Pick Two Players

[NUMBERICA]

I dont know how you think his tools are so good when he lacks grit, aggressiveness, determination and hustle. He doesnt rotate and close out particularly well and he doesnt have the strength to hold his position when anyone gets physical with him. His footwork is ok, but his instincts are so lacking that even when he stays in the correct position he cannot create any kind of impact.

I know defense is hard to analyze based on stats but consider this:
He has worse advanced stats (most of them at least), less total stocks, less stocks per36, worse FG% against and less contested shots per game than Taylor Hendricks or Ace, He has the same amount of stocks per 36 as Keyonte.

This is what drives me a little bonkers about Cody. The things that are supposed to be strengths are still theoretical.

His motor is just so bad. Glad his confidence is coming along but his progress so far still doesn’t look anywhere close to actual rotation worthy.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

This is what drives me a little bonkers about Cody. The things that are supposed to be strengths are still theoretical.

His motor is just so bad. Glad his confidence is coming along but his progress so far still doesn’t look anywhere close to actual rotation worthy.

Idk, I think he's closer to rotation level than anyone not named Key/Walker/Ace at the moment (for the rookie contracts).

 

[HermanG]

Eh, I think it's pretty easy to imagine Cody gaining a little extra strength so he can absorb contact through his chest and gaining some more experience/confidence to be a little smarter about how he defends and to get his timing down a little better on his rotations. I'm fairly confident he will be a good defender if he can get on the court based on his offense.

Fair. I just think he needs to develop in so many separate areas and if he stays a bad shooter then its all for nothing.

I cant think of any bad shooting non-bigs in contending teams except Thompson brothers who are gazillion times better than him.

 

[HermanG]

I think he needs to be like Corey Brewer, but Brewer himself was a unique player and had a million times the motor that Cody does. So it’s probably not super realistic.

Another guy I could see as an upside comparison would be Exum. When Exum came back from Europe he could shoot and it made him into a well rounded utility player. I think Cody could be the wing version of that, but there’s really no reason to believe Cody will make it to that level of shooter versus other bad shooters. He’s been one of the worst in the league and he had very bad indicators coming into the league.

I’m going to go against recency bias here and say that TH has a better shot than Cody. The shot is a million times more believable+has prior indicators and I prefer the type of defender he could be even if it’s very rough right now.

Maybe the reason you struggle finding a good comp is because the valid comps play in other leagues..

But for the record I am hoping for a miracle. Last month has definitely been a step. Only 4-5 more such steps to go. Time may run out tho.

 

[Tremendous Upside]

I cant think of any bad shooting non-bigs in contending teams except Thompson brothers who are gazillion times better than him.

They do exist, but they're generally fringe role players with "glue guy" skill sets (Vando in LA, Sochan in SA) or pogo stick like hustle machines with insane motors (Barlow in Philly)... to name a few.

Cody isn't a glue guy, passer, rebounder, defender or a hustle machine, so he'd better become a shooter.

 

[tksavis]

This poll is hard, luckily I think we can keep more, especially next year, but we will have to prioritize who we give minutes to next year.

As of this moment I think WCJ is the most likely to be a positive rotation player in the future. I think he's been pretty good already despite not being great off the dribble which I think will definitely come around.

I also went with Taylor even though right now he's probably our worst young player. I just think he needs to get some mobility back and continue to get game reps and watch film and he can be the type of defender this team really needs.

FWIW, these picks are by the slimmest of margins and I don't think anyone has separated themselves from the rest. If Cody's 3 starts falling in a believable way he would jump to the top for me. I also like the idea of Brice as a bench scorer, so he's not far behind.

my votes were the same for similar reasoning. i think Taylor's shooting is there and am willing to bet that with an offseason of health and work he can get his footspeed back. At that point, with enough reps and time he'll be a solid if not plus defendor. WCJ has "it" I think...just need to give him the minutes to show it and get to consistency