Gonna hijack this post and post my own thoughts because these are good questions.
1) I don't think he's a great shooter, the numbers coming into the league were very similar to Cam Whitmore's, but you could tell he was taking "easier" shots....the sample size and %'s were very similar though. I feel like there was some hype generated about him predraft because his 3FG% was 40%+ at the senior level but I never subscribed to that line of thinking. Most of the top 10 were questionable shooters, however, so it's not like it was deal breaker to me. I will say his form and smoothness on his pullup jumpers looks really nice, but it doesn't matter if they don't go in. He looks like he knows what he's doing in PnR. Problem is he's playing Johnny Davis and Johnny Davis' clone so he doesn't get a lot of opportunities. I still think he's more on a Jaden McDaniels/Herb Jones type trajectory though being realistic.
2) Defensively I think he looks great. The highlight reel blocks are great, but you can just tell he moves extremely well. His length and athleticism will be A tier in the NBA. I think this is something that separates him from Dante. Dante could probably beat Bilal in a 100 meter sprint, but Bilal is much longer and much more explosive+elusive. He has dunk contest athleticism, but also very slick footwork that allows him to change directions with his long strides. I feel like for Dante to be considered a physical specimen, you had to consider him a PG. Compared to other wings....he was just ok. But Bilal is going to be one of the best athletes in the league period. I will say, there have been some moments where he's been out muscled (offense and defense) and he's definitely lacking there. But how much are you going to judge an 18 year old who just grew 8 inches for being skinny?
Ultimately, I don't think he's done much to change opinions one way or another. If you thought he was too raw, yeah he looks very raw on offense. If you were in love with his physical attributes, they are very much on display. If you get away from our little hivemind here it seems as though this is holding true. Whoever like him is loving him, whoever did not like him is still skeptical. Everyone is biased in one direction, so naturally they will latch onto what they want to see. Generally I think it's a fools errand to judge to much off of summer league to begin with....but with the small sample sizes it's probably best to trust your eyes over the box scores. Jarace Walker, for example, also has a miserable shooting percentage right now. But just watching him....it'd be hard to convince someone he's not going to be really good....or at least that he has looked really impressive.
I get why people keep using Dante as the warning sign....but you know me. I would absolutely sign up for Dante again if he was healthy + better athlete + better frame.
