NBA: ***OFFICIAL 2018-2019 REGULAR SEASON THREAD***
- Thread starter jbindm
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Yeah, I was seeing some comparisons to Russell Westbrook before, which isn't ideal, but now they've turned in to Westbrook, but better.
I think he's a much more skilled, slightly less athletic version of Westbrook coming out of UCLA. He's not quite the freak athlete Russ is but still real athletic and his passing and vision are way ahead of Westbrook at that age and probably even today.
It's going to be hard for a team to pass up Zion and all the hype and ticket sales he will bring, but Morant might have an easier time adapting to the NBA game. Think Morant and Booker in Phoenix with Ayton, that's a real nice core all of a sudden and fits better together than Zion would on that team.
Chris Vernon on The Ringer podcast The Mismatch today. “It feels like we’re talking about Iowa State players way too much considering they were all 2nd rounders or undrafted.” He has been talking about how much he liked Burton and compared him to PJ Tucker.
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Now that Duke's season is done, Zion obviously more than lived up to the hype but I think all three of their other freshman lowered their draft stock this year. It would be real hard to get excited about getting Cam Reddish with a lottery pick after watching him at Duke this year. Tre Jones jumper might be bad enough to force him back for another year. Barrett has a ton of upside but I think he also has a lot of development ahead of him, especially once he doesn't have a huge athletic advantage over almost everyone he faces.
That was honestly crazy they almost pulled the W off. When I saw the lineup I thought for sure a 20 point loss. Crazy Frazier played all 53 min.
I think right now it's Zion first overall and Ja Morant second. After that, who knows? I'm sure there'll be plenty of movement with predraft workouts and everything.
This Duke team might make some top prospects re-think where they want to play. Would Barrett or Reddish have been better off going to a different program where they would have been the top option? Or was their decision still correct given the publicity and exposure they got at Duke?
Think Zion goes number one, no doubt, no matter who gets the pick? If the Suns get the top pick I wonder if they would go Morant, him and Booker together with Ayton down low is a better fit than Zion. There’s definitely a big drop off after those two.
Skilled, good athlete, and gets buckets. Just think he's going to be a good player. I only watched Zion a few times but I'll be interested to see if he can continue to refine his skills. Seemed like he was just bigger and more athletic than everyone this year. That will be neutralized a little at the next level
Yeah. I like his pass first instinct and how quick and explosive he is. But it's a shooter's league now and that's the one big knock on him. That's not to say that he can't develop or get better at it, but the league is littered with guards who never did develop the ability to consistently knock down the open three. I'm curious to see what he can do with a better supporting cast.
Zion is still the clear top prospect but it's not as big a gap as some might think. I think you're right in that he's still more freak athlete than he is a polished basketball player, kind of like Andrew Wiggins coming out of KU. Athletic freak but still very raw. But someone that big and fast and athletic is going to be a force to be reckoned with just on talent alone. If he keeps refining it, then he's going to be a perennial MVP candidate for some team for the next decade.
I think there's a fair argument to be made for Morant over Zion as well and I think he actually puts up better numbers next year. He's basically the perfect fit on both ends for the modern NBA. Zion has really impressed me this year though, for him to be a super star he needs to become a good 3 point shooter. I will say, he's a much better defender than I expected him to be, he has unreal instincts and can close so much ground. He also competes. That's a skill in itself, he goes hard non-stop. This is where any Wiggins comparison goes right out the window for me.
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/26424613/out-magic-wizards-fire-prez-ernie-grunfeld
Long, long overdue. The new GM will inherit an absolute mess of a roster. I'd be tempted to blow it all up and start by trading Bradley Beal for as many assets as I can get.
The John Wall contract extension is the fly in the ointment - he's due about 170 million through the 22-23 season.
Long, long overdue. The new GM will inherit an absolute mess of a roster. I'd be tempted to blow it all up and start by trading Bradley Beal for as many assets as I can get.
The John Wall contract extension is the fly in the ointment - he's due about 170 million through the 22-23 season.
