The Case for Towns

[Monster]

TKRO I'd be interested if anyone else remembers what Bogut's shot looked like before that career high season he had with that nasty fall where he all sorts of jacked up one arm and his FT% and FG% hasn't been as good since. Still Towns shot over 80% from the FT line as a Freshman and went to the line at a higher rate than Bogut as a freshman and scored overall at a higher rate as a freshman than Bogut as well. I respect your position on Towns relative to the other top guys I'm just adding to the discussion.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

TKRO I'd be interested if anyone else remembers what Bogut's shot looked like before that career high season he had with that nasty fall where he all sorts of jacked up one arm and his FT% and FG% hasn't been as good since. Still Towns shot over 80% from the FT line as a Freshman and went to the line at a higher rate than Bogut as a freshman and scored overall at a higher rate as a freshman than Bogut as well. I respect your position on Towns relative to the other top guys I'm just adding to the discussion.

Funny you should ask, because I saw the Bogut comp and went to the youtube to do my own research and it look like he had a good stroke in college. He plays well in all aspects, but Towns isn't the passer Bogut is and Towns is a good passer. Bogut is on a level on his own when it comes to passing bigs.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kuKitkTnibA

[Monster]

TKRO I'd be interested if anyone else remembers what Bogut's shot looked like before that career high season he had with that nasty fall where he all sorts of jacked up one arm and his FT% and FG% hasn't been as good since. Still Towns shot over 80% from the FT line as a Freshman and went to the line at a higher rate than Bogut as a freshman and scored overall at a higher rate as a freshman than Bogut as well. I respect your position on Towns relative to the other top guys I'm just adding to the discussion.

Funny you should ask, because I saw the Bogut comp and went to the youtube to do my own research and it look like he had a good stroke in college. He plays well in all aspects, but Towns isn't the passer Bogut is and Towns is a good passer. Bogut is on a level on his own when it comes to passing bigs.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kuKitkTnibA

I'll watch the vid later but I will say I think Towns is a good passer but yes Bogut is a really good passer. Some of those dimes he drops are pretty good for any player.

[TRKO [enjin:12664595]]

TKRO I'd be interested if anyone else remembers what Bogut's shot looked like before that career high season he had with that nasty fall where he all sorts of jacked up one arm and his FT% and FG% hasn't been as good since. Still Towns shot over 80% from the FT line as a Freshman and went to the line at a higher rate than Bogut as a freshman and scored overall at a higher rate as a freshman than Bogut as well. I respect your position on Towns relative to the other top guys I'm just adding to the discussion.

Funny you should ask, because I saw the Bogut comp and went to the youtube to do my own research and it look like he had a good stroke in college. He plays well in all aspects, but Towns isn't the passer Bogut is and Towns is a good passer. Bogut is on a level on his own when it comes to passing bigs.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kuKitkTnibA

I'll watch the vid later but I will say I think Towns is a good passer but yes Bogut is a really good passer. Some of those dimes he drops are pretty good for any player.

Towns has more athleticism than Bogut, but there are definitely similarities. Very good defenders and rebounders. Good passers and shooters and similar post games. To me Towns will get you 15-18 and maybe even 20 points, rebound well, play good defense, and be a good teammate. Totally worth the first overall pick.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

There are two things that has me suspect of Towns ability to defend the perimeter which has been a big selling point for him on this board. He has big and slow feet in terms of quickness. Once he gets going he can run, but he isn't quick. Maybe his length is enough where that doesn't matter, but that leads me to item two. The guy doesn't jump very high for being such a great athlete. Again the height comes from being on the move and jumping off one leg with momentum, but when he is standalone on his two feet he doesn't jump particularly high. I've seen these on tape and read them in a couple of his scouting reports and I don't know if it will affect him or if it will still translate. That has me doubting his defensive ceiling that seems to be sky high right now and it's why I think you have to play him at C whenever possible and limit his time at the 4 to only when matchups allow.

In terms of offensive ceiling the sky is the limit, but he hasn't shown most of the arsenal he gets credit for in a game in a while and NBA defense is a different beast than HS or college. That's why I'm not in the camp that's already giving him 3pt shooting props and thinks he'll be a 20 PPG guy. That's one where I just have to see him do it in a game and not in an open gym. The recent workout reports are very promising though in that regard. I also saw him struggle when guys would play really physical with him in college so we'll see how he adjusts to the NBA offensively.

So I think his overall package is going to end up short of all the praise he has received on the board and after these workouts. I could be wrong, but if he can really do everything he's being praised for I don't see how he's not clearly the best big prospect since AD. I'd be happy to eat my well deserved crow if he does become that guy, I just think he'll be a solid player at the NBA level (not a superstar).

[AbeVigodaLive]

We could have two of the best young two way players in the game if we land Towns and on rookie contracts. I am hoping Flip announces this pick early so we don't have to stress out about him doing something stupid.

I posted this before, but Bleacher Report wrote an article predicting who the top 20 players will be in 2020. Wiggins was #2, and Towns was #13. This was just one man's opinion, but having two of the top 13 players in the game is a good foundation for a championship team, especially if they are both 2-way players and in their mid-20s.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2377569-nba-2020-predicting-the-leagues-top-20-stars-in-2020


In the interest of full disclosure, Okafor is ranked 18th...more evidence that Flip is not likely to screw this up.

I don't think picking Russell or Okafor would be screwing it up. It's like picking between chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream. It all depends on what your taste is. We are going to get a very good young player, maybe not a guy on Davis' or Wiggins' level, but one in the tier below it.

Anthony Davis?

To be fair, there is no guarantee Wiggins is even remotely close to Anthony Davis. Or, ever will be.

Davis is arguably a top 5 player... and rising.

Davis wasn't a top 5 player after his rookie year. He's had the luxury of multiple years in the league to show how good he is. Do you have doubts Wiggins can be that #2 overall player in the league the writer suggests? It seems like every time the Wiggins hype gets going again you swoop in saying he's still not a guaranteed guy. Do you think he'll be that guy or are there still red flags that make you believe he can't attain that level of play?

Wiggins isn't guaranteed to be as good as Anthony Davis... who some insiders claim will be the league's best player as soon as next season. I have no problem saying that and don't think it's being a Debbie Downer or anything.

If you were only comparing their potential as rookies in your previous post... I can see how their potential and promise were similar in different ways. Wiggins COULD be a superstar in this league. But a lot of things have to go just right to put Wiggins in Davis' class. Just to have a guy who COULD maybe, possibly have a chance to be among the league's very best players is reason for optimism and should be fun to watch for the next few years.

Red flags? Or pragmatic optimism? Take your pick.

[mrhockey89]

I love the fact that we have Wiggins, but one could easily argue that Jabari Parker could become a better player. I'd easily trade either of them for Unibrow because he's such a known superstar on the rise quantity. Wiggins could become similar, but he's got a long ways to go to get on that level (as any 19-20 year old would)

[AbeVigodaLive]

I love the fact that we have Wiggins, but one could easily argue that Jabari Parker could become a better player. I'd easily trade either of them for Unibrow because he's such a known superstar on the rise quantity. Wiggins could become similar, but he's got a long ways to go to get on that level (as any 19-20 year old would)

In bold. That's it, really. Davis is a sure thing. We know this. We don't know for sure if Wiggins is going to make the same improvements Davis did. I'm sure fans in Milwaukee are equally as optimistic about a couple of their young guys, including Parker and Giannis.

That's part of the fun... hoping your guy becomes the next THE guy in the league. History tells us, however, there's not much margin for error.

[Monster]

I love the fact that we have Wiggins, but one could easily argue that Jabari Parker could become a better player. I'd easily trade either of them for Unibrow because he's such a known superstar on the rise quantity. Wiggins could become similar, but he's got a long ways to go to get on that level (as any 19-20 year old would)

In bold. That's it, really. Davis is a sure thing. We know this. We don't know for sure if Wiggins is going to make the same improvements Davis did. I'm sure fans in Milwaukee are equally as optimistic about a couple of their young guys, including Parker and Giannis.

That's part of the fun... hoping your guy becomes the next THE guy in the league. History tells us, however, there's not much margin for error.

Davis is a sure thing if he stays healthy and he has missed a chunk of games so in a way he isn't a sure thing either. I hope he stays healthy just sayin.

[AbeVigodaLive]

I love the fact that we have Wiggins, but one could easily argue that Jabari Parker could become a better player. I'd easily trade either of them for Unibrow because he's such a known superstar on the rise quantity. Wiggins could become similar, but he's got a long ways to go to get on that level (as any 19-20 year old would)

In bold. That's it, really. Davis is a sure thing. We know this. We don't know for sure if Wiggins is going to make the same improvements Davis did. I'm sure fans in Milwaukee are equally as optimistic about a couple of their young guys, including Parker and Giannis.

That's part of the fun... hoping your guy becomes the next THE guy in the league. History tells us, however, there's not much margin for error.

Davis is a sure thing if he stays healthy and he has missed a chunk of games so in a way he isn't a sure thing either. I hope he stays healthy just sayin.

Davis is already a top 5 guy in the league. He's "made it."

Just like LeBron James or Kevin Durant or anybody else, he could get injured and everything is off the table. But right now... he's a legit superstar.

Wiggins, healthy or not, has not reached that level. And he might never reach that level, healthy or not.