Bouk 'Em, Danno: The James Bouknight Thread

[geraldwallace]

Likewise, what is his ceiling?

If he gets it all together and is able to start knocking down 3's, continue his iso scoring (love those hesi moves I have seen on YouTube), put up some big scores and be a legit secondary playmaker - how good could he be?

He seems to be really athletic and there is a smoothness to his game.

He seems have the same body type and game style as Zach Lavine. Is that a good comparison?

I would say his ceiling is an elite 25ppg level scorer who can go and get you a bucket whenever you need it.

He seems like the perfect player to pair with LaMelo in the backcourt

Give your elite playmaking point guard an elite scorer to play with

[BigSlam]

Looks like Bouk is going with #5.

(for now at least....)

[Soul Rebel]

Is somewhere between McCollum and LaVine too high to envision for Bouk's trajectory?

[SWedd523]

I've been saying for a very long time that the team needs a point getter. A star wing who demands attention when he gets the ball in his hands and can get you buckets when you need them. This is one of the reasons why I've been so against guys like Giddey, Kispert, and even Miles. They're all complimentary pieces.

You can have all the complimentary pieces in the world, but until you have that alpha scorer, you won't be going anywhere. You HAVE to find that by any means to make noise in the playoffs. You keep bringing in guys like Kispert and all you do is kick that mediocrity can down the road a little longer and make the chance Melo bolts at earliest opportunity even higher.

Star guards are A. expensive and/or B. impossible to get in FA

You can't hit a dinger if you aren't swinging for the fences

[chabber]

I've only seen a little bit of highlights, but my ceiling comparison, if his 3 doesn't develop, is a taller Monte Eliis have it all.

Hoping his 3 ball and passing can be improved upon.

Time to get aboard the Bouknight Express and hope for the best!

[MPM]

FWIW:

"We’ll get into whether I liked some of these moves later, but the James Bouknight fall was a bit of a stunner from his pre-draft process push, and sources noted it may have occurred in part due to reticence regarding a high school meniscus tear in his left knee." – via Sam Vecenie @ The Athletic

[yosemiteben]

Elite UConn guard with issues with knee miniscus tears. Love to see us stick to our roots.

[Lwcasu]

A lot of his game and moves are a throwback to 10 or 20 years ago. I’d say his upside is a legit all-star guard in the league. Like others have said those are hard to come by and none are going to sign here nor are we going to be able to trade for them. The injuries do concern me—and I’d hate to see him have a shortened career like Brandon Roy, but if you had the chance to draft a Brandon Roy caliber player and you knew he only had a few years, you still do it because that’s better than your average starter.

[Marcus]

asked this on the draft board but likely better to get the info from those on the frontline.

With the Bouknight selection, what does he bring to the table that you weren't already getting from the Rozier and Graham (when healthy) combo?

[amcoolio]

asked this on the draft board but likely better to get the info from those on the frontline.

With the Bouknight selection, what does he bring to the table that you weren't already getting from the Rozier and Graham (when healthy) combo?

Bouk is a 3 level scorer (if his 3 pt shooting improves) with a quick first step, amazing finishing with either hand, and twitchy agility
Graham can't drive to the rim to save his life. He is one of the NBA's worst 2PT guards.
Rozier doesn't have the first step or finishing ability but is a very good scorer. Bouk is likely a Rozier replacement

Bouk is much better with the ball in his hands, Rozier is much better with the ball out of it
Graham is a 3 + A (3 pt and assist lol)

Graham is also a FA, although I suspect they'll try to re-sign him unless a good trade offer comes along

Bouk has potential to be a Jamal Murray-level primary or secondary scorer, if he improves his 3 pt shooting. He reportedly did very well in pre-draft workouts shooting the ball

[MPM]

asked this on the draft board but likely better to get the info from those on the frontline.

With the Bouknight selection, what does he bring to the table that you weren't already getting from the Rozier and Graham (when healthy) combo?

Bouk is a 3 level scorer (if his 3 pt shooting improves) with a quick first step, amazing finishing with either hand, and twitchy agility
Graham can't drive to the rim to save his life. He is one of the NBA's worst 2PT guards.
Rozier doesn't have the first step or finishing ability but is a very good scorer. Bouk is likely a Rozier replacement

Bouk is much better with the ball in his hands, Rozier is much better with the ball out of it
Graham is a 3 + A (3 pt and assist lol)

Graham is also a FA, although I suspect they'll try to re-sign him unless a good trade offer comes along

Bouk has potential to be a Jamal Murray-level primary or secondary scorer, if he improves his 3 pt shooting. He reportedly did very well in pre-draft workouts shooting the ball

Agree completely that Graham and Bouknight are polar opposites. Graham is almost entirely a catch and shoot player from 3. His percentages are horrible going to the hoop. Bouknight has yet to prove he can consistently shoot the 3, but seems perfectly capable of getting his own in myriad other ways. As others have mentioned, we've lacked a player that you hand the ball to and say 'get us a bucket' when things break down. Hopefully (hopefully) Bouknight can provide some of this while rounding out his beyond the perimeter/catch and shoot game. Graham is also a tremendous passer, whereas Bouknight statistically appears to have a bit of tunnel vision, but one's a distributor with a 3 ball and one's a scorer.

Re: Rozier, it's more of a size and salary cycling issue with me. I like Terry - he's gritty and his game is more multifaceted than Graham - closer to Bouknight - but he's also largely catch and shoot (was the top catch and shoot guy in the league for a while in '20), sized like a PG, and set to earn a lot of $$$ soon.

[BigSlam]

asked this on the draft board but likely better to get the info from those on the frontline.

With the Bouknight selection, what does he bring to the table that you weren't already getting from the Rozier and Graham (when healthy) combo?

I was thinking about this today and I think there are a LOT of similarities between Bouknight and Rozier.

Both consider themselves "alpha" players.
They are both a little undersized (although Bouk a little taller but Rozier a little thicker).
Both use shiftiness to get into the paint and when there, great extension to score.
Both are very good rebounders for their size and position.

The difference is:
Bouk is 7 years younger and currently has a higher ceiling (because Terry has likely hit his).
Bouk's current contract is going to be a hell of a lot cheaper than Terry's current and upcoming contract.

As others have said, Bouk and Graham couldn't be more different.

[UNCNYC]

Bouknight is a weird player lol. You will learn why I say, he's this, but he's not this etc... lol.

It's like he can be a catch and shoot player but he's not catch and shoot. He is the type that if he is open he has a quick enough release too catch and shoot it but more than likely he will pump fake and drive to the hole. Bouknight will be a fun player for us and adds BUZZ with the likes of Ball, and Miles, Hayward and Rozier. He was the right pick outside of Primo I think.

[vtime]

People think of Devin Booker as a really good outside shooter, but in reality he shot 34% this year, 35 the year before, and 33 the year before that. Don’t get too down on a guy because of three point percentage.

[NYCbeadyrae]

Legit unreal that he fell to you guys. Best offensive weapon in the draft. Congrats! What a huge land.

[UNCNYC]

Having a player who can get points is priceless. He is great for for 6th man. He is also not a chucker, and when he does chuck he is more of a NUT than a chucker. NUT meaning he will look to score rather than just toss up shots.

[KembaWalker]

everything hinges on who the real bouknight is: the one that shot sub 30% in NCAA or the one that wow'd everyone in workouts with insane shooting ability?
hoping its a LaMelo situation and 15 game sample size didn't capture what he can really do

[Rays Pompadour]

Reminds me of Hendo with his long windup and elevation.

[driveandkick]

everything hinges on who the real bouknight is: the one that shot sub 30% in NCAA or the one that wow'd everyone in workouts with insane shooting ability?
hoping its a LaMelo situation and 15 game sample size didn't capture what he can really do

UConn system was also a mess that he kept afloat. The team had some athletes but he was far and away their best scorer. Pretty bad spacing also

[Marcus]

i appreciate the replies folks.