Moderators: dms269, Jamaaliver, HMFFL
BadWolf wrote:atlantabbq99 wrote:
Aleksej comes from the Greek league, which is not really known for producing quality NBA players and his stats as a pro are not impressive either.
Like Giannis?
kg01 wrote:BadWolf wrote:atlantabbq99 wrote:
Aleksej comes from the Greek league, which is not really known for producing quality NBA players and his stats as a pro are not impressive either.
Like Giannis?
Giannis iiuc came from a higher league than what this guys playing in and looked more impressive. So not exactly apples to apples.
jayu70 wrote:More time to spend picking apart the prospects, sigh!
?s=20
Charlotte would be an excellent fit for LaMelo Ball. Maybe not longterm for himself but to have freedom in that system that lacks talent and an ownership that's going to spend will be easier for Melo to be productive. Possible ROY candidate if it happens.Jamaaliver wrote:
HMFFL wrote:Charlotte would be an excellent fit for LaMelo Ball. Maybe not longterm for himself but to have freedom in that system that lacks talent and an ownership that's going to spend will be easier for Melo to be productive. Possible ROY candidate if it happens.
KGdaBom wrote:We're doing a fan voted big board over on the Timberwolves forum. Fist player to 5 votes or best out of 10 than it moves on to the next spot. I thought you might like to see it.
1. Edwards.
2. Ball
3. Wiseman
4. Avdija
5. Okongwu
6. Hayes
7. Vassell
8. Williams
9. Okoro
10. Haliburton
11. Toppin
12. S.Bey (3) Maxey (1) Pokusevsky (1)
Notice we are voting on #12 and Bey is leading with 3 votes. I thought Williams at 8 was surprising and I think it's cool to hate on Toppin right now, but I will be very surprised if he falls to 11. Once again this is not a mock draft. This is a Wolves based big board.
jayu70 wrote:KGdaBom wrote:We're doing a fan voted big board over on the Timberwolves forum. Fist player to 5 votes or best out of 10 than it moves on to the next spot. I thought you might like to see it.
1. Edwards.
2. Ball
3. Wiseman
4. Avdija
5. Okongwu
6. Hayes
7. Vassell
8. Williams
9. Okoro
10. Haliburton
11. Toppin
12. S.Bey (3) Maxey (1) Pokusevsky (1)
Notice we are voting on #12 and Bey is leading with 3 votes. I thought Williams at 8 was surprising and I think it's cool to hate on Toppin right now, but I will be very surprised if he falls to 11. Once again this is not a mock draft. This is a Wolves based big board.
This is how he Hawks main board voted:
1. Anthony Edwards
2. James Wiseman
3. Onyeka Okongwu
4. LaMelo Ball
5. Obi Toppin
6. Isaac Okoro
7. Tyrese Haliburton
8. Killian Hayes
9. Deni Avdija
10. Devin Vassell
11. Aaron Nesmith
12. Aleksej Pokusevski
13. Cole Anthony
14. Siddiq Bey
15. Tyrese Maxey
GSW FansidedHampton was a highly recruited prospect coming out of high school. He was fifth on ESPN’s Top 100 and received offers from big schools like Duke, Kentucky and Kansas. Rather than compete in the NCAA, Hampton chose to play overseas, ultimately hurting his draft stock.
He was only able to appear in 15 games before suffering a season-ending injury. It didn’t help he played just barely over 20 minutes per game in these matches, averaging 8.8 points and 3.9 rebounds. Hampton looked far from the elite scorer he was in high school.
However, much of this could be a result of playing against older competition in the NBL. His injury and limited minutes certainly didn’t help either. Hampton might still be capable of scoring in bunches with his smooth crossover and pull-up jumper.
The Warriors wouldn’t be too crazy to take a chance on him later in the lottery if they choose to trade back in the order. Hampton could one day be a reliable spark plug for their bench.
Atlanta Hawks: Buying
According to ESPN's Tim Bontemps, the Hawks are among the teams most expect will be active in trade talks with their pick. I'm buying Atlanta's willingness to make a move, given the front office's recent track record of draft-day swapping and the team's interest in moving up the standings.
The Hawks will presumably try to acquire a veteran or an immediate contributor like Spencer Dinwiddie or Buddy Hield, players who may be available. The alternative would be trying to package their young wings and forwards like De'Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish and Kevin Huerter to move up for a scorer like Anthony Edwards, though this admittedly sounds unrealistic.
Regardless, I suspect the Hawks will try to move from the No. 6 spot.
Bleacher ReportRJ Hampton's Improving Jumper
RJ Hampton's improving jumper: Buying
One of the biggest challenges for evaluators in 2020 is assessing prospects' improvement since their final game, considering the extended length of this year's layoff. RJ Hampton hasn't played since January 12, over eight months ago. That's an enormous amount of time for a teenager to improve his jump shot, particularly during a pandemic, when social activities and other distractions are limited.
SNY's Ian Begley spoke with former NBA shooting specialist Mike Miller, who spent last year as an assistant under Penny Hardaway at Memphis and is now training a potential lottery pick in Hampton. Miller made some noteworthy comments regarding Hampton's shooting, a giant swing skill for the 6'5" combo guard.
"With him and the way he plays, if he shoots—which I'm pretty confident in—in the next two-three years he'll be a high-30s, low-40s percent three-point shooter, he'll be one of the best guards in the league," Miller told Begley.
"The consistencies I've seen with him, the stuff that he's worked on, it's the same stuff that I've worked on with tons of shooters in the league and I've seen the transformation, so I'm not guessing."
While all trainers tout their students, Miller's level of confidence is quite persuasive, particularly given his credibility and reputation for connecting with young players.
In 19 NBL games (including exhibitions), Hampton shot 15-of-53 from three and a promising 76.2 percent from the free-throw line. To suggest that in a few years he could go from capable to proficient isn't far-fetched. From what we saw overseas, Hampton could make outside shots, just not consistently.
Given his explosiveness attacking the basket and playmaking ability off the dribble, he doesn't need to shoot at Mike Miller levels. Even reaching the 35.0 percent three-point mark on average volume could go a long way for Hampton.
While there are scouts who've cooled on him, it also wouldn't be surprising if Hampton were able to sway one lottery team that's willing to bet on his jump-shot development.
