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What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic?

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What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#1 » by Skybox » Fri Sep 10, 2021 4:36 pm

Obviously, RJ Hampton has upside. What role do you see him growing into on this team? I've been digging around, from his draft profiles to the present, and it's still bizarrely unclear what he is (other than fast). In fact, you can't even get a solid feel for his height as the "grew 2" this offseason" rumors can even be found last summer too. He looks pretty small out there, but I haven't seen him in person, which is often more telling.

Some commentators (I use the term lightly-it's the internet) call him a PG as if that's indisputable, others have proposed him sliding into the SF spot. He's had some solid performances at the end of last season, but what is he and how will that work with our roster? Is he a combo guard (like Suggs and Cole) who maybe is somewhat ineffective without the ball in their hand? How many of those do we need and who will break from the pack? Can he play alongside Cole off the bench or is he better suited as our starting SG with Suggs? Are he and Cole directly competing for 3rd guard (I still think our starting guards are Fultz and Suggs until it's proven to impair Suggs' contribution)?

By mid-season, what is his role?
-backup PG
-starting SG
-backup SG
-SF in basically a 3 guard lineup
-other

(whoever wants to create a poll, I'd be interested
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#2 » by GameOver25 » Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:03 pm

I've been wondering that myself. I know it was just summer league but he look ok at best. I question his feel for the game, and wonder if the Magic should invest much time into him.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#3 » by pepe1991 » Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:14 pm

Let's say he is 6'7 now ( probably closer to 6'6) he is still "guard" as he does not have strenght nor skillset to play SF .
He also isn't point guard, he has no control over his own movment let alone whole offense.

I like his body frame and leaping , but in same time 6'7 - not smart, skinny- not ballhandler also has striking similarity to young former lottery pick- Terrence Ross, just with noticablly worst shooting touch.
He is probably guy who will be in nba for few years due age and "upside" but to stick around longer he has to polish something in his game. What execlly it will be ? Defense? Shooting? I don't know.. I'm not sure he does either, in summer league instad of watching matured second year player being smarter than clueless kids, he just tried to outrunned them even harder. Complete blunder it was.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#4 » by yoyojw17 » Sat Sep 11, 2021 7:03 pm

pepe1991 wrote:Let's say he is 6'7 now ( probably closer to 6'6) he is still "guard" as he does not have strenght nor skillset to play SF .
He also isn't point guard, he has no control over his own movment let alone whole offense.

I like his body frame and leaping , but in same time 6'7 - not smart, skinny- not ballhandler also has striking similarity to young former lottery pick- Terrence Ross, just with noticablly worst shooting touch.
He is probably guy who will be in nba for few years due age and "upside" but to stick around longer he has to polish something in his game. What execlly it will be ? Defense? Shooting? I don't know.. I'm not sure he does either, in summer league instad of watching matured second year player being smarter than clueless kids, he just tried to outrunned them even harder. Complete blunder it was.

"not smart" lol... wow :o
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#5 » by Skin » Wed Sep 15, 2021 6:26 pm

He's the guard version of Aaron Gordon.

Tweener. Athletic, but clunky. More robotic than smooth. Can jump, nice frame, fast feet, but mindless on the court. Plays without a plan. Loose handle. Willing passer, but not a visionary set up guy. Hit or miss from 3. Will hustle, over celebrate and thinks he's better than he is. Will start off as a very good chemistry guy/team player, convince you that he's a potential keeper at times, but eventually sour.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#6 » by basketballRob » Wed Sep 15, 2021 10:59 pm

Skin wrote:He's the guard version of Aaron Gordon.

Tweener. Athletic, but clunky. More robotic than smooth. Can jump, nice frame, fast feet, but mindless on the court. Plays without a plan. Loose handle. Willing passer, but not a visionary set up guy. Hit or miss from 3. Will hustle, over celebrate and thinks he's better than he is. Will start off as a very good chemistry guy/team player, convince you that he's a potential keeper at times, but eventually sour.
I never realized how far Cole and RJ have to go, until they play alongside Suggs.

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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#7 » by Blue_and_Whte » Thu Sep 16, 2021 2:38 am

basketballRob wrote:
Skin wrote:He's the guard version of Aaron Gordon.

Tweener. Athletic, but clunky. More robotic than smooth. Can jump, nice frame, fast feet, but mindless on the court. Plays without a plan. Loose handle. Willing passer, but not a visionary set up guy. Hit or miss from 3. Will hustle, over celebrate and thinks he's better than he is. Will start off as a very good chemistry guy/team player, convince you that he's a potential keeper at times, but eventually sour.
I never realized how far Cole and RJ have to go, until they play alongside Suggs.

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you mean in meaningless summer league games where they were clearly focused on showcasing Suggs? They’ll both be fine.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#8 » by pepe1991 » Thu Sep 16, 2021 6:12 am

Blue_and_Whte wrote:
basketballRob wrote:
Skin wrote:He's the guard version of Aaron Gordon.

Tweener. Athletic, but clunky. More robotic than smooth. Can jump, nice frame, fast feet, but mindless on the court. Plays without a plan. Loose handle. Willing passer, but not a visionary set up guy. Hit or miss from 3. Will hustle, over celebrate and thinks he's better than he is. Will start off as a very good chemistry guy/team player, convince you that he's a potential keeper at times, but eventually sour.
I never realized how far Cole and RJ have to go, until they play alongside Suggs.

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you mean in meaningless summer league games where they were clearly focused on showcasing Suggs? They’ll both be fine.


Ehh.
Cole has same, very clear and defined set of issues dating back from college- before injury, college-after injury, nba season all the way to summer league.
He lacks vision to be starting PG,his ballhandling is more of a streetball style where he is more focused on looking good than actually getting with dribble anywhere. He is like bouncing ball when he attacks rim, lacks floater and ability to finish in traffic, mostly because, as i've said, his ballhandling is directionless so he finds himself trapped in bad situations.
And he likes to shoot more than he likes to set offense. Most of his poor shots come from him thinking he is more than he is.


Hampton just isn't polished. Reminds me of Dante Exum. They look like nba players but lack defined skills to be implemented into offense or defense on competitive team. They are long and athletic but shooting isn't their strenght and they don't have playmaking ability nor BBIQ to play them at "PG/ballhandler".
At this moment, Hampton is MCW without defense. He will do little bit of passing, rebounding but scoring will mostly come from horrific efficiency on high volumen.

Once you watch guy like Haliburton, who is their age and from same draft, it gets obvious how far they are from rotation on better team.
And as for SL in particular, Desmond Bane, Maxey, Pat Williams, Nesmith, Toppin are guys from same class as them and they showed clear difference in maturity and progression in their games from year one.
Ofc, SL means nothing, but indeed it's sign that Hampton & Cole are closer to nba deep bench / fringe rotation players than actual contributors going forward.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#9 » by drsd » Thu Sep 16, 2021 10:00 am

For me Hampton is the biggest question mark on this team.

What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic?


Without a 36% three ball and a eFG% over 50%, I think Hampton is the next Carter-Williams. That sort of versatility and capacity to be a bench player at three positions means he will have a defined role and will nicely fill in for Carter-Williams when he moves on. I think that is value.

But with a consistent, high volume perimeter game, Hampton could emerge as a really, really interesting SG next to Suggs. That really looks to be the path that has the most chance for him to be an NBA starter. It is exciting to see how he will be off-ball. The pre-season I look to Hampton as the player I most want to see from an assessment perspective.

Is he better? The answer to that question might say if this is a 22 win team or a 28 win team this year.


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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#10 » by tiderulz » Thu Sep 16, 2021 11:55 am

drsd wrote:For me Hampton is the biggest question mark on this team.

What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic?


Without a 36% three ball and a eFG% over 50%, I think Hampton is the next Carter-Williams. That sort of versatility and capacity to be a bench player at three positions means he will have a defined role and will nicely fill in for Carter-Williams when he moves on. I think that is value.

But with a consistent, high volume perimeter game, Hampton could emerge as a really, really interesting SG next to Suggs. That really looks to be the path that has the most chance for him to be an NBA starter. It is exciting to see how he will be off-ball. The pre-season I look to Hampton as the player I most want to see from an assessment perspective.

Is he better? The answer to that question might say if this is a 22 win team or a 28 win team this year.


..

except Carter provides some really good defense. RJ, i havent seen that. i agree it will be interesting to see if he can transition to a spot up shooter role. my worry, he hasnt shown to be a good shooter. now maybe it will help if he doesnt have to create the open shot for himself. guess we have 2 years to see how it turns out
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#11 » by drsd » Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:00 pm

tiderulz wrote:except Carter provides some really good defense. RJ, i havent seen that. i agree it will be interesting to see if he can transition to a spot up shooter role. my worry, he hasnt shown to be a good shooter. now maybe it will help if he doesnt have to create the open shot for himself. guess we have 2 years to see how it turns out


To correct myself, I am not saying I think Hampton has the same skills as Carter-Williams. What I am saying is that Hampton's floor is to take Carter-Williams' roster slot when he moves on.


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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#12 » by Skybox » Thu Sep 16, 2021 12:50 pm

drsd wrote:
tiderulz wrote:except Carter provides some really good defense. RJ, i havent seen that. i agree it will be interesting to see if he can transition to a spot up shooter role. my worry, he hasnt shown to be a good shooter. now maybe it will help if he doesnt have to create the open shot for himself. guess we have 2 years to see how it turns out


To correct myself, I am not saying I think Hampton has the same skills as Carter-Williams. What I am saying is that Hampton's floor is to take Carter-Williams' roster slot when he moves on.


..


that's very reasonable...MCW, with more upside if he develops shooting...problem is, MCW is a min salary "happy to be here:" glue guy. RJ, like all of these kids is going to want to get paid and may have suitors who will bet on him in FA (when the time comes). I guess that's not too big a thing because you just don't overpay if that's where he/we end up. You just hate to have a whole roster of alleged high-upside guys who don't develop and, if they show flashes, they get poached or overpaid to stay. I think ORL has a lot of sorting to do this year and may, after deciding who stays, move some young guys before all of their deals come due...personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Cole or RJ and WCJ get moved (along with some vets like TRoss and/or Harris) when we have a clearer picture of what we have...good problem to have as long as you don't cling too long to prospects.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#13 » by nicnac215 » Thu Sep 16, 2021 2:35 pm

Skin wrote:He's the guard version of Aaron Gordon.

Tweener. Athletic, but clunky. More robotic than smooth. Can jump, nice frame, fast feet, but mindless on the court. Plays without a plan. Loose handle. Willing passer, but not a visionary set up guy. Hit or miss from 3. Will hustle, over celebrate and thinks he's better than he is. Will start off as a very good chemistry guy/team player, convince you that he's a potential keeper at times, but eventually sour.

That’s very unfair to predict. I see the resemblance as young players but lets not project careers so early
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#14 » by Skybox » Thu Sep 16, 2021 2:46 pm

nicnac215 wrote:
Skin wrote:He's the guard version of Aaron Gordon.

Tweener. Athletic, but clunky. More robotic than smooth. Can jump, nice frame, fast feet, but mindless on the court. Plays without a plan. Loose handle. Willing passer, but not a visionary set up guy. Hit or miss from 3. Will hustle, over celebrate and thinks he's better than he is. Will start off as a very good chemistry guy/team player, convince you that he's a potential keeper at times, but eventually sour.

That’s very unfair to predict. I see the resemblance as young players but lets not project careers so early


that's kind of the point of the thread :D

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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#15 » by tiderulz » Thu Sep 16, 2021 4:45 pm

drsd wrote:
tiderulz wrote:except Carter provides some really good defense. RJ, i havent seen that. i agree it will be interesting to see if he can transition to a spot up shooter role. my worry, he hasnt shown to be a good shooter. now maybe it will help if he doesnt have to create the open shot for himself. guess we have 2 years to see how it turns out


To correct myself, I am not saying I think Hampton has the same skills as Carter-Williams. What I am saying is that Hampton's floor is to take Carter-Williams' roster slot when he moves on.


..

gotcha. i can see that
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#16 » by jonbob17 » Thu Sep 16, 2021 5:14 pm

I just want to see him on the court as much as possible, and sometimes as a secondary play maker. Ideally he'd be playing the 2 next to our lead ball handlers Suggs and Fultz, but if we run some 3 guard line ups, get him out there.

In the Summer League he looked like he is a legit 6'4" barefoot. He is clearly not ready to guard the league's better wings. Just let him get out there and figure out what he he is good at. let him figure out what a good shot looks like. I hope he helps us win (only) 15 games, while figuring himself out. Goes for everybody. Figure it out....this is the year to make mistakes and see what you can get away with. Take gambles and learn.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#17 » by Skin » Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:07 am

nicnac215 wrote:
Skin wrote:He's the guard version of Aaron Gordon.

Tweener. Athletic, but clunky. More robotic than smooth. Can jump, nice frame, fast feet, but mindless on the court. Plays without a plan. Loose handle. Willing passer, but not a visionary set up guy. Hit or miss from 3. Will hustle, over celebrate and thinks he's better than he is. Will start off as a very good chemistry guy/team player, convince you that he's a potential keeper at times, but eventually sour.

That’s very unfair to predict. I see the resemblance as young players but lets not project careers so early

Fine. Short answer... He's trade fodder.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#18 » by zaymon » Fri Sep 17, 2021 8:27 am

Skin wrote:
nicnac215 wrote:
Skin wrote:He's the guard version of Aaron Gordon.

Tweener. Athletic, but clunky. More robotic than smooth. Can jump, nice frame, fast feet, but mindless on the court. Plays without a plan. Loose handle. Willing passer, but not a visionary set up guy. Hit or miss from 3. Will hustle, over celebrate and thinks he's better than he is. Will start off as a very good chemistry guy/team player, convince you that he's a potential keeper at times, but eventually sour.

That’s very unfair to predict. I see the resemblance as young players but lets not project careers so early

Fine. Short answer... He's trade fodder.

Both Anthony and Hampton are mid to late first round picks. Those are projected as 7-8th man in good cases. We shouldnt expect stardom.
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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#19 » by drsd » Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:56 pm

Skybox wrote:that's very reasonable...MCW, with more upside if he develops shooting...problem is, MCW is a min salary "happy to be here:" glue guy. RJ, like all of these kids is going to want to get paid and may have suitors who will bet on him in FA (when the time comes). I guess that's not too big a thing because you just don't overpay if that's where he/we end up. You just hate to have a whole roster of alleged high-upside guys who don't develop and, if they show flashes, they get poached or overpaid to stay. I think ORL has a lot of sorting to do this year and may, after deciding who stays, move some young guys before all of their deals come due...personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Cole or RJ and WCJ get moved (along with some vets like TRoss and/or Harris) when we have a clearer picture of what we have...good problem to have as long as you don't cling too long to prospects.


This is more of a ceiling concept. If Hampton fails to devleop a jumper, at best, he is an 8th man off of the bench. In that he is a LLE-level employee.

Might some other team offer him half of a MLE exemption? At his age, sure. There is always an upside discussion for an NBA baller below age 26. It's like with Gordon, "This is THE year a 40% three ball will be demonstrated". Hope Springs Eternal, and all that.

With Harris moving on after this year, I actually do hope that Hampton reveals his capacity as a starting quality SG that will command 20M a year. Why? Because it means the Magic made a great trade and got a long term, valuable asset.

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Re: What exactly is RJ Hampton for the Magic? 

Post#20 » by drsd » Fri Sep 17, 2021 12:58 pm

zaymon wrote:Both Anthony and Hampton are mid to late first round picks. Those are projected as 7-8th man in good cases. We shouldnt expect stardom.


Where is the "And-2" button?

Neither Hampton nor Anthony are saviors. Right now neither is anywhere near to being a starter on a decent team. If both can offer consistent bench play on 15 mpg, then Great!


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