NBASupes

Forgot to add: Grades: 5. Onyeka Okongwu - 7/8 - 2 swings (Shooting and playmaking) 6. Killian Hayes - 7.5/8 - 2 swings (Elite shooting and defensive impact) 7. James Wiseman - 5.5/9 - 2 swings (shooting and defensive impact) 8. Deni Avdija - 7/8 - 2 swings (elite 3pt shooting and defensive impact) 9. Cole Anthony - 7/8.5 - 2 swings (Elite playmaking and elite shooting) 10. Issac Okoro - 5.5/8.5 - 2 swings (Shooting and Offensive Impact at good levels)

My top 10 at this time, no specific team in mind. 1. Obi Toppin 2. LaMelo Ball 3. Anthony Edwards 4. Tyrese Haliburton 5. Onyeka Okongwu 6. Killian Hayes 7. James Wiseman 8. Deni Avdija 9. Cole Anthony 10. Issac Okoro Why I like them or don't: 1. Obi Toppin - Scoring, efficiency, passing, movement, athleticism, skill-level - Don't - Lateral movement on defense, limited post moves, overly aggressive on defense like Bembry which is hit or miss without Bembry tools, Lacks too much defensive tools. 2. LaMelo Ball - Passing, Playmaking, Touch, Scoring instincts, rebounding, off-ball feel Don't - Defense altogether, mindset, Shooting at this stage, NBA readiness, doesn't play well at other positions other than PG. 3. Anthony Edwards - Athleticism, size, skill, agility, craft/touch. Don't - Shooting, feel for the game, instincts, winning mindset, anything off the ball or line of action. 4. Tyrese Haliburton - Ability, skill, passing, PnR passing, shooting touch with shooting accuracy. Don't - size, shooting form, ability to draw fouls, lacks the ability to beat people off the dribble nor does he beat people with his handles, does he have the pre-reqs for a starting PG. 5. Onyeka Okongwu - Feel for the game, stocks, dunks, movement, and shooting touch. Don't - tweener but not a positive one, high-end talent, range, you want to see more projectable things at previous level he didn't show in college but I didn't see anything, passing potential. 6. Killian Hayes - Passing, skills/polish, BBIQ, off-ball movement, and defensive potential. Don't - handles is average and with his lack of first step does he have the pre-reqs for a starting PG, scoring instincts, speed and quickness. 7. James Wiseman - Face up potential, athleticism, rebounding, agility, size. Don't - Shooting, passion for the game, mindset, passing, and defense outside of rim protection. 8. Deni Avdija - Passing, playmaking, 3pt shooting, finisher, potential to defend multiple positions. Don't - FT shooting is horrible but is a good enough 3pt shooter to think he maybe Nick Anderson Jr, doesn't draw fouls much, fouls a lot, and not projected to be a quality scorer. 9. Cole Anthony - Rebounding, vision - better passer than he showed at UNC, athleticism when healthy, first-step, pull-up shooting. Don't - size, effective scoring, personality hasn't meshed well with everyone, extremely aggressive. 10. Issac Okoro - Elite Athleticism on both ends, Movement skills, finishing, defensive potential, passing potential. Don't - Shooting, Scoring out of the gate - does have potential due to his tools/first step, offensive unpolished, NBA readiness, rebounding. Comparisons: 1. Obi Toppin - Best - Amar'e offensive blend with Al Horford offensively. Defensively - Dwight Powell Med - Amar'e offensive blend with Josh Smith offensively. Defensively - Kelly Olynyk Worst - Kyle Kuzma offensive blend with shades of Amar'e offensively. Defensively - Marquese Criss 7.5/8.5 - 3 swings - Shooting, playmaking, and defensive playmaking. 2. LaMelo Ball Best - Trae Young path. Defensively - Michael Carter-Williams (It's likely to peak at this level on average or at best) Med - What Trae Young was expected as a prospect to be. Defensively - Michael Carter-Williams Worst - If Trae Young didn't make the adjustments after the first couple of months in the NBA and stayed on that path, aka bustland. Defensively - Michael Carter-Williams as a rookie 6/9 - 2 swings (shooting and finishing just like Trae) 3. Anthony Edwards Best - What we wanted John Wall offensive impact to be with Victor Oladipo's offensive game. Defensively - What we wanted John Wall to be. Med - John Wall offensive impact with Victor Oladipo's offensive game. Defensively - John Wall Worst - John Wall offensive impact as a rookie with Victor Oladipo's offensive game. Defensively - rookie John Wall 6/9 - 2 swings - Shooting and Defensive Impact at a good level 4. Tyrese Haliburton Best - Offensively Steve Nash - Defensively - Lonzo Ball Lite. Med - Shaun Livingston with better PnR passing and more scoring potential. Defensively - Poor man's Lonzo Ball Worst - post injury Shaun Livingston with better PnR passing, speed and more scoring potential. Defensively - Young Shaun Livingston 7/8 - 2 swings which are elite shooting and excellent ball handling. Remember, it's likely PG's can get a .5 for fit due to teams building around the PG. 5. Onyeka Okongwu Best - Antonio McDyess with Derrick Favors blend which will make him exceptionally versatile overall. Med - Antonio McDyess Worst - Shades of Antonio McDyess and Derrick Favors 6. Killian Hayes Best - Rich man's D'Angelo Russell but where D'Lo has some weaknesses, he's strong but even better than Russell period. Med - D'Angelo Russell but where D'Lo has some weaknesses, he's strong but vice versa. Worst - Shades of D'Angelo Russell but where D'Lo has some weaknesses, he's strong but vice versa. 7. James Wiseman Best - Boogie Cousins overall impact with more defense but less offensive versatility. Med - Shades of Boogie Cousins overall impact with more defense but less offensive versatility. Worst - Rookie Boogie Cousins overall impact with more defense but less offensive versatility. 8. Deni Avdija Best - Danilo Galinari impact. Med - Toni Kukoc impact Worst - Young Toni Kukoc like impact 9. Cole Anthony - Health risk* like Cam Reddish last year, is a lot better than he played as a FR. Best - Baron Davis impact. Med - Young Baron Davis impact as a vet Baron Davis lite Worst - Dennis Smith Jr. like impact but better 10. Issac Okoro Best - Jimmy Butler type Med - Young Jimmy Butler type as a vet Jimmy Butler lite Worst - Torrey Craig but superior talent and athlete overall but worse player right now. Why Obi at #1? The best player in the draft. I believe his offense will be that special. Who are you highest on personally? Haliburton and Toppin. Steve Nash/Haliburton, why? They play a lot alike. People really don't realize it. Haliburton obviously has to vastly improve his shooting (elite) and handle (excellent) to earn that honor as a pro which is why it's his best. They are floor generals, make everyone better, high BBIQ passers and basketball savants. Ball or Haliburton, who you got? It's hard to say. On average, I'll take Haliburton. He fits everything even if it's at a role player level at best. Ball like Trae is boom or bust. You gotta build it around them but Ball has a much higher ceiling. He's a more sure thing long term but there is not guarantee he will get there. Remember, Marbury was a more sure thing long term over Nash in 1996. Okoro at #10, aren't you high on Okoro? Long term, yes! Short term, no. He's limited on offense. He's not even as good or close to rookie Jimmy Butler on that end while being equal on defense to rookie Jimmy which is insane at 19 yr. His ceiling is off the charts. I think he's a year away honestly but as Atlanta has proved with Trae and Cam, they can speed up the process with their player development program and the fact that Okoro will be more in the 9th-14th man roles will be helpful as he's not going to be pushed into the action which Atlanta can provide. Cole Anthony at #9, why? I think he's a NBA ready player right now. More than Ball and as ready as Haliburton. Pre-reqs- check. Shooting - check. Passing out of the PnR - check. If the passing out of the PnR doesn't appear nor does his athletic springs from HS, he could be in some trouble but I believe it will. He was never healthy at UNC except for the ND game. Like Cam Reddish, he needs to be seen from all levels. Just looking at his college tape won't do him justice. Wiseman, why you always down on my man? Because he's not going to be a winner to me. His talent is special as is his size but guys like him with severe mindset issues at the 5 just don't really help you win games in the NBA. He's a faceup guy, that's dead for winning teams, I just don't see it. He's an empty stats guy. I honestly think Wiseman/Okongwu is the Cousins/Favors of this gen. It's the same types of players. Okongwu is just better than Favors with less size and Cousins is more talented than Wiseman with somehow an even worse mindset. Can Hayes/Russell work together? I think so, they play alike but it's different. Hayes is a better naturally passing, especially out of the PnR. He's more of an off ball player as well, he doesn't have Russell natural scoring feel. He defends better and has better mental temperament. Both can shoot it and similar sized. They will fit a lot better naturally than Dinwiddle and Russell to me and much better than Russell/Okogie. I think it would be the best pick for MIN.

It's a skill in the NBA. Off ball movement isn't like the Y movement. You really gotta have a sense of what's going on around you, stamina, the ability to cut while taking contact at this level, and it takes away from your on ball play.

I completely disagree with Sam on Reddish. He plays like he's 6'4 on both ends of the court. He's a SG. The thing about his defense is he's great at little man stuff and poor at big man stuff. The same is seen on offense. I think Sam seen Cam defend some bigger wings and PFs in the post and saw some promising things but for the most part, he got destroyed in the post by bigger players.

You already know my answer, it's Giannis or AD. AD especially.

Next time, I got you.

Cam, Capela and John?

https://vocaroo.com/1WBj2jKwHyi This was an amazing and enjoyable podcast with Andrew Kelly. The topic: Covering 2nd year players: What happened to Waffle House Steph and Klay and are they really the next Harden and Gordon instead? The Sophomore years and Trae Young and Kevin Huerter Andrew Kelly is a contributor from Peachtreehoops and a co-founder of Hawksfilmroom. Here is his twitter page: https://twitter.com/andlankell Please follow him on Twitter, he is an amazing contributor in Hawks twitter. https://vocaroo.com/1WBj2jKwHyi

I keep telling people, having a Shane Battier type is extremely valuable as they mature in this league.

Topic: What happened to Waffle House Steph and Klay and are they really the next Harden and Gordon instead? Trae and Kevin will be coming soon featuring Hawks social media star, founder of Hawksfilmroom and Peachtree hoops contributor, Andrew Kelly https://mobile.twitter.com/andlankell Coming soon!

Not a chance in hell

https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29359355/agent-omar-wilkes-klutch-sports-head-basketball-allowing-rich-paul-expand-reach?platform=amp&__twitter_impression=true

Haliburton and Toppin are so f***ing impressive. Same for Winston.

I get that AD-Pels left a terrible taste in most NBA fans mouth, especially small market teams but these players like Atlanta and the agent has a lot of love for Atlanta and our organization loves him too

I am indifferent, I love Klutch and what those young brothers are doing and I know Omar left for Klutch because he got more control than he has with Octagon. I expect Cam and Edwards to go there too.

Cam and Trae have a great relationship with LeBron

TS really has to prove he can sign good quality players for reasonable deals like Dallas did last year when filling out this roster

No

We will break down Toppin and Haliburton data in a couple weeks or in a month. It will be fun.

Great article!

You guys will really enjoy the next pod. I am bringing a guest who will be doing most of the talking. Easily one of the best in the business of our sport media. I can't wait.

All of those names are very productive, especially Norm Powell.

Future pod topics: Covering 2nd year players: What happened to Waffle House Steph and Klay and are they really the next Harden and Gordon instead? Trae and Kevin Capela and Collins - Can this big man tandem be Goldeneye 007 N64 or one of those trash 007 games on Playstation 2 that was terrible? The expected studs who could disappoint or become superstars: Obi Toppin and Tyrese Haliburton Three's Company: The advanced sum of Anthony Edwards, LaMelo Ball, and James Wiseman The dazzling polished young Euros: What could be of Deni A. who I will have his name right on this pod and Killian Hayes These guys will for sure be productive role players but what if they are NBA All Stars: Onyeka Okongwu, Cole Anthony, and Isaac Okoro 2nd round PG's who I really like for the Hawks: This will cover a lot of guys. I am working to get online community guys on the pod for future podcasts.

This is what happens without Rome. I have to create timelines and sub topics.

I would say teams will continue to sell out to it even with their improvement. No one wants to give up PPP on it like its the 98 Jazz.