KB21, your boys at Thestepien seem to like Future Atlanta Hawk Zion Williamson

[EazyRoc]

1 hour ago, kg01 said:

 

As an ardent fan of those early 90's UNLV teams, this is insulting to LJ.

Zion is closer to Anthony Bennett than he is to LJ.  Now, that sounds bad but Bennett was actually pretty good in college before his issues (asthma, fitness, mentally weak) caught up to him.

Uh, in South Carolina, yes the heyul you can.

I won't say all he can do is dunk.  I will say that he's heavy on 'athleticism', light on 'skill'.  That can't be disputed.

I don't disagree here although I'd probably amend it to say the pick should be whoever we think can be an alpha in the future, preferably at the 2.  I think Little can be that but, as you suggest, he's more 3+ than 2.  I'm not sure we're at a position where we can pass on him due to positional preferences, assuming we think he can be 'that dude'.

I get you don’t like Zion, but cmon man. The dude is a much better prospect than Anthony Bennett. I’m not even hyped on the Hawks picking him, but his build, athleticism, playmaking (at his size), and shaky jump shot all screams Larry Johnson. He’s an absolute force on the fast break and will likely come in as a Top 5-10 player on the break from Day 1. His size, agility, and leaping ability make him an absolute force on the move. He’s also a solid and somewhat creative ball handler especially on the break. He’s an elite athlete even by NBA standards. Hes bigger and (likely) stronger than Bennett. For all the hype he gets as a dunker, he is also a very good finisher with good touch on layups. He uses his body well to shield off defenders. Dude ain’t Anthony Bennett by any means nor does he come with the concerns you mentioned about Bennett except maybe his weight. 

[kg01]

1 minute ago, EazyRoc said:

I get you don’t like Zion, but cmon man. The dude is a much better prospect than Anthony Bennett. I’m not even hyped on the Hawks picking him, but his build, athleticism, playmaking (at his size), and shaky jump shot all screams Larry Johnson. He’s an absolute force on the fast break and will likely come in as a Top 5-10 player on the break from Day 1. His size, agility, and leaping ability make him an absolute force on the move. He’s also a solid and somewhat creative ball handler especially on the break. He’s an elite athlete even by NBA standards. Hes bigger and (likely) stronger than Bennett. For all the hype he gets as a dunker, he is also a very good finisher with good touch on layups. He uses his body well to shield off defenders. Dude ain’t Anthony Bennett by any means nor does he come with the concerns you mentioned about Bennett except maybe his weight. 

Go back and watch Bennett in college.  It's not a bad comp.

Don't let his NBA failure cloud your view.

[EazyRoc]

3 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Zion Williamson will be a smallball center in the NBA like Green but with elite athletic ability. His versatility on offense is his calling card

If he had the length, I could see it. I think he could improve defensively to make himself a very good defender. He’s already a decent help defender at least against high school midgets.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

3 hours ago, kg01 said:

All this.

You haven't seen any of that.  You haven't seen any passing or ballhandling which would suggest any ability for him to do that even on the NCAA level, let alone the NBA level.  And I haven't even touched on his (lack of) shooting ability.

You're a duke fan and it's clouding your judgment here.  Don't let this be your next Stauskas/McLemore moment, bro.

What?

 

 

And this is when he was 16.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

2 weeks ago

 

[EazyRoc]

6 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Go back and watch Bennett in college.  It's not a bad comp.

Don't let his NBA failure cloud your view.

Just watched the cliff notes version. Anthony Bennett was never an NBA level athlete. He’s no where near the athlete Zion is. Granted, he was a better shooter. However, he was propped up by an absolute terrible draft year. Not to mention he was one of the worst defenders in recent NBA history. 

[EazyRoc]

12 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

What?

 

 

And this is when he was 16.

He’s a better ball handler than he gets credit for. Maybe not quite point forward yet (could possibly be though), but he’s more than a straight line driver too. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

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

[Spud2nique]

More mobile but not as good (yet) version of Rodney Rogers. IMHO 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

15 minutes ago, EazyRoc said:

Just watched the cliff notes version. Anthony Bennett was never an NBA level athlete. He’s no where near the athlete Zion is. Granted, he was a better shooter. However, he was propped up by an absolute terrible draft year. Not to mention he was one of the worst defenders in recent NBA history. 

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.

 

[Wurider05]

Man this guy is a bust waiting to happen. I solidly stand behind that claim. Anyone can produce when the entire offense is designed for them to shoot as many times as they want to. Having said that Ressler will probably want him drafted for ticket sells. 

[NBASupes]

1 hour ago, Wurider05 said:

Man this guy is a bust waiting to happen. I solidly stand behind that claim. Anyone can produce when the entire offense is designed for them to shoot as many times as they want to. Having said that Ressler will probably want him drafted for ticket sells. 

Zion naysayers will be eating their words soon.

[Wurider05]

2 hours ago, NBASupes said:

Zion naysayers will be eating their words soon.

He must be your cousin or something. What position will be play in the nba? I can name a lot of players that can dunk but could not do anything else. Don't let the fact that he is going to Duke fool you. I can also name a lot of players that looked like future allstars at Duke who sucked once they got to the NBA. Stay away from the kid---other than being athletic he offers nothing to help a team. 

[TheNorthCydeRises]

6 hours ago, Wurider05 said:

Man this guy is a bust waiting to happen. I solidly stand behind that claim. Anyone can produce when the entire offense is designed for them to shoot as many times as they want to. Having said that Ressler will probably want him drafted for ticket sells. 

Are you talking about Trae Young, or Zion Williamson?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

 

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?

[kg01]

15 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

 

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?

Lemme let you in on a dirty little secret, these coaches aren't coaching up these OAD guys.  They aren't there long enough.

They are simply putting them in positions to take advantage of what they already do well.

They'll pick up a few things here and there but they exit college as essential the same player they were in high school.

So forget about whatever developmental bump you're expecting.

I'll let you in on another dirty little secret ... well, I'll let you do the legwork.  Check out Duke's bigman (well overall player) development over the last decade or so.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

14 minutes ago, kg01 said:

Lemme let you in on a dirty little secret, these coaches aren't coaching up these OAD guys.  They aren't there long enough.

They are simply putting them in positions to take advantage of what they already do well.

They'll pick up a few things here and there but they exit college as essential the same player they were in high school.

So forget about whatever developmental bump you're expecting.

I'll let you in on another dirty little secret ... well, I'll let you do the legwork.  Check out Duke's bigman (well overall player) development over the last decade or so.

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

[KB21]

Very limited perimeter skill set.   Loose with his ball handling.  A complete non shooter from outside 5 feet.  

If K plays him as a three, this is an easy HARD pass.  

[kg01]

26 minutes ago, TheNorthCydeRises said:

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

No college coach is "molding" any OAD player.  That's what I'm trying to tell you.  There's no player development happening.

I don't read nbadraft comps so I don't know what you're getting at.  The only thing I ever look at on nbadraft is their mocks to see if there are any names I miss.  I don't read any of their coverage, comps, etc. because it's basically some dude with as much experience as me writing them.

10 minutes ago, KB21 said:

Very limited perimeter skill set.   Loose with his ball handling.  A complete non shooter from outside 5 feet.  

If K plays him as a three, this is an easy HARD pass.  

KB took his meds today, folks.  Salient points.

[NBASupes]

I think he is a smallball 5. Can play 4. He's a perimeter based player even if he is not a shooter like Giannis. He will he impossible to stop if he continues his development in the NBA. Too quick, fast, strong, smart, talented, athletic and explosive to fail.