The Official Jaden McDaniels Thread

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MP: But further down the rotation, you’ve also got TJ Shannon, Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark — the “young depth” you referred to — who have a wide spectrum of skills on defense and offense.

Finch: Right. And I think when you are looking at filling the void left by Nickeil, you have three guys who all give you a different part of what he did. In terms of being a good point-of-attack defender, you obviously have Jaylen. As a ball handler, you have Rob. And then for additional scoring, you have TJ, who is going to find ways to put the ball in the basket.

It has always been my philosophy that whenever you lose somebody, it is really hard to replace it exactly, so you just have to figure out how to do it differently.

Just the utility of Nickeil had such intrinsic value. And you do lose that, you know? But to your point, I think Jaden can take on more of a utility role too. Whether it be as a secondary handler, or as a guy who swings to the five — whatever it is you need him to do. It might look different.

Honestly, I have never thought about it. That McDaniels can replace NAW as secondary playmaker. I mean both NAW and McDaniels are subpar ballhandlers, but both are tall with long arms. I can see here some similarities. Also if MIN gives Clark/TJ more on-ball defense responsibilities, it might give McDaniels more room to grow in offense.

[Klomp]

MP: But further down the rotation, you’ve also got TJ Shannon, Rob Dillingham and Jaylen Clark — the “young depth” you referred to — who have a wide spectrum of skills on defense and offense.

Finch: Right. And I think when you are looking at filling the void left by Nickeil, you have three guys who all give you a different part of what he did. In terms of being a good point-of-attack defender, you obviously have Jaylen. As a ball handler, you have Rob. And then for additional scoring, you have TJ, who is going to find ways to put the ball in the basket.

It has always been my philosophy that whenever you lose somebody, it is really hard to replace it exactly, so you just have to figure out how to do it differently.

Just the utility of Nickeil had such intrinsic value. And you do lose that, you know? But to your point, I think Jaden can take on more of a utility role too. Whether it be as a secondary handler, or as a guy who swings to the five — whatever it is you need him to do. It might look different.

Honestly, I have never thought about it. That McDaniels can replace NAW as secondary playmaker. I mean both NAW and McDaniels are subpar ballhandlers, but both are tall with long arms. I can see here some similarities. Also if MIN gives Clark/TJ more on-ball defense responsibilities, it might give McDaniels more room to grow in offense.

I think your last point might be the biggest key. I want to see more of Jaden in off-ball defense. I actually wonder if that's what Finch was meaning above, when speaking of Jaden's potential utility role maybe including "as a guy who swings to the five." Jaden as the low man in the defense is scary good. He's slight, but he is LONG. And his attitude is perfect as a low man. I think even in mixed second unit lineups where Jaden is playing alongside Naz and Julius, I want to see Jaden as the low man instead of one of the others.

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[KGdaBom]

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The music in the background of the interview drives me crazy. It would be so much better without it.

[m2002brian]

Jaden is low key one of our highest IQ players. Love watching him play.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

Jaden is low key one of our highest IQ players. Love watching him play.

Mike and Jaden are our most smart players by far. ANT is on the way , Randle got up and down. When he is focus he is smart but at times he lose the momentum and make dumb play. Rudy is smart, just the hands not as smart as his brain ...

[frankenwolf]

Jaden is low key one of our highest IQ players. Love watching him play.

Mike and Jaden are our most smart players by far. ANT is on the way , Randle got up and down. When he is focus he is smart but at times he lose the momentum and make dumb play. Rudy is smart, just the hands not as smart as his brain ...

Recc'd for the bold/underlined part

[Jamaaliver]

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[winforlose]

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To be fair he did this in the playoffs the last 2 years as well. He was an outstanding mid range jump shooter last year as well. One of my biggest issues with Finch is not getting Jaden more involved in the offense. This includes giving Jaden a minimum number of shots per game and encouraging him to never go below the minimum while always having the green light to exceed it.

[Klomp]

I am really liking the combination of Jaden and Julius, and how they play so well off each other.