Jaden McDaniels

[Lipoli390]

Jaden McDaniels had 52 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists in the Pro Am today. Chet Holmgren had 34 points, 14 rebounds and 7 blocks. Banchero had 50 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Obviously, defense wasn't a priority in this game. But check out this video of Jaden:

https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1553545451739267073?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1553545451739267073%7Ctwgr%5E2a7a3f44f992557336a96899cbd980d20312096e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fnews%2Fpaolo-banchero-chet-holmgren-jaden-mcdaniels-crawsover-pro-am

Defense or no defense, three things about Jaden show through in this video. First, he has definitely improved his handle. It's not like he was a bad ball-handler before, but he has really tightened it up. .Second, his shot looked really good. Finally, he looked really quick. I don't want to get too excited about him given the nature of the game he was playing in today. But there's definitely reason to be excited about Jaden's development. I'm not going to predict that he's the next Scottie Pippen. But there's definitely some Pippen in Jaden's game.

[Lipoli390]

Here's an interesting comment by Jaden's college teammate, Isaiah Stewart, a couple years ago:

"It's great playing with someone like Jaden who has length. He's not a forward; he's a guard. And he's a guard with a huge wingspan. He just gives opponents hell, especially playing up top in the 2-3. It's just crazy.... I saw him just totally shut down an opponent just with moving his feet and his long arms. He's special."

-UW teammate Isaiah Stewart

[Monster]

Here's an interesting comment by Jaden's college teammate, Isaiah Stewart, a couple years ago:

"It's great playing with someone like Jaden who has length. He's not a forward; he's a guard. And he's a guard with a huge wingspan. He just gives opponents hell, especially playing up top in the 2-3. It's just crazy.... I saw him just totally shut down an opponent just with moving his feet and his long arms. He's special."

-UW teammate Isaiah Stewart

Yep this was why after watching a couple of his college games I thought not only did have have a very interesting ceiling I also thought he had a nice floor as a role player. Not only didn't he move like a guard defensively he was actually doing something with it and had some team/ help defensive instincts.

I'll also add here that based on the pics of Jaden next to Banchero and Chet at the Pro Am I don't think he has grown anymore than last year unless Banchero is taller than has been reported which would be weird since it seems like he would have wanted teams around the draft to know he was taller. Him getting taller would have been a nice bonus.

The ball handling does look promising. If he can be more consistent making 3's that's going to make any ball handling improvements even more impactful as players will have to close out stronger then they already have.

[BloopOracle]

I hope he becomes more aggressive attacking the rim. Remember during his rookie season there is a stretch of five or so games where attack the rim and violently tried to posterize someone? He got stuffed every time and quit trying but he was very close, maybe a bit more muscle, a bit more burst like he currently has now and he would have had multiple YouTube highlights!

[Coolbreeze44]

Hopefully the last playoff game is a sign of good things to come. I have high hopes he can become a two-way player this year. And when that happens, he is going to get expensive.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Baby steps are necessary here. Consistently make the open three. Defend without fouling. Rebound at your position. If he can do that this season we'll have exactly what we need and then he can build off of that. His ceiling is sky high, no doubt, but it feels like he needs to establish a floor that represents a positive player first.

[Sundog]

Say, where do you guys think Jaden would have been drafted, if he was coming out this year and given his development this past couple of years? Maybe that's a dumb hypothetical and not fair to this year's draftees, since McDaniels has had a couple of years of pro experience. But I started to think about it after seeing the stats from the pro-am game the other day. Paulo and Chet are special, freak athletes... but so is Jaden, especially now.

I'd rank him behind those guys and Ivey, but I don't think I'd have anyone else above him.

[Q-is-here]

Say, where do you guys think Jaden would have been drafted, if he was coming out this year and given his development this past couple of years? Maybe that's a dumb hypothetical and not fair to this year's draftees, since McDaniels has had a couple of years of pro experience. But I started to think about it after seeing the stats from the pro-am game the other day. Paulo and Chet are special, freak athletes... but so is Jaden, especially now.

I'd rank him behind those guys and Ivey, but I don't think I'd have anyone else above him.

Well, certainly higher than he was drafted originally of course. I think I'd take him in the top 5-10 of this past draft simply based on the bird-in-the-hand theory. We know he is already a plus-level NBA defender. Now it's all about knocking down shots. Yes, he'll have to create every once in a while, but it isn't as important as being a reliable catch and shoot option.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Speaking of pro-ams, Nathan Knight, Wendell Moore Jr., and Josh Minott showed up to the Twin Cities Pro-Am at Minnehaha Academy tonight and they all looked good from the clips I saw. Also in attendance was D'Angelo Russell. Love to see Minnesota's young guys out there balling as well as an appearance from D-Lo. Seems like he's been everywhere this summer. Say what you want about the guy, but he appears to be a great teammate and clearly invested in what the Wolves are building.

[Lipoli390]

Speaking of pro-ams, Nathan Knight, Wendell Moore Jr., and Josh Minott showed up to the Twin Cities Pro-Am at Minnehaha Academy tonight and they all looked good from the clips I saw. Also in attendance was D'Angelo Russell. Love to see Minnesota's young guys out there balling as well as an appearance from D-Lo. Seems like he's been everywhere this summer. Say what you want about the guy, but he appears to be a great teammate and clearly invested in what the Wolves are building.

Thanks for the info, Cam. I love that DLO has been showing up. As FNG and I have mentioned a number of times, DLO was clearly a great teammate last season. You see that better at Target Center than you could on TV. The fact that he showed up at Summer League and again at the Twin Cities Pro-Am is fantastic. DLO is a self-described basketball junkie. The fact that he's showing up to these things probably reflects his love of the game, but I also think it reflects his commitment to and desire to remain with this team. As I indicated in the other thread, it's hard to see how that happens beyond the next two seasons given the payroll implications. But I think he wants to be here. So we'll see what happens.