Jedzz wrote:DaMplsKid wrote:I just want to heard compares between the two Ball brothers.
I keep hearing LeMelo is even better then his brother but has two major whole in his game right now.
1. Being Shooting
2. Being Defense
I look at his brothers game Lonzo's and see that he was a plus defender. He had better RPM Numbers then Ben Simmons, Goran Dragic, Kemba Walker and Trae Young. Also, was the 9th highest PG Wins ratio. Then I see he shot 37% on 6 shots a game from 3pt.
I just just starting to think about him coming off the bench being our 6th man and I am finding it really appealing. I keep seeing reports of how bad his redraft is going which means teams are hoping he will fall in the draft.
With his offensive game already and if he keep developing like his brother sky could be the limit. I look at Ben Simmons as a comparison but think LeMelo might be a better offensive player coming into the league.
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These kids aren't born with capes and that much different from many others. He's a project and should be a project later round or undrafted. A couple people started floating his name, his social media pushed his name, and even now you are sounding like the hype is getting to you and you are getting sold now late in the stages. One day 4 years from now maybe he becomes a good basketball player for his second team, maybe he never does, or maybe he gets up to average looking and becomes an overpaid Wiggins. Maybe he turns into Kawhi Leonard in year 8. But dollars to donuts this isn't a #1 overall choice that should come in and get 30 minutes a game from any team immediately. There are just way too many actual good basketball players in the league and in this draft already that should get minutes before a project that can't even yet descibe to you what he is supposed to be doing in a given possession. If your team drafts him and plays him immediately, your team will be worse than it could have been. The good plays on tape "just came so naturally to him" he "doesn't even have to know what is happening" storyline can go fly a kite.
Repost from August...
I am an older poster, but don't put opinions on me. Every year there are guys that look extremely talented, most don't put it together and when the shine wears off they go somewhere else. I think Wiseman is the best fit and has the potential to be much better than both Edwards and Ball. I see a mix of Bosh and KG in his game, and I don't throw comparisons like that around lightly.
I think people don't factor in contract length and how much a player needs to develop to be worth investing a 2nd contract in. I think if Ball or Edwards do make a place for themselves in the NBA it will be on their 2nd or 3rd team (which wouldn't help the Wolves) and Wiseman wouldn't have to do too much his first couple years.
Get more disciplined on pump fakes, offer shot blocking help, solid FT shooting, some good alley oop potential, with decent rebounding instincts. That's something they can use right away and something he can contribute without the 3-4 years it will take for him to grow into his body fully and expand his game further.
The Ball family is just overhyped role players at the NBA level. Edwards has a lot of talent, but so does everyone in the NBA. I don't think his level of talent is top level in the NBA. A 29% 3pt shooter with bad shot selection isn't super enticing to me, since his inside game will be hindered by playing against grown ass men. Especially since he's mostly been on losing teams to this point, how would he help turn Minnesota into a winning culture?
It seems that he is going to either be a great scorer or a streaky chucker that makes you shake your head a lot at the choices he makes.
I think in order to go to the next level, the Wolves have to cash in on what they have now with a payoff that can be measured right away. Edwards and Ball are projects and will take years to fix their issues IF they ever do it. They have two STARS in MN right now, you need to get them another and the only guy that doesn't take away from what DLo and KAT do on the offensive end is Wiseman, infact he compliments it very well. He can also rim protect a bit, so the defense wouldn't be any worse off, yet the offense would be greatly improved right away (as long as Wiseman doesn't struggle with foul trouble too much) without taking shots from KAT/DLo. In order for Ball and Edwards to not take from the offense right away and be a net positive regularly is by them scoring efficiently, which they haven't been able to do at any meaningful level that is comparable to the NBA game.
That worries me for the potential of this KAT and DLo pairing, because both Edwards and Ball will have to develop quite a bit to become efficient scorers which means MOST NIGHTS if they're not shooting well, they will be a big negative in the +/- for many games, because they don't tend to play defense hard enough and consistently enough (UNLIKE RICKY RUBIO) to make up for their lack of efficient scoring. Which will only be taking away from the opportunities that our TWO STARS (like, they're STAR PLAYERS RIGHT NOW GUYS!) get.
Oh boy! I can't wait to watch teams dare LaMelo to beat them from 3 every game and focus more bodies on KAT and DLo, taking away from their production (which star players usually LOVE). At least we can laugh at the Warriors when Wiseman struggles to be able to guard fast big men on the perimeter... meanwhile we'll be watching Lemelo get absorbed with the strength of a black hole into screen after screen after screen after... regularly freeing up his man for easy shots/drives. Good thing we'll have KAT's shot blocking waiting in the paint to help bail him out when that happens.
If Edwards can't score at a high level as a rookie, what's to say he doesn't lose his confidence and struggle to show any consistency in helping the team win? Does he take losing personally or does he just focus on getting numbers to make himself feel like he's not the problem? Remember Michael Beasley? I loved the guy, but if he wasn't scoring well (which when he was it was a thing of beauty) he didn't help the team win. I worry that Edwards will be similarly one dimensional with Wiggins like flashes of defensive heart in some big moments (but generally underwhelming throughout the first 3 1/2 quarters of the game)
Wiseman will get his without a single play drawn up for him and it will let KAT and DLo fire away knowing Wiseman is going to get some decent offensive rebound numbers based on his size and instincts already (AND he doesn't even have his grown ass man NBA body yet). Once Wiseman learns to not bite on pump fakes and move his feet better, he's going to be an absolute NIGHTMARE for players trying to score at the rim from the first minute of a game to the last minute in overtime.
Look, lets stop all of this acting like the next ball of shiny untapped potential will make us good crap, ok? It usually doesn't, let's just face it. When the Wolves get cute in drafts they generally become massive laughing stocks down the road.
To whom it may apply to here:
If the Jimmy Butler year wasn't enough for you after watching these straight up TURD SQUADS lose at an incredibly consistent rate since KG was traded... HOW ABOUT WE GROW SOME BALLS AND DRAFT THE MOST TALENTED PLAYER FOR ONCE, REGARDLESS OF THE STUPID FIT? Does versatile talent not go with versatile talent? OH NO THEY'RE BOTH REALLY TALL! WHAT A HORRIBLE THING TO HAVE ON YOUR TEAM IN THE GAME OF BASKETBALL.
Wiseman makes them a winning team way sooner than Ball or Edwards. I'm sick of this developmental hell we've been stuck in, having the best players go find success with other teams, while moving on to the next shiny immeasurable ball of talent that needs work while knowing that the Wolves haven't exactly shown any sort of track record for developing project players into consistent winners. STOP PICKING PROJECT PLAYERS, if you suck at developing them what's the point?!?
If the Wolves pick Edwards or Ball and keep them, I probably won't watch the Wolves much this year. I'm sick of letting them kick me in the nuts over and over just because I'm ridiculously loyal and like cheering for underdogs.
When it's a perpetual underdog because of the lack of learning from bad decisions a franchise makes, they're just kind of losers. I'd like to think my time is more valuable than cheering for a bunch of losers to stop being what they are year after year.
