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Following Potential 2025 Draftees

Uhhh… yeah this seems like some weird stat cherry-picking ****.

70% of his shots are within ten feet. He shoots worse than 43% on shots outside 10 feet.

He has worked on his midrange game and has gotten a lot better. I am curious on how well it works in the playoffs. Its a thing.
 
The Rudy Gay thing was like... if Ace figures it out but it never fires on all cylinders I guess. I just don't see KD-lite at all. He's young and could fill out pretty nicely tho. I like him but he's scary.

I saw Stauskas his rookie year in person up really close and was immediately like "yeah those twig legs aren't gonna do it". Kon is built like a brick (for good and bad). I don't know if I will have Kon top 4 but I'm questioning what I would do if I was sitting there. We do need to take a swing on finding the guy and Ace could be that so maybe it is too good of an opp to pass on.
I’ve also started coming around on Kon but there is no scenario he cracks top-4 for me. The upside of Ace and VJ is too important (and Ace’s is higher/more sustainable than VJ’s IMO, though I find Ace’s weaknesses far more distasteful /rant).
 
He has worked on his midrange game and has gotten a lot better. I am curious on how well it works in the playoffs. Its a thing.
Then I come back to my ancillary point: if 42.7% on a two-pointer is relatively good for the shot type, maybe it’s a terrible shot to be taking.

I love Giannis, I would trade a lot to get him, but I would not trade one of the bluest chips we’ve ever seen (and team control for 7+ years) for a 30-year old that’s reliant on outlier-athleticism to generate good shots (under a two-year contract).
 
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I’ve also started coming around on Kon but there is no scenario he cracks top-4 for me. The upside of Ace and VJ is too important (and Ace’s is higher/more sustainable than VJ’s IMO, though I find Ace’s weaknesses far more distasteful /rant).
Maybe its just my coping mechanism if we land at 5 or 6 and get Kon lol.
 
Then I come back to my ancillary point: if 42.7% on a two-pointer is relatively good for the shot type, maybe it’s a terrible shot to be taking.

I love Giannis, I would trade a lot to get him, but I would not trade one of the bluest chips we’ve ever seen (and team control for 7+ years) for a 30-year old that’s reliant on outlier-athleticism to generate good shots (under a two-year contract).
Unfortunately... on that team... he will have to shoot it. Its bad but as a mega creator he needed to add to his bag and appears to have done so.

I agree on the larger point. I would be concerned on injuries a shrunken window and free agency.
 
Unfortunately... on that team... he will have to shoot it. Its bad but as a mega creator he needed to add to his bag and appears to have done so.

I agree on the larger point. I would be concerned on injuries a shrunken window and free agency.
But that's how the NBA works. Windows appear, shrink, players get hurt or want out. I don't necessarily think a championship is a be-all and end-all, but I would imagine that for people who do hold that position, the existence of an actual contending window would be supremely important. No matter how brief (they usually are). See: Toronto.

There's a long, long way from drafting Cooper Flagg to the NBA finals.
 
But that's how the NBA works. Windows appear, shrink, players get hurt or want out. I don't think a championship is a be-all and end-all, but I would imagine that for people who do hold that position, the existence of an actual contending window would be supremely important. No matter how brief (they usually are).

There's a long, long way from drafting Cooper Flagg to the NBA finals.
Sure is. But you could have a contention window half a decade long or longer.
 
I’ve also started coming around on Kon but there is no scenario he cracks top-4 for me. The upside of Ace and VJ is too important (and Ace’s is higher/more sustainable than VJ’s IMO, though I find Ace’s weaknesses far more distasteful /rant).

This is a legitimate question that I don't know the answer to: How likely is an off ball player in college to become an All Star?

I typically think of guys like Ace and VJ that don't play on ball to have lower upside. There aren't that many all stars who play off ball, for example. I haven't ever really looked at what the likelihood of an off ball guy in college becoming an on ball guy in the NBA.
 
Like I am asking myself... why take Ace who has all the tools but might be like Rudy Gay or a guy like Kon that might be Bane type dude with a touch more size (less athleticism) who knows how to play basketball. We need guys that know how to play basketball and can shoot the effs out of it.

We definitely conflate Ace's tools with high potential more than we should. The easiest high potential guys to identify are obvious....but when it's not obvious I think there are probably more guys like Kon who becomes stars/hit on high potential than guys like Ace.

I do think Ace is a lot better than the GG Jacksons of the world, however. He has some real shot making ability, but like you said, that might just mean Rudy Gay (who is a really good comp IMO).
 
We definitely conflate Ace's tools with high potential more than we should. The easiest high potential guys to identify are obvious....but when it's not obvious I think there are probably more guys like Kon who becomes stars/hit on high potential than guys like Ace.

I do think Ace is a lot better than the GG Jacksons of the world, however. He has some real shot making ability, but like you said, that might just mean Rudy Gay (who is a really good comp IMO).
I'm trying to think of guys with reported low BBIQ that became stars... its hard to go back and remember the book on some people. I think Wiggins maybe but that is a combo of motor and BBIQ imo and he was an insane athlete so a level above Ace in that regard.
 
I'm trying to think of guys with reported low BBIQ that became stars... its hard to go back and remember the book on some people. I think Wiggins maybe but that is a combo of motor and BBIQ imo and he was an insane athlete so a level above Ace in that regard.

I still think Wiggins fits into that “obvious” category even if it didn’t turn out that way. He was still the number pick in a very highly regarded draft. I think his motor is what really kept him from being great. Ant Edwards is Wiggins with some crazy in his head, but could probably also be consider a relatively lower IQ players. Both guys were definitely better physical specimens than Ace though and I think that’s what made them “obvious”.

Low BBIQ turned star is hard to think of. I feel like there were guys who were really green and maybe inexperienced coming into the league like Embiid/Giannis….but I think you could tell they had a good feel for the game at early stages. They are also freaks of nature physically, so that helps.

Maybe Jaylen Brown? I feel like trying to find the next Jaylen Brown would be a fools errand. But maybe the same can be said for your Bane, Brunson, Halliburton etc types as well.

I think there are more stars in the second category if I had to bet.
 
I want nothing to do with Bailey.

He’s incredibly talented, but how often to selfish, low IQ players actually make a significant difference as one of the top dogs on a winning team? I’m not sold that you could get him to be a secondary player either. I don’t deny that he could be very good, but I don’t think he’s ever a very good player on a very good team.
 
I'd be happy with Cooper, Dylan, Ace or Tre. The one I'm a bit leery about is VJ. He's got the athleticism to be great, but his skill level has a way to go and he's a bit more risky.
 
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