louisorr wrote:Knicksfan1992 wrote:2010 wrote:The lack of outside shooting, hitch in his shot, slow release set shot, and lack of ability to finish in the paint all give me pause on Cooper.
Fair criticisms IMO. I think draft twitter likes him more than I do too. He's really little and I think if you're not a near prime IT level scorer/shooter or like Trae level crafty it's really hard to succeed at that size because NBA coaches are ruthless and will attack you every chance they get on the other end in big games.
The thing I like about him though is even without all that he still seems to get anywhere he wants on the floor and makes good decisions almost all the time. That kinda stuff translates to me. And the free throw percentage is good which is a good sign, generally, that his shot is workable.
I'd rather take a chance on a few guys over him if they are there like Jalen Johnson, Butler, Mann, Giddey, Bouknight, Dosunmo (spelling?) but I dont think he'd be an awful pick. Just not a great one either imo.
He does offer a skillset that is pretty rare with his speed and handle. and his FT shooting is elite with great ability to get to the line. I think he took over 20 attempts against a ranked team this year in one game.
I you just break it down to math:
let's say there's two guys. one shoots 30 percent from 3 and the other 40 percent on 5 attempts per game. well thats 10 more makes per 100 and 5 attempts x 80 games is 400, so thats 40 more makes from 3 per season on the same attempts.
nice right? thats 120 points, now divide that by 80 games and thats 1.5 points per game......so how many free throws does it take for a guy shooting 90 percent to make that up? Cooper gets to the line like crazy is all I'm saying.
The problem is that FT's can't be blocked. All other shots can & with his release + size, NBA defenders are going to swat his shot a lot when he tries to pull up...at least without reworking his shot...and at his size, finishing in the paint without a pull-up game that can freeze defenders, is going to require some kyrie-level finishing.
Which is important because if Cooper can't score at the next level, then no one is going to send him to the line...plus, it'll neutralize his vision / creativity if he's not able to put defenses under pressure with his penetration. Which would mean that there wouldn't be any reason for an NBA team to put the ball in his hands...and his off-ball contributions sure as s*** aren't going to get him on the court.
I really liked watching Auburn once he started playing because I love crafty passers with next level vision and he was awesome at the college level...but he just has such a high bar to clear to be successful in the NBA because he needs his pull-up game or finishing to become elite enough to require extra attention just to make it.
And that last part is the killer. Obi may not become the offensive star that the FO was hoping for, but he showed in the playoffs how he can still become a valuable energy big off the bench even if he doesn't. Similar thing with Quickley, his defense and off-ball shooting will let him carve out a niche in the NBA even if he never becomes an on-ball star, or even just a high-end 6th-man. And again the same is true with RJ, even if he never develops a pull-up game or improve his finishing at the rim; there's a useful NBA player there.
Whereas with Cooper it's star / dynamic-6th-man or he's not going to get a 2nd contract. I'm going to be rooting for him wherever he lands because if he makes it, he'll be fun to watch...but I really hope someone else takes that gamble and we go with someone like Butler or Mann instead.