KG4Ever wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2024 10:44 pm
NAW at point guard is just a terrible idea. Watched him play and struggle. He is not a natural point and he loses ability to play good defense when he has to focus on point.
Timberwolves were a +3.6 per 100 possessions last year when NAW was in the court without a PG (so when Naw and Ant played point). So even though it might not look pretty it was effective last year
Good info, Kek. I still don’t think NAW is enough to give us what we need behind Mike Conley until Dilly’s ready to step into the main backup role as a net positive for a championship contender. Maybe NAW and Nix can combine to give us what we need. I really do like what we’ve seen from Nix in summer league and I still see more upside there.
Personally I think Dilly will do enough offensively in the role he is basically given. Again this is a guy that handed out almost 4 assists a game off the bench in college and has looked like he can be a playmaker in summer league too. While he will also be on the floor to score, teams aren't probably gonna load up to stop him. He can pick his spots and from what I watched of him playing for UK he actually did that pretty well. The Wolves may also have more shooting on the floor than he has in summer league which may give him a little more space. The Wolves are gonna have multiple ball handlers playing with him all over the floor. It's not like he is gonna be the only guy running offense making plays for people.
Back to Nix I remember when McLaughlin played for the Wolves SL team and I thought there was something there although he didn't exactly put up amazing stats. Then he went to the G-league with Naz and they both thrived. It probably helped both guys that both of them were pretty good basketball players. Nix seems to be showing something this summer league and fits what the organization is trying to build. Sometimes organizations have to pick the right guys to develop. Maybe Nix isn't the right guy but I can also see why he might be. And like you I agree there might be more upside to Nix.
Timberwolves were a +3.6 per 100 possessions last year when NAW was in the court without a PG (so when Naw and Ant played point). So even though it might not look pretty it was effective last year
Good info, Kek. I still don’t think NAW is enough to give us what we need behind Mike Conley until Dilly’s ready to step into the main backup role as a net positive for a championship contender. Maybe NAW and Nix can combine to give us what we need. I really do like what we’ve seen from Nix in summer league and I still see more upside there.
Personally I think Dilly will do enough offensively in the role he is basically given. Again this is a guy that handed out almost 4 assists a game off the bench in college and has looked like he can be a playmaker in summer league too. While he will also be on the floor to score, teams aren't probably gonna load up to stop him. He can pick his spots and from what I watched of him playing for UK he actually did that pretty well. The Wolves may also have more shooting on the floor than he has in summer league which may give him a little more space. The Wolves are gonna have multiple ball handlers playing with him all over the floor. It's not like he is gonna be the only guy running offense making plays for people.
Back to Nix I remember when McLaughlin played for the Wolves SL team and I thought there was something there although he didn't exactly put up amazing stats. Then he went to the G-league with Naz and they both thrived. It probably helped both guys that both of them were pretty good basketball players. Nix seems to be showing something this summer league and fits what the organization is trying to build. Sometimes organizations have to pick the right guys to develop. Maybe Nix isn't the right guy but I can also see why he might be. And like you I agree there might be more upside to Nix.
Monster - I’ll pick expand on your comment about Dilly a bit because i think you’re on to something. Jamal Crawford said something about Dilly on one of the summer league broadcasts I saw on replay when I returned from Vegas. He said Dilly will be good because he can get anywhere he wants to go on the court with the ball. As I’ve been watching replays of the SL games I’ve noticed what he meant. Dilly has struggled with his shot, but he’s never looked slow or overmatched on the offensive end of the court. Watching the Sixers game tonight, I noticed the contrast between Dilly and another top PG prospect, Jared McCain. As Crawford said, Dilly can get where he wants to go with ball; McCain, on the other hand, often struggled to get where he wanted to go or create space. Another thing I’ve noticed about Dilly is that his passes are pinpoint and he almost always seems to make the right pass, which is often the simple one. In that sense I agree with John Wall that Dilly looks like a natural PG.
I still don’t know whether Dilly can be a net positive next season, at least in the first half, given his youth and slight frame. But I can see the potential to contribute along the lines you described. He has a whole summer and then training camp to strengthen his body, perfect his game and adjust to NBA competition. Dilly will be competing in practice against Mike Conley, Ant, Jaden and NAW. So he’ll be challenged and he seems to have a strong competitive streak that will respond well to the challenge. And again, there’s no substitute for a high basketball IQ and he seems to have that going for him.
Good info, Kek. I still don’t think NAW is enough to give us what we need behind Mike Conley until Dilly’s ready to step into the main backup role as a net positive for a championship contender. Maybe NAW and Nix can combine to give us what we need. I really do like what we’ve seen from Nix in summer league and I still see more upside there.
Personally I think Dilly will do enough offensively in the role he is basically given. Again this is a guy that handed out almost 4 assists a game off the bench in college and has looked like he can be a playmaker in summer league too. While he will also be on the floor to score, teams aren't probably gonna load up to stop him. He can pick his spots and from what I watched of him playing for UK he actually did that pretty well. The Wolves may also have more shooting on the floor than he has in summer league which may give him a little more space. The Wolves are gonna have multiple ball handlers playing with him all over the floor. It's not like he is gonna be the only guy running offense making plays for people.
Back to Nix I remember when McLaughlin played for the Wolves SL team and I thought there was something there although he didn't exactly put up amazing stats. Then he went to the G-league with Naz and they both thrived. It probably helped both guys that both of them were pretty good basketball players. Nix seems to be showing something this summer league and fits what the organization is trying to build. Sometimes organizations have to pick the right guys to develop. Maybe Nix isn't the right guy but I can also see why he might be. And like you I agree there might be more upside to Nix.
Monster - I’ll pick expand on your comment about Dilly a bit because i think you’re on to something. Jamal Crawford said something about Dilly on one of the summer league broadcasts I saw on replay when I returned from Vegas. He said Dilly will be good because he can get anywhere he wants to go on the court with the ball. As I’ve been watching replays of the SL games I’ve noticed what he meant. Dilly has struggled with his shot, but he’s never looked slow or overmatched on the offensive end of the court. Watching the Sixers game tonight, I noticed the contrast between Dilly and another top PG prospect, Jared McCain. As Crawford said, Dilly can get where he wants to go with ball; McCain, on the other hand, often struggled to get where he wanted to go or create space. Another thing I’ve noticed about Dilly is that his passes are pinpoint and he almost always seems to make the right pass, which is often the simple one. In that sense I agree with John Wall that Dilly looks like a natural PG.
I still don’t know whether Dilly can be a net positive next season, at least in the first half, given his youth and slight frame. But I can see the potential to contribute along the lines you described. He has a whole summer and then training camp to strengthen his body, perfect his game and adjust to NBA competition. Dilly will be competing in practice against Mike Conley, Ant, Jaden and NAW. So he’ll be challenged and he seems to have a strong competitive streak that will respond well to the challenge. And again, there’s no substitute for a high basketball IQ and he seems to have that going for him.
Keep in mind the bar for the first chunk of games is low. All he has to do is be better than what Shake Milton gave the team for over 20 games. That shouldn't be too hard. Lol the reality is that they didn't draft Dilly for the first half of the regular season they drafted him for the possibilities of him being able to score in the playoffs but really for him to be the guy moving forward. While I actually have some reservations about Dilly being able to be more than some sort of adequate backup let's be honest there is a possible scenario where he takes a bigger role sooner rather than later. There will be some players that are injured or disappoint. The Wolves need a couple guys to step up and player better than expected. Fortunately they have some options for that.
This started as a Daishen Nix thread and morphed into something broader. I’m going to bring it back to Daishen. I’ve been reading more about him and watching a ton of video from this summer league back through past NBA games, G-League games and even high school.
He was regarded in many circles as the #1 PG in his high school class. More specifically, he was regarded as the best passer in his college recruiting class. He initialed committed to UCLA after being recruited by Kentucky, Kansas and other top schools. He ended up backing out of his commitment to UCLA to sign with the G-League Ignite who were apparently recruiting him. He was listed at 190 pounds his last year in high school and is now 225 pounds, which means he’s put on 30 pounds in the past four years.
He hasn’t caught on yet since jumping from high school to the G-League 4 years ago, but he’s still only 22 years old. Bottom line for me, after learning and seeing a lot more of Nix is that he’s a keeper and will eventually be a very good NBA rotation PG. He has great court vision, and excellent handle, great strength/size for an PG, and a high-octane motor. More than anything, he seems to make his teammates better. He strikes me as a winner as reflected in his plus/minus in this year’s G-League competition. I like him on a two-way, but I’d given him DJ Dozier’s 14th roster spot if it were up to me.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 9:06 pm
This started as a Daishen Nix thread and morphed into something broader. I’m going to bring it back to Daishen. I’ve been reading more about him and watching a ton of video from this summer league back through past NBA games, G-League games and even high school.
He was regarded in many circles as the #1 PG in his high school class. More specifically, he was regarded as the best passer in his college recruiting class. He initialed committed to UCLA after being recruited by Kentucky, Kansas and other top schools. He ended up backing out of his commitment to UCLA to sign with the G-League Ignite who were apparently recruiting him. He was listed at 190 pounds his last year in high school and is now 225 pounds, which means he’s put on 30 pounds in the past four years.
He hasn’t caught on yet since jumping from high school to the G-League 4 years ago, but he’s still only 22 years old. Bottom line for me, after learning and seeing a lot more of Nix is that he’s a keeper and will eventually be a very good NBA rotation PG. He has great court vision, and excellent handle, great strength/size for an PG, and a high-octane motor. More than anything, he seems to make his teammates better. He strikes me as a winner as reflected in his plus/minus in this year’s G-League competition. I like him on a two-way, but I’d given him DJ Dozier’s 14th roster spot if it were up to me.
It's worth remembering that Nix went to the G-league Ignite the first season that they had the first HS guys to go that route. Jalen Green and Kuninga were also on that team and were high draft picks. Nix didn't exactly put up the big-time stats to get picked high. Green is the one guy I would say came out of that model and has had quite a bit of success. I can't say any other players have been Home run picks but maybe I'm forgetting someone. I do think Scoot Henderson will end up being a good player but that's not certain at this point.
So instead of playing college I believe those guys only played like 15 games instead of 30 plus games other guys played in college. He got into a pretty decent chunk of games his next professional year and between the NBA and G-league and had a pretty nice season with the Rockets G league team. He put up westbrook type numbers in the G-league playoffs.
Lip I read that article on Nix. I had read a decent chunk about him last year when we signed him but not that article. While I think his coach and guardian did some good things I wonder if in some ways he may have actually held Nix back in terms of opportunity and development. It does make me think Nix is likely a guy you want to have around and my guess is that coach emphasized defense. Nix last year with the Rockets he was playing over some other guys and many Rockets fans couldn't understand why. Nix wasn't exactly doing well offensively and therefore wasn't doing enough to worry about keeping the Rockets from losing games but my guess is he played defense. Based on what I have seen since I think that was likely the case.
The reality is that the Wolves can use a guy to develop as a backup PG. Nix if he turns into a legit rotation level guy could be an interesting change of pace to Dillingham. The Wolves are far from set at that spot and so having a guy continuing in the Wolves system could have benefits. There are plenty of guys that don't really break through until they are 23 or 24. Some of the success stories of undrafted PGs are guys that came into the league the age Nix is now or a year older.
We have probably researched and written too much about Nix but it's also kinda fun to learn about these guys. I think that's part of the fun of sports. I'm not convinced he will make it to being a rotation guard but I think there are some attributes he has and talent to work with for sure.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 9:06 pm
This started as a Daishen Nix thread and morphed into something broader. I’m going to bring it back to Daishen. I’ve been reading more about him and watching a ton of video from this summer league back through past NBA games, G-League games and even high school.
He was regarded in many circles as the #1 PG in his high school class. More specifically, he was regarded as the best passer in his college recruiting class. He initialed committed to UCLA after being recruited by Kentucky, Kansas and other top schools. He ended up backing out of his commitment to UCLA to sign with the G-League Ignite who were apparently recruiting him. He was listed at 190 pounds his last year in high school and is now 225 pounds, which means he’s put on 30 pounds in the past four years.
He hasn’t caught on yet since jumping from high school to the G-League 4 years ago, but he’s still only 22 years old. Bottom line for me, after learning and seeing a lot more of Nix is that he’s a keeper and will eventually be a very good NBA rotation PG. He has great court vision, and excellent handle, great strength/size for an PG, and a high-octane motor. More than anything, he seems to make his teammates better. He strikes me as a winner as reflected in his plus/minus in this year’s G-League competition. I like him on a two-way, but I’d given him DJ Dozier’s 14th roster spot if it were up to me.
It's worth remembering that Nix went to the G-league Ignite the first season that they had the first HS guys to go that route. Jalen Green and Kuninga were also on that team and were high draft picks. Nix didn't exactly put up the big-time stats to get picked high. Green is the one guy I would say came out of that model and has had quite a bit of success. I can't say any other players have been Home run picks but maybe I'm forgetting someone. I do think Scoot Henderson will end up being a good player but that's not certain at this point.
So instead of playing college I believe those guys only played like 15 games instead of 30 plus games other guys played in college. He got into a pretty decent chunk of games his next professional year and between the NBA and G-league and had a pretty nice season with the Rockets G league team. He put up westbrook type numbers in the G-league playoffs.
Good points, Monster. So far the developmental track record of the G-League Ignite has not been impressive. If I were advising a high school player with potential NBA talent I would encourage him to go the college route.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 9:06 pm
This started as a Daishen Nix thread and morphed into something broader. I’m going to bring it back to Daishen. I’ve been reading more about him and watching a ton of video from this summer league back through past NBA games, G-League games and even high school.
He was regarded in many circles as the #1 PG in his high school class. More specifically, he was regarded as the best passer in his college recruiting class. He initialed committed to UCLA after being recruited by Kentucky, Kansas and other top schools. He ended up backing out of his commitment to UCLA to sign with the G-League Ignite who were apparently recruiting him. He was listed at 190 pounds his last year in high school and is now 225 pounds, which means he’s put on 30 pounds in the past four years.
He hasn’t caught on yet since jumping from high school to the G-League 4 years ago, but he’s still only 22 years old. Bottom line for me, after learning and seeing a lot more of Nix is that he’s a keeper and will eventually be a very good NBA rotation PG. He has great court vision, and excellent handle, great strength/size for an PG, and a high-octane motor. More than anything, he seems to make his teammates better. He strikes me as a winner as reflected in his plus/minus in this year’s G-League competition. I like him on a two-way, but I’d given him DJ Dozier’s 14th roster spot if it were up to me.
It's worth remembering that Nix went to the G-league Ignite the first season that they had the first HS guys to go that route. Jalen Green and Kuninga were also on that team and were high draft picks. Nix didn't exactly put up the big-time stats to get picked high. Green is the one guy I would say came out of that model and has had quite a bit of success. I can't say any other players have been Home run picks but maybe I'm forgetting someone. I do think Scoot Henderson will end up being a good player but that's not certain at this point.
So instead of playing college I believe those guys only played like 15 games instead of 30 plus games other guys played in college. He got into a pretty decent chunk of games his next professional year and between the NBA and G-league and had a pretty nice season with the Rockets G league team. He put up westbrook type numbers in the G-league playoffs.
Good points, Monster. So far the developmental track record of the G-League Ignite has not been impressive. If I were advising a high school player with potential NBA talent I would encourage him to go the college route.
Well the option isn't there anymore as they shot those teams down. I think a big part of that is because why do that when there is a chance to can get NIL money. Plus if it doesn't work out after your first year you can stay in college and still get some money and you have chances to transfer schools etc. if you go The G-league route and you don't get drafted or get a 2-way deal you are likely not gonna have a stable program to continue your development. The college route simply is more appealing now than it was just a few years ago. I think most families want that education aspect too. At one point I think the idea of having a G-league select team made a lot of sense and might have been a good thing. It simply makes less sense now. It would be so awesome if it became something even more of a minor league system league. Salaries have to be higher to make that happen and for that to occur those G-league teams will need to be profitable which probably means there needs to be people who are going to watch it.
One last thing, I remember Dane Moore saying last year before the season the Wolves were really excited to get Nix. Take that for what it's worth but I thought it was interesting.
Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Sat Jul 20, 2024 9:06 pm
This started as a Daishen Nix thread and morphed into something broader. I’m going to bring it back to Daishen. I’ve been reading more about him and watching a ton of video from this summer league back through past NBA games, G-League games and even high school.
He was regarded in many circles as the #1 PG in his high school class. More specifically, he was regarded as the best passer in his college recruiting class. He initialed committed to UCLA after being recruited by Kentucky, Kansas and other top schools. He ended up backing out of his commitment to UCLA to sign with the G-League Ignite who were apparently recruiting him. He was listed at 190 pounds his last year in high school and is now 225 pounds, which means he’s put on 30 pounds in the past four years.
He hasn’t caught on yet since jumping from high school to the G-League 4 years ago, but he’s still only 22 years old. Bottom line for me, after learning and seeing a lot more of Nix is that he’s a keeper and will eventually be a very good NBA rotation PG. He has great court vision, and excellent handle, great strength/size for an PG, and a high-octane motor. More than anything, he seems to make his teammates better. He strikes me as a winner as reflected in his plus/minus in this year’s G-League competition. I like him on a two-way, but I’d given him DJ Dozier’s 14th roster spot if it were up to me.
It's worth remembering that Nix went to the G-league Ignite the first season that they had the first HS guys to go that route. Jalen Green and Kuninga were also on that team and were high draft picks. Nix didn't exactly put up the big-time stats to get picked high. Green is the one guy I would say came out of that model and has had quite a bit of success. I can't say any other players have been Home run picks but maybe I'm forgetting someone. I do think Scoot Henderson will end up being a good player but that's not certain at this point.
So instead of playing college I believe those guys only played like 15 games instead of 30 plus games other guys played in college. He got into a pretty decent chunk of games his next professional year and between the NBA and G-league and had a pretty nice season with the Rockets G league team. He put up westbrook type numbers in the G-league playoffs.
Good points, Monster. So far the developmental track record of the G-League Ignite has not been impressive. If I were advising a high school player with potential NBA talent I would encourage him to go the college route.
Iowa G League isn't good either. I don't know if Wendell Moore made that team horrible with his brickfest or Ernest whatever is a poor coach or a combo of both.
Q-is-here wrote: ↑Thu Jul 18, 2024 7:12 pm
I'll say it again....I believe NAW is effectively a backup 1.5 guard. When Conley is healthy, NAW will come in for him midway through the 1st quarter and finish the quarter with Ant. While neither of those guys are pure PGs, they did demonstrate last year that they can be effective together. Dillingham can then sub in for Ant at the beginning of the 2nd quarter and then Mike will come in for Dillingham after 5-6 minutes.
There is NO way the Wolves aren't playing Dillingham unless he is absolute trash or has a poor attitude. But they don't have to play him 20 MPG. They can ease him in for 5-6 minutes at the beginning of the 2nd and 3rd quarters for a total of 10-12 MPG to start the season.
Now if Conley gets hurt, I believe they will start NAW and then the WolveNs will have to decide if they keep Dillingham at that same level of minutes and use Nix for the other backup PG minutes or if they ratchet up Dillingham more significantly...it will depend on how he's playing I guess.
NAW at point guard is just a terrible idea. Watched him play and struggle. He is not a natural point and he loses ability to play good defense when he has to focus on point.
Timberwolves were a +3.6 per 100 possessions last year when NAW was in the court without a PG (so when Naw and Ant played point). So even though it might not look pretty it was effective last year
NAW sucks at point guard. Wolves were a negative 5.3 (-5.3) per 100, with NAW as point guard, per cleaningtheglass. You included a lot of stats that had NAW at shooting guard and that's deceptive, misleading and outrageous! My eye test alone tells me NAW was not a good point guard, but maybe when Michael Jordan is on the court, MJ carries him.
