dgr81 wrote:Great read. Here are all the blurbs:
The Pistons will take Cade Cunningham at No. 1 … right?
Detroit’s brain trust said all the right things after winning the NBA Draft Lottery — that it wasn’t wedded to the do-everything Cunningham, the brilliant Oklahoma State playmaker, that the Pistons would give strong consideration to Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs or G-Leaguer Jalen Green with the top selection. They’ll no doubt do their due diligence on everyone else, including USC big Evan Mobley. But you can’t overthink No. 1. There’s no one making a true compelling argument against the obvious choice of Cunningham, a 6-foot-8 guard with a 7-1 wingspan, amazing passing ability and poise.
Eastern Conference executive 1: All worthy candidates to at least consider, but Cade is hard to pass on.
Eastern Conference executive 2: Now, maybe (GM Troy Weaver) sees something in Mobley that nobody else sees. And that could be him. Troy knows how to pick ’em. So maybe he sees something in Evan that he doesn’t quite see in Cade — long term, for their team. The other part about Evan is Wasserman. Arn (Tellem, the former mega-agent, who is now the Pistons’ vice chairman) created Wasserman, so there could be a connection there.
It’s kind of unfair (to discuss weaknesses) because he obviously is a level above what he was playing, where he was playing, in college. Maybe he didn’t show the athleticism that he might show once he gets to this level. The lack of athleticism that he wasn’t forced to show in college, he was able to get by because of his size, by position and skill set. So if he’s not explosive like Paul George, he’s not able to do those things, that size is only going to take him so far. (Luka) Dončić is doing some things at that same size. Luka’s big. Luka’s a big dude. And he’s very crafty with his footwork and his ability to separate, get his shot off. And I don’t know if Cade has that against this speed, at this level. But it’s kind of unfair for me to say those are weaknesses because he wasn’t forced to show those strengths at the level he was playing.
Western Conference executive 1: He has it. He surveys the game for the first 15, 20 minutes, then says “what do we need?” And he does it. He’s Scottie Barnes (Florida State’s forward, expected to go high in the Lottery) with a jump shot. That’s my problem with Scottie. (Cunningham)’s Jayson Tatum. Same size. Can score from anywhere on the court.
College head coach (his team played OSU last season): Really impressed by his poise. Unbelievable court presence. Mike (Boynton, Jr., OSU’s head coach) got him prepared for the NBA. He can do everything. He can shoot it, he can pass it. And his body is a kid. When he gets in the weight room he will become even stronger. He didn’t get sped up. We tried. It didn’t bother him one bit. He’s just got that poise and that ability to dictate what happens on the floor. We coached against Ja Morant (in college). Ja made everybody better. He gave them another level of confidence because he makes plays for everybody. He’s got that (same) presence and that ability. He’s got the makeup to be a good defender. You get out there a little early to see his presence. I didn’t feel (any) ego walking into the gym. It’s just a kid that’s excited to play. Some kids just play. He competes.
Jalen or … Jalen?
Very few things are as clear as this — the explosion of the name “Jalen,” and almost all of its variants, from “Jaylen” to “Jaylin,” and so forth — came about because of one person: the late Jeanne Rose, who gave her fourth child a mashing of the baby’s father’s name, James, and her brother’s name, Leonard, in 1973. Two decades later, Jalen Rose was one of the chief catalysts of the famed “Fab Five” at Michigan, and a movement was born. Dozens of Jalens, etc., have come to play basketball and football in the succeeding years. And this year, two more Jalens — Gonzaga freshman guard Jalen Suggs and guard Jalen Green, who played for the G League’s Ignite select team this year rather than go to college — are both set to go in the top four.
Pro-Green
G League coach (his team played Ignite): I’ve seen Jalen since he was in 11th grade, when he was with “Why Not!!” in the EYBL. Then he went to Prolific Prep. … I am impressed with this young man. Someone said he’s like a Zach LaVine. I agree with that. Early on, I don’t know how Zach was when he first came out. I think they considered Zach a little wild, out of control, but an explosive guard, just being athletic. This kid is like Zach, but a little more mature at that age.
That stint in the bubble, I think it helped him play under control. He had to learn to play defense. BShaw (Brian Shaw, Ignite’s coach) and them, playing against all those experienced players (including former NBA vets Jarrett Jack and Bobby Brown), it helped him. … I remember how Kobe was as a young dude. He tried to just be explosive, jump over people at any time. Just being reckless, deviates from the play.
(Green’s) going to be an incredible player. … I heard some negative stuff I didn’t like in the bubble. No one knows these high school dudes, so you hear it. These G league guys and these two-way guys, they have to treat (Ignite) seriously. They were like, “man, what’s with this dude?” Then all of a sudden, he goes on, like, a streak, five in a row, he was hitting 3s, athletic. And you look at him, and he’s just 17 or 18 years old. He’s going to be a steal for a team. He’s going to be a legit two-guard.
I’m trying to look for some problems for him. You’re waiting for his age to kick in, like a problem with his youth. Maybe he’ll get a little wild with it, not know all the pro concepts, deviate from the plays and just go rock on his own. But I don’t see it. … I think he’ll do that right away in the NBA if they let him, and he’s on the right team. The right team has to let him do his thing. He’s a little light of frame, maybe get knocked off his spot. But I can’t think of anything else. He’s got the 3 ball. I think he’s got great elevation on his jumper. He’s relatively consistent with the 3. He takes good shots. Nice little pull-up on the fade. And he can elevate to get his shot off.
G League team executive: He got better and better. On and off the court, he matured. Diligent about his work, wants to make every shot. Smooth. Runs like a deer. He wants to get better. You tell him something, he does it. He wants to be great. He has open ears. … (Ignite) put him in ball screens, he was getting downhill, he was making plays. Whatever you asked him to do, he made the correction. Did a good job of mixing it up, jumper and driving, (which) will make him more dangerous. I think he’s only going to get better and better. (Defensively), he wanted to get better. In the bubble, he cared. He hooped. He never said anything bad. When things didn’t go well, he was accountable.
USA Basketball Member 1: We went to Argentina for the U16s. The experiences these kids have, it really kind of numbs them from being awestruck. Both those kids, it’s not like they had everything perfect. We talked to Jalen Green about coming off the bench. He was sixth man and he handled that tremendously. He was the MVP. Jalen is definitely (better) off the ball. His mindset, to me, is not that of a point guard. He’s a scorer and defender at that wing position. Both (Green and Suggs) can adjust their games to who they’re playing. And they’re both smart kids. You tell them don’t let him go to his right, they’ll pick. They’re not obnoxiously outspoken. Evan (Mobley, who was also on the team) didn’t talk much. Both of them are extroverts. The really good ones want to be coached.
Pro-Suggs
USA Basketball Member 2: Nothing against Jalen Green, but I love Jalen Suggs. That football mentality that he brought to basketball, his toughness, I think is a real separator. Jalen Green is a freak athlete, but Jalen Green also has that smooth west coast game that can sometimes be misconstrued as soft or lazy because he does things so effortlessly. But I would go to war with Suggs every day. He’s tough. He can play. He talks. He leads. His mentality is just different, and I loved it. Loved it. Suggs brought it every day. You knew what you were going to get with him. Part of leading is leading by example. You never had to question whether or not you were getting his best effort. You never had to question whether or not he was locked in. He wanted to win. Winning, sometimes, can get lost in the shuffle. Never with him. If he had to do something that wasn’t glamorous, or wasn’t going to get all the attention, so be it. He was going to be right there doing it. He’s a winner. That’ll translate.
Guys have to be able to play with other really good players. They can’t be that ball dominant. If you get drafted by the Mavericks, Luka Dončić is going to have the ball 90 percent of the time. So if all you can do is be productive when you have the ball, you’re going to have a problem. You go to the Lakers, LeBron’s going to have the ball. If you go to Atlanta, Trae Young’s going to have the ball. That’s just reality. There’s very few guys who are gonna be picked where a team says ‘here’s the ball; it’s your team now.’ That just isn’t gonna happen.
Jalen Suggs, to me, has proved that he can play with other good players and that he’s going to do things that aren’t the most glamorous jobs. He can sacrifice. ’Cause he’s all about winning. If I were picking No. 1 — and no offense to Cade Cunningham, he’s a totally different beast, he’s a 6-8 point guard — but it would take a lot for me to pass up on picking Jalen Suggs. He’s one of my favorites. He’s it, man. …
Jalen Suggs’ game just translates so much easier. His size is going to help him (defensively), both his height and his physicality. He’ll be allowed to be a little bit more physical, as long as he keeps his hands off. Anything inside the 3-point line, he’s going to be allowed to use his chest and his hips. Again, he’s a football player.
Western Conference executive 2: Shot’s not broken. He just needs reps. Everyone wants Ben (Simmons) to become a shooter. So does the defense. That’s what they want him to do. If Suggs can get it to 36, 37 percent, that will be great because he’s really good. The football shows up. He’s got some of that blue-collar **** in him.
USA Basketball member 1: He is ultra competitive. He loves to compete. Any time we played three-on-three, cutthroat, where there’s a winner or loser, he’d play for a couple of hours. He’s a good athlete, but not as good as Green. Playing football helps his vision. He’s got great vision. From a quarterback standpoint, he knows where people are at. He knows how to make a tough pass. Suggs is certainly, his learning curve will be really low in how to play defense, where he should be. Understands spacing. Reacts really well. Moving when the ball is in the air. He made up a lot of ground when the ball was in the air. Really good on-ball defender.
Eastern Conference executive 2: I’ve seen him work through adversity. I’ve seen him take a step back to fit in with the team, and step in when they needed him to score. I’ve seen him start off bad in a game and come back the second half and turn it on. I have more faith in him coming in. … a lot of times, players are limited in how they’re able to read (plays) — not only offensively, but defensively, too. That’s a player being able to know, “OK, if this happens, then this is going to happen.” You’ve got to have that creativity to be a step ahead of a play.
That’s another reason I like Suggs, because I’ve seen that with him. He’s able to anticipate, not only defensively, but offensively. “If I make this pass, or I come off this screen, I can read that this defense is going to do this, and I’ll have these options to make reads off of.” … Jalen can manipulate the play. I’ve seen LeBron manipulate the play because he knows two steps ahead and what reads to make.
Who’s the Fourth Supreme?
We know Cunningham, Suggs and Green will be the top guards taken, but who will go next amongst the guards? Multiple mocks have multiple guys in the late lottery, but four seem to be jockeying with one another: Connecticut sophomore James Bouknight, Baylor junior Davion Mitchell, Arkansas freshman swingman Moses Moody and Tennessee freshman Keon Johnson — who obliterated the previous draft combine vertical leap record two weeks ago with an astonishing 48-inch jump. This might be the order they go in; at the least, it’s hard to see either Bouknight or Mitchell lasting into the teens.
The case for Bouknight
Eastern Conference executive 3: He shot the piss out the ball in workouts. I don’t know if he’s the hardest worker in practice, but when the lights come on, he shined.
Western Conference executive 2: People want to compare him to (Jordan) Clarkson today. You need to compare Bouknight to Clarkson when he was a sophomore at Missouri. Apples to apples. You don’t compare Mitchell to Russell Westbrook the MVP; you compare him to where Russell Westbrook was at UCLA. Similar size. Bouknight’s got a better handle. I never thought Clarkson was great with the ball. But Bouknight’s a tough kid. I like him. I don’t think he’s a great shooter yet. Good midrange, can handle the pick-and-roll. I just wish he shot it a little better. But, again, he’s 20.
College head coach 2 (his team played UConn last year): Streaky. He can shoot, can put it on the floor. He just needs to become a more consistent shooter. All that will fall into place. He can put it on the floor. He kicked our ass. First game he struggled; next game he went off on us. But he’s got to improve on his game. Don’t think “I’ve made it.” Continue to work on his handle. Like everybody in college, it’s a different level when you get to (the NBA). But I like him.
The case for Mitchell
College assistant coach 1 (his team played Baylor last season): We had to pick our poison with him. He’s obviously solid defensively. He has that mentality that he wants to guard. Physically, he has the ability to be able to guard. He can body you up. He moves his feet really well, both ways. On the offensive end we felt that we would give him the jump shot more than let him get to the basket, but then again, you’ve got to be able to at least touch him, because he’s a capable jump shooter. But he’s really good at finishing going to the basket. He sees the floor well. He has a point guard mentality; I don’t think he’s a shoot-it-first guard. He knows when to take his shots. Where (Jared) Butler is more smooth and herky-jerky on the offensive end, Mitchell will kind of like go on and explode by you and put his shoulders on you. He’s not going to play with the ball as much as Butler does. Mitchell will take his shot when it’s given to him. … Physically, he can guard (shooting guards).
College head coach 3 (his team also played Baylor): He disrupted us. His ability to sit down in a stance and move his feet laterally, with pressure. Most guys back up because they’re afraid you’re going to blow by. He’s really good on catch-and-shoot 3s. He puts the fear of God into you defensively. He’s like Muggsy (Bogues) on the ball. Davion Mitchell is right there among the best defenders I’ve ever coached against. Whatever team gets him, you’re as good as you are at the point of attack. He’s like a (Chris Paul), or a (Kyle) Lowry. … Plus he’s got a mean streak to him. He’s got an edge to him. When I was watching their tape, I stopped watching Baylor and started watching him. His measurables are irrelevant. Try measuring between his ears and inside his chest.
Eastern Conference executive 4: I think people see similarities with Donovan Mitchell. … I think this kid is a better point guard than Donovan was, and he might be a better pressure defender than Donovan was. He’s got ‘bulldog’ in him. Especially this year, he’s got extreme confidence in his ability to play both ends of the court. He’s going to get a bump because of the Donovan Mitchell (comparison). Donovan surpassed whatever we thought of him. I don’t know if Davion can get to that level. But he’s going to be a solid pro for many, many years. And, he’s got leadership abilities … I think this kid’s going to be able to step in and get his voice right away.
The case for Moody
Eastern Conference executive 4: I see him as a two, as a wing. He can play two, probably play some three. Moody is probably a much better defender (than Bouknight) because of the system he’s coming out of at Arkansas. (Coach Eric Musselman) makes those guys play defense, whereas I’m not sure they pressured (Bouknight) at Connecticut to play defense. They needed him to score. (Bouknight) shot it extremely well before he got hurt.
The case for Johnson
Western Conference executive 3: At the beginning of the year, it could have been close (between Johnson and his Tennessee teammate, Jaden Springer). But Keon, No. 1, athletically, is a freak. Two, not saying that Jaden isn’t, but Keon could be the best competitor in this draft class. His compete level is, by far, maybe the best in the draft. You could possibly throw in Mitchell a little bit. But this kid, he goes at a different pace and speed in a game, both offensively and defensively, that separates him. I would say today, Jaden is a more skilled basketball player — meaning handle, passing, shooting. But in the long run, I think Keon, with his work ethic, that’s what you’re seeing.
If he’s a worker, which it seems like he is, he’s going to get better in those areas. And he already will have an athletic component and a motor. … he’s like an assassin. He has stuff that now, in our game, is so important. Guys don’t play hard every night. When I started in this business, we never discussed if a guy played hard. … Now, today, I’d say the last five, seven years, playing hard has become part of our scouting. Does he play hard enough? That’s ridiculous. This kid, he plays really, really hard all the time. And at Tennessee, you know they’ve been coached hard. Playing hard is an important staple in their program.
(First?) Rounding into Shape
Several guard prospects have first-round grades from teams, including Auburn’s Sharife Cooper, who was in the U.S. U-19 camp before his one season at Auburn; Tennessee’s Jaden Springer, Louisville’s David Johnson, Florida sophomore Tre Mann, Arizona State freshman Josh Christopher and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu.
Sharife Cooper
Eastern Conference executive 3: Into getting the swag bag. “I’ll get the USA gear but I’m not into this other ****.”
Eastern Conference executive 5: He’s got great leadership. You look at the way Auburn played without him. … when Sharife came on, the way the team played was just night and day. … Here’s what this team looks like with a real guard, someone really spraying the ball around, great at setting his teammates up, understands pace. He’s got the vision and the point guard skills. Sometimes he can be a little loose with the ball, get overconfident with it, like a Tre Mann, Trae Young, Steph Curry — they’ll get a bunch of assists, but they’ll have like seven turnovers.
The biggest concern for him is his shooting off the bounce. He just was really consistent all throughout the season. That’s probably the No. 1 thing that turned some of our guys off. Can he take care of the ball and can he consistently get shots? His dad did a fantastic job framing the pitch (on his pro day). He didn’t take a single shot off the bounce in the whole hour of his pro day that he had. But he was able to hit catch-and-shoot jumpers. They didn’t do any movement. Everything they did was with his feet set. They really set him up to succeed, and he did really well. The one thing you saw at his pro day is that he works extremely hard.
David Johnson
College assistant coach 2 (his team played Louisville last season): Maybe I’m wrong. The smart thing to say about him was Carlik Jones (who made First Team All-ACC last season) kind of took his thunder. When he was at Duke his freshman year he played really good. Played in pick-and-roll and made good decisions. He’s a 6-foot-5 point guard. He didn’t have a great year. Didn’t have a bad year, but their team didn’t have a good year. With Carlik you had two good guards and maybe they didn’t get a chance to coexist. I anticipated him being a guy who was going to be a real problem, and he just wasn’t.
College assistant coach 3 (his team also played Louisville): David Johnson can play some point for you. … This year they had Carlik Jones; he played point. For (Leonard Hamilton, the Florida State coach), any of them dudes could bring it up. Scottie (Barnes) brought it up; RaiQuan Gray brought it up some. You’re talking wingspan, ball skills, positional size (with Johnson). He’s got it.
Jaden Springer
Western Conference executive 3: Overall, he’s really, really skilled. He can dribble, he can pass, and he can shoot. I believe he shot 40 percent from 3 (Editor’s note: it was 43.5 percent). And I know it was not on a lot of attempts, but you know he’s going to improve as an NBA player, because they shoot 500 shots in practice every day. He can play multiple positions, point guard and off guard. And he can defend multiple positions. High basketball IQ. The athleticism, he’s going to have to figure out a little bit. He’s a good athlete; he’s not a great athlete. But I think the three things he does transfer well. If the moon and the stars lined up, he could be Malcolm Brogdon. And I think Malcolm Brogdon signed a pretty good second contract.
Josh Christopher
Eastern Conference executive 5: It really comes down to his shooting. Do you believe his shot can get better? There’s no doubt the kid’s a scorer and he’s competitive and he can play and he’s tough. So many of the guards who didn’t participate (at the combine) were considered below him, or around his space, and he still went out and competed. He was probably the highest-profile guy that actually played at the combine. We talked about that as a group. We instantly respected that he went out and competed like that.
There’s going to a contingent of people that looked at that and say, “you know he’ll go out and play every day.” He’s not going to sit out. He’s no chump. Whatever he can give in a playoff, he’s not going to back down; he’s going to stand out there and compete.’ Kind of reminds me of a Talen Horton-Tucker coming in. You know this guy’s got talent. You know he’s going to compete. You know he’s confident. But he doesn’t shoot efficiently. I wish he were a little bit quicker. Things like that. … I think he still goes in the first round.
Tre Mann
College assistant coach 4 (his team played Florida last season): Tre Mann obviously showed me some things, scoring wise. But Tre’s shots all came in the corner — I’m wide open, I’m gonna shoot it — or athleticism moves. Had some great tip-ins.
Eastern Conference executive 5: The shooting, I think, is legit. You saw that jump from his freshman year to his sophomore year. I was shocked he shot that poorly his freshman year. When I saw him in practices his freshman year, I thought he was going to have a season (then) that he had this year. … A lot of it was adjusting to the game and getting his body strong. I think some of that was butting heads a little bit with Andrew Nembhard (who transferred to Gonzaga last year). Once Andrew left and it solely became his show, and Scottie Lewis was a little bit more willing to take a back seat, Tre really shined.
He does have that versatility to play on and off the ball. Good handle. The main concern with him is defense, just holding his position, containing drivers. Thin legs. Doesn’t have a defensive toughness. I don’t see that floor leadership as far as really leading a team. He checks a lot of boxes as far as his craftiness with his handle, he changes gears, can play in pick-and-roll, make a variety of pick-and-roll passes, he can shoot a variety of shots off the bounce. He can shoot behind the line to keep you honest. I think he’s more geared to score coming off of ball screens. But he can complete the pass. He may not see it regularly, because he is geared to score, and that’s one of the things he has to work on. But a lot of teams like lead guards who put pressure on the defense first and can make a play for others second.
Ayo Dosunmu
Western Conference executive 3: Not sure why he isn’t getting more love.
Western Conference executive 1: Has improved dramatically by staying three years. Combo guard who can defend multiple positions. Explosive athlete who is really tough in transition. Can score at all three levels — 3-point line, midrange and at the rim. Versatile two-way player. Think Terance Mann with an off-the-bounce dribble jumper. Serious young man who was a great interview. Leadership potential.
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