Around the league thread 2021-2022

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

The Suns won't exercise the 2022/23 option on 2020 lottery pick Jalen Smith, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic. As a result, Smith will become an unrestricted free agent during the summer of 2022, two years before his rookie contract normally would have expired and two years after being drafted 10th overall.

Jarrett Culver's fourth-year option is reportedly being declined by Memphis.

[AbeVigodaLive]

DeRozan and LaVine are beaming over the addition of LaMelo Ball into

LaMello Ball had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in the Hornets win over the Blazers tonight. He is hands down the best rookie from last year's class. I love Anthony Edwards and he's probably the second best player from that class, but he has some significant ground to cover before he's at the same level as LaMello Ball.

Ball also has complete reign of the ball there. Something not afforded to Edwards here.

In what way?

Edwards had a higher usage percentage than Ball last season (27.0 vs. 26.1).
And it's continued this season (30.3 vs. 29.1)

Edwards' 16.8 fga as the #1 pick was only surpassed by James in 2003 and Iverson in 1997 over the past 25 years.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

DeRozan and LaVine are beaming over the addition of LaMelo Ball into

LaMello Ball had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in the Hornets win over the Blazers tonight. He is hands down the best rookie from last year's class. I love Anthony Edwards and he's probably the second best player from that class, but he has some significant ground to cover before he's at the same level as LaMello Ball.

Ball also has complete reign of the ball there. Something not afforded to Edwards here.

In what way?

Edwards had a higher usage percentage than Ball last season (27.0 vs. 26.1).
And it's continued this season (30.3 vs. 29.1)

Edwards' 16.8 fga as the #1 pick was only surpassed by James in 2003 and Iverson in 1997 over the past 25 years.

Usage is a bit different than time spent as the primary ball handler. LaMelo is clearly the main ball handler and playmaker on that team whereas Edwards is more of a shot-taking receptacle, with DLO as a primary handler and KAT getting a lot of touches too.

Either way, both guys continue to impress.

[Jester1534]

DeRozan and LaVine are beaming over the addition of LaMelo Ball into

LaMello Ball had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in the Hornets win over the Blazers tonight. He is hands down the best rookie from last year's class. I love Anthony Edwards and he's probably the second best player from that class, but he has some significant ground to cover before he's at the same level as LaMello Ball.

Ball also has complete reign of the ball there. Something not afforded to Edwards here.

In what way?

Edwards had a higher usage percentage than Ball last season (27.0 vs. 26.1).
And it's continued this season (30.3 vs. 29.1)

Edwards' 16.8 fga as the #1 pick was only surpassed by James in 2003 and Iverson in 1997 over the past 25 years.

Usage is a bit different than time spent as the primary ball handler. LaMelo is clearly the main ball handler and playmaker on that team whereas Edwards is more of a shot-taking receptacle, with DLO as a primary handler and KAT getting a lot of touches too.

Either way, both guys continue to impress.

Hopefully wiseman gets healthy. But honestly who would've thought all 3 guys would end up being successful in the league.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

DeRozan and LaVine are beaming over the addition of LaMelo Ball into

LaMello Ball had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in the Hornets win over the Blazers tonight. He is hands down the best rookie from last year's class. I love Anthony Edwards and he's probably the second best player from that class, but he has some significant ground to cover before he's at the same level as LaMello Ball.

Ball also has complete reign of the ball there. Something not afforded to Edwards here.

In what way?

Edwards had a higher usage percentage than Ball last season (27.0 vs. 26.1).
And it's continued this season (30.3 vs. 29.1)

Edwards' 16.8 fga as the #1 pick was only surpassed by James in 2003 and Iverson in 1997 over the past 25 years.

Usage is a bit different than time spent as the primary ball handler. LaMelo is clearly the main ball handler and playmaker on that team whereas Edwards is more of a shot-taking receptacle, with DLO as a primary handler and KAT getting a lot of touches too.

Either way, both guys continue to impress.

Hopefully wiseman gets healthy. But honestly who would've thought all 3 guys would end up being successful in the league.

Certainly not me, as I was on the Wiseman train at the time because I thought he was the least risky option of the three with the highest floor. The thing that has floored me with Ball is that he never showed this type of shooting/scoring ability in his overseas professional stint, yet he waltzes into the NBA and suddenly he's canning 3's like a seasoned modern-day shooting guard.

Edwards on the other hand was exactly who I thought he'd be in the NBA through the first half of the season: volume scorer with terrible efficiency and lukewarm defense at best. But then he became Donovan Mitchell in the 2nd half of the year. Incredible rookie seasons for both guys given their age.

[AbeVigodaLive]

DeRozan and LaVine are beaming over the addition of LaMelo Ball into

LaMello Ball had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in the Hornets win over the Blazers tonight. He is hands down the best rookie from last year's class. I love Anthony Edwards and he's probably the second best player from that class, but he has some significant ground to cover before he's at the same level as LaMello Ball.

Ball also has complete reign of the ball there. Something not afforded to Edwards here.

In what way?

Edwards had a higher usage percentage than Ball last season (27.0 vs. 26.1).
And it's continued this season (30.3 vs. 29.1)

Edwards' 16.8 fga as the #1 pick was only surpassed by James in 2003 and Iverson in 1997 over the past 25 years.

Usage is a bit different than time spent as the primary ball handler. LaMelo is clearly the main ball handler and playmaker on that team whereas Edwards is more of a shot-taking receptacle, with DLO as a primary handler and KAT getting a lot of touches too.

Either way, both guys continue to impress.

Sure. But I took it as though Edwards was being limited in some way... "not afforded"...

Edwards has been given a lot of freedom to do his thing. Thus, a lack of opportunity shouldn't be the reason IF Ball is deemed to be the better player or whatever.

Both guys are looking great... and both are looking like they are WAY beyond expectations and Wiseman comps. At least through a season and change.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

James Wiseman has been cleared to participate in full team practices. I wouldn't be surprised to see him play some games in the G-League to get a tune up.

[Jester1534]

DeRozan and LaVine are beaming over the addition of LaMelo Ball into

LaMello Ball had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in the Hornets win over the Blazers tonight. He is hands down the best rookie from last year's class. I love Anthony Edwards and he's probably the second best player from that class, but he has some significant ground to cover before he's at the same level as LaMello Ball.

Ball also has complete reign of the ball there. Something not afforded to Edwards here.

In what way?

Edwards had a higher usage percentage than Ball last season (27.0 vs. 26.1).
And it's continued this season (30.3 vs. 29.1)

Edwards' 16.8 fga as the #1 pick was only surpassed by James in 2003 and Iverson in 1997 over the past 25 years.

Usage is a bit different than time spent as the primary ball handler. LaMelo is clearly the main ball handler and playmaker on that team whereas Edwards is more of a shot-taking receptacle, with DLO as a primary handler and KAT getting a lot of touches too.

Either way, both guys continue to impress.

Hopefully wiseman gets healthy. But honestly who would've thought all 3 guys would end up being successful in the league.

Certainly not me, as I was on the Wiseman train at the time because I thought he was the least risky option of the three with the highest floor. The thing that has floored me with Ball is that he never showed this type of shooting/scoring ability in his overseas professional stint, yet he waltzes into the NBA and suddenly he's canning 3's like a seasoned modern-day shooting guard.

Edwards on the other hand was exactly who I thought he'd be in the NBA through the first half of the season: volume scorer with terrible efficiency and lukewarm defense at best. But then he became Donovan Mitchell in the 2nd half of the year. Incredible rookie seasons for both guys given their age.

I was on the Wiseman bus too. But we spent so much time debating these 3 guys at #1 that it looks like it won't matter much in grand scheme of things.

I still wonder if we could've convinced the hornets we were taking Lamelo at 1 and traded back to third. If the warriors still pick Wiseman or not.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

LaMello Ball had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in the Hornets win over the Blazers tonight. He is hands down the best rookie from last year's class. I love Anthony Edwards and he's probably the second best player from that class, but he has some significant ground to cover before he's at the same level as LaMello Ball.

Lip, I can appreciate the enthusiasm for what appears to be an exciting young star, but his big game also comes after a pair of stinkers!

Ball scored seven points (3-14, 1-5 3P), three assists, and six rebounds against Orlando and then followed that up with six points (2-14, 0-5 3P), six assists, and five rebounds against Miami.

A pair of duds like that doesn't mean he's on the fast track out of the league, but similarly his monster night against the Blazers doesn't tell us anything definite about his trajectory either. And others have noted that Anthony Edwards is putting up some gaudy numbers of his own to start the year. I wouldn't say that either young guard has drastically pulled ahead of the other at this point.

[Lipoli390]

LaMello Ball had 27 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal in the Hornets win over the Blazers tonight. He is hands down the best rookie from last year's class. I love Anthony Edwards and he's probably the second best player from that class, but he has some significant ground to cover before he's at the same level as LaMello Ball.

Lip, I can appreciate the enthusiasm for what appears to be an exciting young star, but his big game also comes after a pair of stinkers!

Ball scored seven points (3-14, 1-5 3P), three assists, and six rebounds against Orlando and then followed that up with six points (2-14, 0-5 3P), six assists, and five rebounds against Miami.

A pair of duds like that doesn't mean he's on the fast track out of the league, but similarly his monster night against the Blazers doesn't tell us anything definite about his trajectory either. And others have noted that Anthony Edwards is putting up some gaudy numbers of his own to start the year. I wouldn't say that either young guard has drastically pulled ahead of the other at this point.

I'm not basing my assessment on just a game or two. I'm a big Edwards fan and he's put up impressive numbers since coming into the League a little over a year ago. But Ball has the better overall stats compared to Edwards so far in their respective careers. And I think Ball has a bigger overall impact on his team.

Edwards has been averaging more points per game than Ball, but Ball scores more efficiently and is a more reliable threat from beyond the arc. Edwards hit 32.9% of his threes last season and is hitting 31.9% so far this season. In contrast, Ball knocked down 35.2 of his threes last season and is hitting them at a 41.2% clip so far this season. Where Ball really distinguishes himself from Edwards is in the assist column as he's averaged over 6 assists compared to Edwards at around 3 assists per game. Ball also beats Edwards in the steals category even though he averages fewer minutes per game than Edwards. They are both excellent rebounders with Ball putting up better numbers than Edwards last season and Edwards putting up better rebounding numbers so far this season. Ball is always a triple-double threat while Edwards is not. Ball orchestrates the Hornets offense and makes players around him better; I haven't seen that from Edwards yet.

Both players had good games in losing efforts last night. And their relative game stats were indicative of the gap between the two. Ball had 30 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. He was 12-22 on FGAs and 5-8 on 3-point attempts. And he was a +14. In contrast, Edwards had 24 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. He was 10-22 on FGAs and 2-8 from behind the arc.

They are both great talents and look like potential stars. Both Ball and Edwards are indisputably the two best players from last year's draft. But Ball also appears to be the better overall player so far. Edwards might end up the better player of the two, but right now Ball seems like the clear #1.