Minnesota Sports Forum

A couple things I like about Kessler watching some highlights.

1. His blocked shots he doesn't wildly swing at the ball. He is either mostly straight up or using his little hands to block the shot. This is in contract to Mark Williams who has so many highlights of blocks where he is wildly swinging at the ball.

2. For a guy that size I'm mostly interested in how he moves in the paint. He moves more like a Kevin Love type in the paint than a slow 7' guy.

3. He doesn't have a good 3 point shot but he has at least attempted 50 of them his sophomore season. He isn't a very good FT shooter (surprising with such small hands) but he might be able to at least be a threat to chuck up a prayer and make it or something.

To me guys like Kessler are 7'+ guys what I want to see them be good at is blocking shots, playing defense, setting screens, rebounding and catching lobs. I have seen nothing that makes me think he can't do those things at the next level physically. He has more bulk than some of the other 7' guys and considering Towns is on the roster I think that matters. How does Kessler compare to some other big centers that have been selected in the first round recently? Idk I'll look into that more. I'm planning on watching a couple of his games for this year to get a better sense of what he can and can't do.

He rap on him is that he doesn't secure the ball well on offense. That's likely a function of his small hands. And that's not a good weakness for an NBA big man.

lipoli390 wrote:He rap on him is that he doesn't secure the ball well on offense. That's likely a function of his small hands. And that's not a good weakness for an NBA big man.

Is that on lobs or in the post? Kessler ain't going to be getting any post ups in the NBA.

lipoli390 wrote:He rap on him is that he doesn't secure the ball well on offense. That's likely a function of his small hands. And that's not a good weakness for an NBA big man.

I'd have to disagree with that scouting report. I think they're confusing small hands for bad hands. Walker Kessler showed plenty of skill last year in corralling drop-off passes, pocket passes, and alley-oops. He's coordinated for his size. I remember similar concerns being made about Brandon Clarke and his hands several years ago as well. This is an instance of overvaluing measurables and devaluing production. I think Kessler will end up being a fan favorite sooner rather than later.

https://youtu.be/lg8u_EldmJw

This is a good video analysis of Kessler - the good, bad and ugly. I don't think he'll be able to play well at the speed of the NBA game. If you watch the last part of improvement areas, you'll see Kessler struggling with quick, shifty guards and wings. Those are the types of players he'll face all the time in the NBA. Kessler is foul prone in college, which doesn't bode well for him in the NBA where he'll routinely face players with size, speed and agility he's rarely seen. I don't see a next level physical gear or mental processor in him. His perimeter shot mechanics are really bad, but at least that's something that can be fixed over time with hard work.

lipoli390 wrote:https://youtu.be/lg8u_EldmJw

This is a good video analysis of Kessler - the good, bad and ugly. I don't think he'll be able to play well at the speed of the NBA game. If you watch the last part of improvement areas, you'll see Kessler struggling with quick, shifty guards and wings. Those are the types of players he'll face all the time in the NBA. Kessler is foul prone in college, which doesn't bode well for him in the NBA where he'll routinely face players with size, speed and agility he's rarely seen. I don't see a next level physical gear or mental processor in him. His perimeter shot mechanics are really bad, but at least that's something that can be fixed over time with hard work.

Are people expecting Mark Williams to be able to switch onto guards? I'm not.

Minnesota drafted the 2022 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year -- winning the award over Chet Holmgren and Mark Williams -- who swatted 155 shots last year (4.6 BPG) and we're talking about his hand size and whether or not he'll be able to hang around the perimeter. Come on, guys! Kessler protects the rim, rebounds his position, sets good screens, dives hard to the rim, and does the dirty work on the interior. I think with the more video you watch on him, the more you'll come around on him.

I'm looking forward to learning more about Kessler in the next couple of days, and of course in summer league.

We all knew we needed a big who could block shots and intimidate opponents in the paint. We don't have anyone else who can really do that and he can, so he basically gives Finch a tool he didn't have before, which is good. I honestly don't care that much about his hands because other than catching an occasional lob, the only thing he should need those hands for is blocking shots and rebounding. Teams just aren't going to guard him outside the paint anyway, so any time he has the ball on offense, unless he's catching and dunking a lob, the other team is basically going to have a 5 on 4 advantage. Other than the occasional lob, it's all about the defense with this guy.

Of course, it would have been better if he had some lateral quickness so he could switch on D and guard outside the paint (Duren should be able to do that, which is why I'd have loved to get a guy like that, though obviously, he wasn't going to fall to us). Without that lateral quickness and ability to defend on the perimeter, opposing teams can probably take advantage of him if they have a 5 who can play offense on the perimeter or by getting him in pick 'n' rolls and, if he drops, trying to use those actions to manufacture open jumpers by picking and popping or just having the ballhandler take off-the-dribble 3s (assuming they can hit them at a decent clip). In the playoffs in particular, an opposing team that gets familiar with him could potentially play him off the floor by repeatedly taking advantage of him.

But for the 22nd pick, you can't get everything you want. And although KAT made some defensive improvement this past season, Kessler's interior defense does at least give us the option of putting a paint intimidator out there against teams which may be taking advantage of us with a center who can't play on the perimeter offensively (but who might be beating us up inside so bad that it's not to our advantage to play KAT at the 5). I'm thinking of teams with centers like Gobert, Ayton, Jarrett Allen, Robert Williams, Capela, Poeltl, maybe Embiid for stretches, or potentially even with Jokic (though there are really no good defensive options against him). And of course, whenever KAT's on the bench, he'd give us an alternative to Naz, or potentially allow us to play him alongside Naz.

This also makes me think that one of the advantages of having bigs who can shoot like KAT and Naz is that it gives you the liberty of playing another big alongside them offensively, even if that second big can't space the floor (I know Kessler tried that, but it doesn't seem like he's been successful at it and I don't have much hope at all that he could develop an outside shot). Defensively, I'm not a huge fan of KAT and Naz on a lot of the 4s in the league, but I can see stretches of going with two bigs, and with a shotblocker like Kessler as the big in the paint, it can potentially mitigate the damage that KAT and Naz might give up against 4s who could beat them off the dribble from the perimeter (assuming the opposing 4s beating them off the dribble are not good passers who would probably pick up assists to the guy Kessler would be helping off of). In cases like that, if the opposing team's 4 can beat KAT or Naz off the dribble, Kessler can provide the help defense and force the 4 to make the pass, which a lot of 4s can't do that well. In other words, defensively, Kessler and KAT or Kessler and Naz should be a better defensive combo in a lot of cases than when we tried KAT and Naz.

Finally, as I argued in an earlier thread when we were talking about Mark Williams, drafting a 5 instead of a wing just gives us more roster flexibility because a 5 won't eat into minutes for McDaniels, Vando, or indirectly, guys like Nowell or Beasley.

Not a super exciting pick really, and I worry about the possibility of teams being able to play him off the floor in the playoffs especially, but he does give Finch a defensive option we didn't have before, and that could have a disproportionately positive impact.

lipoli390 wrote:https://youtu.be/lg8u_EldmJw

This is a good video analysis of Kessler - the good, bad and ugly. I don't think he'll be able to play well at the speed of the NBA game. If you watch the last part of improvement areas, you'll see Kessler struggling with quick, shifty guards and wings. Those are the types of players he'll face all the time in the NBA. Kessler is foul prone in college, which doesn't bode well for him in the NBA where he'll routinely face players with size, speed and agility he's rarely seen. I don't see a next level physical gear or mental processor in him. His perimeter shot mechanics are really bad, but at least that's something that can be fixed over time with hard work.

His fouling issues and high block rate go hand in hand, it's based on anticipation (biting on pump fakes) rather then pure quickness, size and technique. His short area quickness is still pretty good though. As a backup I'm less worried about him fouling out. I think it is very unlikely he can become a starter, but he can be a good backup and role player in spots. If he can develop a decent shot he will have a higher chance to start, but even that is unlikely. Like you said he is a fish out of water 1 V 1 on the perimeter. He can easily get exposed out there and it will be up to the teammate to fight through screens so switching isn't automatic.

I think it's still a solid pick though. His potential is Rudy Gobert lite with a 3P shot. However he has a long ways to go to reach that potential.

I saw a comparison somewhere with Brook Lopez. I'm not sure that works offensively since Lopez eventually developed a 3-point shot, but defensively I think it makes sense. Lopez also has a 9'5 standing reach and we've seen him use his sheer size as a great asset without ever having to leave his feet. He's like a poster child of the drop coverage scheme. And at times you can't play Lopez if the opposing team goes super small and quick. Same will apply to Kessler - he's probably never going to be a 30+ MPG Center, even if he's a starter some day.

My concern with Kessler is that I don't know how much he really helps us as a rookie. Yes, we've bitched and complained about adding a legit big, but it's hard for me to believe that he is going to be a plus player in Year 1 and may be not even in Year 2.