lipoli390 wrote:I also found and listened to them. Great interviews. Tim was right. Hard not to really like Kessler after listing to him and Bruce Pearl.
I'm willing to be cautiously optimistic about Kessler despite having some skepticism. BUT...
I would NEVER take Bruce Pearl for his word. The guy is about as sleazy as they come with a long, sordid history of chicanery and lying and more lying.
He's a clown through and through who's a smart basketball guy... but a shady as hell individual.
lipoli390 wrote:I also found and listened to them. Great interviews. Tim was right. Hard not to really like Kessler after listing to him and Bruce Pearl.
I'm willing to be cautiously optimistic about Kessler despite having some skepticism. BUT...
I would NEVER take Bruce Pearl for his word. The guy is about as sleazy as they come with a long, sordid history of chicanery and lying and more lying.
He's a clown through and through who's a smart basketball guy... but a shady as hell individual.
Well, I can't argue with your take on Mr. Pearl. :). But I'm not relying much on what Bruce had to say. What caught my attention was what Kessler said about being a shooter/stretch big in high school. I'm also intrigued by his potential to get quicker and more agile by trimming his near 15% body fat. There's no reason he can't get his body fat down to 8%, which is still on the higher end of the NBA player range. And that can't help but make him at least a little quicker, which it all it takes to make a huge difference in his NBA potential.
Like you, I remain cautious in my optimism about Kessler. In part, I'm trying to convince myself that he was a good choice. And to some extent, we have to trust Connelly, who has a really good track record making picks. I still would have preferred Ty Ty or Beauchamp. I might be in the minority preferring Beauchamp, but I think he's going to be very good - sort of a Jae Crowder type. Still, Ty Ty was the guy I think we should have taken at 22. I like the Moore pick at 26. I also liked Branham at 19 when he unexpectedly fell. On the other hand, then we likely wouldn't have been able to draft Moore.
lipoli390 wrote:I also found and listened to them. Great interviews. Tim was right. Hard not to really like Kessler after listing to him and Bruce Pearl.
I'm willing to be cautiously optimistic about Kessler despite having some skepticism. BUT...
I would NEVER take Bruce Pearl for his word. The guy is about as sleazy as they come with a long, sordid history of chicanery and lying and more lying.
He's a clown through and through who's a smart basketball guy... but a shady as hell individual.
Well, I can't argue with your take on Mr. Pearl. :). But I'm not relying much on what Bruce had to say. What caught my attention was what Kessler said about being a shooter/stretch big in high school. I'm also intrigued by his potential to get quicker and more agile by trimming his near 15% body fat. There's no reason he can't get his body fat down to 8%, which is still on the higher end of the NBA player range. And that can't help but make him at least a little quicker, which it all it takes to make a huge difference in his NBA potential.
Like you, I remain cautious in my optimism about Kessler. In part, I'm trying to convince myself that he was a good choice. And to some extent, we have to trust Connelly, who has a really good track record making picks. I still would have preferred Ty Ty or Beauchamp. I might be in the minority preferring Beauchamp, but I think he's going to be very good - sort of a Jae Crowder type. Still, Ty Ty was the guy I think we should have taken at 22. I like the Moore pick at 26. I also liked Branham at 19 when he unexpectedly fell. On the other hand, then we likely wouldn't have been able to draft Moore.
For me, it's the #22 pick.
It's more likely that picks in that range are pretty irrelevant when all is said and done. So I'm not losing any sleep over it either way
lipoli390 wrote:I also found and listened to them. Great interviews. Tim was right. Hard not to really like Kessler after listing to him and Bruce Pearl.
I'm willing to be cautiously optimistic about Kessler despite having some skepticism. BUT...
I would NEVER take Bruce Pearl for his word. The guy is about as sleazy as they come with a long, sordid history of chicanery and lying and more lying.
He's a clown through and through who's a smart basketball guy... but a shady as hell individual.
Well, I can't argue with your take on Mr. Pearl. :). But I'm not relying much on what Bruce had to say. What caught my attention was what Kessler said about being a shooter/stretch big in high school. I'm also intrigued by his potential to get quicker and more agile by trimming his near 15% body fat. There's no reason he can't get his body fat down to 8%, which is still on the higher end of the NBA player range. And that can't help but make him at least a little quicker, which it all it takes to make a huge difference in his NBA potential.
Like you, I remain cautious in my optimism about Kessler. In part, I'm trying to convince myself that he was a good choice. And to some extent, we have to trust Connelly, who has a really good track record making picks. I still would have preferred Ty Ty or Beauchamp. I might be in the minority preferring Beauchamp, but I think he's going to be very good - sort of a Jae Crowder type. Still, Ty Ty was the guy I think we should have taken at 22. I like the Moore pick at 26. I also liked Branham at 19 when he unexpectedly fell. On the other hand, then we likely wouldn't have been able to draft Moore.
For me, it's the #22 pick.
It's more likely that picks in that range are pretty irrelevant when all is said and done. So I'm not losing any sleep over it either way
Good point, Abe. There are no obvious home runs or misses at #22. It's not like passing on Steph Curry or Jamal Murray at #7. :)
lipoli390 wrote:I also found and listened to them. Great interviews. Tim was right. Hard not to really like Kessler after listing to him and Bruce Pearl.
I'm willing to be cautiously optimistic about Kessler despite having some skepticism. BUT...
I would NEVER take Bruce Pearl for his word. The guy is about as sleazy as they come with a long, sordid history of chicanery and lying and more lying.
He's a clown through and through who's a smart basketball guy... but a shady as hell individual.
Yeah, he combines great coaching with shady ethics as well as anyone. He'd be a great sales associate at Mitch and Murray!
lipoli390 wrote:I also found and listened to them. Great interviews. Tim was right. Hard not to really like Kessler after listing to him and Bruce Pearl.
I'm willing to be cautiously optimistic about Kessler despite having some skepticism. BUT...
I would NEVER take Bruce Pearl for his word. The guy is about as sleazy as they come with a long, sordid history of chicanery and lying and more lying.
He's a clown through and through who's a smart basketball guy... but a shady as hell individual.
Yeah, he combines great coaching with shady ethics as well as anyone. He'd be a great sales associate at Mitch and Murray
