Are you saying Rubio is a long-term comp, or a comp for the next year or two?
You really think the media spotlight will fade? I think LaVar knows what he's doing and is always going to keep Lonzo front and center, even if the Lakers suck. And being crappy certainly didn't matter with respect to ESPN's Tebow coverage.
Holy shifting goal posts! Way to set the bar as head and shoulders above the #1 pick in the draft in order for Ball to be a success. I can't speak for Gunfighter, but I assume he was referring to the rampant speculation about how far Ball would drop in the draft, his supposed lack of handle, some guy talking about how on "his board" he had Semi ahead of Ball (granted that one was well beyond the norm, even for this Ball-obsessed Ball-bashing board), etc.
Hi that was me.
I think he's a long-term comp. I think year one Ball is going to have a ton of highlights and a lot of mistakes while struggling offensively and being a sieve defensively.
I'm assuming he's referring to Jawun Evans.
indeed!
You think Hart will be better than Ball? okay.
Yeah, figured. It did cause me too look up the rookie of the year odds. Teodosic not even on the books.
Edit: Yes GMB. It was tongue in cheek.
Its going to be a long season if you are going to react to each and every case of Ball-washing. The WWL is in "Full Ball Stan Mode" right now.
I don't want to live in a country where I can't complain about ESPN.
Oh I agree wholeheartedly on both points. I just choose to ignore the Ball Stroking for sanity's sake.
Do they have an age limit or certain restrictions on ROY like the NHL does? I'm pretty sure MLB did something to prevent Japanese players from winning ROY too but I'm not sure.
Sabonis finished second in ROY voting at age 31. Granted, that was two decades ago so something may have changed.
Why did Smith's stock fall? Iirc, mocks in February and March had him going 4th or 5th. I understand why the Kings opted for De'Aaron Fox at #5 (though they may end up regretting that), and I guess I can see why the Magic opted for Isaac's length at #6 (though I think that was a mistake), but I have no idea how Smith slid past #7. He's such a phenomenal raw talent, and the two guys who went immediately ahead of him look like relatively low-upside rotational players.
Well at one point NC State was 14-7 and playing ok. They then lost 10 of their last 11 games and he didn't play so well during that time. Only 32.7% from 3, 15.5 PPG, 4.0 turnovers per game against 5.5 assists. Compare that to his first 21 games: 37.6% from 3, 19.5 PPG, 3.0 turnovers against 6.5 assists. Their season tanked and he didn't exactly step up in the face of adversity.
I've been using that Rubio comp for a while. They seem like incredibly similar players. I think Rubio is a good deal better as an on ball defender while Ball is a good deal better jump shooter. But they are both PG's with good size, great BBIQ and elite passing skills. They also both seem to have some of the same limitations athletically. I think Ball ends up being a better version of Rubio
I like that comp a lot. I have much more confidence in Ball's 3-point shooting than many here so I feel he will be a lot better offensively and that while his defense won't match Rubio's he plays positionally very well and is an excellent help defender.....I'm not on the turnstile boat that many are on this board. Similar style to Rubio as he isn't a blow by guy off the dribble.....and when you are two steps ahead of everyone else you really don't have to be it's a different game you are playing.
Even if Smith was mocked at 3 he was never better than the 3rd highest ranked PG so unless each of the top three teams were in need of a PG he was never going to go in the Top-3. I don't feel he was ever going to go ahead of Jackson or Tatum either. Wasn't he always neck and neck with Fox all season long? Once Fox passed him you had Orlando and Minnesota drafting next.....neither of whom had a PG need. So to me the only spot he fell was from 8 to 9 when the Knicks picked the physical freak in Ntilikina. It wasn't like he freefalled at least the way I saw this play out.
It isn't a perfect comp as Kidd was an excellent excellent on the ball defender so that is where the comp misses however Ball is an excellent team defender with unworldly instincts which in todays game closes the gap on his lack of Kidd's iso defense. He is also a good positional defender but will have trouble against the blow-by types.
GF said a "few of the smarter people on this board" were going to be spectacularly wrong. If we eliminate all of the people who think Ball is likely to be really good, I think most of the rest of us dinged Ball because we look at his lack of athleticism and we think that means that he has a lower floor and lower ceiling than the other top prospects. However, for me personally, I'm not claiming I'm smart enough nor know enough about basketball to ignore the statistical analysis.
Chad Ford actually had DSJ number 2 after Fultz for a longtime. It is fair to say that he did not play much defense, but hard to ascribe his slide in the draft to that given that Fultz and Ball went 1-2. The issues surrounding effort and attitude were apparent but need to be considered in the context of the team's coach getting canned during the season.
If I stare hard enough at the two teams, I think I can understand the Knicks' decision a bit better than the Bulls. The Knicks are running the triangle (at least were). Ntilikina fits the triangle better; has great measurables (7'0" wingspan), can shoot the 3 (43.1% last year), is 18, and has had some international success. Of course, if they end up scrapping the triangle, that removes the primary reason for picking Ntilikina so that makes their decision pretty dumb.
That is being unfair to Ntilikina. He's still 18 years old, has great length, good athleticism, is a great passer and ball handler, plays aggressive on defense and has all the tools to be a lockdown defender and the versatility to guard 1-3. He has elite physical tools and is the definition of high upside. Depending on the scouting reports you believe, he either has a high floor or really high bust potential. Never read one saying "low upside."
