Jalen Johnson - WELCOME TO THE HAWKS!

[Spud2nique]

Jalen Johnson got a bit of Hendu to him.

 

 

[JayBirdHawk]

 

 

 

[RandomFan]

 

[Spud2nique]

Welcome to the Hawks family Jalen! 

[NBASupes]

1 hour ago, TRW said:

Will this kid be the new age Draymond Green? He has an edge and grittiness to his game.

He's more like Diaw but far more freaky athleticism but a bit more of a head case.

[Spud2nique]

1 minute ago, NBASupes said:

a bit more of a head case.

Really? Off court issues?

[TheNorthCydeRises]

2 hours ago, Atlantaholic said:

Will he play PF or SF? 

 

I played SF and PF. So I'm sure that Jalen Johnson can too.

 

[Threezus]

17 minutes ago, Spud2nique said:

Really? Off court issues?

Overblown by the media honestly and this is coming from a Duke fan who should be more made at him than 99% of other people for leaving lol.   But Coach K and his teammates all loved him and had nothing but praise and understood why he left.   He had a bit of a covid issue and some foot injuries that were ailing him over and over again in a short span.   So he decided to shut it down early instead of trying to make it worse over the season.

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Duke teammate Matthew Hurt spoke out in support of Johnson after his decision to leave. “I know he’s getting a lot of crap on social media,” Hurt said. “But he’s part of us. He’s never going to leave us like that. We’re going to stay in communication with him. He’s a great talent, great player. He did what’s best for him. We’re all proud of him. We all support him. He has a bright future ahead of him. I texted him that night, and we talked a bit. We thanked each other for helping each other out during the year. For sure we’re going to miss him a lot.”

Coach Mike Krzyzewski and fellow freshman DJ Steward also shared kind words about Johnson. He was loved during his time at Duke, and there are seemingly no hard feelings surrounding his departure.

 

[NBASupes]

 

[Spud2nique]

5 hours ago, NBASupes said:

 

1:37 - pretty lead pass good look

2:02 - destroyed 

3:03- Nice find under the hoop

3:40 woooooooweeeeeeee that was sick  

 

 

[Spud2nique]

Jalen shot .444 from 3. 8/18 total not a large sample size but he’s got a nice touch from deep. 

[Spud2nique]

Bleacher Report grade on Jalen.

20. Atlanta Hawks: Jalen Johnson, PF, Duke
 

Johnson’s ceiling is higher than this draft slot. Between his limited track record and holes in his game, though, this feels about right.

When he gets out in transition, his game is very easy on the eyes. The 6’9” forward can grab rebounds and go, flashing a drool-worthy blend of handles, vision and finishing.

But when the game slows down, so does his impact. He needs plenty of polish to find a half-court niche. His shooting is erratic, he shies away from contact, and his defensive motor comes and goes.

He’s worth a shot here for the Hawks, who have enough depth to take a risk.

Grade: B+

 

 

[Final_quest]

Glad we got a lotto pick at 20.  He still brings something we don’t have. No one else has point forward flavor.

[kg01]

9 hours ago, marco102 said:

Schlenk has found his Draymond Green.  Great defensive versatility, rebounder, and playmaking for his size. 

I'm a fan. If he ever becomes a shooter we may have found the steal of the draft. 

"May"?  "If"?

Whats with this wishy-washy stuff, marco?

Cmon, hold my hand.  We'll jump into the pool together.

Jalen Johnson is the steal of the draft.  Full stop.  Other teams will consider contraction when they realize how terribly they whiffed on this pick.

I was always on board with the pick and, because it's all in chat, you'll never be able to prove otherwise. 

[dalamchops]

Reminds me of a more athletic Kyle Anderson, seem crafty around the basket, good handles/vision.

[thecampster]

So Jalen's stats are skewed by being only a 13 game sample and playing 15 minutes or less in 4 games. I decided throw those games out as outliers and only count the 9 games he played 20 or more minutes in.

MP 26.2

PPG 13.78

RPG 8.44

APG 3.11

SPG 1.33

BPG 1.67

TO 2.78

FG% 55%

3P% 37

 

That's a better representation of the player  13.8/8.4 with handles, defense and stretch 4 capability.

Edited July 30, 2021 by thecampster

[AHF]

I really love taking a shot at high upside with this pick and so philosophically like taking someone like Jalen Johnson who has the high pedigree and whose draft stock was almost certainly hurt by his leaving school is a great gamble.  

Don't like the fact that he is from Duke given Atlanta's history with Duke picks but he did have the good sense to leave early so that is promising.  

Welcome to the ATL Jalen Johnson!

[lethalweapon3]

Yung Klaw? Biggest hand width (and length, too) among the Combine arthro measurements.

https://www.nba.com/stats/draft/combine-anthro/?sort=HAND_LENGTH&dir=1

~lw3

[JayBirdHawk]

He's here!!!

 

 

[thecampster]

So I did some research on Jalen's health issue.

Back in December 2020, Jalen suffered an undisclosed foot injury. He wore a protective boot while out and came back about 5 weeks later. He played in 6 games after coming back and in his first full game back scored 24 pts, 16 reb, 7 assists. His foot issues returned with some soreness and swelling affecting his production over the next 5 games and then 2 more games where they reduced his minutes.  

This and fear over COVID pre-draft led him to get with Coach K. The decision to shut him down came from both Coach K and Jalen. He wanted time to heal before workouts for the draft. Duke and its coaching staff aided in the decision and agree it was in his best interest. Regardless of his permanently shutting it down, the coaching staff was planning to shut him down temporarily anyway to prepare for the tournament.

The decision was a team decision to shut him down for 3 more weeks or to just shut it down for the tournaments as well. This was so he could skip attending practices all together and let the foot rest. Per reports, it was his choice to skip it all together but it wasn't a "quit" scenario, it was an attempt to let him heal for the draft.

So bright spot, he was hurt and putting up 13/8 while playing hurt in games he played 20+ minutes. Other bright spot is he was focused on his NBA future. Negative was did he let his team down but it isn't as cut and dry as "he quit". He was going to be shut down regardless, the only question was if he would be available again for the postseason tourneys.