Vecenie and Hollinger just came out with their draft analysis, and TC looks quite smart based on their take. He took Miller 33rd, and they had him ranked 13th...perhaps the biggest steal on the board. In contrast, Utah used the 16th pick that would have been ours to take Keyonte George, and the analysts had him ranked 26th. TC came to us with the reputation of being an astute talent-finder, and the early returns look very good here. I agree with Vecenie/Hollinger and would not consider trading Miller for George straight up.
They did not consider Clark a steal though...they had him 51st, and we got him at 53. I agree with that analysis. I'm convinced though that he would have been taken much earlier if he hadn't blown the achilles. He could turn out to be a steal also.
Leonard Miller
Re: Leonard Miller
CBS gave the Wolves an A for both Miller and Clark. Here’s their review of the Miller pick:
PLUSES
Grew to 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a strong, wide frame as a high school upperclassman. He uses his length to sky above opponents for rebounds and poke into passing lanes. He could become a versatile on-ball defender if his fundamentals improve.
Takes long strides on drives to the basket and has a fluid handle using either hand. He’s at his best when attacking a closeout, attentively cutting into the paint, or pushing the ball in transition. Once he’s near the rim, he shows ambidextrous finishing ability, with a preference for going right.
Comfortable midrange shooter. He can take short pull-ups or pivot into contested fadeaways. If he’s ever able to extend his range behind the arc, it’d be a game changer for his upside.
Willing passer who shows his point guard instincts when executing simple plays, whether it’s as a handler out of pick-and-rolls or in post-ups. At the next level, he could find great value as a screener and blend his ability to finish at the basket with his playmaking instincts.
MINUSES
Underwhelming 3-point shooter. He has fine form on catch-and-shoot attempts but has never consistently hit more than 30 percent of his 3s. But he does have average results shooting from the line and from midrange, which suggests he can still improve.
Forces some shots outside the offensive flow after stopping the ball. He’d benefit from learning how to catch and go with greater frequency.
He’s still learning how to play like a big man. He doesn’t rack up as many weakside blocks as his athleticism and reach would suggest he can. That is partially because he’s a bit flaky off the ball.
A bit spacey as a defender. He’s late to closeouts, which especially hurts him since he isn’t the quickest laterally on the perimeter.
PLUSES
Grew to 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a strong, wide frame as a high school upperclassman. He uses his length to sky above opponents for rebounds and poke into passing lanes. He could become a versatile on-ball defender if his fundamentals improve.
Takes long strides on drives to the basket and has a fluid handle using either hand. He’s at his best when attacking a closeout, attentively cutting into the paint, or pushing the ball in transition. Once he’s near the rim, he shows ambidextrous finishing ability, with a preference for going right.
Comfortable midrange shooter. He can take short pull-ups or pivot into contested fadeaways. If he’s ever able to extend his range behind the arc, it’d be a game changer for his upside.
Willing passer who shows his point guard instincts when executing simple plays, whether it’s as a handler out of pick-and-rolls or in post-ups. At the next level, he could find great value as a screener and blend his ability to finish at the basket with his playmaking instincts.
MINUSES
Underwhelming 3-point shooter. He has fine form on catch-and-shoot attempts but has never consistently hit more than 30 percent of his 3s. But he does have average results shooting from the line and from midrange, which suggests he can still improve.
Forces some shots outside the offensive flow after stopping the ball. He’d benefit from learning how to catch and go with greater frequency.
He’s still learning how to play like a big man. He doesn’t rack up as many weakside blocks as his athleticism and reach would suggest he can. That is partially because he’s a bit flaky off the ball.
A bit spacey as a defender. He’s late to closeouts, which especially hurts him since he isn’t the quickest laterally on the perimeter.
Re: Leonard Miller
One of the things I keep reading about Miller is how strong he is. There have been some concerns here about the strength of Naz, Jaden and even KAT, but despite his rather slender frame (which he is likely to fill out), the reports are that nobody pushes him around underneath. This is very good news.
Re: Leonard Miller
Yeah, I think we can't rule out Miller being a Center eventually as he fills in and continues to get stronger. Minott and McDaniels are more 3/4 types.
Takes a loooong time though to learn the nuances needed to be a good defensive Center, but he at least has some of the raw ingredients.
Takes a loooong time though to learn the nuances needed to be a good defensive Center, but he at least has some of the raw ingredients.
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Carlos Danger
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- Joined: Wed Jul 24, 2013 12:00 am
Re: Leonard Miller
You'll have to link or quote what you are referring regarding Miller being a defensive liability. I've read several scouting reports and didn't pick that up from them. I'm pulling the quote below from "strengths" out of the detailed report Kekgeek posted to start this thread but I've read similar other places. Everything I've read indicated he's willing defender (think Bizarro DLO) and has the size/length to make the most of that. From his "strengths":Lipoli390 wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 12:27 pmI don’t think he’ll get minutes based on defense. Read the draft analysis again. Like other analyses it points out that his defense is currently a big liability. He has terrific defensive potential, but he’s not close right now to being NBA ready on the defensive end. If he were to get NBA minutes any time soon, it would be based on his rebounding. He was a terrific rebounder at the G-League level and that should translate immediately to the NBA.Carlos Danger wrote: ↑Fri Jun 23, 2023 3:58 am I like the move and the pick. TC isn't afraid to swing for the fences and that's what this move/pick is. Let's see if they can develop him into a rotational guy. I like the progress/development I saw from Minott last year. I'm assuming this kid can eventually find some minutes based on defense alone. And if you can get any minutes from a second round pick - you did a good job.
"There are also some real defensive tools I buy into long term. I think he will be a plus on-ball defender in the NBA. Miller plays very hard and never gives up on plays. When he has an assignment, he excels at it. Think the growth he showed on that end this past season in terms of tools and technique was strong. Defended multiple position types. Can deal with players from the wing up to the center position. Can slide and stay in front of wings, but because he’s so strong, you also can’t go through his chest as a driver by lowering his shoulder. Walls up and stays in front of his man. Does so with his arms very high in the air. Can defend men on the block. Plus, he uses that immense length with an 8-foot-10 1/2 standing reach to be able to contest shots. Had some moments of navigating off-ball actions well just by being willing to fight. Has shown some upside with weakside rim rotations. Averaged about one steal and one block per game."
Re: Leonard Miller
Yeah, that’s kind of a reach, Lip. Everything I’ve read is that he’ll be a good defender, as he catches up to the speed of this level of play and the additional intricacies of team defense.
Re: Leonard Miller
A couple things when it comes to Leonard Miller
1. Lip is concerned about him not picking up the game till later. I guess. To me the guy ended up becoming a 4 to 5 star recruit and could have gotten drafted last year but he decided to play in the G-league. Basically his career path would have been like Justin Payton of Payton hadn’t gone to Creighton and would have been a bette prospect going into college. Meanwhile Miller played in the G-league a league where there is plenty of talent and guys more physically developed than college. He shined and rebounded the ball at a high rate despite being a guy that supposedly was sort of a guard type that grew into a bigger player. Regardless of how you look at it to me it seems impressive. Miller also was on team USA. Keep in mind that Miller played more high level basketball last year than guys like Vanderbilt did for like 3 years after HS. He played more high level basketball than Lemello Ball and depending on how you feel about his team USA work James Wiseman. Miller isn’t some dude that dominated at some HS and against a few bad colleges and then we are like awesome he is good. He was productive at the age of 19 in a fairly talented league and played with some talented guys.
Defense: I’ve seen even the most excited draft write ups about him talk about concerns on that side especially off the ball. A coupletalk about slow or poor close outs. May he is an asset or a liability but I’m looking forward to watching some games to get a better idea of what he is or might be.
McDaniels to me is “you are who you can guard” so he is way more of a guard than he is a 4. In addition I feel like he has arrived as a 3 point shooter now so that’s a big deal. I don’t think Minott has quite that type of defensive movement but he is more of a guy that is gonna rebound which is what Miller also has going for him. I’m not sure which guys is more polished when drafted Minott or Miller. Gonna watch some of Miller’s games to find out. I remember being really impressed with certain aspects of McDaniels games when watching games in college.
Notice all these guys have incredible length hit also are guys that play their butts off or had some other winning skill. McDaniels was impressive defensively in college. Minott and Miller play hard and do shit. To some extent that’s guys are sort of the type of players some team pick later in the draft that are older players less likely tor develop their game. The Wolves have gotten guys like this that are under 20. I like it.
1. Lip is concerned about him not picking up the game till later. I guess. To me the guy ended up becoming a 4 to 5 star recruit and could have gotten drafted last year but he decided to play in the G-league. Basically his career path would have been like Justin Payton of Payton hadn’t gone to Creighton and would have been a bette prospect going into college. Meanwhile Miller played in the G-league a league where there is plenty of talent and guys more physically developed than college. He shined and rebounded the ball at a high rate despite being a guy that supposedly was sort of a guard type that grew into a bigger player. Regardless of how you look at it to me it seems impressive. Miller also was on team USA. Keep in mind that Miller played more high level basketball last year than guys like Vanderbilt did for like 3 years after HS. He played more high level basketball than Lemello Ball and depending on how you feel about his team USA work James Wiseman. Miller isn’t some dude that dominated at some HS and against a few bad colleges and then we are like awesome he is good. He was productive at the age of 19 in a fairly talented league and played with some talented guys.
Defense: I’ve seen even the most excited draft write ups about him talk about concerns on that side especially off the ball. A coupletalk about slow or poor close outs. May he is an asset or a liability but I’m looking forward to watching some games to get a better idea of what he is or might be.
McDaniels to me is “you are who you can guard” so he is way more of a guard than he is a 4. In addition I feel like he has arrived as a 3 point shooter now so that’s a big deal. I don’t think Minott has quite that type of defensive movement but he is more of a guy that is gonna rebound which is what Miller also has going for him. I’m not sure which guys is more polished when drafted Minott or Miller. Gonna watch some of Miller’s games to find out. I remember being really impressed with certain aspects of McDaniels games when watching games in college.
Notice all these guys have incredible length hit also are guys that play their butts off or had some other winning skill. McDaniels was impressive defensively in college. Minott and Miller play hard and do shit. To some extent that’s guys are sort of the type of players some team pick later in the draft that are older players less likely tor develop their game. The Wolves have gotten guys like this that are under 20. I like it.
Re: Leonard Miller
I was looking at the roster and salaries for the upcoming season, and it dawned on me that Miller replaces Nate Knights role, doesn't he? I am assuming Naz is either re-signed, or replaced. I also assume the Wolves will leave one roster spot open. It seems to be Nate will be the odd man out. June 29th is the date Nate's contract becomes partially guaranteed, although it's only 380K. But my money is on Nate being waived sometime between now and June 29th.
Re: Leonard Miller
That's a great article, monster...thanks for posting! This guy's character and trajectory seem to be off the charts. Could he turn out to be the biggest draft "steal" in Wolves history?Monster wrote: ↑Sat Jun 24, 2023 10:17 pm Pretty good read on Miller
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/wolv ... revved-up/