Future prospects (split from tank thread)

#1
If we're still talking lottery in 2020, Vlade isn't making the pick.

Well however unlikely lets say there's some sort of great progress (perhaps dare I even say the playoffs) in 2019 led by youngins and the the top 2 players have injuries sort of like a Simmons/Embiid in 2020.. I think thats probably the only plausible scenario he stays on.

There's always the next KD.. (2023)


The year after him is Bron's son and there's this Canadian kid Elijah Fisher who's like 6'4" and has been dunking for a while now. (I don't pay much attention to these younger players, I'll always take a look at some potential phenom tho. Friend of mine's son is the top ranked player in California for this age group)

This kid appears to be on the fast-track to the lottery, sorta T-Mac ish, he's already taller tho.

Sadly, High-major colleges are in fact monitoring these younger players for sure. I have a friend who's an AAU coach here in NY.. I stay well versed in the HS aged kids tho, and even check in on the international phenoms, I like to catch these type of stories early.

For a potential bottom-feeding team there's gonna be a lot of low-hanging fruit to be plucked in the coming years. The depth of 2017 is phenomenal and the PG crop is the best, there's gonna be some game-changers on the way for sure. None are quite like Marvin Bagley III tho, that kid is probably the best big I've ever seen at the same stage (and has been that for years)
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#2
Well however unlikely lets say there's some sort of great progress (perhaps dare I even say the playoffs) in 2019 led by youngins and the the top 2 players have injuries sort of like a Simmons/Embiid in 2020.. I think thats probably the only plausible scenario he stays on.

There's always the next KD.. (2023)


The year after him is Bron's son and there's this Canadian kid Elijah Fisher who's like 6'4" and has been dunking for a while now. (I don't pay much attention to these younger players, I'll always take a look at some potential phenom tho. Friend of mine's son is the top ranked player in California for this age group)

This kid appears to be on the fast-track to the lottery, sorta T-Mac ish, he's already taller tho.

Sadly, High-major colleges are in fact monitoring these younger players for sure. I have a friend who's an AAU coach here in NY.. I stay well versed in the HS aged kids tho, and even check in on the international phenoms, I like to catch these type of stories early.

For a potential bottom-feeding team there's gonna be a lot of low-hanging fruit to be plucked in the coming years. The depth of 2017 is phenomenal and the PG crop is the best, there's gonna be some game-changers on the way for sure. None are quite like Marvin Bagley III tho, that kid is probably the best big I've ever seen at the same stage (and has been that for years)
I usually don't start talking about next years college class, or any future draft class this early, mainly because no one is interested, but you prompted me. Bagley is going to be an impact player for any team that drafts him. His ability to put the ball on the floor along with his passing ability, is extremely rare for a player his size. He should be, barring injury, be the number one pick in the 2018 draft.


 
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#3
I usually don't start talking about next years college class, or any future draft class this early, mainly because no one is interested, but you prompted me. Bagley is going to be an impact player for any team that drafts him. His ability to put the ball on the floor along with his passing ability, is extremely rare for a player his size. He should be, barring injury, be the number one pick in the 2018 draft.


Yup he's a shoe-in for the #1 pick, and Romeo Langford is one of the best SG prospects I've ever seen, good enough to go #1 most years(especially given the lack of talent at SG league-wide)... Zion Williamson is a beast as well, Bol Bol and Moses Brown look like can't miss prospects. I really like Simi craptu (Top Canadian LOL His lastname gets pickedup on the language filter) also.


Bagley III is the best PF prospect in a very long time, he's a lefty too. He's gonna be unstoppable on the break, his raw speed is something that almost gets overlooked, he runs like the wind. No doubt, teams will quick to tank for the 2019 draft. He's as can't miss as it gets, Karl Towns Sr. was mentoring him a bit years back, IDK if thats still going on. Who knows where he'll be playing HS ball next year, apparently not at Sierra Canyon.

PS - My friend was just at an AAU game where Jay-Z and Worldwide Wes were watching LaMelo Ball, and he got shut out in the first half.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#4
Yup he's a shoe-in for the #1 pick, and Romeo Langford is one of the best SG prospects I've ever seen, good enough to go #1 most years(especially given the lack of talent at SG league-wide)... Zion Williamson is a beast as well, Bol Bol and Moses Brown look like can't miss prospects. I really like Simi poopootu (Top Canadian LOL His lastname gets pickedup on the language filter) also.


Bagley III is the best PF prospect in a very long time, he's a lefty too. He's gonna be unstoppable on the break, his raw speed is something that almost gets overlooked, he runs like the wind. No doubt, teams will quick to tank for the 2019 draft. He's as can't miss as it gets, Karl Towns Sr. was mentoring him a bit years back, IDK if thats still going on. Who knows where he'll be playing HS ball next year, apparently not at Sierra Canyon.

PS - My friend was just at an AAU game where Jay-Z and Worldwide Wes were watching LaMelo Ball, and he got shut out in the first half.
LaMelo shut out, how is that possible?:rolleyes: You have the advantage over me. I'm retired and live in Mexico now, and as a result, don't have all the connections I used to have. So everything I do is long distance. However I do watch every highschool game I can, with both my DVR's going full blast, and of course I watch tons of college ball. I love the individual channels that some of the conferences have now. As a result I get to see every SEC (Kentucky) game, every Pac 12 game. as well as the ACC and Big 10 conferences. Throw in their out of conference play, and you get to see almost everyone.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#5
By the way, for those that don't know, Bol Bol is the son of Manute Bol of Warrior fame. His son isn't quite as tall at around 6'11" but looks to carry a little more muscle than Dad. He's still in his infancy and has some skills, but he will need to add strength, and I think his jumpshot needs some work as well. His release point is a bit low, and he has a tendency to shotput it.

A lot of young kids that try to shoot the three, tend to shoot the ball from their chest and mostly with their arms, simply because they lack the strength to shoot the ball properly. Unfortunately, those bad habits tend to carry over into adult hood for some of them. That's what Bol's shot looks like to me. He has some work to do, but has time to do it. If you were to put him in a one on one match up with Bagley, I think Bagley would kill him. I realize that's unfair, but just using it as perspective.



I think I'd better stop. This is the wrong thread. I'll see you in the prospects thread.
 
#6
LaMelo shut out, how is that possible?:rolleyes: You have the advantage over me. I'm retired and live in Mexico now, and as a result, don't have all the connections I used to have. So everything I do is long distance. However I do watch every highschool game I can, with both my DVR's going full blast, and of course I watch tons of college ball. I love the individual channels that some of the conferences have now. As a result I get to see every SEC (Kentucky) game, every Pac 12 game. as well as the ACC and Big 10 conferences. Throw in their out of conference play, and you get to see almost everyone.
Good stuff! I'm a hardcore College fan as well, can't wait to see what happens next year. Kentucky's got some NY kids next year too, pretty
Well here's some footage.
The Big Ballers got obliterated. The team they were up again, The Compton Magic have several possible pro prospects and it was a massacre at the rim. LaMelo's HS teammate Onyeka Okongwu #21 is on the Magic, there's also this 6'9" kid Miles Norris one of the top players in Cali and also I see Johnny Juzang (#5) who could possibly be the best player of Vietnamese descent

Bol Bol is a great prospect too, he's really got exceptional hand eye coordination, runs like the wind and he's got an elite standing reach for a player that height.
 
#9
MOD NOTE: I went ahead and moved this discussion to its own thread. :)
It's all good, didn't mean to veer the other thread off-topic, I get excited about this stuff - there's some sort of tidal wave of talent on the way, I'm quite certain of it... I'd sorta like to table this discussion til after the draft and then I'll categorize it into classes;

Potential 2018 draftee's
Potential 2019 draftee's
Potential 2020 draftee's

and so on and so forth, unless there's already some sort of threads like that.

I sort of know a good bit about the cream of the crop in these future classes, I never really thought of it that way - I was just trying to learn. When I talk to people who know about these younger prospects, they seem to have the similar reaction of "you know your stuff"... I kinda have a good eye for spotting 'blue-chips' early, a lot of people like to say things like these kids are all projects and there's some truth to that, I'm certain there's a great deal of can't miss prospects around though, I know many of their names, I like to follow these stories early, usually HS aged kids though I'll check into any potential phenom. One of my big sources of info is the Team USA youth squads which the U16 squad just made it's first cut today, I kinda like to figure out the why's and how's of it all.. reverse engineer the rankings/professional scouts if you will, you could call it my favorite hobby.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#10
It's all good, didn't mean to veer the other thread off-topic, I get excited about this stuff - there's some sort of tidal wave of talent on the way, I'm quite certain of it... I'd sorta like to table this discussion til after the draft and then I'll categorize it into classes;

Potential 2018 draftee's
Potential 2019 draftee's
Potential 2020 draftee's

and so on and so forth, unless there's already some sort of threads like that.

I sort of know a good bit about the cream of the crop in these future classes, I never really thought of it that way - I was just trying to learn. When I talk to people who know about these younger prospects, they seem to have the similar reaction of "you know your stuff"... I kinda have a good eye for spotting 'blue-chips' early, a lot of people like to say things like these kids are all projects and there's some truth to that, I'm certain there's a great deal of can't miss prospects around though, I know many of their names, I like to follow these stories early, usually HS aged kids though I'll check into any potential phenom. One of my big sources of info is the Team USA youth squads which the U16 squad just made it's first cut today, I kinda like to figure out the why's and how's of it all.. reverse engineer the rankings/professional scouts if you will, you could call it my favorite hobby.
Since you are more familiar with future prospects than I, let me ask you this. Do you see any once in a generational type of talent in either the 2018, 2019 or 2020 draft class? If so, who & why?
 
#11
Since you are more familiar with future prospects than I, let me ask you this. Do you see any once in a generational type of talent in either the 2018, 2019 or 2020 draft class? If so, who & why?
For sure. The #1 player on my board in 2018 is Mohammed Bamba and he's a phenomenal bigman prospect well beyond anything in 2017, he's off the charts levels of intelligent and has a wingspan like Rudy Gobert, he's got fantastic timing and awareness and he can shoot it from distance and everything. He's headed to Texas but Coach Cal's recruitment pitch to him for UK was "I think you're the next Anthony Davis" and he wasn't just blowing smoke, he's the real deal, a franchise big for sure.

The most common answer to your question you'll find from people who follow this stuff is certainly Marvin Bagley III he's the likely #1 pick in 2019, he was getting mentored from Karl Towns Sr. years ago. He's about 6'10 or 6'11"(and has been for a few years now) left handed and he's got near a 40" vertical, he runs like the wind, he's going to be utterly unstoppable on the break, teams will tank for him no-doubt. Also in the 2019 class there's one of the best SG prospects you'll ever see named Romeo Langford, to me SG is the weak position in the NBA and this kid has got the goods, he's simply prototype sized and just off the charts skill level, his J is wet and his handle is almost PG level, he's the real deal.

The player the consensus has at #1 in the eventual 2020 draft is a Canadian kid named R.J. Barrett, he's rumored to be re-classifying up a year to join the 2019 draft class, he's a lefty with unreal instincts ones well beyond his years. He's got long arms, great athlete, great passer, just gets the job done.

Charles Bassey is the #1 player on my board (even with Barrett in that class) for 2020 though, If you saw him play just once you'd be very quickly convinced, he was born to play basketball - His story is nothing short of legendary and the best part is just how good he is on the court.. It's said he was discovered selling chicken on the side of the road in Nigeria at age 12, at worst he's a better version of Derrick Favors, his athletic grade is top of the charts..



There's many more I could tell ya about that I think have varying degrees of a chance at being what you're asking, some personal favorites, some on the extreme end of the skill or athletic spectrum. It's best to see how things shuffle about after the summer though, thats when I have the best idea on these future classes, Bamba, Bagley III, Langford and Bassey will stand the test of time though, you can take that to the bank.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#12
For sure. The #1 player on my board in 2018 is Mohammed Bamba and he's a phenomenal bigman prospect well beyond anything in 2017, he's off the charts levels of intelligent and has a wingspan like Rudy Gobert, he's got fantastic timing and awareness and he can shoot it from distance and everything. He's headed to Texas but Coach Cal's recruitment pitch to him for UK was "I think you're the next Anthony Davis" and he wasn't just blowing smoke, he's the real deal, a franchise big for sure.

The most common answer to your question you'll find from people who follow this stuff is certainly Marvin Bagley III he's the likely #1 pick in 2019, he was getting mentored from Karl Towns Sr. years ago. He's about 6'10 or 6'11"(and has been for a few years now) left handed and he's got near a 40" vertical, he runs like the wind, he's going to be utterly unstoppable on the break, teams will tank for him no-doubt. Also in the 2019 class there's one of the best SG prospects you'll ever see named Romeo Langford, to me SG is the weak position in the NBA and this kid has got the goods, he's simply prototype sized and just off the charts skill level, his J is wet and his handle is almost PG level, he's the real deal.

The player the consensus has at #1 in the eventual 2020 draft is a Canadian kid named R.J. Barrett, he's rumored to be re-classifying up a year to join the 2019 draft class, he's a lefty with unreal instincts ones well beyond his years. He's got long arms, great athlete, great passer, just gets the job done.

Charles Bassey is the #1 player on my board (even with Barrett in that class) for 2020 though, If you saw him play just once you'd be very quickly convinced, he was born to play basketball - His story is nothing short of legendary and the best part is just how good he is on the court.. It's said he was discovered selling chicken on the side of the road in Nigeria at age 12, at worst he's a better version of Derrick Favors, his athletic grade is top of the charts..



There's many more I could tell ya about that I think have varying degrees of a chance at being what you're asking, some personal favorites, some on the extreme end of the skill or athletic spectrum. It's best to see how things shuffle about after the summer though, thats when I have the best idea on these future classes, Bamba, Bagley III, Langford and Bassey will stand the test of time though, you can take that to the bank.
Thanks for taking some time to run down some of the future stars of the NBA. I always enjoy seeing who is on the come up through high school and follow them in college and see how they transition to the pros. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out on those prospects you named, maybe if the Kings are fortunate enough, they can be in the running for one of those players should they still be in position to draft that high and of course have some luck go their way on lottery day.
 
#13
Here's a player to watch thats on the extreme end of the physical specimen spectrum. 7'7" wingspan 9'7" standing reach, he's only been playing ball for like 3-4 years too.

 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#14
I'm curious what you think of Cam Reddish. He's a great athlete who can do a lot of damage offensively from almost everywhere on the court. But I've heard reports of him being one of those hot and cold players who decides to play when he feels like it. I've only seen him play a couple of times, and both times I thought he was an impressive player. I thought maybe you have more imput on him. I don't like hearing that about a player.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#15
By the way, up to now, I've usually been the one that starts these threads, and it's been fairly lonely at times. But what I've tried to do in the past is have a separate thread for the individual draft years, so as to be less confusing for the average casual reader. That way, folks won't get confused about which draft a player is in. No set rules though. By the way, Barrett reclassifying makes that 2019 draft look like a good one. Not to mention, although everyone touted this coming draft as one of the best in years, next years is starting to look as good. Some great talent there.
 
#16
I'm curious what you think of Cam Reddish. He's a great athlete who can do a lot of damage offensively from almost everywhere on the court. But I've heard reports of him being one of those hot and cold players who decides to play when he feels like it. I've only seen him play a couple of times, and both times I thought he was an impressive player. I thought maybe you have more imput on him. I don't like hearing that about a player.
Cam Reddish is an obvious pro. He's been on the map(and 6'7") for a while now. He's extremely well developed physically, extreme end of the early bloomer spectrum, he's no LeBryan Nash though.... He's got exceptional tools, will be very interested to see how he develops, there's obviously a ton of upside.

I actually prefer Simisola craptu (filter won't let me post his real name) though, call it a hunch. He's a better athlete, I'm quite sure, he's faster and got a better nose for the ball. Cam's a giant swingman and craptu's a combo forward though. Both have extreme upside. I think Reddish will end up at Duke.
 
#17
By the way, up to now, I've usually been the one that starts these threads, and it's been fairly lonely at times. But what I've tried to do in the past is have a separate thread for the individual draft years, so as to be less confusing for the average casual reader. That way, folks won't get confused about which draft a player is in. No set rules though. By the way, Barrett reclassifying makes that 2019 draft look like a good one. Not to mention, although everyone touted this coming draft as one of the best in years, next years is starting to look as good. Some great talent there.
I love this next class. Collin Sexton kinda reminds me of Allen Iverson. It's absolutely loaded with bigs too. Some of the top rated non-headliner bigs are phenomenally talented, Jaren Jackson Jr and Mitchell Robinson specifically, I've been on the Jaren Jackson hype train for a while and he's done nothing but ascend the ranks since.

Stanford is a team I'm gonna keep a close watch on too, I figure they're gonna get a huge boost on the wing with Kezie Okpala and Redshirt FR Kodye Pugh, I'd be surprised if one of them doesn't blow up. Okpala dropped like 50 points on Shaq's son there's footage somewhere I'll dig it up if you'd like. Both seem like pros.

Jarred Vanderbilt is probably one of the hidden gems of the class, I really like UK's incoming class, Nick Richards could be a possible 1nd. Malik Williams heading to UL isn't a one and done but he's got a perfect new-age PF skillset and would be ranked much higher in a class with a normal crop of bigs.
 
#18
BTW just because this thread started off with Emoni Bates, and as a disclaimer I don't really look at these classes other than maybe I'll check out some list just to familiarize myself with the names. This kid is in the same grade as LeBron James Jr, and I'm pretty sure he's gonna stand the test of time. He's been dunking for a while now. Like I said before I know someone who's son is ranked very highly in this class

There's also Chuks 'Lucky' Isitua who's 6'11" (C/O 2021) and has some real ball-skills and seemingly crazy upside. He's a YIIS (Yes II Success) kid, and seems to have PF skills and a long wingspan, he's active and athletic too, seems to have real staying power. He's on track to be Thon Maker-ish.


YIIS is, I guess, what you could call an importer of talent......... Charles Bassey posted above is also a YIIS kid. They seem to have a good eye for talent, so keeping up with their latest players is an easy way to spot some bigtime recruits early. All the footage I can find on him right now is dated so I'll just leave the pic and update it later, he's got some nice hand-eye coordination.
 

bajaden

Hall of Famer
#20
Luka Doncic is the guy I'm keeping my eye on for next years draft. Early signs are that this kid could be a real stud.

https://deanondraft.com/2017/02/03/is-luka-doncic-the-best-prospect-ever/

http://fansided.com/2016/12/08/luka-doncic-european-2018-nba-draft/
Doncic is certainly one of the front runners to be the 1st pick in the 2018 draft, but he has some company with Porter, Ayton and Bamba. I wouldn't sleep on Bridges either, who should come back improved. I love Collin Sexton as well. It's shaping up to be a very good draft. Especially for bigs. Of course all of that is on paper at the moment. We have to see how it shakes out as the season goes on.
 
#23
How old is he? Definitely shows promise and looks like a good athlete. Also looks to be a little more polished on the defensive side of the ball.
Born 2001 in Lakeland Florida. Signed to Cholet basket. I first saw him at the Jordan Brand Classic Global Showcase game, which is one of my favorite events of the off-season, along with the Nike Hoop Summit. Apparently he had an extremely strong showing and the recent adidas Eurocamp; Next Gen.

There's a few international combo's, long armed, athletic and 6'4ish seemingly on the radar already from that born year, and after doing some reading and catching the highlights I can find, I like his chances the best. (CAN) Cashius McNeiley and (FRA) T0m Digbeu look promising as well.

Hate to say it so early but I think that 2000 draft will have a strong influx of overseas talent. Addison Patterson 6'6" Canadian wing looks like a surefire pro and should easily be rated 5*'s by the recruiting services - All the bigtime colleges will offer.


There's also Sekou Doumbouya, Born in Guinea and part of the French talent pool. He's the consensus top ranked Euro prospect from the year 2000 and he's extremely impressive, I've seen him play a handful of times. I'd go as far as to say he's a better prospect than Cam Reddish, he's also on the extreme end of the early bloomer spectrum, 6'9" with an exceptional frame and he's overpowering and fast and quick twitched with budding skill and nose for the ball. Here's some recent highlights.
 
#24
I'm not one of these local bias type of territorial fans, I do keep an ear to the ground about the local talent though, one of my friends is a coach for an AAU squad in the city and coaches all year round, especially in the summer. He was working with 2018's Moses Brown, who's a total stud, not long ago.

I've heard 2020's Nate Tabor a 6'6" swingman has serious staying power and will remain a top-10 player in the class for years to come. From what little I've seen, he looks good..

 
#25
2019's Chandler Lawson (Younger brother of K.J. and Dedric) measured an off the charts 7'6" wingspan at just 6'6" at the recent Nike Elite 100 camp. Those measurements are identical to last years camp.

 
#26
Tuned in the U-19 USA game vs. Canada. Hamidou Diallo and PJ Washington were awful. I'm not a fan of Diallo's game for the NBA. He's a ball dominant wing that can't shoot.
 
#28
RJ Barrett feasted on the US
Yep. The US also missed 20-something FT's and shot poorly from the field.

I've seen RJ play a few times. First time was a few summers back when he was still going by Rowan Barrett Jr., back then he seemed to have a pretty special skillset, advanced polish/instincts and athletic grade, and he's done nothing but impress and build upon it ever since.

Last summer he apparently dropped like 30 points in a summer game vs Stanley Johnson of the Pistons.

One thing that will probably become understated over the next few years is his ability to pass. He's got excellent floor vision and don't let anyone tell ya otherwise. He's also a lefty who's got great hand-eye coordination and some long arms.

Another thing that was quite apparent watching him at Montverde this year in HS is that he's built to lead, he knows when to take over and does it. He knows when to apply pressure and does it. He looks like a true #1 option.

For quite some time now it's been rumored he will re-classify up into 2018. Thats really one of the only big questions left.

To be perfectly honest the Team USA committee made some grevious oversights selecting this team. It's very hard for me to believe this would've happened had Bol Bol made the squad. Canada had one player over 6'8" on their roster and IMO their 2nd best player Lindell Wigginton was out with a concussion for the game.
 
#29
Tuned in the U-19 USA game vs. Canada. Hamidou Diallo and PJ Washington were awful. I'm not a fan of Diallo's game for the NBA. He's a ball dominant wing that can't shoot.
that was an ugly performance by both of them. I wouldn't cast them aside just yet though. both have tons of room for improvement.

Hamidou Diallo is absurdly, freakishly athletic. I remember seeing him block the crap out of Josh Jackson in a game 2 summers ago and thinking "who's that kid?!", with further polish to his ball-skills and Jumpshot he's got plenty of potential.

PJ Washington is a kid who's been on the radar for a long time. He's a short PF but has nice hops and a great nose for boards. 7'3" wingspan, thing is over the past 2 seasons he's really been developing his ball-skills and ability to stretch his game out. He's not gonna be a lotto pick or anything, probably an early 2nd rd type IMO. He's got nice roleplayer potential.