De'Aaron Fox - After one game (split)

#1
Who wants to swap De'Aaron for Lonzo now?!? This "future superstar" is NOT even as good as Frank Mason! His pro debut was an embarrassment! Down by 30 on their home floor against Clippers team that did not even play that well! Here's a guy who got body bumped to the floor by Patrick Beverly at half court for the whole arena and national TV audience to see and had NO response! Are you kidding me?!?! What a baby! You gotta respond when you get punked like that. Unbelievable. Just like when De'Aaron got up in his face and he timidly went into a competitive shell. Ha-ha, thank you Magic for caving to pressure and making the stupidest draft pick since Okafor over Porzingis (another one I called :)).

Here's the problems with this scrub that some wanted to trade#5 and #10 pick then I am going to talk about our franchise man De'Aaron. I said this many times. This guy cannot keep his dribble in traffic. He cannot beat his man. He has bad lateral quickness. His shot is hideous. His athleticism is below average. This was the #2 pick??? Ha-ha, joke! Lakers are pathetic without a draft pick or a hope or a prayer! He's a good rebounder for a PG. So he has that going for him. The player I thought he reminded me of pre-draft oddly enough was on the floor last night. If Lonzo works hard on his game he can become as good as Austin Rivers. That's my lofty comparison for him! Austin is a better athlete. Lonzo has better court vision. But here's what I am meaning to get at: A PG should NOT be throwing the ball ahead with lead passes when teammates are not a distinct advantage. There's a reason you don't see this universally. This is what Ball does and it doesn't make sense. It puts the teammate in a position to fail. It's a mask for HIS weakness as a player who cannot create opportunity with HIS skill in the open court by drawing defenders, drawing fouls or creating for himself.

Lonzo plays hot potato with the ball. It is weakness in disguise. There's selflessness as an attribute then there's selflessness to a fault! There's a reason Chris Paul dances and dishes. There's a reason PGs are judicious and economical with their passes. They are not sharing for the sake of sharing! That may work in the NCAAs when you have more talented teammates around you and that is what I was saying for 3-4 months leading up to the draft!!!! His performance at UCLA was very deceptive to susceptible prognosticators! 3 or more times Lonzo passed the ball to Ingram where he was 1 on 2 and 1 on 3 and ended up taking a low percentage shot. You are setting up your teammate to fail!!!! This is the guy the "draft gurus" were salivating over?!?!? Give me a break.....And before you think I am jumping the gun to conclusion after one game, I don't think so. His skillset and athleticism are not to magically transform. Plus he has a bit of a target on his back because of his Dad.

The good news for Kings fans is both Ball AND Ingram look like busts, undeserving of being #2 picks. It will help Ball to have KCP as a running mate, whom he didn't have last night. That will help him and mask his many defensive deficiencies but KCP was 51% TS last year so it is not like he is a reliable offensive weapon. The only way it gets substantially better for Lonzo is if he starts making his outside shot but this is disclaimer you can grant to almost ANY player. Sure, a player is going to look good when their shots go in. But Lonzo was NOT picked #2 because of his outside shooting ability. He was picked because he was supposed to have superior talent at running a team. I think Magic made an egregious error in this assessment and this will play out over the months and season ahead.

Now onto De'Aaron vs Smith. Smith is another guy I think is overrated but he did show me NICE poise and presence and judgement in summer league. If he can make his 3s at a clip of 36% to 38% then this will be good. He's not a 40% shooter from deep but if he can be respectable it will open up driving lanes. He's not the next pre-injury Derrick Rose. He's more like a D'Angelo and that is a stretch. The last time these two went "head-to-head" De'Aaron was hurt with a bum ankle. I think he is going to want to make a statement in the context of winning the game. Winning comes first but showing this guy why you were picked a few spots ahead of him is part of the competitive motivation. Because De'Aaron missed all but a couple of pre-season games his timing and rhythm is off. No more does lack of rhythm come into play then your shooting stroke. So let's see if De'Aaron starts nailing the outside jumper as he finds his rhythm and gains increased comfort with new teammates. This is my expectation as he establishes himself as the best rookie in this class and leading ROY candidate. :)
 
#2
Who wants to swap De'Aaron for Lonzo now?!? This "future superstar" is NOT even as good as Frank Mason! His pro debut was an embarrassment! Down by 30 on their home floor against Clippers team that did not even play that well! Here's a guy who got body bumped to the floor by Patrick Beverly at half court for the whole arena and national TV audience to see and had NO response! Are you kidding me?!?! What a baby! You gotta respond when you get punked like that. Unbelievable. Just like when De'Aaron got up in his face and he timidly went into a competitive shell. Ha-ha, thank you Magic for caving to pressure and making the stupidest draft pick since Okafor over Porzingis (another one I called :)).

Here's the problems with this scrub that some wanted to trade#5 and #10 pick then I am going to talk about our franchise man De'Aaron. I said this many times. This guy cannot keep his dribble in traffic. He cannot beat his man. He has bad lateral quickness. His shot is hideous. His athleticism is below average. This was the #2 pick??? Ha-ha, joke! Lakers are pathetic without a draft pick or a hope or a prayer! He's a good rebounder for a PG. So he has that going for him. The player I thought he reminded me of pre-draft oddly enough was on the floor last night. If Lonzo works hard on his game he can become as good as Austin Rivers. That's my lofty comparison for him! Austin is a better athlete. Lonzo has better court vision. But here's what I am meaning to get at: A PG should NOT be throwing the ball ahead with lead passes when teammates are not a distinct advantage. There's a reason you don't see this universally. This is what Ball does and it doesn't make sense. It puts the teammate in a position to fail. It's a mask for HIS weakness as a player who cannot create opportunity with HIS skill in the open court by drawing defenders, drawing fouls or creating for himself.

Lonzo plays hot potato with the ball. It is weakness in disguise. There's selflessness as an attribute then there's selflessness to a fault! There's a reason Chris Paul dances and dishes. There's a reason PGs are judicious and economical with their passes. They are not sharing for the sake of sharing! That may work in the NCAAs when you have more talented teammates around you and that is what I was saying for 3-4 months leading up to the draft!!!! His performance at UCLA was very deceptive to susceptible prognosticators! 3 or more times Lonzo passed the ball to Ingram where he was 1 on 2 and 1 on 3 and ended up taking a low percentage shot. You are setting up your teammate to fail!!!! This is the guy the "draft gurus" were salivating over?!?!? Give me a break.....And before you think I am jumping the gun to conclusion after one game, I don't think so. His skillset and athleticism are not to magically transform. Plus he has a bit of a target on his back because of his Dad.

The good news for Kings fans is both Ball AND Ingram look like busts, undeserving of being #2 picks. It will help Ball to have KCP as a running mate, whom he didn't have last night. That will help him and mask his many defensive deficiencies but KCP was 51% TS last year so it is not like he is a reliable offensive weapon. The only way it gets substantially better for Lonzo is if he starts making his outside shot but this is disclaimer you can grant to almost ANY player. Sure, a player is going to look good when their shots go in. But Lonzo was NOT picked #2 because of his outside shooting ability. He was picked because he was supposed to have superior talent at running a team. I think Magic made an egregious error in this assessment and this will play out over the months and season ahead.

Now onto De'Aaron vs Smith. Smith is another guy I think is overrated but he did show me NICE poise and presence and judgement in summer league. If he can make his 3s at a clip of 36% to 38% then this will be good. He's not a 40% shooter from deep but if he can be respectable it will open up driving lanes. He's not the next pre-injury Derrick Rose. He's more like a D'Angelo and that is a stretch. The last time these two went "head-to-head" De'Aaron was hurt with a bum ankle. I think he is going to want to make a statement in the context of winning the game. Winning comes first but showing this guy why you were picked a few spots ahead of him is part of the competitive motivation. Because De'Aaron missed all but a couple of pre-season games his timing and rhythm is off. No more does lack of rhythm come into play then your shooting stroke. So let's see if De'Aaron starts nailing the outside jumper as he finds his rhythm and gains increased comfort with new teammates. This is my expectation as he establishes himself as the best rookie in this class and leading ROY candidate. :)
I still think DSJ is the better prospect. Not overrated and he actually played better than Fox in opening night. People talked crap about him being an ISO scorer who didn't know how to pass the ball, but in reality, Fox is every bit of an ISO scorer and he's an even worse passer. DSJ is by a far a better shooter than Fox, and he already has the lanes opened up for him. His handles are better, but he's not as quick as Fox. It'll be a fun matchup either way.
 

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#3
I still think DSJ is the better prospect. Not overrated and he actually played better than Fox in opening night. People talked crap about him being an ISO scorer who didn't know how to pass the ball, but in reality, Fox is every bit of an ISO scorer and he's an even worse passer. DSJ is by a far a better shooter than Fox, and he already has the lanes opened up for him. His handles are better, but he's not as quick as Fox. It'll be a fun matchup either way.
I'm not going to argue with your offensive analysis at this point in their respective careers but I thought that DSJ could have looked better on defense, though in his defense he was playing against a solid point guard in Schroder. With De'Aaron, there's never any doubt that he's going to be an active defender and that's what separates the two prospects for me.
 
#4
I'm not going to argue with your offensive analysis at this point in their respective careers but I thought that DSJ could have looked better on defense, though in his defense he was playing against a solid point guard in Schroder. With De'Aaron, there's never any doubt that he's going to be an active defender and that's what separates the two prospects for me.
I think Fox has potential to be a lockdown defender 4-5 years when he gets stronger. His active hands and feet is the thing that sets him apart from all PGs out there including DSJ. I'm seeing a Pat Bev defensive potential with Fox...and who knows where his offense will take him? Although I could see the Kings teaching him to be not as aggressive on D because they want him to preserve his energy for offense and keep him out of foul trouble. DSJ will probably be the better defender for the first few years because he's built like a tank, but once Fox gets bigger, I think he'll be the best defensive PG in the league.
 
#5
I think Fox has potential to be a lockdown defender 4-5 years when he gets stronger. His active hands and feet is the thing that sets him apart from all PGs out there including DSJ. I'm seeing a Pat Bev defensive potential with Fox...and who knows where his offense will take him? Although I could see the Kings teaching him to be not as aggressive on D because they want him to preserve his energy for offense and keep him out of foul trouble. DSJ will probably be the better defender for the first few years because he's built like a tank, but once Fox gets bigger, I think he'll be the best defensive PG in the league.
I think, though not sure, that Fox wanted to play in Sacramento and DSJ conspicuously worked out for a lot of teams in the top ten but not here, with a glaring PG need.

If it’s true that DSJ didn’t work out here for reasons other than Sacramento not inviting him in, does that sway your opinion?

As a Sacramento resident and a proud Sacramentan it ‘would’ mine, even in the circumstance of DSJ happening to turn out a little better. Vlade made it a point that he wants players who want to be here as well, and I don’t fault the stance (if applicable here)
 
#6
I think Fox has potential to be a lockdown defender 4-5 years when he gets stronger. His active hands and feet is the thing that sets him apart from all PGs out there including DSJ. I'm seeing a Pat Bev defensive potential with Fox...and who knows where his offense will take him? Although I could see the Kings teaching him to be not as aggressive on D because they want him to preserve his energy for offense and keep him out of foul trouble. DSJ will probably be the better defender for the first few years because he's built like a tank, but once Fox gets bigger, I think he'll be the best defensive PG in the league.
DSJ has to prove he can play defense first (and is willing). He didn't show much desire to play defense in college, so it will be interesting to see how much he plays in the NBA.
 
#10
I think, though not sure, that Fox wanted to play in Sacramento and DSJ conspicuously worked out for a lot of teams in the top ten but not here, with a glaring PG need.

If it’s true that DSJ didn’t work out here for reasons other than Sacramento not inviting him in, does that sway your opinion?

As a Sacramento resident and a proud Sacramentan it ‘would’ mine, even in the circumstance of DSJ happening to turn out a little better. Vlade made it a point that he wants players who want to be here as well, and I don’t fault the stance (if applicable here)
A report suggested that DSJ would workout for the Kings sometime, but nothing came of it. In general, I don't care too much about prospects not coming here to workout. Kings still have a dysfunctional label, while I'm sure it's gotten a lot better, there's lots of reasons out there why guys didn't come here. None of the top guys except for Fox and Collins came here.
Fultz, Ball, Tatum, Jackson, Isaac, Markkanen, Ntilikina, Monk, Kennard, Mitchell, BAM, etc.
 
#12
I think, though not sure, that Fox wanted to play in Sacramento and DSJ conspicuously worked out for a lot of teams in the top ten but not here, with a glaring PG need.

If it’s true that DSJ didn’t work out here for reasons other than Sacramento not inviting him in, does that sway your opinion?

As a Sacramento resident and a proud Sacramentan it ‘would’ mine, even in the circumstance of DSJ happening to turn out a little better. Vlade made it a point that he wants players who want to be here as well, and I don’t fault the stance (if applicable here)
Now that the draft is long past, you would think that we would get answer to this. Unfortunately we have a lousy beat writer who does the bare minimum to keep employment. A more thorough reporter would get the fans answers or be inquisitive enough to find out without being prodded. My sense was that the Kings never invited DSJ but my sense was never confirmed.
 
#13
Wouldn't surprise me one bit if DSJ winds up with better offensive numbers than Fox. I think Fox's numbers will be close offensively but it's his defense that should put him over the top of DSJ. Add to that the fact that he hasn't had ACL surgery nor any complaints about his effort, I think Fox was the right pick. Plus the guy actually wanted to be here which happens pretty much never.
 
#15
First, let’s see if he has the durability to be a full time starter. First the horse and then the cart. Fox, that is.
Well, I think that's why he strategically used the word 'potential'. And he does seem to have that kind of potential based upon talent, skill and intelligence. Whether he ever gets close to that potential remains to be seen.