The Case for Russell

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CHzfU1LUEAEtSes.jpg

These are the seats the Wolves got for Russell yesterday when Flip took him to the Twins game. They must not want him.

[TheFuture]

The mayo comparison has to be a joke.

Russell has a better form, quicker release, better footwork, better IQ, better handles/dribble drive ability, better vision/passing, better measurable. The only thing he is/was not better at than mayo is defense. If my memory serves me right Russell is also the better rebounder and was considered a leader while mayo was looked at as a cancer.

The only thing similar is their height and maybe their shoe size. Oh and they were freshman. They couldn't be anymore different.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I think Mayo was the floor for Russell sooo... might not want to get so feisty.

[bleedspeed]

I think Brandon Roy is a fair comparison.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

The mayo comparison has to be a joke.

Russell has a better form, quicker release, better footwork, better IQ, better handles/dribble drive ability, better vision/passing, better measurable. The only thing he is/was not better at than mayo is defense. If my memory serves me right Russell is also the better rebounder and was considered a leader while mayo was looked at as a cancer.

The only thing similar is their height and maybe their shoe size. Oh and they were freshman. They couldn't be anymore different.

I like Russell, but let's not get carried away with his superiority to Mayo when OJ was at this stage in the process. Mayo was VERY highly touted as a prep player and was mocked as a top 3 or 4 pick, just like Russell is now.

Mayo averaged 20 PPG on 44 FG%, 41 3PT%, and 80 FT%. That's pretty damn good.

Whenever we project draft prospects, we need to consider the ceiling and the floor, because the odds are about 50/50 that they end up closer to the floor.....

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I think Brandon Roy is a fair comparison.

Case in point: That's a ceiling comparison. Same with the James Harden and Steph Curry comparisons. All three are best-case-scenarios.

What is his most likely outcome? Probably something not quite as good as those guys, but hopefully better than OJ Mayo.

[bleedspeed]

Q- That is Russell's floor. Ceiling is Jesus Christ Basketball Guard.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Q- That is Russell's floor. Ceiling is Jesus Christ Basketball Guard.

Ha, now you're talkin'!

[SameOldNudityDrew]

Q- That is Russell's floor. Ceiling is Jesus Christ Basketball Guard.

Ha, now you're talkin'!

Jesus couldn't finish with his left.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I think Brandon Roy is a fair comparison.

Case in point: That's a ceiling comparison. Same with the James Harden and Steph Curry comparisons. All three are best-case-scenarios.

What is his most likely outcome? Probably something not quite as good as those guys, but hopefully better than OJ Mayo.

There's literally no way to quantify most likely outcome. The draft is a crapshoot. The good ones are always way better than the most likely outcome and the bad ones are always worse. Highly touted guys have busted and nobody's have made it. You seem to be treating the most likely outcome like a middle ground type scenario, but the transition to the NBA does not make that any better a prediction than the ceiling or floor. I just don't see a most likely outcome because there are just too many variables that decide whether or not guys make it in the league and to what degree. That's typically why draft guys do ceiling and floor and the guy could be anywhere on that spectrum and outside that spectrum. It's an educated guess, not a pinpoint prediction.