jezzerinho wrote:Bensational wrote:Skin wrote:I liked Nesmith early on and I see the momentum of his stock growing here, but there is one concern that I have of his that leaves room for others to surpass him imo and that is his lack of athleticism. Not that that is the end all be all trait... but it does leave me wondering how much of his game will translate.
Vassell was a guy I wasn't onto at all until he was brought up here a few weeks ago... and I must say, he is like Nesmith but WITH athleticism. If today was the draft, I'd take Vassell over Nesmith... easily. Especially when you consider the whole health factor... I'm damn tired of our rookies being hurt and Vassell seems like a guy who will be ready and fit to play an entire rookie season.
Athleticism wise, you shouldn't let that taint your view of Nesmith too much. He has decent/good athleticism, though not elite, but he has skill first and foremost. Tatum and Doncic had questions about their athleticism, but both guys had skill so it didn't matter. I would love to bring in a player for once who's shown they can have the knack and mentality to be a top scorer, rather than someone who has the tools that we hope can put it all together.
That said, I'm still a huge Vassell fan and he's #2 on my board.
Looking at the two of them initially, Vassell looks like the guy Magic fans would say in Year 1 "why the hell didn't we take Nesmith?" and then in Year 2 or maybe 3, it could be a case of "aaaah, okaaay". Nesmith to me looks NBA ready out the gate, albeit with a lower overall ceiling. If shooting is all a team is after, Nesmith for me looks the stronger bet. His ability to make space for himself and get off a beautiful smooth shooting action is definitely translatable. Vassell though has terrific footwork, better passing vision, great anticipation on D, more range with his handle, better in transition/ISO, better at the rim, looser and more athletic overall as a player. The footwork alone has me intrigued with his potential.
I dont know whats more funny,
How much people on here overvalue athleticism over skill+production
Or, How much this board overrates florida schools players
Sorry, going for athletes over basketball players is how you ended with guys like bamba and kevin knox instead of an SGA or how you get a Lonnie walker instead of someone like Shamet or kevin huerter
To me, Nesmith looks like a Buddy hield who actually plays defense, and sorry, but if i get a chance to draft that in the middle of the 1st, im taking it. i get buddy hield isnt exactly the highest ceiling, but for drafting at 15-20, thats what you need, especially when you have a team thats as bad as us when it comes to outside shooting.