Summer League Thread Part 2: Aug 11 GS @8pm TSN 4

[WuTang_CMB]

Of course every player in SL has weaknesses, and Sharife will have an uphill battle based on his size. But, his speed on-ball, hesi dribble, pick and roll passing are all elite. Now he just shot 5-8 from three. You literally said the guy "can't play / can't shoot." He then hits a game winning 3 in front of an opposing team's bench. The kid is special.

I have no idea why he slipped that far but I think his father/agent and those pre-draft workouts scared off people. Or maybe there is some medical red flag. It is just puzzling because the guy just knows how to hoop.

He slipped that far because he cant shoot, cant defend and is turnover prone. This is based on his college stats, which is the true body of work and why professionals passed on him all the way until the 2nd round. He is at best a back up guard .. but his weaknesses are big ones and will keep him off the floor. He's not special lol. Stop. I hope you understand you asre watching summer league competition. Do I dare need to list all the garbage players whi played well here?

Sure the SL is bad and so was his college team. Cooper has performed well at all levels as a PG which is why he was a five star recruit. He is probably the best true PG in the class and honestly no one had to sit for half the college year like he did and he came out and accounted for 52% of his teams offense each night. He had 97 assists to 50 turnovers which given the usage is pretty great. He was also one of the top foul drawers in college on a per minute basis.

Anyway, I am Cooper evangelist because so much of the NBA is such a slog to watch. Guys like Trae Young or Ja Morant are the future of the league and at least Cooper hints at that dynamic passing upside, speed and creativity that is lacking in so many players.

Cooper is a good playmaker but thats not what I'm harping on. He can't shoot (on 5 attempts shot under 30% which is putrid), TS of %52, and he's a very poor defender. These weaknesses will not fly in the NBA, thus why he won't be a star as you put, nor will likely be a starter on a winning team.

[Bruin]

i agree, but imagine questioning who the raptors draft when we are far and away the best drafting team in the league

I wouldn’t say we’re far and away the best. I’d put Miami and Denver right around the same level

It’s us 3 and then the rest lol

look at the stats, its literally us by double. its not close.

Actually skimmed through a good bit of it and it seems pretty reasonable. There’s a link in the article that has a more updated version of the analysis which shows the gap has closed a bit. I’m assuming a large part of that is due to Jokic winning MVP

Another interesting graph I found was this:


Imagine doubting Masai

[WuTang_CMB]

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[Syd-TK3]

Banton was arguably gonna go undrafted I like the kid but he shouldn't have been the pick with so much better options

[alpngso]

Cooper is a bad shooter but Banton is on the same level or might even be worse Banton’s length definitely helps on defense tho.

Sharife had elite passing skills and visions in this class. That alone was worth a flyer but it wasn’t just the Raps who passed on him so who knows

Do agree Raps probably not liked him because he’s even worse defender than Trae

[And1Skip]

What? people are complaining that the Raptors didn't draft Cooper and drafted Banton instead? Look, they may have considered taking Cooper but probably had David Johnson ranked higher to them (because of his length and pre-season ranking). Then if they drafted Cooper as well, they knew they wouldn't have much time to see what either Cooper or Johnson can do in Summer League because Flynn was going to get a lot of playing time. They were intrigued by Banton's skills at his size not because he was Canadian. If they wanted to draft a Canadian, why didn't they just draft AJ Lawson who was signed by the Heat?

[tdotrep2]

Which stats? The Nuggets no Heat have consistently produced good players with 2nd rounders and undrafted players, just like us

Edit: how recent is that graph though? And what’s the scoring criteria?

https://towardsdatascience.com/which-nba-teams-are-best-at-drafting-4131eb843dc1

Looking at that, I don’t think this analysis takes into consideration undrafted guys. Does it?

not sure but if it did, it'd further benefit us

[Syd-TK3]

Damn Nesmith and Pritchard really showed out for the celtics

[Brinbe]

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Bo Outlaw vibes

[Clutch0z24]

Right Banton would have went undrafted and Champagnie will be a better Rookie than both Johnson/Banton....

Just cause Raptors are the best drafting team in the NBA doesn't mean they get picks wrong ever...thats just foolish....

Thats like saying a savy business man will never make a bad investment ever....At the end of the day Masai and staff are Humans and Humans make mistakes and Banton (Would have been able to sign him when he went undrafted) was a mistake when Cooper/Sims were still on board

[tdotrep2]

mans complaining we didnt draft a 5'10 non defender/non shooter. the hell? if hes able to turn it around great.. but you acting like banton doesnt have good tools. kids skillful and 6'9 hes worth the risk of a mid 2nd

[LBJKB24MJ23]

Right Banton would have went undrafted and Champagnie will be a better Rookie than both Johnson/Banton....

Just cause Raptors are the best drafting team in the NBA doesn't mean they get picks wrong ever...thats just foolish....

Thats like saying a savy business man will never make a bad investment ever....At the end of the day Masai and staff are Humans and Humans make mistakes and Banton (Would have been able to sign him when he went undrafted) was a mistake when Cooper/Sims were still on board

"mistake" as if you know

[WuTang_CMB]

Should be a good game here

[tdotrep2]

Right Banton would have went undrafted and Champagnie will be a better Rookie than both Johnson/Banton....

Just cause Raptors are the best drafting team in the NBA doesn't mean they get picks wrong ever...thats just foolish....

Thats like saying a savy business man will never make a bad investment ever....At the end of the day Masai and staff are Humans at the end of the day and Humans make mistakes and Banton (Would have been able to sign him when he went undrafted) was a mistake when Cooper/Sims were still on board

right, and your human too. so complaining about things when there's evidence to suggest that the front office is more well equipped to draft than people in this forum is just a waste of time.

[Dalek]

Cooper is a bad shooter but Banton is on the same level or might even be worse Banton’s length definitely helps on defense tho.

Sharife had elite passing skills and visions in this class. That alone was worth a flyer but it wasn’t just the Raps who passed on him so who knows

Do agree Raps probably not liked him because he’s even worse defender than Trae

I know tons of teams passed on him. But, a guy like Jokic had a similar pathway to the NBA. Incredibly high feel for the game, but no one thought he could defend or shoot it well enough. I don't know if Cooper will reach all-star level, but I think he will start somewhere eventually barring injury.

The hard thing to describe is the rare trait where players can bend / tilt the floor. It is just something you notice when the players on the court and the defense tilts towards the player to anticipate what they will do. It is early, and SL, but Cooper is getting that type of attention that is usually for stars.

[MavCarter]

mans complaining we didnt draft a 5'10 non defender/non shooter. the hell? if hes able to turn it around great.. but you acting like banton doesnt have good tools. kids skillful and 6'9 hes worth the risk of a mid 2nd

Also the fact that people are complaining about possibly not hitting on a pick in the 40s should let you know weve been spoiled

[GooniesNeverDie]

People dont take into account roster size when saying someone would've been undrafted. Sure Dalano might've been but then you have an extra rookie that you might not want. They probably had a number in mind in terms of how many rookies they want on the roster and picked the guys that were highest on their board.

Sent from my Pixel 4a (5G) using RealGM mobile app

[tdotrep2]

mans complaining we didnt draft a 5'10 non defender/non shooter. the hell? if hes able to turn it around great.. but you acting like banton doesnt have good tools. kids skillful and 6'9 hes worth the risk of a mid 2nd

Also the fact that people are complaining about possibly not hitting on a pick in the 40s should let you know weve been spoiled

faaaaaaax

[Bruin]

I wonder how Pistons fans would feel if Cade has another pedestrian game while Green goes off

Sure it’s just summer league but it would be hard to avoid feeling a bit worried

Hope Cade plays well

[tdotrep2]

I wonder how Pistons fans would feel if Cade has another pedestrian game while Green goes off

Sure it’s just summer league but it would be hard to avoid feeling a bit worried

Hope Cade plays well

cade needs to be the point guard, let him operate. i think most fans realize he'll be at his best when hes the undisputed ball handler which will eventually come