TheNorthCydeRises

Which one would Trae want?

The problem that the people have who either don't like, or aren't impressed with Zion, is that regardless of who he's playing against, you can't deny the efficiency. Game 1: 13 - 23 FG . . . 29 pts Game 2: 12 - 16 FG . . . 24 pts Game 3: 15 - 22 FG . . . 36 pts That's 40 - 61 FG ( 66% shooting ) . . . with a 29.7 ppg average . . on 20 shots a game. Even if people poo-poo on the competition, it's not like every top guy in college can put up those types of numbers with that type of efficiency. Zion knows his limitations right now, and simply plays to his strengths. In these exhibition games, he's shown these elite skill sets/attributes Offensive rebounding Ability to drive and attack going left OR right, despite trying to finish lefty almost all of the time Running and finishing in transition Supreme athleticism on both ends of the floor Very quick post moves that lead to baskets And those are just the ELITE attributes. He also shown the ability to hit open 3s and to pass the basketball and find open men. As the competition increases, these abilities will become more enhanced.

Shooting is overrated. Being able to score should be more of value. It's safe to say that Tyler Cavanaugh is a better shooter than Zion, and always will be. I hope Schlenk doesn't think he can add just shooting to this team, and we can be "Golden State East". The true secret of Golden State, is that guys like Curry, Durant, and Thompson can all score the basketball, outside of being just great shooters.

The only other person I've EVER seen do that . . . is Dominique. Splitting the defenders and the 2 foot hop step for the dunk? Only Nique could do that. #6 in this highlight reel . . . which to me, is one of this top 2 dunks of all time.

In all seriousness, I guess this would how you would rank the top 5 Kentucky players taken in this draft 1) Davis . . . future Hall of Fame 2) Towns . . . future Hall of Fame 3) Cousins . . . future Hall of Fame 4) Booker . . . possible All-NBA 5) Murray . . . decent starter

SMH

Stat of the draft so far. SMH @ AHF.

I've probably watched that put back dunk he had in the Ryerson game about 50 times, just to see the reactions in the crowd. It's the type of play that shocks you so much, that it makes you jerk back and either say OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH . . . or you just start laughing because it's so freakish.

Zion: 13 - 23 . . . 3 - 4 3FG . . 13 rebs - 4 asst - 2 stls - 2 blks - 0 TOs . . 29 pts RJ: 12 - 30 FG . . . 2 - 8 3FG . . 5 rebs - 2 asst - 2 stls - 1 blk - 5 TOs . . . 34 pts But people are more impressed with RJ?

I don't know about that. LJ was excellent in the paint and had all of the tools. Larry was highly skilled, but not nearly as athletic. Zion is scary athletic though.

Larry Johnson + Shawn Kemp . . . with a splash of Lebron.

Meh No jumper No handles Lacks fire Doesn't look to pass He can't even jump that good Not impressed.

The most magical 10 points in Hawks history.

So the Hawks are going to sport SAINTS colors? How will that "fly" in Atlanta?

He was doing the same thing to AAU level players who were all over 6 foot. The leaping ability isn't fake though. http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=24377496

So how about blocks? One thing about Zion. If you don['t like the kid, it wouldn't matter what is shown about his game. The biggest thing anyone should take from this video, is the effort he shows on defense. By the way, he's 16 in these videos.

I think the weight doesn't matter, because he's all muscle. He's the athletic equivalent of Lebron, without his array of skills. Skill wise, he reminds me of Julius Randle. But even Randle didn't have the perimeter and ball handling skills at 18, that Zion has. If this guy is a bust, I'll be highly disappointed. Like Supes said, he has all the tools to be a very good 2-way player. If anything, he may injure himself with the way he plays right now. Injury will be the only thing that stops this kid.

Collins was a dominant offensive force in college, who always had a decent midrange game. I will still say that Bud and his offense actually held back Collins a little, because they wanted him to run more pick and roll, than giving him the ball as a scoring option in the post and in the midrange. Add the fact that Collins is a true 4, and not really a 5, also limited the impact he had on the team last season. The fact that he immediately showed out in Summer League last year, was an indication that the kid was already super talented. This year, with his 3 point jumper, he looks even better. That's why I say that people are crazy if they don't think that Zion can't develop more than what he is right now. Nobody is challenging that dude in transition on a fast break, similar to how Lebron gets free reign to the basket when he gets going. He already has good ball handling ability. His jumper may not be great right now, but it is solid. The people coaching him could've easily let him bang on the inside and not develop his perimeter game. Fortunately for everyone, they didn't. As you said, Zion has the highest upside in the 2019 class . . and I'll say the lowest floor.

Zion isn't 6-11 though. He's 6-6, with the athleticism, strength and speed of Lebron. Coach K will mold him into playing the 3, while also possibly posting him up. Also, don't put all of your stock in an nbadraft.net player comparison. This is what they said about John Collins http://www.nbadraft.net/players/john-collins

Once again, this is an AAU video that took place in 2017, since the competition he was playing against in High School was definitely sub par. If he looks like this THEN, what will he look like with 6 months of coaching under Coach K?

Are you talking about Trae Young, or Zion Williamson?

Opening day lineup PG: Ball - Williams G: Evans - Ingles F: Lebron - Kuzma PF: Carter Jr C: Bagley - Dwight ( although Dwight probably deserves to be the starter ) Injured Reserve: Porzingis & Cousins Current Free agents: Crawford & Johnson

With the final pick in the 2018 Hawksquawk Dynasty Draft, I fully intended to take the most beatdown Hawk player of all time . . . Marvin Williams. But I'm not. Marvin has had a good career . . for a journeyman player. But not for the #2 pick in the draft. From that standpoint, he is a bust. Not a COMPLETE bust. But a bust nonetheless. Instead, I'll take the Hawk legend, who will never get his due as one of the greats in franchise history. The guy who was instrumental in bringing us out of the last "tank job", that reshaped the franchise. It is my honor to say . . With the 168th and final pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, the Northcyde Ballers select . . . JOE JOHNSON This will surely be his final appearance in the Hawksquawk Dynasty Draft, so it's only fitting to pay tribute to the legend one last time, and let him ride out in the sunset, playing with Lebron James and the future of the league . . Lonzo Ball. Thank you Joe for all that you have done. Hope to see that lowkey Hall of Fame speech one day. The great playoff quarter in 2008 vs the Celtics First playoff breakthrough vs Wade Vintage regular season JJ . . torching the Celtics The "infamous" post-game interview after the Game 3 blowout to Orlando in 2010, that tarnished his Hawk legacy Buzzer Beater Joe and the birth of Joe Jesus Thank you sir. It was truly a pleasure watching you all of these years. PG: Lonzo Ball ( 20 ) - Lou Williams ( 31 ) G: Tyreke Evans ( 28 ) - Joe Ingles ( 30 ) - Joe Johnson ( 37 ) - Jordan Crawford ( 29 ) F: Lebron James ( 33 ) - Kyle Kuzma ( 21 ) PF: Kristaps Porzingis ( 23 ) - Wendell Carter Jr ( 19 ) C: Demarcus Cousins ( 28 ) - Marvin Bagley III ( 19 ) - Dwight Howard ( 32 ) Coach: Dwane Casey DRAFT OVER POST-DRAFT ANALYSIS IS NEXT!!

Not even close. The problem with Bennett is that while he did have a versatile inside-outside game, neither skill set was good enough to excel in the NBA. Add in a piss-poor work ethic, and you have a guaranteed bust. Zion, on the other hand, is an elite athlete, with Lebron-like speed for his size, and plays with a physicality that really isn't seen these days. He'll average his 12 - 15 points at Duke, because Coach K won't let him become the undisputed star of the team. But with his ability to handle the ball, he'll be able to take most 4s off the dribble. And if he gets a step on them, he's not going up for weak lay-ups. He's going up as strong as possible to either dunk it, or draw a foul.

If anything, Zion is a more athletic version of Julius Randle . . which is scary.