Walker Kessler

[Q-is-here]

Marc Gasol is another guy that came into the league as fairly slow and lumbering and eventually worked is way into better shape and figured out how to use his size and positioning to really impact the game defensively.

Part of being a good post-season team is actually getting there and landing home court advantage. All these bigs that got partially played off the floor in the post-season were critical components of their team's success in the regular season. Steven Adams averaged 27 MPG and had a very positive net rating and net on/off rating. Ultimately we want Walker Kessler to help anchor our second unit defense and at times absorb fouls and physical contact on KAT's behalf to help preserve Towns over a long season.

[kekgeek]

I just don't think Kessler is that slow, I think we correlate big white guy with slow. I'm it saying he is an elite athlete but he is I think a solid NBA athlete. There are clips out there of Kessler being put on an island against the 2 Bama guards that were in this past draft and he stayed with them and blocked both their shots.

If Kessler can not be a super liability in PnR and continue to develop his shot he should be be a starting caliber NBA player.

Also he played with terrible guards at Auburn and Jabari Smith who's weakest part of his game is playmaking. Kessler will be around elite guards for the 1st time ever

[Monster]

Thanks for posting, Monster. I'll check out those videos. Taking about the 3" difference in standing reach between Kessler and Naz, I'll offer two thoughts. First, 3" can make a big difference between blocking or altering shots and getting scored on in the paint. Second, Naz is actually a good shot-blocker. Unfortunately, Naz is a poor defender and that's a function of his lack of lateral quickness and perhaps defensive instincts.

Kessler doesn't have to be good at switching out on guards to be a valuable contributor to the Wolves. But he needs to be quick and nimble enough to block or at least alter shots in the paint at a high level. If you watch the Spinelli video you see Kessler struggling to block or alter shots of the quicker more crafty guards and wings he faced. He'll be facing guards and wings of that caliber on a regular basis. So I think he'll need to get a bit quicker to succeed in the NBA. Don't get me wrong, Kessler isn't a slow plodder. But I do think he needs to get a bit quicker to be the paint defender we want him to be. The good news, as we've been discussing, is that he appears to be one of the few players coming into the NBA with significant excess body fat that he can trim and thereby make himself significantly quicker and even improve his verticality. We've seen what Naz can do as a shot-blocker in limited minutes. It's exciting to think about what Kessler, with his 3" of additional length and more imposing overall body might be able to do, especially if he gets even a little bit quicker, bouncier and more nimble. I think the IQ, character and work ethic are there as a solid foundation for him to improve.

I agree with you that it's definitely possible Kessler substantially improves his perimeter shooter. His college coach seems to believe it's very possible. If Kessler improves his quickness/ability a little by cutting his body fat in half and becomes a good perimeter shooter with 3-point range through hard work and repetition, then it's fair to say Connelly might have hit a home run with this pick.

Lip you should watch some games of Kessler. In the games I watched he had multiple possessions were he did just fine staying with guards and sometimes blocking their shot. A couple times it was almost hilarious how hapless the guards were against him in that regard. One time he followed TyTy all across the floor and Washington scored on him near the FT line on a very impressive Floater with just a little separation over the full length of Kessler's outstretched arm. Of course there were times he got beat too but I was actually pretty pleased with how he did. I was not expecting it when I went to watch highlights etc.

Meanwhile in terms of shot blocking covering ground Kessler has many times he covers ground quickly moving from one player to another easily blocking a guy in help defense. Did he also bite a pump fake in each game? Yes once during the UK and maybe twice in the LSU game. He also mostly shut down Oscar Tshiebwe who I'm pretty sure only scored 4 points when Kessler was guarding him and one was on a move where he got Kessler up in the air and scored. For most of the game Kessler often denied him even getting the ball. To be fair UK's guard did get hurt but still that was happening earlier in the game when they were healthy.

As for Naz I think there are multiple problems for him as a defensive player especially since he is basically a center.

1. He simply doesn't play strong enough. He doesn't hold his position well enough. This is partly why he doesn't play big which is a problem everyone on this board sees.

2. He is just an ok rebounder. Under 9 rebounds a game per 36 isn't horrible but I think most of us here would say it's not a strength of his game. Securing the ball with a rebound ends the possession and it's not exactly a strength for him.

3. Naz actually plays I think fast for a player of his size and I think in general he plays hard but I wouldn't call him a scrappy guy. I think he can play in a scrappy system because he moves well get steals and blocks but when a ball is on the floor or whatever I don't think damn Naz Reid is gonna go that thing. Maybe there is a bit of him that doesn't quite have that extra twitch he needs to be that guy but it's not quite in his DNA. Again I don't think it's an effort thing.

4. Savvy as a defender. Lets compare Naz to another former Wolves who isn't tall but has nice length Taj Gibson. Taj is more mobile but I think he always had a bit of savvy defensively. I was always a big Taj fan going back to the year he came out of USC. Naz I think has the ability to like Taj or even like Dieng did in his weird way of playing small using mobility instead of just trying to muscle guys by holding a position. Taj even though he isn't a guy that anchors a defense either is a guy that for years was a piece to the puzzle on that end. Like you said Naz does block shots and that has value. He also picks up a good amount of steals too. I think Naz's upside on defense is figuring out how to use his strengths to his advantage and while maybe he never get the savvy of a Taj type guy a few changes could make him quite a bit more valuable as a rotation player especially since he has some fairly legit fairly well rounded tools as an offensive player.

Meanwhile Kessler as a sophomore won the defensive player of the year award on college and he beat out some other good players including Oscar Tshiebwe and Mark Williams to do so. Sure he blocked a bunch of shots and that was likely a significant factor but you can't find NCAA players with a bunch of blocks most years (ok not like Kessler but still) and a lot of them don't get that award. Anyway the point is that it seems likely that he has some that defensive savvy IQ or whatever someone want to call it that he will be able to be successful at the next level.

[Monster]

I just don't think Kessler is that slow, I think we correlate big white guy with slow. I'm it saying he is an elite athlete but he is I think a solid NBA athlete. There are clips out there of Kessler being put on an island against the 2 Bama guards that were in this past draft and he stayed with them and blocked both their shots.

If Kessler can not be a super liability in PnR and continue to develop his shot he should be be a starting caliber NBA player.

Also he played with terrible guards at Auburn and Jabari Smith who's weakest part of his game is playmaking. Kessler will be around elite guards for the 1st time ever

When was the last time the wolves had a big lob threat? Maybe Ryan Hollins? I feel like maybe I'm blanking on someone but I don't really consider Towns that type of guy. Having someone you can literally just sort a throw up the ball near the rim would be fun. Kessler does go out on the perimeter but he definitely is a guy that rim runs in the paint and calls for the ball.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Nobody wants to hear this, but Walker Kessler would be a really nice partner in the pick-and-roll with D'Angelo Russell considering he dives hard to the rim versus popping out after every screen like Karl-Anthony Towns does. Those two would probably be good for a handful of buckets every game just in that action. For all of the credit Chris Finch rightly deserves, he's still not utilized D-Lo in the pick-and-roll nearly enough.

[Q-is-here]

I think the issue in the playoffs with bigs isn't just the mismatches that occur in isolation against guard and wing scorers (which may be Kessler can handle to a degree), but also the inability to close out quick enough on shooters in 5-out formations. That's why these 6'9 or 6'10 rangy athletes at Center with a bit more mobility like Robert Williams are unicorns. They can collapse into the paint on dribble drives to stop the layup and then recover quickly to the corner to contest the shot after the kickout.

Kessler may not be super slow and lumbering, but I struggle seeing him being able to cover as much ground as guys like Williams, Horford, Looney, JJJ, etc. when it comes to contesting perimeter shots off of ball rotation.

[Sundog]

Nobody wants to hear this, but Walker Kessler would be a really nice partner in the pick-and-roll with D'Angelo Russell considering he dives hard to the rim versus popping out after every screen like Karl-Anthony Towns does. Those two would probably be good for a handful of buckets every game just in that action. For all of the credit Chris Finch rightly deserves, he's still not utilized D-Lo in the pick-and-roll nearly enough.

I agree with this, Cam.

[Lipoli390]

Nobody wants to hear this, but Walker Kessler would be a really nice partner in the pick-and-roll with D'Angelo Russell considering he dives hard to the rim versus popping out after every screen like Karl-Anthony Towns does. Those two would probably be good for a handful of buckets every game just in that action. For all of the credit Chris Finch rightly deserves, he's still not utilized D-Lo in the pick-and-roll nearly enough.

I agree with this, Cam.

I disagree - just because I don't want to hear it, especially from Cam. :)

[Lipoli390]

Thanks for posting, Monster. I'll check out those videos. Taking about the 3" difference in standing reach between Kessler and Naz, I'll offer two thoughts. First, 3" can make a big difference between blocking or altering shots and getting scored on in the paint. Second, Naz is actually a good shot-blocker. Unfortunately, Naz is a poor defender and that's a function of his lack of lateral quickness and perhaps defensive instincts.

Kessler doesn't have to be good at switching out on guards to be a valuable contributor to the Wolves. But he needs to be quick and nimble enough to block or at least alter shots in the paint at a high level. If you watch the Spinelli video you see Kessler struggling to block or alter shots of the quicker more crafty guards and wings he faced. He'll be facing guards and wings of that caliber on a regular basis. So I think he'll need to get a bit quicker to succeed in the NBA. Don't get me wrong, Kessler isn't a slow plodder. But I do think he needs to get a bit quicker to be the paint defender we want him to be. The good news, as we've been discussing, is that he appears to be one of the few players coming into the NBA with significant excess body fat that he can trim and thereby make himself significantly quicker and even improve his verticality. We've seen what Naz can do as a shot-blocker in limited minutes. It's exciting to think about what Kessler, with his 3" of additional length and more imposing overall body might be able to do, especially if he gets even a little bit quicker, bouncier and more nimble. I think the IQ, character and work ethic are there as a solid foundation for him to improve.

I agree with you that it's definitely possible Kessler substantially improves his perimeter shooter. His college coach seems to believe it's very possible. If Kessler improves his quickness/ability a little by cutting his body fat in half and becomes a good perimeter shooter with 3-point range through hard work and repetition, then it's fair to say Connelly might have hit a home run with this pick.

Lip you should watch some games of Kessler. In the games I watched he had multiple possessions were he did just fine staying with guards and sometimes blocking their shot. A couple times it was almost hilarious how hapless the guards were against him in that regard. One time he followed TyTy all across the floor and Washington scored on him near the FT line on a very impressive Floater with just a little separation over the full length of Kessler's outstretched arm. Of course there were times he got beat too but I was actually pretty pleased with how he did. I was not expecting it when I went to watch highlights etc.

Meanwhile in terms of shot blocking covering ground Kessler has many times he covers ground quickly moving from one player to another easily blocking a guy in help defense. Did he also bite a pump fake in each game? Yes once during the UK and maybe twice in the LSU game. He also mostly shut down Oscar Tshiebwe who I'm pretty sure only scored 4 points when Kessler was guarding him and one was on a move where he got Kessler up in the air and scored. For most of the game Kessler often denied him even getting the ball. To be fair UK's guard did get hurt but still that was happening earlier in the game when they were healthy.

As for Naz I think there are multiple problems for him as a defensive player especially since he is basically a center.

1. He simply doesn't play strong enough. He doesn't hold his position well enough. This is partly why he doesn't play big which is a problem everyone on this board sees.

2. He is just an ok rebounder. Under 9 rebounds a game per 36 isn't horrible but I think most of us here would say it's not a strength of his game. Securing the ball with a rebound ends the possession and it's not exactly a strength for him.

3. Naz actually plays I think fast for a player of his size and I think in general he plays hard but I wouldn't call him a scrappy guy. I think he can play in a scrappy system because he moves well get steals and blocks but when a ball is on the floor or whatever I don't think damn Naz Reid is gonna go that thing. Maybe there is a bit of him that doesn't quite have that extra twitch he needs to be that guy but it's not quite in his DNA. Again I don't think it's an effort thing.

4. Savvy as a defender. Lets compare Naz to another former Wolves who isn't tall but has nice length Taj Gibson. Taj is more mobile but I think he always had a bit of savvy defensively. I was always a big Taj fan going back to the year he came out of USC. Naz I think has the ability to like Taj or even like Dieng did in his weird way of playing small using mobility instead of just trying to muscle guys by holding a position. Taj even though he isn't a guy that anchors a defense either is a guy that for years was a piece to the puzzle on that end. Like you said Naz does block shots and that has value. He also picks up a good amount of steals too. I think Naz's upside on defense is figuring out how to use his strengths to his advantage and while maybe he never get the savvy of a Taj type guy a few changes could make him quite a bit more valuable as a rotation player especially since he has some fairly legit fairly well rounded tools as an offensive player.

Meanwhile Kessler as a sophomore won the defensive player of the year award on college and he beat out some other good players including Oscar Tshiebwe and Mark Williams to do so. Sure he blocked a bunch of shots and that was likely a significant factor but you can't find NCAA players with a bunch of blocks most years (ok not like Kessler but still) and a lot of them don't get that award. Anyway the point is that it seems likely that he has some that defensive savvy IQ or whatever someone want to call it that he will be able to be successful at the next level.

Great post, Monster!

[Q-is-here]

Nobody wants to hear this, but Walker Kessler would be a really nice partner in the pick-and-roll with D'Angelo Russell considering he dives hard to the rim versus popping out after every screen like Karl-Anthony Towns does. Those two would probably be good for a handful of buckets every game just in that action. For all of the credit Chris Finch rightly deserves, he's still not utilized D-Lo in the pick-and-roll nearly enough.

The problem is the other end of the court Cam. They don't work well together defensively because Kessler is likely best in drop coverage, which forces the guard to fight like hell over ball screens. That's not exactly DLO's strong suit.