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Burying the dumb **** about Clayton Jr not being "athletic"

I think his athleticism is fine. That said his rankings in athletic categories should be compared by age. There is a huge difference from 18-23+ in athleticism.

Side note I wish they did regular combines in the NBA. It would be amazing to see the results. Or at least a few simple tests preseason every year that was standardized.
 
I can't believe there ever was a narrative that he's not athletic. In college he had some incredible finishes around the rim where he hangs in the air for what seems like ages... He kind of reminds me of Jamal Murray in that specific regard.
 
cowhide said:
what I like the most about Clayton Jr. is he is not afraid to take the big shot. He has a little moxie in him without be obnoxious about it.
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Good take.
His demeanor is ideal.
 
cowhide said:
what I like the most about Clayton Jr. is he is not afraid to take the big shot. He has a little moxie in him without be obnoxious about it.
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The clutch shooting in the tournament was other-worldly. There has been plenty of one-man NCAA Tournament runs but I can't remember one guy hitting so many dagger shots.
 
bigmike said:
The clutch shooting in the tournament was other-worldly. There has been plenty of one-man NCAA Tournament runs but I can't remember one guy hitting so many dagger shots.
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Maybe not since Carmello?
 
Ron Mexico said:
I think his athleticism is fine. That said his rankings in athletic categories should be compared by age. There is a huge difference from 18-23+ in athleticism.
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Athleticism by itself means nothing: it is just the tool allowing players to control a lot of horizontal and vertical space on the court. Athleticism is simply the ability to move your outstretched hands quickly up and down.

And Clayton does have a problem there. His standing reach is the 5th worst at the combine (all four people below him went undrafted) and his wingspan is the 3rd worst (two people with the worse wingspan went undrafted). If you compare him to other small guards in the draft who did get drafted -Fears, Traore, VJ, Cam Jones - they typically have bigger wingspan/standing, by 3-4 inches. So, for him just to be "on par" with other smaller guards he should outjump them by 3-4 inches as well, and be considerably faster laterally. I checked his jumping ability: he is not outjumping them by 3-4 inches.

So, the short answer is that, yes, in general, Clayton will have disadvantages even compared to other NBA point guards. Will he find ways to work around them and be effective? We will see very soon.
 
jazznik said:
Athleticism by itself means nothing: it is just the tool allowing players to control a lot of horizontal and vertical space on the court. Athleticism is simply the ability to move your outstretched hands quickly up and down.

And Clayton does have a problem there. His standing reach is the 5th worst at the combine (all four people below him went undrafted) and his wingspan is the 3rd worst (two people with the worse wingspan went undrafted). If you compare him to other small guards in the draft who did get drafted -Fears, Traore, VJ, Cam Jones - they typically have bigger wingspan/standing, by 3-4 inches. So, for him just to be "on par" with other smaller guards he should outjump them by 3-4 inches as well, and be considerably faster laterally. I checked his jumping ability: he is not outjumping them by 3-4 inches.

So, the short answer is that, yes, in general, Clayton will have disadvantages even compared to other NBA point guards. Will he find ways to work around them and be effective? We will see very soon.
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Another tool is being really good. There’s a reason those few guards with worse measurable numbers weren’t drafted and WCJ was. Players shouldn’t just be graded by their dimensions alone
 
WCJ has the same height and wingspan as Curry and Brunson fwiw.

He is good at shooting on the move and has a quick release. I think he'll be fine.
 
TheGoldStandard said:
WCJ has the same height and wingspan as Curry and Brunson fwiw.

He is good at shooting on the move and has a quick release. I think he'll be fine.
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Well, Curry and Brunson are good examples of players who overcame their size limitations with immense skills. If you think that WCJ will be equally skilled then his future is very bright. His biggest hurdle is to develop a true PG skillset as he seems to be a combo guard, i.e. the shooting guard who can pass. And that development has to start at the age of 22.

I mean, everybody knows that he was one of the best shooters in the college basketball, with good defense, athleticism and great leadership. So, why was he drafted so low? The answer is that he is a combo guard but will have to play PG exclusively in the NBA. And the GMs were thinking that the probability of WCJ developing an NBA floor general skillset starting at the age of 22 is not zero but is still rather unlikely. And he will have to be competitive in the 2020 NBA where 6'5"+ point guards in the playoffs will be a very common occurrence.
 
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