Bro Ben loves ball. It would be better if he didn't because then he wouldn't have crippling anxiety about not being able to shoot FTs.
2023 NBA Draft Megathread
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I think he likes basketball but loves being rich and famous (parts of it anyway). Now that he has the bag he doesn't seem to care all that much about playing. He never really improved a whole lot since his like rookie or second rookie year... I think he was just super talented and worked a fair amount... but not like the guys that love the game. He quit on his college team so yeah I don't think he ever really loved the game but maybe that is a more recent development.
Yeah cos I remember when he was up for ROY against Don, he was clearly the better player back then. Kinda funny to see us pushing so hard for Don to win it.
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Production does matter. You will not catch me evaluating a single prospect without considering their production. When it comes to the twin's production, it is not impressive given the quality of competition. And no, I am not buying the "it's winning basketball" stuff in a league that was basically created to make them look good and the are on the best team. Of course they are the best players by a mile, and that's what brings up question marks. And it's not just raw numbers either. Deeper dives into numbers have only increased the question marks.
He has some game, but if we are making politically incorrect comments about how Dick looks, then how about that he looks like he should have been on a BYU team in the 80s or 90s. Personally I like him in the 15/16 range, just not around 7-12.
They are on the best team because they are the guys who make it the best team. Did you watch the finals at all? You sound dumb right now. The league was not designed for them.
It ain't saying much that they're the best in the league. I did watch the finals and looked up all the players on the other team too for context for what I was watching. What did I find out? They are playing against younger (often much younger) non elite prospects. In other words, it's a high level high school AAU game. It's not like they are playing many NBA prospects if any at all. And I'm just going to mention it again, but they are doing this against guys that are also much younger than them. I'm not impressed if you're 20 years old and beating up on a 17 year old 4 star. I'm sorry but that just doesn't do it for me. But it does worry me if you can't finish at the rim or score well in the halfcourt against this level of competition.
If you're being generous, you can just completely ignore their production at all and don't compare it to anyone in their league. Treat it like Shaedon Sharpe, which for me is to have no opinion. This isn't too far from where I'm at, like I said it's hard to judge. They could be good, bad, or great. Who the hell knows, but their production is not impressing me at all.
Yeah, dude has about the most unlikable look of anyone I can think of.
That being said, if all he is is a scintillating 6’ 8” shooter… well I mean how much more is there to Klay Thompson’s game, really? Shooting the ball is basketball at its essence and being that tall, shooting at that distance, and the point value of those shots mean you’re either going to get good shots up or the defensive gravity will tear a hole in a scheme.
He jumps off the screen about as much as anyone in this draft outside the consensus top-3 (with all due respect to Amen who can’t shoot). It’s one thing to be able to shoot in college, it’s another to have his size, age, and agility on top of it all.
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I share some of One Love’s concerns, but you nailed a key difference and Exum also just wasn’t very good at basketball generally. Amen has a serious shooting deficiency but everything else looks great to me. Get him enough spacing and it might not be a catastrophic weakness (in the playoffs).
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I think it is so on brand that it is strangely likeable. His name being Grady Dick also helps... if his name was Bryn or Grayson then maybe I'd hate him. He just looks like the popular kid in the 80s high school movie that bullies the loser kid who ends up kicking his *** or stealing his girlfriend or both.
Klay at his peak was such a great defender... and I think Dick is smart... good steal rate and all that... just not sure he has Klay's lateral quickness and strength. I think there is a low likelihood you will regret drafting Dick. Which maybe means I should bump him up a few spots...
Yeah, I don’t mean to simplify Klay that much, but if he wasn’t the shooter that he is, what even is he in the league? He’s rotational, but…
All’s I’m saying is scorching the nets from 3 is the hardest thing to defend and is a central part of a high-level NBA offense. So just stressing that it is one of the best strengths to have. He’s also just got the juice and serious size and I think those are big boons to his prospects.