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Following potential 2014 draftees

He's projected at 36th overall and we have a 35th pick……

tell me more about this Micic.

a bit of a poor mans Ricky Rubio, id definitely like to hear what our Euro posters have to say about him. heres a few nuggets though

-he broke his hand this time last month and is expected out 4-6 weeks

-Micic was able to score 24 points in an U19 game last year vs USA against a combination Marcus Smart/Rasheed Suilamon/Elfrid Payton

-his team Mega Vizura obliterated Cibona (Saric's team) in a matchup this year 102-74 he had 18pts, 8 assists, 4 steals
 
One thing I've been thinking about lately is how strange Russell Westbrook's rise has been. He only averaged 12.7 PPG as a sophomore in college, and now he's one of the league's premiere scorers. You could look at him and say, "Well, he has elite physical gifts, so he always had the potential in him." But it still seems really strange that he managed to develop that much as a scorer.

Am I way off? What was Westbrook's perceived potential at that time?

I ask mainly because Aaron Gordon strikes me as someone else with those elite physical gifts, motor, competitiveness, work ethic and so on... Is there even the slightest chance that his offensive production could take a similar rise in time? Or was Westbrook's offensive ceiling always viewed as higher than what Gordon's seems to be now?

Westbrook played alongside Darren Collison (Senior) (had to split shots with Collison and Love) in college at UCLA in a slower paced offense, so he had a lot of factors that were legitimately causing him from not being able to put up big numbers.
 
Westbrook played alongside Darren Collison (Senior) (had to split shots with Collison and Love) in college at UCLA in a slower paced offense, so he had a lot of factors that were legitimately causing him from not being able to put up big numbers.

Fair enough.
 
He's projected at 36th overall and we have a 35th pick……

tell me more about this Micic.

Let me.

He is a pass first PG who has good size at 6'5. Excellent P&R ball-handler. Good dribbling skills. Collapses defenses and finds bigs. Potential to be floor general. Buys into team concept both on offense and defense. Totally unselfish on offense and knows where to stand on defense. Helps and rotates back . Great off-ball defending. Needs to improve his lateral speed to be good on-ball defender. Has somewhat nba range.

Buuuut He is TO prone. Forces easy plays sometimes. Loses control. Can't create for himself. Bad mid-range game. Around %60FT shooting. Can't defend consistently. Below the rim and bad lateral quickness. Not much upside. Could be a great back-up.
 
Let me.

He is a pass first PG who has good size at 6'5. Excellent P&R ball-handler. Good dribbling skills. Collapses defenses and finds bigs. Potential to be floor general. Buys into team concept both on offense and defense. Totally unselfish on offense and knows where to stand on defense. Helps and rotates back . Great off-ball defending. Needs to improve his lateral speed to be good on-ball defender. Has somewhat nba range.

Buuuut He is TO prone. Forces easy plays sometimes. Loses control. Can't create for himself. Bad mid-range game. Around %60FT shooting. Can't defend consistently. Below the rim and bad lateral quickness. Not much upside. Could be a great back-up.

He also tore his ACL a couple years ago which further hurt his lateral speed. I think he could still be a Vasquez type player in the NBA, but wouldn't waste a pick on him would you?
 
Westbrook played alongside Darren Collison (Senior) (had to split shots with Collison and Love) in college at UCLA in a slower paced offense, so he had a lot of factors that were legitimately causing him from not being able to put up big numbers.

What do you think Gordon will be like on offense in his prime?
 
One thing I've been thinking about lately is how strange Russell Westbrook's rise has been. He only averaged 12.7 PPG as a sophomore in college, and now he's one of the league's premiere scorers. You could look at him and say, "Well, he has elite physical gifts, so he always had the potential in him." But it still seems really strange that he managed to develop that much as a scorer.

Am I way off? What was Westbrook's perceived potential at that time?

I ask mainly because Aaron Gordon strikes me as someone else with those elite physical gifts, motor, competitiveness, work ethic and so on... Is there even the slightest chance that his offensive production could take a similar rise in time? Or was Westbrook's offensive ceiling always viewed as higher than what Gordon's seems to be now?

Westbrook showed in college that he had elite leaping ability meaning he can get up and either finish it with authority or draw a foul in the process. It wasn't hard to extrapolate how his abilities would translate to the NBA.


Smart on the other hand isn't a great leaper and on top of that he plays 'heavy' for a PG, so you'll hardly see he fly through the air anytime soon. On top of that he isn't a great shooter, 3pt or even midrange - because of all that I've got great concerns about how he'll translate to the NBA as a PG or even a SG or even a combo guard. Taking away his 'intangibles', I think Stuckey's the best comp. I could find for him.


Does that answer your question?
 
Westbrook showed in college that he had elite leaping ability meaning he can get up and either finish it with authority or draw a foul in the process. Smart on the other hand isn't a great leaper and on top of that he really plays 'heavy' for a PG. On top of that he isn't a great shooter - because of all that I've got great concerns about how he'll translate to the NBA.



Does that answer your question?

He was talking about Aaron gordon.
 
It kinda sucks that Parker and Embiid are gonna skip the draft combine. At least do the measurements and interviews. But who knows.. it just might allow one of them to slide to Utah if they stick around at 4. :cool:
 
Westbrook showed in college that he had elite leaping ability meaning he can get up and either finish it with authority or draw a foul in the process. It wasn't hard to extrapolate how his abilities would translate to the NBA.


Smart on the other hand isn't a great leaper and on top of that he plays 'heavy' for a PG, so you'll hardly see he fly through the air anytime soon. On top of that he isn't a great shooter, 3pt or even midrange - because of all that I've got great concerns about how he'll translate to the NBA as a PG or even a SG or even a combo guard.


Does that answer your question?

I was talking about Aaron Gordon.
 
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