Tari Eason

[Saints14]

near exact physical profile to Kawhi coming out of SDSU. Kawhi was 6'7" in shoes to Tari's 6'8". Kawhi 7'3" wingspan to Tari's 7'2. Kawhi 8'10" standing reach to Tari's 8'11.5". Kawhi was 225 lbs, to Tari's 217.

pretty comparable skill sets coming out. Eason the better scorer, Kawhi a better rebounder both elite defenders at the college level.

it should go without saying that it would be silly to expect Eason to become anywhere near the player Kawhi has become, but the fact is, coming out of SDSU, Kawhi is simply the best comp for Eason.

Yep-- assume his year 1 will look somewhat like Kawhi's, and not his whole career.

"Kawhi Leonard without outlier development" is an interesting comp, and still a damn good player

[Sactowndog]

near exact physical profile to Kawhi coming out of SDSU. Kawhi was 6'7" in shoes to Tari's 6'8". Kawhi 7'3" wingspan to Tari's 7'2. Kawhi 8'10" standing reach to Tari's 8'11.5". Kawhi was 225 lbs, to Tari's 217. Tari's hand size even compares nicely to Kawhi - Kawhi 9.75" inches (biggest in his class) to Eason's 9.25" (3rd biggest in his class).

pretty comparable skill sets coming out. Eason the better scorer, Kawhi a better rebounder both elite defenders at the college level.

it should go without saying that it would be silly to expect Eason to become anywhere near the player Kawhi has become, but the fact is, coming out of SDSU, Kawhi is simply the best comp for Eason.

You quoted length but width is more important in terms of ability to palm or grab a ball…. And that width only furthers your point….

Eason hand width 11.0.
Largest in his class

Just to give a sense of how big those Mitts are… non-centers with those size or larger hands

Kawhi Leonard. 11.25
Micheal Jordan 11.35
Royce White. 11.5
Elgin Baylor 11.0
Julius Irving 11.75
Noah Vonlee. 11.75

[CptCrunch]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

[toooskies]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

Probably still a really good defender and a positive offensive player? Somewhere between a Morris twin and Shawn Marion?

[Sactowndog]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

A lock down defender who can hit catch and shoot 3’s. Dude shot over .800 from the foul line. Fit wise and upside wise, the Kings should take a long look at him in the 4 spot. Paired with Mitchell, Holiday and Barnes they would have a super strong perimeter defense which is needed if Sabonis is your center. He doesn’t really need to make plays off the bounce as Mitchell and Fox will have the ball in their hands or Sabonis draws a double in the post.

[Sactowndog]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

Probably still a really good defender and a positive offensive player? Somewhere between a Morris twin and Shawn Marion?

Bruce Bowen at worst?

[SelfishPlayer]

Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Caron Butler, Gerald Wallace, there's a lot of room under Kawhi.

[CptCrunch]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

Probably still a really good defender and a positive offensive player? Somewhere between a Morris twin and Shawn Marion?

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

A lock down defender who can hit catch and shoot 3’s. Dude shot over .800 from the foul line. Fit wise and upside wise, the Kings should take a long look at him in the 4 spot. Paired with Mitchell, Holiday and Barnes they would have a super strong perimeter defense which is needed if Sabonis is your center. He doesn’t really need to make plays off the bounce as Mitchell and Fox will have the ball in their hands or Sabonis draws a double in the post.

So, his reasonable case is a Marcus Morris with better defense, 17/6 kind of player, positive on defensive side, neutral on offense. And hypothetically, a little black hole on offense, turns it over more on offense than creates in assist (like he does now in college). Is that an average, reasonable outcome? (As we all seem to agree no one should develop like Kawhi).

If this is the average outcome, I don't know if I want him at 10-ish. I like him around 14-15 in this case.

[Sactowndog]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

Probably still a really good defender and a positive offensive player? Somewhere between a Morris twin and Shawn Marion?

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

A lock down defender who can hit catch and shoot 3’s. Dude shot over .800 from the foul line. Fit wise and upside wise, the Kings should take a long look at him in the 4 spot. Paired with Mitchell, Holiday and Barnes they would have a super strong perimeter defense which is needed if Sabonis is your center. He doesn’t really need to make plays off the bounce as Mitchell and Fox will have the ball in their hands or Sabonis draws a double in the post.

So, his reasonable case is a Marcus Morris with better defense, 17/6 kind of player, positive on defensive side, neutral on offense. And hypothetically, a little black hole on offense, turns it over more on offense than creates in assist (like he does now in college). Is that an average, reasonable outcome? (As we all seem to agree no one should develop like Kawhi).

If this is the average outcome, I don't know if I want him at 10-ish. I like him around 14-15 in this case.

I think the Marcus Morris case is between average and floor. Bruce Bowen can to mind but Eason is an .800 free throw shooter. With those measurables he will be a very good to elite defender. I think average is more likely Mykail Bridges.

[toooskies]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

Probably still a really good defender and a positive offensive player? Somewhere between a Morris twin and Shawn Marion?

Bruce Bowen at worst?

Worst-case he plays too aggressively and his foul problems become worse in the pros. Or his coaches are too hard on him trying to get him play more reined-in and he has a hard time finding that balance.

[clyde21]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

uhm, a pretty useful one?

[tmorgan]

There’s zero doubt in my mind Eason will be a “riser”, but how high? The Kings seem to do what they please, so 4th seems possible. 6th-8th seems more likely. Seems like a good choice for Portland, better than trading for Jerami (tho I can still hope they panic somehow).

[tester551]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

OG?

[LofJ]

I like the Gerald Wallace comparison. He plays with wild abandon just like Wallace, but he's a better shooter than Wallace ever was already, so not a perfect comparison. If he can play effective defense without fouling he should be able to get plenty of on court reps to develop his game. I wouldn't be surprised if he goes as high as 4, he's probably a prime trade up target.

[Hal14]

There’s zero doubt in my mind Eason will be a “riser”, but how high? The Kings seem to do what they please, so 4th seems possible. 6th-8th seems more likely. Seems like a good choice for Portland, better than trading for Jerami (tho I can still hope they panic somehow).

love the fit for Eason in Portland.

-Portland has a gaping hole at the PF spot
-Eason is from the pacific northwest
-I can see Billups being a good coach for eason, who can really connect with him and get through to him. Billups played alongside a PF with kind of a similar game who also had an intense on court demeanor (Rasheed wallace) and they won a title together. Billups is a young, strong black man who has been there and done that, won a title, had a hall of fame playing career.
-Eason being a little bit of an older prospect is also a good thing for portland because they're a team that needs to win now - they have a small window to try and quickly get back into the playoff picture, with Lillard getting up there in age
-the 7 spot is just right for Eason. Not really a reach. With his size, strength, skill set, athleticism at age 20, he's decent value in that spot

Lillard, Anfernee Simmons and Eason is a solid core. Then i think the blazers make a run at signing Ayton at center. Blazers have a bunch of cap space freed up after trading mccollum, nance, covington and powell - they can give Ayton that max contract.

Lillard, Ayton, Simmons, Eason. They can get back into the playoffs next year.

[toooskies]

There’s zero doubt in my mind Eason will be a “riser”, but how high? The Kings seem to do what they please, so 4th seems possible. 6th-8th seems more likely. Seems like a good choice for Portland, better than trading for Jerami (tho I can still hope they panic somehow).

love the fit for Eason in Portland.

-Portland has a gaping hole at the PF spot
-Eason is from the pacific northwest
-I can see Billups being a good coach for eason, who can really connect with him and get through to him. Billups played alongside a PF with kind of a similar game who also had an intense on court demeanor (Rasheed wallace) and they won a title together. Billups is a young, strong black man who has been there and done that, won a title, had a hall of fame playing career.
-Eason being a little bit of an older prospect is also a good thing for portland because they're a team that needs to win now - they have a small window to try and quickly get back into the playoff picture, with Lillard getting up there in age

Lillard, Anfernee Simmons and Eason is a solid core. Then i think the blazers make a run at signing Ayton at center. Blazers have a bunch of cap space freed up after trading mccollum, nance, covington and powell - they can give Ayton that max contract.

Lillard, Ayton, Simmons, Eason. They can get back into the playoffs next year.

Grew up in LA but moved to the PNW in high school, according to an LSU podcast interview from December. Grew up as a LeBron fan. Believes the moon landing was faked, among other unnamed conspiracy theories.

https://lsusports.net/news/2021/12/07/boot-up-podcast-tari-eason-exclusive-interview/

[MasterIchiro]

YouTube is mind pollution.

[jambalaya]

"No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve."

"Expected"? Probably not, though 1 or 2 every decade probably will.

College Eason starts way ahead of college Kawhi. About 75% higher college BPM. So while he'll need to "get better", he won't have to match Kawhi's college to NBA developmental increase.

[Ell Curry]

No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve.

Physically, his closest comp is a Kawhi, but what kind of player is that with average development?

A lock down defender who can hit catch and shoot 3’s. Dude shot over .800 from the foul line. Fit wise and upside wise, the Kings should take a long look at him in the 4 spot. Paired with Mitchell, Holiday and Barnes they would have a super strong perimeter defense which is needed if Sabonis is your center. He doesn’t really need to make plays off the bounce as Mitchell and Fox will have the ball in their hands or Sabonis draws a double in the post.

I think if he or Sochan is the guy they can trade down and look for Barnes' eventual replacement via a draft pick or young player.

[SelfishPlayer]

"No prospect should ever be expected to follow Kawhi (or Giannis-like) developmental curve."

"Expected"? Probably not, though 1 or 2 every decade probably will.

College Eason starts way ahead of college Kawhi. About 75% higher college BPM. So while he'll need to "get better", he won't have to match Kawhi's college to NBA developmental increase.

Eason came off of the bench as a reserve. He competed against reserves more than a typical starter does. His stats are skewed because of this. Stats don't include level of opponent you competed against while you were on the floor.