Paolo Banchero

[zimpy27]

Banchero knows basketball better because hes seemed to have played more basketball and been coached up more, but he doesnt seem to make off schedule plays well on offense or defense. He plays his role, is where hes suposed to be usually and is consistent;

Kuminga seems to anticipate extremely well on offense and defenese.. his skill just seems to be lacking to live up to what he seems to be thinking or seeing on the court.. He doesnt know how to play basketball.. but yet see's smaller parts of the game really well and the speed of the NBA hasnt overwhelmed him. Banchero reminds me of a young Jeff Green

They've both had a lot of experience. I think what you are seeing is that Kuminga is super aggressive. He is more proactive than Banchero.

Kuminga is a superior athlete and combined with his aggression is what makes him such an interesting prospect. THT is actually in a similar boat, not so much athletically but body size mixed with aggression. The IQ and skill part is the big question mark, can they start making good team decisions based on knowing the limitations of their skill level. And can they then build on the skill and expand their role with it. Both have a ton of upside, I think Kuminga is a surer bet than THT. Both also need the right environment to develop properly.

Banchero is different but I find it interesting to compare to a similar player at a similar age. Is it worth investing in Banchero if he might run constantly into a Kuminga buzzsaw

[Upperclass]

Potentially.. but Jabari Parker had a similar motor and aggression and was turrible

[mattao313]

When I watch banchero I don't see 4/5 he's a wing player. He plays off the perimeter slashing and shooting mid range jumpers. When I think of 4/5 I imagine christian wood, Kelly olynyk, or maybe jaren Jackson. I don't see Banchero down low banging with centers. Maybe I'm wrong but I keep seeing people say it doesn't make sense to me.

Sent from my 5087Z using RealGM mobile app

[jman3134]

I am down on Banchero relative to draft position because I do not project him as anything more than a shot maker with a great skillset, but average athleticism and average to below average defense.

[SeattleJazzFan]

When I watch banchero I don't see 4/5 he's a wing player. He plays off the perimeter slashing and shooting mid range jumpers. When I think of 4/5 I imagine christian wood, Kelly olynyk, or maybe jaren Jackson. I don't see Banchero down low banging with centers. Maybe I'm wrong but I keep seeing people say it doesn't make sense to me.

Sent from my 5087Z using RealGM mobile app

it will be interesting to see how his game evolves in the nba, but in college he gets pretty much whatever he wants in the post - (however, like against ND, despite getting great looks from that low block, he had trouble finishing) though i will say he's not very good at sealing defenders and creating a target for entry passes and that limits his post touches.

but it think mostly people say that because he's 6'10" 250 and doesn't move great laterally. it's tough to play wing when that's your physical profile. but he does have a lot of those perimeter skills so i get where you're coming from as well. he likes to put the ball on the floor though he needs a lot of improvement there, he can score at all three levels and has a pull up game - but needs to improve his long range shooting, etc.

[Duke4life831]

Here’s my view on Paolo

18ft and in on the offensive end, he’s as good of a prospect at the 4 that I can remember in some time. Fantastic combination of size, athleticism, skill, touch, feel.

Beyond that though his game really gets inconsistent. His form on his jumper falls apart from the perimeter. It looks different almost every shot it seems like. Like I’ve said multiple times, he hasn’t shown a dynamic enough handle to be a consistent threat attacking and creating from the perimeter. He’s a solid passer, but nothing wow in that department and still inconsistent in that department as well.

Now of course he’s not a finished product and I think there is a great chance he becomes a solid 3pt shooter and solid playmaker.

But I don’t see him ever being the guy a team runs a good offense through. Again I think he can be a smarter and team friendlier Julius Randle. Then defensively he’s limited. He’s a pretty good leaper for his size, but he’s not super gifted laterally and has shown zero ability to chase guys around out on the perimeter. He also hasn’t really shown a consistent ability to hold down the defense at the 5.

So I don’t ever seen him being the #1 guy on the offensive end and I don’t ever see him being a stud defender. I think that puts a limit to his ceiling. Now with that said, I have pretty similar questions with Jabari. That’s why I’m not in love with either guy as a #1 pick. But I think Paolo (and Jabari) are very good 2nd tier prospects. Just not sure I see any guys in this draft that I would consider tier 1 prospects.

[GSWFan1994]

Would Michael Beasley be a passable comparison for Banchero?

[BostonCouchGM]

Here’s my view on Paolo

18ft and in on the offensive end, he’s as good of a prospect at the 4 that I can remember in some time. Fantastic combination of size, athleticism, skill, touch, feel.

Beyond that though his game really gets inconsistent. His form on his jumper falls apart from the perimeter. It looks different almost every shot it seems like. Like I’ve said multiple times, he hasn’t shown a dynamic enough handle to be a consistent threat attacking and creating from the perimeter. He’s a solid passer, but nothing wow in that department and still inconsistent in that department as well.

Now of course he’s not a finished product and I think there is a great chance he becomes a solid 3pt shooter and solid playmaker.

But I don’t see him ever being the guy a team runs a good offense through. Again I think he can be a smarter and team friendlier Julius Randle. Then defensively he’s limited. He’s a pretty good leaper for his size, but he’s not super gifted laterally and has shown zero ability to chase guys around out on the perimeter. He also hasn’t really shown a consistent ability to hold down the defense at the 5.

So I don’t ever seen him being the #1 guy on the offensive end and I don’t ever see him being a stud defender. I think that puts a limit to his ceiling. Now with that said, I have pretty similar questions with Jabari. That’s why I’m not in love with either guy as a #1 pick. But I think Paolo (and Jabari) are very good 2nd tier prospects. Just not sure I see any guys in this draft that I would consider tier 1 prospects.

Tatum is the #1 guy and most have him in the top 10-15 players in the NBA. So if you had Tatum as a Tier 1 prospect, you HAVE to have Banchero as a #1 tier as well. If not, it begins to bleed into having a bad take and stubbornly sticking to it just to save face. Now, Tatum has hit the sauce, put on muscle, and worked on his game but you'd have to assume Banchero doesn't in order to claim he won't be in the same neighborhood as a player and I don't see that in his personality. They're so similar. Same chucking tendencies. Same tunnel vision. Same ability to get shots off at will and score on all three levels. But with Banchero, he's bigger, a better athlete, and he has a better handle and much better vision than Tatum at this same point. I really don't understand how this isn't obvious and apparent.

At Duke

Tatum-17-7-2 34% from three 85% FT steal and block per game (currently shooting 33% from three)
Banchero-18-8-3 32% from three 75% FT steal and block per game

[Duke4life831]

Here’s my view on Paolo

18ft and in on the offensive end, he’s as good of a prospect at the 4 that I can remember in some time. Fantastic combination of size, athleticism, skill, touch, feel.

Beyond that though his game really gets inconsistent. His form on his jumper falls apart from the perimeter. It looks different almost every shot it seems like. Like I’ve said multiple times, he hasn’t shown a dynamic enough handle to be a consistent threat attacking and creating from the perimeter. He’s a solid passer, but nothing wow in that department and still inconsistent in that department as well.

Now of course he’s not a finished product and I think there is a great chance he becomes a solid 3pt shooter and solid playmaker.

But I don’t see him ever being the guy a team runs a good offense through. Again I think he can be a smarter and team friendlier Julius Randle. Then defensively he’s limited. He’s a pretty good leaper for his size, but he’s not super gifted laterally and has shown zero ability to chase guys around out on the perimeter. He also hasn’t really shown a consistent ability to hold down the defense at the 5.

So I don’t ever seen him being the #1 guy on the offensive end and I don’t ever see him being a stud defender. I think that puts a limit to his ceiling. Now with that said, I have pretty similar questions with Jabari. That’s why I’m not in love with either guy as a #1 pick. But I think Paolo (and Jabari) are very good 2nd tier prospects. Just not sure I see any guys in this draft that I would consider tier 1 prospects.

Tatum is the #1 guy and most have him in the top 10-15 players in the NBA. So if you had Tatum as a Tier 1 prospect, you HAVE to have Banchero as a #1 tier as well. If not, it begins to bleed into having a bad take and stubbornly sticking to it just to save face. Now, Tatum has hit the sauce, put on muscle, and worked on his game but you'd have to assume Banchero doesn't in order to claim he won't be in the same neighborhood as a player and I don't see that in his personality. They're so similar. Same chucking tendencies. Same tunnel vision. Same ability to get shots off at will and score on all three levels. But with Banchero, he's bigger, a better athlete, and he has a better handle and much better vision than Tatum at this same point. I really don't understand how this isn't obvious and apparent.

At Duke

Tatum-17-7-2 34% from three 85% FT steal and block per game (currently shooting 33% from three)
Banchero-18-8-3 32% from three 75% FT steal and block per game

A few things. First I don’t agree Paolo is the better athlete, I also don’t buy him having the better handle. I do agree he is the better passer, but again I don’t see Paolo ever being viewed as a great passer.

Tatum’s perimeter shooting was far easier to predict than Paola’s. FT shooting is usually a good indicator, plus again Tatum’s form has always been consistent, no matter where he was shooting, can’t say the same about Paolo.

Now the biggest thing. Versatility and defense. Tatum is a true 3/4 on both ends. Paolo is a strict 4. Also Tatum was a very good, some including myself had him as an elite defender while at Duke. Paolo is at best a neutral defender, and that is being generous.

So ya if Paolo was a much better defender and showed positional versatility (two things Tatum showed). I’d have Paolo as good of a prospect as I had Tatum.

[reanimator]

I actually think Jabari Smith Jr is closer to Tatum as a guy who makes tough perimeter shots than Banchero. Not saying either guy is Tatum tho.

Really hard to project Paolo as Tatum on defense even if his development as a 3 pt shooter and finisher improves similarly.

[Duke4life831]

Would Michael Beasley be a passable comparison for Banchero?

Beasley was the better athlete and I would say a lower IQ player.

I honestly think Randle is the best comparison. I think a team friendlier Randle is my best comp for him.

[GSWFan1994]

Would Michael Beasley be a passable comparison for Banchero?

Beasley was the better athlete and I would say a lower IQ player.

I honestly think Randle is the best comparison. I think a team friendlier Randle is my best comp for him.

Yeah, that makes more sense.

Though a Randle comparison would not be a good thing for such a top tier prospect, don't you agree?

I mean, I cooled down considerably on Banchero since the offseason, and it seems like I'm not the only one, by reading the thread.

Remember the Givony reports that he seemed to be almost 7 feet tall?

[Duke4life831]

Would Michael Beasley be a passable comparison for Banchero?

Beasley was the better athlete and I would say a lower IQ player.

I honestly think Randle is the best comparison. I think a team friendlier Randle is my best comp for him.

Yeah, that makes more sense.

Though a Randle comparison would not be a good thing for such a top tier prospect, don't you agree?

I mean, I cooled down considerably on Banchero since the offseason, and it seems like I'm not the only one, by reading the thread.

Remember the Givony reports that he seemed to be almost 7 feet tall?

Well I mean peak Julius Randle was 24/10/6 and a 2nd team all nba player.

So I think it’s not too much of a negative shot to say he can be a more team friendlier Randle. And when I say a team friendlier version, I think Paolo picks his spots better and just has a more seamless feel to the team than I’ve ever thought Randle had.

I think any draft I would love Paolo 3-5. I think he has a solid floor and solid ceiling. Hell he may end up going 3-5 in this draft.

[8305]

Here’s my view on Paolo

18ft and in on the offensive end, he’s as good of a prospect at the 4 that I can remember in some time. Fantastic combination of size, athleticism, skill, touch, feel.

Beyond that though his game really gets inconsistent. His form on his jumper falls apart from the perimeter. It looks different almost every shot it seems like. Like I’ve said multiple times, he hasn’t shown a dynamic enough handle to be a consistent threat attacking and creating from the perimeter. He’s a solid passer, but nothing wow in that department and still inconsistent in that department as well.

Now of course he’s not a finished product and I think there is a great chance he becomes a solid 3pt shooter and solid playmaker.

But I don’t see him ever being the guy a team runs a good offense through. Again I think he can be a smarter and team friendlier Julius Randle. Then defensively he’s limited. He’s a pretty good leaper for his size, but he’s not super gifted laterally and has shown zero ability to chase guys around out on the perimeter. He also hasn’t really shown a consistent ability to hold down the defense at the 5.

So I don’t ever seen him being the #1 guy on the offensive end and I don’t ever see him being a stud defender. I think that puts a limit to his ceiling. Now with that said, I have pretty similar questions with Jabari. That’s why I’m not in love with either guy as a #1 pick. But I think Paolo (and Jabari) are very good 2nd tier prospects. Just not sure I see any guys in this draft that I would consider tier 1 prospects.

My fear based comments I've read is that at the end of the day the only position he will be able to defend in the NBA will be the 5. Has he got any better feet and lateral mobility than say Sabonis (who I believe also played the 4 in college). I don't think Sabonis works defensively as a 4. For my Pacers I'm just not high on this guy right now.

[Duke4life831]

Here’s my view on Paolo

18ft and in on the offensive end, he’s as good of a prospect at the 4 that I can remember in some time. Fantastic combination of size, athleticism, skill, touch, feel.

Beyond that though his game really gets inconsistent. His form on his jumper falls apart from the perimeter. It looks different almost every shot it seems like. Like I’ve said multiple times, he hasn’t shown a dynamic enough handle to be a consistent threat attacking and creating from the perimeter. He’s a solid passer, but nothing wow in that department and still inconsistent in that department as well.

Now of course he’s not a finished product and I think there is a great chance he becomes a solid 3pt shooter and solid playmaker.

But I don’t see him ever being the guy a team runs a good offense through. Again I think he can be a smarter and team friendlier Julius Randle. Then defensively he’s limited. He’s a pretty good leaper for his size, but he’s not super gifted laterally and has shown zero ability to chase guys around out on the perimeter. He also hasn’t really shown a consistent ability to hold down the defense at the 5.

So I don’t ever seen him being the #1 guy on the offensive end and I don’t ever see him being a stud defender. I think that puts a limit to his ceiling. Now with that said, I have pretty similar questions with Jabari. That’s why I’m not in love with either guy as a #1 pick. But I think Paolo (and Jabari) are very good 2nd tier prospects. Just not sure I see any guys in this draft that I would consider tier 1 prospects.

My fear based comments I've read is that at the end of the day the only position he will be able to defend in the NBA will be the 5. Has he got any better feet and lateral mobility than say Sabonis (who I believe also played the 4 in college). I don't think Sabonis works defensively as a 4. For my Pacers I'm just not high on this guy right now.

I'll say this, if Paolo can end up defending 5s at a solid rate, he is my easy #1 pick. Paolo moves his feet just fine to defend 4s. My biggest knock on Paolo is him being position locked at the 4. That's actually my biggest knock on both Paolo and Jabari.

I have no clue on either one on how big their upside is when it comes to defending the 5. Because both Jabari and Paolo are in similar situations where both have a huge luxury of playing alongside arguably the two best defensive 5s in college ball at the moment (Kessler, Williams).

So neither play big minutes at the 5 and both get a ton of their mistakes cleaned up and really go unnoticed because of the bigs cleaning everything up.

[King Ken]

I see him as a Julius Randle lite but with much better size and he's already so good, Julius wasn't close to this good coming out. So maybe something like a rich man's Julius Randle.

His passing is already so good. The thing that Sabonis has is he's a lot like John Stockton. He's not only a great lead passer but great out of screens and he's elite screener and at screen assists.

[The-Power]

For those who have Banchero as the #1 or in the conversation: in which area do you see a chance for him to become elite?

To me he just seems to be fairly good at a lot of different aspects but I don't see an elite trait. He is great at some things compared to 5s, but his shortcomings make him positionally locked to be a 4, I'm afraid. And compared to other 4s, his skill-set doesn't really stand out anymore – at least not when compared to the very best at that position.

Good prospects and I see him as a good NBA player, but I don't yet see someone I'd feel great about at the very top of the draft (let's say top 3 in this draft, top 5 in a better draft).

[SeattleJazzFan]

For those who have Banchero as the #1 or in the conversation: in which area do you see a chance for him to become elite?

To me he just seems to be fairly good at a lot of different aspects but I don't see an elite trait. He is great at some things compared to 5s, but his shortcomings make him positionally locked to be a 4, I'm afraid. And compared to other 4s, his skill-set doesn't really stand out anymore – at least not when compared to the very best at that position.

Good prospects and I see him as a good NBA player, but I don't yet see someone I'd feel great about at the very top of the draft (let's say top 3 in this draft, top 5 in a better draft).

You’re asking the wrong question. The question, if you want to draft him #1 overall is can he become a 25, 9 and 5 guy. I believe the answer is yes - he has that kind of potential.

Does that mean he’s elite in any one area? Not necessarily, but you have multiple 24-26 ppg, 8-10 rpg, 4-5 apg seasons, you are a multiple time all star and your #1 overall draft slot is justified.

[reanimator]

For those who have Banchero as the #1 or in the conversation: in which area do you see a chance for him to become elite?

To me he just seems to be fairly good at a lot of different aspects but I don't see an elite trait. He is great at some things compared to 5s, but his shortcomings make him positionally locked to be a 4, I'm afraid. And compared to other 4s, his skill-set doesn't really stand out anymore – at least not when compared to the very best at that position.

Good prospects and I see him as a good NBA player, but I don't yet see someone I'd feel great about at the very top of the draft (let's say top 3 in this draft, top 5 in a better draft).

You’re asking the wrong question. The question, if you want to draft him #1 overall is can he become a 25, 9 and 5 guy. I believe the answer is yes - he has that kind of potential.

Does that mean he’s elite in any one area? Not necessarily, but you have multiple 24-26 ppg, 8-10 rpg, 4-5 apg seasons, you are a multiple time all star and your #1 overall draft slot is justified.

What if his archetype makes building a winning roster harder than a few of the other high lotto guys? Does production require more nuance then?

[babyjax13]

Here’s my view on Paolo

18ft and in on the offensive end, he’s as good of a prospect at the 4 that I can remember in some time. Fantastic combination of size, athleticism, skill, touch, feel.

Beyond that though his game really gets inconsistent. His form on his jumper falls apart from the perimeter. It looks different almost every shot it seems like. Like I’ve said multiple times, he hasn’t shown a dynamic enough handle to be a consistent threat attacking and creating from the perimeter. He’s a solid passer, but nothing wow in that department and still inconsistent in that department as well.

Now of course he’s not a finished product and I think there is a great chance he becomes a solid 3pt shooter and solid playmaker.

But I don’t see him ever being the guy a team runs a good offense through. Again I think he can be a smarter and team friendlier Julius Randle. Then defensively he’s limited. He’s a pretty good leaper for his size, but he’s not super gifted laterally and has shown zero ability to chase guys around out on the perimeter. He also hasn’t really shown a consistent ability to hold down the defense at the 5.

So I don’t ever seen him being the #1 guy on the offensive end and I don’t ever see him being a stud defender. I think that puts a limit to his ceiling. Now with that said, I have pretty similar questions with Jabari. That’s why I’m not in love with either guy as a #1 pick. But I think Paolo (and Jabari) are very good 2nd tier prospects. Just not sure I see any guys in this draft that I would consider tier 1 prospects.

Tatum is the #1 guy and most have him in the top 10-15 players in the NBA. So if you had Tatum as a Tier 1 prospect, you HAVE to have Banchero as a #1 tier as well. If not, it begins to bleed into having a bad take and stubbornly sticking to it just to save face. Now, Tatum has hit the sauce, put on muscle, and worked on his game but you'd have to assume Banchero doesn't in order to claim he won't be in the same neighborhood as a player and I don't see that in his personality. They're so similar. Same chucking tendencies. Same tunnel vision. Same ability to get shots off at will and score on all three levels. But with Banchero, he's bigger, a better athlete, and he has a better handle and much better vision than Tatum at this same point. I really don't understand how this isn't obvious and apparent.

At Duke

Tatum-17-7-2 34% from three 85% FT steal and block per game (currently shooting 33% from three)
Banchero-18-8-3 32% from three 75% FT steal and block per game

Tatum had a lot more lateral mobility in college (and the pros), as well as being a far superior shooter. Now, I don't have Tatum the prospect that far ahead of Banchero, if at all (I liked Tatum and thought he could be a really nice 20ppg scorer with bad defense just b/c I hard comped him to Jabari Parker way too much, he's been much better than I thought), but I don't think they are similar in many ways as prospects. Tatum also had a better handle. Banchero is more physical, and I think will finish better with contact.