Minnesota Sports Forum

Yeah, no one has impressed me a ton in terms of being an NBA prospect that really stands out (other than Zion). And I don't get the love for Hunter. He is like Virginia's 3rd best player. Heck, even Culver seems like a slow poke to me.

kekgeek1 wrote:

Q12543 wrote:Other than Zion, I'm not sure there is a guy on Duke I'd want. RJ Barrett has some great "do shit" stats but his outside shot is balky and he seems a little slow for a wing.Cam Reddish is a total mess and Tre Jones is too much like Tyus....not a good enough shooter/scorer.

Cassius Winston is a great college floor general that just outsmarts most players, but tough seeing him playing much at the next level.

Im with you, not super impressed with Barrett or Reddish. Outside of Ja and Zion I haven't really loved that many people in this draft. I like Hunter and Culver but I don't know if they will be anything more than role players in the league. I know there are always very good players in every draft but I am not super excited about this years prospects.

But its all good, the next time we get to see Zion he will be teaming up with KAT and the Wolves are set to win multiple titles. How I have been running in poker lately I am due to hit a 1 outer. Its happening.

Honestly if all you knew about Cam Reddish was watching this game I think people would be super intrigued with the long athletic quick and defensive minded wing with a sweet looking stroke. I'm not saying people would be saying he is gonna be a star but a good all around player that you pick in the lottery? Sure.

But back to reality. Duke coulda lost the last 3 games and finally they did lose. This game it was so many turnovers Jones even had one! One thing that kinda cracks me up about Zion is that he is absolutely a physical specimen but he falls down a lot. Some of that is because he is actually giving effort on some plays but its still a bit funny.

Q12543 wrote:Yeah, no one has impressed me a ton in terms of being an NBA prospect that really stands out (other than Zion). And I don't get the love for Hunter. He is like Virginia's 3rd best player. Heck, even Culver seems like a slow poke to me.

Q what do you think we should do in this draft? Go for a guy that seems a bit of a sure thing or maybe even do the trade down that we both like for a 2fer? There are guys I have seen that I like but yeah Im not sure what guys really wow me.

I forgot Hunter was supposed to be good. One of the guys I really like is Herro and the little guys from Auburn blew past him today...although I wonder if he was playing toward help that never came. Nobody seemed to be able to guard those guys though which is a big reason why Auburn won.

Q12543 wrote:Yeah, no one has impressed me a ton in terms of being an NBA prospect that really stands out (other than Zion). And I don't get the love for Hunter. He is like Virginia's 3rd best player. Heck, even Culver seems like a slow poke to me.

Hunter is pretty easily Virginia's best overall player. He's one of the best defensive players in all of college basketball and he's an efficient scorer when his number is called. He's also one of these prospects that should fit the NBA style a lot better than the college game.

This is shaping up to be one of the least impressive draft classes I've seen in a number of years. Meanwhile, a number of players I liked before the NCAA tournament have fallen in my estimation as a result of their tournament play. Those players include Alexander-Walker, Keldon Johnson, and even Jarrett Culver although he's looked the best of this bench by far. I still like Johnson's effort and rebounding instincts, which were on display today, but I don't see a combination of skills, size and/or atheticism that suggests significant NBA upside. Same for Alexander-Walker, although I still like his ball-handling and playmaking potential. Culver looks solid and better to me than Alexander-Walker or Keldon Johnson, but there's a slowness in his game that makes me wonder about his NBA potential. I was never high on Coby White, Cam Reddish, De'Andre Hunter, or Rui Hachimura, so those guys haven't let me down with their tournament play. Barrett has held steady at #3 on my draft board with his tournament play, just ahead of Darius Garland who is #4 on my current draft board.

Other than Barrett, the only players I've been high on who haven't fallen in my estimation based on their tournament player are Zion, Ja, and Brandon Clarke. PJ Washington hasn't been among my favorites, but he's won me over with his tournament play. I remain very high on Darius Garland, although I understand we haven't had much opportunity to see him at the college level. But watching videos of him early this season I've fallen in love with his game. I think he's an elite talent who unfortunately probably won't be available with the Wolves are on the clock at #10 or 11.

If we end up picking 10th or 11th and Darius has already been taken, I'd still be interested in Keldon Johnson, Alexander-Walker and Jarrett Culver, although Culver probably won't be available by that point. But none of those guys look like they have much upside, which means they aren't likely to become more than solid rotation players. That's not bad, but that's not what the Wolves should be looking for with their lottery pick. So if it were up to me, at this point I'd be leaning towards Brandon Clarke. He reminds me of John Collins with his hops and quickness, although more of a shot-blocker and less of a rebounder than Collins. The story on Clarke is that he has totally revamped what was a broken shot. The good news is that his reworked shot has already substantially improved his free throw and field goal accuracy. Otherwise, other players I'd look closely at as high-side prospects would be Kevin Porter Jr., Bol Bol, Seoul Doumbouya and Okpala.

You basically have to pick a guy in this draft based on how well you think you can develop them. Can you help Barrett improve his shot so he's better than a 66% FT shooter and a guy who can hit 3's off the dribble? Can you teach Culver old man positioning and moves to makeup for his lack of athleticism? Can you tap into Reddish's mind to get him to take a more aggressive approach to the game? Can you continue to make Clarke more than a 3ft around the basket guy? Everyone, but Zion and Ja have big questions. You have to figure out who you think you can best develop. Some of those things are much easier to develop than others.

khans2k5 wrote:You basically have to pick a guy in this draft based on how well you think you can develop them. Can you help Barrett improve his shot so he's better than a 66% FT shooter and a guy who can hit 3's off the dribble? Can you teach Culver old man positioning and moves to makeup for his lack of athleticism? Can you tap into Reddish's mind to get him to take a more aggressive approach to the game? Can you continue to make Clarke more than a 3ft around the basket guy? Everyone, but Zion and Ja have big questions. You have to figure out who you think you can best develop. Some of those things are much easier to develop than others.

Excellent point, Kahns. Applying potential development as the key determinant, would cause me to definitely cross Reddish off the list. As we've learned with Wiggins, you can't develop or change a player's basic mental framework. Guys who tend to be passive and disappear in college almost always end up doing the same in the NBA. Skills can improve, but your fundamental character doesn't. I also don't have a lot of confidence in the development of a player's positioning and moves sufficient to overcome a serious lack of athleticism, although it's certainly possible. Actually, I think Culver will be a decent NBA player, but I don't see allstar potential in him and I think the Wolves need to draft upside.

I have some confidence in the development of Clarke's shot because he's already shown a willingness to fundamentally alter his form and has already shown improvement as a result. The key for me is that he has two important core characteristics that you can't teach - great athleticism and a terrific motor. It will be interesting to see his measurements to see how well his shot-blocking can transfer to the NBA. He's not particularly tall, but he might have freakishly long arms. I also have confidence in the development of Barrett. He has pretty good do-crap stats to go with his nice combination of skills and size. His only issue appears to be shooting and, again, that's something he can development after coming to the NBA.

But in the the end, you're right that Zion and Ja are the only sure things in this draft. That's why it would be great if the Wolves would move up in the lottery for the first time in the organization's 30 year history. Snagging one of the top two spots would obviously be ideal. But I'd happily accept jumping up to 3 or even 4. If we're drafting 3rd, I'd take Barrett but I'd also be open to offers from teams looking to trade up. If would have to be a really good offer. If drafting #4, I'd be inclined to take Darius Garland depending on his medical reports and workouts. Otherwise, it would probably make sense to trade down (but not too far) and pick up additional assets.

I know the stats wouldn't show it... but it's probably pretty telling that Virginia threw Hunter at Edwards as their stopper. I think he's legit defensively.

Offensively, he's been very meh. I HATED that he drove to the rim on the left side and tried to finish with his right hand a couple of times. That's very Zach LaVine-ish and is gonna get blocked. Kids should have a left hand by 6th grade.

I look forward to seeing Tre Jones another year in college... without having to play mostly iso ball because of the talent around him. I'm expecting him to be given more of a Cassius Winston role where he makes everything go. That guy is so fun to watch... and brings me back to the old school way of following college hoops where guys stuck around and you could see them improve incrementally.

I wouldn't think of Brandon Clarke as someone I'd seriously look at in the top-10.

Also, this talk about how poor or meh this draft class is doesn't match what I've seen from a lot of prospects in this class. There's a couple "sure things" at the top, but then there's another 8-10 guys with All-Star talent, ability, and tools hanging around too. This could very easily look like a stacked draft in the next four years.

AbeVigodaLive wrote:I know the stats wouldn't show it... but it's probably pretty telling that Virginia threw Hunter at Edwards as their stopper. I think he's legit defensively.

Offensively, he's been very meh. I HATED that he drove to the rim on the left side and tried to finish with his right hand a couple of times. That's very Zach LaVine-ish and is gonna get blocked. Kids should have a left hand by 6th grade.

I look forward to seeing Tre Jones another year in college... without having to play mostly iso ball because of the talent around him. I'm expecting him to be given more of a Cassius Winston role where he makes everything go. That guy is so fun to watch... and brings me back to the old school way of following college hoops where guys stuck around and you could see them improve incrementally.

Well, Hunter didn't do much to stop Carsen Edwards, although I'm not sure anyone could have stopped him. Hunter just hasn't done anything to really stick out. I see he shoots the 3 well, but at a low-ish volume, so I don't trust it given our history with guys that supposedly were decent shooters in college and then struggled with us.