Minnesota Sports Forum

Camden wrote:Sometimes the pre-draft assessment can be spot-on and the player just improves his game significantly or outperforms expectations. This is what I believe happened with LaMelo Ball. He was statistically one of the worst defenders in the entire NBL, especially in defending the pick-and-roll, which is the most executed action in the NBA. He had a broken outside shot (25.0 3P% on 80 attempts) and trouble consistently finishing at the rim, which is a recipe for disaster especially considering he was playing in a league with inferior length and athleticism to the NBA. His effort/motor was inconsistent on both ends of the floor and his maturity was rightfully questioned, especially after reports concerning his pre-draft interviews were leaked. Don't be confused by the results. There were very real red flags based on what he showed in his limited time in Australia and through the shortened pre-draft process.

What I didn't expect and certainly couldn't have predicted was Ball significantly retooling his shot mechanics -- specifically to be more of a set shot than a natural jumper. The early results have been staggering. Raise your hand if you expected Ball to shoot 37.5-percent from three on more than five attempts per game. Okay, now put your hand down because I don't believe you. Who could have expected Ball to become an elite finisher at the rim making more than 60-percent of his attempts within 0-3 feet? These were valid weaknesses in Ball's game that he has transformed into strengths in a short amount of time. And to his credit there haven't been any signs of him having effort or engagement concerns this season.

Add these improvements to his prior strengths of being an above average facilitator, good rebounder for position, and overall size for position and you have a really intriguing player. But make no mistake about it, there were legitimate reasons to be concerned leading up to this.

For perspective, if Ball's season truly is over, he will have played in 56.9% of Charlotte's games (41 of 72). The lowest percentage ever by a Rookie winner was 61% by New York center Patrick Ewing in 1986 (50 of 82).

So unless somehow Ball were able to mend, rehab and return for at least three games near the end of the Hornets' regular season, one of two things is going to happen: We're either going to have a new floor established for availability/durability in ROY consideration. Or some other newcomer is going to get the award.

FNG wrote:Q and Abe nailed it. I'm as guilty as anyone in thinking I have all the answers and that the experts are wrong, but we all should learn a lesson from this last draft. The experts kept saying Ball, and this board said anyone but Ball and turned it into a Wiseman vs. Edwards debate. Who knew that guys who evaluate basketball talent for a living might know more than a bunch of bobos on a message board?

PorkChop wrote:I still think Wiseman would've been the right pick. For the simple fact that he could've been penciled in as our center where he could've focused on rebounding , blocks and put backs. More importantly it would have put Towns further out to the perimeter where his full offensive arsenal could be put on display . It also would've filled the teams current biggest weakness . The PF position.