, Klay, Butler a lot of their success comes down to the fact that those dudes are strong as **** , they can absorb contact and fluidly move/turn in any direction without losing balance. It's ironic because both Zwicker and Vecenie were aggressively down on Hachimura, who is easily one of the strongest + most physical 3/4s I've seen in the last few drafts.

It's what's holding Jayson Tatum back atm, he has good balance and dexterity but is still a few years away from getting his "grown man strength" where he can just go through people.. Hachimura is the same age as Tatum but from a physical standpoint he is a different species, and hasn't even touched an NBA weight room yet.

Ja's explosive leaping ability is some of the most uncommon found in players his size ever and is the best ever or damn close for a player of his IQ as a passer and floor general, and he will not be shut down in the NBA... his speed, elite first step along with that explosive burst
will make him unstoppable. He adds a high % outside shot and he is an MVP.
Rui is a strong forward and there is no question he is explosive but it's not that special for someone his size to be so.

[clyde21]

Rui is strong and is a decent run-jump athlete, but I he's not necessarily that quick or explosive...good athlete but I still would take Zion/Ja/Clarke over him who all have a clear explosiveness gap over him

[clyde21]

Lloyd Pierce raving about Hunter so far...

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[916fan]

Jontay went unsigned into preseason. His knees are probably as bad as advertised, but I think some just overrated him as a prospect.

[King Ken]

Both Cam Reddish and DeAndre have had growth spurts which appear in pictures compared to the draft. Both have been measured at 6'7.5 without shoes. Cam was measured at 6'6.5 without shoes in the combine.

Both players are 6'9 now

2018 class

JJJ was measured at 6'11, at the combine he was measured at 6'9. He grew two full inches. He is now 7.0.5, whoa!

[clyde21]

only camp noise but apparently Terance Mann is killing it as backup point

[clyde21]

PJ going ham right now against Boston

[clyde21]

sick move from Hayes here, didn't see this at Texas

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[clyde21]

this guy is stupid good

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[clyde21]

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[nolang1]

So that 'what would you trade for the rights to #1 in 2019' thread seems to have disappeared. Given recent events, has anyone else come around to the idea that maybe it would've been good to trade the #1 pick for a superstar or some bonanza of picks/swaps given Zion's injury risk?