Bruno Caboclo discussion thread

[Double Bubble]

Still have no idea what to expect in Bruno's future. Anything from a poor man's Austin Daye (who killed it in SL if I recall correctly) to a Nic Batum v2.

I would say that his floor is Batum (slightly better defensively but perhaps slightly worse offensively) but his ceiling is Durant with even better defense. He already has legit NBA 3-pt range.

Speaking of legit 3-pt range, Dougy McBuckets is a stud for Chicago. Guy was already hitting shots 3 feet behind the NBA line!

[C.Boshly]

Would be considered a success if he ever starts a game in the NBA.

Terrible pick

[youngtea]

Kirilenko as a.....floor. Oh boy.

Ya, I think I over compensated the jump away from Austin Freakin' Daye!

I think Austin Daye's ceiling is Jamario Moon.

Austin Daye and Moon are completely different players.

Moon was a defensive player with limited offensive skills. Austin Daye is a horrible defender and a good shooter.

If the Spurs can develop him like they did with Greene I will be impressed.

[Geddy]

I

Still have no idea what to expect in Bruno's future. Anything from a poor man's Austin Daye (who killed it in SL if I recall correctly) to a Nic Batum v2.

I would say that his floor is Batum (slightly better defensively but perhaps slightly worse offensively) but his ceiling is Durant with even better defense. He already has legit NBA 3-pt range.

Speaking of legit 3-pt range, Dougy McBuckets is a stud for Chicago. Guy was already hitting shots 3 feet behind the NBA line!

I can't tell anymore if most of these posts about what Bruno will turn into are satirical or dead serious. For all we know this guy could be a career garbage time player but he's already drawing comparisons to stars that had established careers.

[ATLTimekeeper]

The lazy realGM comp list for any young player:

Durant-lite
Early TMac
Marion-type
AK47
Batum

If he's unathletic

Paul Pierce

[CoachJReturns]

I don't think his ball handling is all that bad for a 6'9" eighteen year old. In fact I think it's pretty damn good for his limited experience.

I think he looks smoother with the ball than Derozan and Ross in their rookie years.

I expect that he will become pretty good at handling the ball for a 6'9" guy (in a few years).

Gotta agree. Have seen way too little of Bruno myself, but that one baseline drive I caught of him with his left hand looked very smooth. I like Demar, but could never call him smooth.

[CoachJReturns]

The lazy realGM comp list for any young player:

Durant-lite
Early TMac
Marion-type
AK47
Batum

If he's unathletic

Paul Pierce

Rookie Tim Thomas with shot blocking?

[Dalek]

Perhaps his career floor is more like Andrei Kirilenko. Really, please stop mentioning Austin Daye who has no motor (who's ceiling is Charlie Villanueva, maybe the Spurs can get him there as they picked up his option for next year).

Kirilenko was a DPOY candidate for several years and an All NBA player. I think that is a bit unrealistic for Bruno as a career floor. But, those are your expectations, so shoot for the stars.

Austin Daye comparison was only made because he came in the league having two skills, shooting threes and some shotblocking. The Raptors are using Bruno in a similar role as an 18 year-old. The concept of the floor is a starting point, not as any final assessment as a player.

If starting point, I would say Giannis Antetokuonmpo. Maybe not as advanced dribbling skills but with more advanced shooting.

When people talk about floor it's more of a career low they will achieve.

Basement floor would be Jamario Moon. That's if he never improved from where he is today. That is probably a more accurate skillset and comparison.

That sounds fair to me. Moon and Giannis are good compares and I think Bruno can be better than both if he keeps working. I think the dribbling skills are a bit overrated for Giannis. He also cannot shoot from beyond the arc, while Bruno can potentially be more impactful.

I just love Bruno's shooting mechanics. They look a bit unconventional, but he makes it look effortless. Casey mentioned Rashard Lewis as his comparison, and I can see him being that type of shooter, 40% from three, 45% from the floor.

[thunderforce]

Um . What

Pretty straight forward . Don't judge him like everyone else here , he has too little experience and is too young . Wait til next year .

I was just poking fun that you suggested we have Close to zero expectations this year, but also suggested he should be the focul point next year.

Quite the leap. Unless you meant focul point of SL. in that case, I'm a douchebag. My bad

LOL of course I meant next year he should be the main gun of summer league but I could see how you could take it the other way .

[gbball]

I don't think his ball handling is all that bad for a 6'9" eighteen year old. In fact I think it's pretty damn good for his limited experience.

I think he looks smoother with the ball than Derozan and Ross in their rookie years.

I expect that he will become pretty good at handling the ball for a 6'9" guy (in a few years).

Gotta agree. Have seen way too little of Bruno myself, but that one baseline drive I caught of him with his left hand looked very smooth. I like Demar, but could never call him smooth.

I've got to agree too. Initially, I hadn't seen much, but after these first 3 games, I am actually very encouraged by his ball handling. Right now, it's way too loose and he'll get the ball stolen from time to time as he did in the Dallas game when he was trying to cross someone up. If he can tighten up his handle and make more concise aggressive moves, he'll be alright. That's the biggest difference I'm seeing between him and some of the more seasoned players he's going up against. Right now, Bruno's moves are not concise and efficient. As he gets used to the aggressive style of play, the speed and the athleticism of the NBA I think he'll be fine.

He'll also have to adjust to help defense by utilizing a eurostep, spin or pull up jumper. The skillset at his age and size is encouraging, he just has to get used to the American style of play and speed and strength of NBA players. Going to be a lot of growing pains this year, with some breakthroughs here and there.

Again, it's only 3 games, but I'm not as worried about him developing his ball handling at all (might not become a point forward and bring it up, but he should be able to break his man down in half court setting (which is better imo)), and it also looks like he'll be able to develop his explosiveness (he looks like he can already get his head to the bottom of the backboard, which is already pretty good considering how long he is)

This year will likely be the toughest of his life, but it should get easier and easier from year 2 on.

[And1+2]

I still think he looks like a very nice pick up with loads of potential.

People really need to remember that if he played HS basketball in the States, he would he going into College now. Really puts everything into perspective...

I think he will be moulded into something wonderful, myself. Even in the last summer league game there wasn't really a lot to say he's going to be bad... I saw competiveness and a drive to win. That emotion? It's not a bad thing and you can't even teach that...

You can tell he has something to prove. He knows he was a gamble, he wants to prove his worth and he will... But to what extent remains the true question. No doubt in my mind that he will become a valuable asset one day.

Breaking the language barrier for him is going to be huge for his overall development. I hope English comes quickly for him.

[gdroz]

Dude is 18. If he played at a High School in the States as is right now he would be top of the list of prospects. People really fill out and get stronger between 18 -22, plus with nutrionists and pro coaches, he can only get much better. There is definitely a lot of potential. I am encouraged and he is actually better than I thought.

[Kabookalu]

It's easy to forget that this kid should be playing in high school because he doesn't act like it. I hate using the word but he has a swagger to him that I've seldom seen from young players that weren't cocky.

[scobes]

Utterly confused. Watched the first two summer league games, but missed game #3. Jumped on these forums to see how the team did, and saw nothing but Bruno bashing. Assumed the kid played terrible.

Watching the game right now (2 minutes into the 3rd) and I'm completely confused. Yes, a lot of 3's, a few bobbled passes and defensive mistakes, but the kid is playing hard, made a couple incredible 3's, and is looking more and more comfortable handling the ball.

What exactly is going on here?

[SkywalkerAC]

Utterly confused. Watched the first two summer league games, but missed game #3. Jumped on these forums to see how the team did, and saw nothing but Bruno bashing. Assumed the kid played terrible.

Watching the game right now (2 minutes into the 3rd) and I'm completely confused. Yes, a lot of 3's, a few bobbled passes and defensive mistakes, but the kid is playing hard, made a couple incredible 3's, and is looking more and more comfortable handling the ball.

What exactly is going on here?

RealGM at its "finest", duh.

[SharoneWright]

Totally shocked at his fluid shot and range. Young kids typically can't shoot. Assumed we drafted him just for his projectable size and athleticism. Between reps and coaching, kid's gonna be legitimate a threat inside and out, not to mention the ability to guard. Just a matter of time. Dividends in season 3.

[MEDIC]

Totally shocked at his fluid shot and range. Young kids typically can't shoot. Assumed we drafted him just for his projectable size and athleticism. Between reps and coaching, kid's gonna be legitimate a threat inside and out, not to mention the ability to guard. Just a matter of time. Dividends in season 3.

This is pretty much the way I see it.

Year 3 we will see a big step. He'll be 22 years old heading into the season. He'll have worked with the coaching staff for over 2 years & will have had time to fill out/ gain strength.

Look at how far Ross & JV came after only one season. They were both much more developed than Bruno coming into the league.

[Thespianoid]

This is pretty much the way I see it.

Year 3 we will see a big step. He'll be 22 years old heading into the season. He'll have worked with the coaching staff for over 2 years & will have had time to fill out/ gain strength.

Bruno will be 21 years old heading into Year 3, not 22. Right now, Bruno is still 18 as his birthday is in September. So he'll be 19 to start his rookie season, 20 to start Year 2, and 21 to start Year 3.

Not that it makes that much of a difference to your assessment.

[Mikestro]

People really need to stop with the KD comparisons. It's unfair to both KD and Bruno. SMH.

[Chriscross]

Most posters here have realistic expectations for Bruno

We have a couple of outliers who think he is the next Kevin Durant or already a bust. Unfortunately, sometimes those few posters have the loudest voices and the perception of our boards overall expectation for Bruno becomes contorted