ace wrote:Wiggins was the 1st pick in the deepest draft in years, but not the draft with the most elite talent. He also would have been the 3rd pick if Embiid didn't break his foot.
I don't have a direct player comparison for his ceiling. Something like the 2014 Finals Kawhi Leonard. Lockdown defender, good rebounder, but doesn't create a lot. Can put up big numbers if given the ball in the right spots, but won't be able to score at will like LeBron/Durant/Jordan/Kobe.
Floor would be out of the league in 6 years. Tiny chance it happens, but possible. Realistically, I'd say Jimmy Butler. Very good defender and an inconsistent shooter.
ace wrote:Wiggins was the 1st pick in the deepest draft in years, but not the draft with the most elite talent. He also would have been the 3rd pick if Embiid didn't break his foot.
I don't have a direct player comparison for his ceiling. Something like the 2014 Finals Kawhi Leonard. Lockdown defender, good rebounder, but doesn't create a lot. Can put up big numbers if given the ball in the right spots, but won't be able to score at will like LeBron/Durant/Jordan/Kobe.
Floor would be out of the league in 6 years. Tiny chance it happens, but possible. Realistically, I'd say Jimmy Butler. Very good defender and an inconsistent shooter.
What draft had more elite talent?
By most elite, I mean the top prospect or two. I should have explained that better. It also depends on your definition of "years." Obviously 2003 was just about as deep and stacked with top talent. Durant and Oden in 2007 were both better prospects than anyone in this draft. An argument can be made that Rose/Beasley/Mayo/Westbrook/Love was as good of a group as this year's top. This was definitely the deepest draft in quite some time, but the depth of a draft really has no bearing on how good the 1st overall pick is. You could have 100 B+ Level prospects and it would be the deepest draft ever, but that doesn't mean the one A- guy that goes first is the best prospect since Alcindor.
Of course we won't know how good this draft really was until 3 or 4 years from now. The draft that continues to amaze me is 2008, which includes superstars Derrick Rose, Kevin Love, and Russel Westbrook. But more amazing is the sheer quantity of high-quality rotation players. Here is just a sampling of players taken after the top 15 picks:
Roy Hibbert (17)
Ryan Anderson (21)
Serge Ibaka (24)
Nic Batum (25)
Nikola Pekovic (31)
DeAndre Jordan (35)
Omer Asik (36)
Goran Dragic (45)
These guys are almost all bedrocks of their respective teams now. It also goes to show that there are always plus-level players available later in the draft. The key is figuring out who they are!
Camden wrote:Scottie Pippen's the prayer. We could only hope for that to be his ceiling.
Paul George is my realistic ceiling for him.
Trevor Ariza or Harrison Barnes (gasp) is his floor, in my opinion.
If he's anything better than or equal to George, then the Wolves are in very good shape for the future.
(Stephenson's handle and ability to run offensive sets make that comparison a bit off for me. Not to mention mentalities.)
Agree. These were the two guys I was thinking of. Best-case scenario of Paul George and worst-case being Harrison Barnes. Tough to see him being a bust, but also tough seeing him being anything better than George.
The key for Wiggins is shooting, shooting, shooting. He isn't a good enough ball-handler or playmaker to create offense going to the rim in half-court sets, so everything will need to be set-up by his outside shot.
papalrep wrote:Any comparisons to Leonard or George make me happy.
Now, just as interesting to me, any comparisons for Lavine?
One thing people forget about George was his ballhandling was a strength going into the draft. I went back and confirmed that by looking at his Draft Express Profile. Wiiggin's ball handing could be something he improves he is such a young player.
Now for the LaVine Comparisons all I can come up with are a player with the amazing physical traits explosive in about every way you can think of (except more skinny and taller) of Derrick Rose and Westbrook but instead of being a guy that attacks the basket his game is based on a jumper. Obviously that's a pretty high ceiling. Watching him in SL he actually looked more in control more like a young Rose. I'm not getting my expectations that high but I'd settle for Jamal Crawford with a little more length and athletic ability. Floor? Some sort of combination of Rudy Fernadez and Shved which would might actually make a pretty decent player if that player could create and hit 3 pointers. I'm really looking forward to seeing him play in real NBA games I'm really high on him right now.
This is what nbadraft.net had to say about George's handle coming into the league and that matches up with the eye test of him on the court his first few years in the league.
"George's biggest weakness is his inability to create for himself, and his poor shooting percentage when pulling up off the dribble ... Lacks a great handle which limits his overall game, as practically all of his baskets come from spotting up, good position down low, or in transition ..."
Lavine is what a guy with a good handle looks like coming into the league. I think Wiggins looks like a better handler than George coming into the league. Wiggins' biggest problem is he plays his game so upright and there's not leverage playing that way. His handle is decent but because he is so upright he can't actually go anywhere because he gets out muscled and he's dribbling the ball in a vulnerable position. Once he gets a lower center of gravity, I think his ball handling won't be as bad as people make it out to be.
khans2k5 wrote:This is what nbadraft.net had to say about George's handle coming into the league and that matches up with the eye test of him on the court his first few years in the league.
"George's biggest weakness is his inability to create for himself, and his poor shooting percentage when pulling up off the dribble ... Lacks a great handle which limits his overall game, as practically all of his baskets come from spotting up, good position down low, or in transition ..."
Lavine is what a guy with a good handle looks like coming into the league. I think Wiggins looks like a better handler than George coming into the league. Wiggins' biggest problem is he plays his game so upright and there's not leverage playing that way. His handle is decent but because he is so upright he can't actually go anywhere because he gets out muscled and he's dribbling the ball in a vulnerable position. Once he gets a lower center of gravity, I think his ball handling won't be as bad as people make it out to be.
The info I mentioned about his ball-handling was DX saying it was the draft workouts where teams were really impressed with George's ball-handling otherwise the scouting report is pretty much what you posted. Of course most of the highlights from his rookie year are alot of dunks and blocks, but I'll say that from what little i have seen of Wiggins the comparisons to George looks pretty reasonable watching this.
Man, if he ends up being up there with George I'll be happy. The potential duo of Wiggins/Lavine is exciting especially when paired with Rubio. Plus other wildcards like Bennett/Waiters & GR3
