Let's evaluate the progress of our young players at the 20% mark of the season

#1
Let's evaluate the progress of our young players - i.e. rookies and 2nd and 3rd year players. To date, we've played 17 games out of 82, so that means we've reached the 20% mark of the 2017-18 season. I left Harry Giles and Georgios Papagiannis off the list for obvious reasons. I also didn't include Cooley and Sampson.

Bogdan Bogdanovic - he's a player. Versatile, capable, seems like he can play 1-3. If he can find his shot, I think we're going to be very excited about Bogie.

Willie Cauley-Stein - tremendous potential, but unable to put three good games together (in a row). His offense is showing signs that he might develop into a good 2-way player. But he's only had a handful of games this year where he has played with energy and focus. The guy's a hard one to figure out. Wish he'd shut up about how good he thinks he can be and just do it. Don't tell us; show us.

De’Aaron Fox - has all the tools to become an All-Star and the leader of the next great Kings team. His stats have tailed off recently, probably because of scouting reports. But I'm confident that he will adjust his game accordingly.

Buddy Hield - showed his full potential (as a King) when Joerger move him to a 6th man role where his explosive offense can be best utilized and most appreciated. I think Buddy will be our Jamal Crawford. But he's not going to become our Klay Thompson. He's a good rebounder, but otherwise is a liability when he's doing anything but shooting.

Justin Jackson - he rarely has impressive stats at a glance, but he plays solid. He's slight and not particularly quick, but uses what he has well. As a rookie, he may already be one of our best defenders.

Skal Labissiere - is not living up to expectations in his 2nd year, but there is still time. It might be a good strategy to send him to Reno for 20 games to build up his confidence. I still like his potential, but his weaknesses are clear and many.

Frank Mason III - really enjoy watching him play on offense and defense. Vince Carter called him a "Bulldog" to which I think he meant fearless. If the draft had gone differently and Mason had been our lone point guard pick, I'd be feeling good about him in a young Ty Lawsen sort of way.

Malachi Richardson - not enough PT to evaluate properly. He's had a few bright moments, but not enough of them. He had one quick Buddy-like sequence where he hit 3 shots in a row. Don't know if there's more of that to come, or if blew his quota of big shots.
 
#2
It's really hard to evaluate them since the offense is so bad at the moment.

Unless Bogie turns into a sharp shooter, I don't see him being a starting caliber player in the league.

WCS is so inconsistent that he can't be relied on for anything other than bench minutes if we want to win games in the future.

Fox, I can't really tell what he's capable of because he's usually just playing hot potato with the ball on the perimeter since this offense does nearly nothing to get him to the basket. We ran two PnR's for him at the beginning of the Nuggets game. The first got Skal to the line and the second was a layup for Fox and after that they went back to the usual boring crap that consists of "open" long 2's for everyone.

Hield's shot has always worried me because when he misses, he misses bad a lot of the time. Like airballs and clanks off the rim that you wouldn't expect a sharpshooter to have. I think in a respectable offense, he can be a consistent mid teens scorer.

If Jackson toughened up and played like a man, he would be a very valuable 3&D piece but this guy is as soft as they come. I'm not too worried about his shot. He's had like seven 3 pointers rim in and out in the last few games, so he's close. He should become a solid bench scorer but I don't know if his rebounding will ever be good enough to justify him on the floor unless we have a beast rebounding big man in the future.

Skal has taken a step back from what we saw at the end of last year. In some ways his defense in better and in some ways it's worse. I'm not so worried about his missed shots but what I am worried about is his fit as a basketball player in general. Doesn't have the strength to play PF, doesn't have the speed to play SF. Needs to play next to a certain type of player to be effective and I don't think the Kings have that unicorn on their team. He's the anti Draymond whereas Draymond can play next to anyone. Very difficult guy to gauge but he has immense potential and I would give him every last shot in the world to develop.

Mason's troubles are mainly due to his size, which is what was expected. If he can finish better in the lane and develop that part of his game, he should be a very solid backup PG for the team. I'm worried about him the least but I also don't have the expectations for him that I do most of the other guys.

Malachi has been inconsistent, which isn't surprising due to his inconsistent minutes. Doesn't look as good as he did last year and it might be because he's not playing "his" game. He's obviously trying extremely hard to get to the line because Joerger has sent a message to the team that they need to get to the FT line more often (which is true). It seems like Malachi has taken it upon himself to try and James Harden his way to the line and the refs just aren't calling it. Last year he did a good job of getting to the line but I felt like it was a more natural part of his game whereas this year he's forcing it. I'd like to see him get some run in Reno if he can't play consistent minutes.
 
#3
My opinions differ from yours, and I've been disappointed in our young guys. I was hoping one of them would step out of the shadows and try to be THE guy, but all we've gotten so far is inconsistency.

Bogdan Bogdanovic: I've gotten flack for being critical of him because I refuse to view him as a 19yearold rookie. Here's the reality: he's a 25 yearold 1st year NBA player who's been playing professional basketball for years. For what it's worth, he's also our 3rd highest paid player. So far, he's looked average. On offense, he's not great at any particular thing. Streaky shooter, solid ball handler, poor finisher, solid passer, etc. On defense, this is where he excels. He knows how to keep his feet moving and stays low. Through 20% of the season, he hasn't been nearly as impressive as some people try to push him to be. If he were 20yearsold, it would be a lot more impressive. But at 25? eh.

WCS: I'm not buying whatever he's selling. He explodes for 22pt 10reb game and I'm supposed to believe that he's a changed player? What about the games that happened before? 5pts/3rebs, 6pts/6rebs, 6pts/3rebs. No thanks. I still think Joerger is misusing him, but that doens't give WCS an excuse to decide on a game to game basis when he wants to bring the effort in. I would not be comfortable betting the future C of the Kings on this dude until he proves he can be a good NBA player for 20+ straight games and not every 5 games.

De'Aaron Fox: Flashes potential, but hasn't been able to consistently put it together. He's a non-3pt shooter which scares me. His scoring is also more on the inefficient side. Based on 20% of the games we've seen, I don't think he's a franchise player, but I think he could be a franchise PG. Shooting is the most important thing he needs to improve on. I don't care what anyone says, you can't have a PG in the modern NBA that can't shoot at least 35% from 3pt on a high sample size.

Buddy Hield has improved a bit this year even if it's not reflected on the box score. I think he can be a franchise SG, but he needs to be more consistent. He's showing to be an extremely capable passer and even playmaker, but his sloppy ball handling fails him sometimes. His defense is composed of effort, but he doesn't have enough footspeed right now. He's got a nice offensive arsenal. He can shoot the 3, mid-range, and finish around the rim. I'm not sold on Buddy, but if he can play this way for a 40 game stretch, then our franchise SG job is his to keep.

Justin Jackson: looks like a solid 3&D wing but nothing special. Soft is the best word to describe him. He needs to toughen up if he wants to play SF. I like what we've seen from him especially with his off-ball movement, but he desperately needs to get stronger and bigger.

Skal Labissiere: I went from being optimistic to not caring. Skal has what it takes to be a franchise player, but his bball IQ is non-existent. There's no way you can justify this guy being on the floor if he's not a 15+ppg scorer. He's a net negative everywhere else. He can't defend any position whatsoever. He's also a horrific rebounder. Dude needs time in Reno right now. He's become extremely hard to watch and it's sad for me to say. He hasn't really stepped up the way any of us would've liked.

Frank Mason: Lots to like about him. He penetrates the defense better than anyone on this team. I think he plays a bit out of control at times, but he'll learn with time. He really needs to work on his finishing ability. Doesn't demonstrate much touch. Just evaluating him as a future backup PG, lots to like.

Malachi Richardson: Hasn't impressed with his short stints. He's a player who needs the ball in his hands to excel and I doubt he's going to get that opportunity until the Kings fully decide to blow it up with just young guys. He's too much of a non-factor without the ball, and he's done a poor job on defense.
 
#4
Bogdan Bogdanovic - he's a player. Versatile, capable, seems like he can play 1-3. If he can find his shot, I think we're going to be very excited about Bogie.
Perhaps I'm wrong, but I gotta believe that all the basketball BB played in Europe this past Summer is having an effect. He's playing with tired legs compared to the rest of his teammates. And I think that's partly what is throwing his shot off.

You can tell he knows how to play and that he has good shooting form. And he has shot well the past few years in Europe. Then when you factor in all the changes coming to the States and a different basketball, I think it's just a matter of time til he comes around.
 
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CruzDude

Senior Member sharing a brew with bajaden
#5
It's obvious Willie and Koufos play well together at the 4 and 5 respectfully. But then only big left is ZBo unless Cooley gets some playing time to see how close to ready he may be. But with small ball becoming more prevelant may not be a problem IF and a BIG IF, Kings can start being competitive in rebounding.

Coach is not having them take too many 3's yet and every team plays the Kings rooks chest-to-chest out at perimeter decreasing how many 3’s they can get. Keep in mind all the rooks are playing NBA vets every night and thats a tough learning experience.

Bajaden and I have our first reference point at game 20, then another one at All-Star break. My random thoughts:

- Skal needs to let game come to him and not try to force shots going in to mid range,
- Every team seems to know Fox is not gonna shoot the 3, plugging up the middle making it tougher to drive in,
- Small ball for Kings has no rebounders in general,
- Mason is nearly ready,
- Bogs is ready and needs to get consistent with his perimeter shooting, nearly a lock-down defender now,
- Willie needs another year to make-break,
- I like Big Papa and think he may be best rebounder and has a mid-range shot,
- Giles is the diamond in the rough IMHO and hopefully can solve a bunch of needs.
- 20 min in NBA is like 30 min in college and very few play that many minutes, plus only 30 games or so in college usually with 3-5 days rest in between. Euro leages similar with 40 games or so played 2 a week about.

And so it goes in rebuilding.
 
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#7
My opinions- (Mostly based off of draft position)

WCS- Bust, may have a role in the NBA but will not even be a bonafide starter on a playoff team.

Buddy- Bust, can bring some instant shooting off the bench possibly but defensive IQ and inability to run an offense make him an odd fit. He is not better than guys who are similar that were signed off of the street like Bryn Forbes, Shabaz Napier etc. not really sure how much better he is than Ben Maclemore. He cant be on the floor as a starter or for heavy mins against elite teams.

Skal- I would like to see what he would do in a different offense but he is looking like he may be a bust as well.

Malachi- Hasnt earned the playing time and really has not looked good since his injury. Do not see him being a major contributor down the line and possibly out of the league soon.But unlike some others he has age on his side.

Bogie I actually think can be a solid bench rotation guy down the line, he needs the right situation and I do not think this current coaching scheme is right for his game. Bench guy because he will have issues staying in front of the elite guards in the league.

FM3 reminds me of a dellvadova type guy who is scrappy and can help a team off of the bench. Seems like he will have a nice role and a long NBA career.

JJ- He will be alot better in year two but he is another bench shooter type player he would be fine at 10-20MPG on a playoff team off of the bench when fully developed to me thats his absolute ceiling. (and he was NOT worth missing out on Donovan Mitchell)

Fox- He is our big hope and definately shown some flashes but his career still could go many different ways hopefully we dont handle him the way we handled our last potential all star 5th pick.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#8
I'd love to partake but it's simply not fair to make any judgment or evaluation with 17 games played. I know we all want now now now but realistically speaking here and as much as I have had a grown hatred for the word over the passing years, patience is required here. Some of these players will take longer than others, Fox, Mason & Jackson to me look like they will pick it up before the rest of the group.
 

SLAB

Hall of Famer
#9
It's way too early.... But not one of the youngsters has stood out or flashed much (if any) franchise changing potential. Out of the whole bunch, Frank Mason looks the best. Which is a nice player. But he isn't going to win lots of games.

The Kings absolutely need a star. 17 games in, it's hard to squint your eyes and see one.
 
#10
My opinions differ from yours, and I've been disappointed in our young guys. I was hoping one of them would step out of the shadows and try to be THE guy, but all we've gotten so far is inconsistency.

Bogdan Bogdanovic: I've gotten flack for being critical of him because I refuse to view him as a 19yearold rookie. Here's the reality: he's a 25 yearold 1st year NBA player who's been playing professional basketball for years. For what it's worth, he's also our 3rd highest paid player. So far, he's looked average. On offense, he's not great at any particular thing. Streaky shooter, solid ball handler, poor finisher, solid passer, etc. On defense, this is where he excels. He knows how to keep his feet moving and stays low. Through 20% of the season, he hasn't been nearly as impressive as some people try to push him to be. If he were 20yearsold, it would be a lot more impressive. But at 25? eh.

WCS: I'm not buying whatever he's selling. He explodes for 22pt 10reb game and I'm supposed to believe that he's a changed player? What about the games that happened before? 5pts/3rebs, 6pts/6rebs, 6pts/3rebs. No thanks. I still think Joerger is misusing him, but that doens't give WCS an excuse to decide on a game to game basis when he wants to bring the effort in. I would not be comfortable betting the future C of the Kings on this dude until he proves he can be a good NBA player for 20+ straight games and not every 5 games.

De'Aaron Fox: Flashes potential, but hasn't been able to consistently put it together. He's a non-3pt shooter which scares me. His scoring is also more on the inefficient side. Based on 20% of the games we've seen, I don't think he's a franchise player, but I think he could be a franchise PG. Shooting is the most important thing he needs to improve on. I don't care what anyone says, you can't have a PG in the modern NBA that can't shoot at least 35% from 3pt on a high sample size.

Buddy Hield has improved a bit this year even if it's not reflected on the box score. I think he can be a franchise SG, but he needs to be more consistent. He's showing to be an extremely capable passer and even playmaker, but his sloppy ball handling fails him sometimes. His defense is composed of effort, but he doesn't have enough footspeed right now. He's got a nice offensive arsenal. He can shoot the 3, mid-range, and finish around the rim. I'm not sold on Buddy, but if he can play this way for a 40 game stretch, then our franchise SG job is his to keep.

Justin Jackson: looks like a solid 3&D wing but nothing special. Soft is the best word to describe him. He needs to toughen up if he wants to play SF. I like what we've seen from him especially with his off-ball movement, but he desperately needs to get stronger and bigger.

Skal Labissiere: I went from being optimistic to not caring. Skal has what it takes to be a franchise player, but his bball IQ is non-existent. There's no way you can justify this guy being on the floor if he's not a 15+ppg scorer. He's a net negative everywhere else. He can't defend any position whatsoever. He's also a horrific rebounder. Dude needs time in Reno right now. He's become extremely hard to watch and it's sad for me to say. He hasn't really stepped up the way any of us would've liked.

Frank Mason: Lots to like about him. He penetrates the defense better than anyone on this team. I think he plays a bit out of control at times, but he'll learn with time. He really needs to work on his finishing ability. Doesn't demonstrate much touch. Just evaluating him as a future backup PG, lots to like.

Malachi Richardson: Hasn't impressed with his short stints. He's a player who needs the ball in his hands to excel and I doubt he's going to get that opportunity until the Kings fully decide to blow it up with just young guys. He's too much of a non-factor without the ball, and he's done a poor job on defense.
Agree with everything except I'm not high on Hield at all , I thought Bogie after the first few games was our best player but the more I watch the less impressed I become of him (his defense is good). For the most part the majority of our youth is mediocre and at this point aside from Fox/Mason/Jackson I'd try get deals going in packages with 2K/Hill to get better talent/1st round picks.

Also I don't get why WCS/Skal get unlimited chances to prove themselves but Papa G legit does not even get a sniff to break into the rotation. I know 2k has played great and that does cut into his time but man the kid is younger than both Skal/WCS maybe give him a shot next to Z-Bo at times.

Hopefully the hype about Giles is fact but than again I've heard similar stuff before about our players (most recently how great Bogie was last year) so I'm not holding my breathe.
 
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kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#11
It's way too early.... But not one of the youngsters has stood out or flashed much (if any) franchise changing potential. Out of the whole bunch, Frank Mason looks the best. Which is a nice player. But he isn't going to win lots of games.

The Kings absolutely need a star. 17 games in, it's hard to squint your eyes and see one.
not all stars are made in their rookie seasons. Not everyone can be a Ben Simmons right off the bat and even Simmons had a year to watch from the sideline before playing. With that said, we have to hold out hope that one of our projects whether it's Skal or Giles turn out to be something of worth and whether Fox is a borderline all-star/all-star or a franchise caliber PG. Even if he isn't, that's okay, he is a piece moving forward that you don't have to worry about addressing if you find your cornerstone at a another position.
 
#13
But really Fox has shown me he's dedicated to becoming a player and has talent to match it. He's my favorite for his attitude/demeanor alone.

Bogdan has shown he's a serviceable player and has a trusty shot in a better offense.

Skal is hit or miss. Needs to strengthen up, but is skilled enough to make a rotation.

WCS is just too distracted to ever be a serious player. One, two good games, 5 bad. Moving on from him.

Hield has shown he can be a scorer, not elite, but a spark.. Similar to that Nick Young, JR Smith level potential and uses.

Mason hasn't played enough but seems like a good rotation guard to do what's asked and properly.

Vince Carter guy has shown he can have a fruitful career once his injury subsides. I have most faith in him.
 
#14
I think folks above might be too down on Fox. I think he can grow into a top 2 player on a really good team.

I get folks wanted Buddy to be Klay Thompson or Mitch Richmond but he can play. If the team got a lot better and he develops, I think he can help a ton. Conversely, I don’t think he’s a corner stone.

Bogdan - skilled, smart and talented. Pleasantly surprised. Think his althticims may pose a development ceiling at some point. The Kings passed on Monk because they wanted to bring Bogdan over instead of flipping his rights. Monk is much younger, makes 1/3 the money, and will be an RFA in 4 years, that bears watching

Mason and Jackson - nba ready, could grow into role players but I don’t think they are starters down the road

Skal and Giles - I have real doubts, but it’s possible.

WCS - Seems like a long shots

Papa - ugghh, not
 
#15
Perhaps I'm wrong, but I gotta believe that all the basketball BB played in Europe this past Summer is having an effect. He's playing with tired legs compared to the rest of his teammates. And I think that's partly what is throwing his shot off.

You can tell he knows how to play and that he has good shooting form. And he has shot well the past few years in Europe. Then when you factor in all the changes coming to the States and a different basketball, I think it's just a matter of time til he comes around.
This is my take also. I was really disappointed to see him play Eurobasket because I thought he needed the rest and some time to learn the system. Most players spend all summer with the assistant coaches learning the system including experienced players who are free agents. Bogdan had none of that time. In addition, he didn’t just play this summer he played the Olympics also where Serbia made a deep run.

We won’t be able to get a real read on Bogdan until next year.
 
#16
not all stars are made in their rookie seasons. Not everyone can be a Ben Simmons right off the bat and even Simmons had a year to watch from the sideline before playing. With that said, we have to hold out hope that one of our projects whether it's Skal or Giles turn out to be something of worth and whether Fox is a borderline all-star/all-star or a franchise caliber PG. Even if he isn't, that's okay, he is a piece moving forward that you don't have to worry about addressing if you find your cornerstone at a another position.
The Kings are in a horrible position if they're really betting on a guy with 2 bad knees to be the savior of this franchise. At this point, it's safer to just discount Skal as anything for our team. If he turns into something positive, great, if not, he can go with the rest of the 28th overall picks that wind up in Europe.

Kings need a Ben Simmons right now. I'd rather start a rebuild with Ben Simmons over Fox, Skal, Buddy, WCS, Jackson, and Giles all combined. Not an exaggeration.. it just shows you how bad our young guys are. I'm feeling a little hopeless because these guys who have been advertised to be our future core have been horrible if we're being honest. It makes it worse than they're already older Bogdan 25, WCS 24, Buddy 23/24, and JJ 22. People can give Skal and the other guys a bunch of "youth" and "inexperienced" excuses, but Ben Simmons has the equal or less the amount of NBA experience AND he's younger than most..yet, he's already 10x the NBA player any of them are right now.

I have a hard time completely buying the age/experience excuse.
 

gunks

Hall of Famer
#17
I think we're a year away from knowing what we have in Fox. Skinny kids who can't shoot aren't going to do great once they're game planned against. But if he comes back a little bigger, and a little more confident in his shot, I think he'll start showing why he was drafted #5.

Jackson, Mason, and Buddy all look like future contributors, but none look like future allstars. Buddy COULD develop into a 3rd option type, or maybe a 6th man spark plug.

Bogs' defense is a nice surprise, as is his heady play, but he's in quite the shooting slump. I'm waiting for him to string some good games together before I get excited though.

WCS and Skal are the biggest disappointments so far. I'm used to being let down by WCS, but I really expected more from Skal. He's just been abysmal.

Papa? G-league, nuff said. Waste of a pick.

Overall I'm pretty let down. With all the kids on the roster, I was hoping to be excited about AT LEAST one of them.

Still early though.
 
#18
The Kings are in a horrible position if they're really betting on a guy with 2 bad knees to be the savior of this franchise. At this point, it's safer to just discount Skal as anything for our team. If he turns into something positive, great, if not, he can go with the rest of the 28th overall picks that wind up in Europe.

Kings need a Ben Simmons right now. I'd rather start a rebuild with Ben Simmons over Fox, Skal, Buddy, WCS, Jackson, and Giles all combined. Not an exaggeration.. it just shows you how bad our young guys are. I'm feeling a little hopeless because these guys who have been advertised to be our future core have been horrible if we're being honest. It makes it worse than they're already older Bogdan 25, WCS 24, Buddy 23/24, and JJ 22. People can give Skal and the other guys a bunch of "youth" and "inexperienced" excuses, but Ben Simmons has the equal or less the amount of NBA experience AND he's younger than most..yet, he's already 10x the NBA player any of them are right now.

I have a hard time completely buying the age/experience excuse.
I agree. I think people tend to overrate the Kings talent quite a bit and act like for example Fox is a sure fire All-Star in the future. I personally I'm not sure about that.

While Fox's athletic abilities are intriguing, I wonder what sets him apart in peoples minds from players like Dejounte Murray or other young athletic guards. What's Fox's calling card?
With other rookies you see certain NBA level skills early in their career. So what's Fox's skill, that ensures, he is going to be a star?
He is pretty quick, which is a great skill to have. But outside of his quickness?

He is left hand dominant, he has trouble finishing inside (our system doesn't help with that), his jumpshot needs a lot of work, he is not a stellar defender yet, his court vision is ok, but he makes a lot of mistakes (well he is a rookie after all), he has no floater game.

Like usual when I really think about it, I have an easy time figuring out the negatives. So I need you guys to tell me, what the positives are. I need someone to hype me up a bit please.....;)
 
#19
Maybe after another decade of futility and failed picks we will finally admit that this is a franchise problem. We don't know how to develop our young players.
If this crop of young fellas crash and burn it will take another decade if not longer to shed that reputation of Sacramento being a place to go where your career crashes and burns. God help you if the kings draft you.
 
#21
Maybe after another decade of futility and failed picks we will finally admit that this is a franchise problem. We don't know how to develop our young players.
If this crop of young fellas crash and burn it will take another decade if not longer to shed that reputation of Sacramento being a place to go where your career crashes and burns. God help you if the kings draft you.
They aren't even off the ground yet to say anything of crashing and burning. The Giles pick was a moonshot - and looking like a waste - was not too keen on that from the start. Knees are nothing to mess around with - Kings fans of length know this first-hand. Would rather the Kings have picked best player available.

For the current team, Cauley-Stein must be more consistent in rebounding and hard play. Most any given night is a large struggle scoring.
 
#22
They aren't even off the ground yet to say anything of crashing and burning. The Giles pick was a moonshot - and looking like a waste - was not too keen on that from the start. Knees are nothing to mess around with - Kings fans of length know this first-hand. Would rather the Kings have picked best player available.

For the current team, Cauley-Stein must be more consistent in rebounding and hard play. Most any given night is a large struggle scoring.
Any long time kings fan will remember the debacle that was Derek Smith.
You are right, better to not even mess with knee injuries.
 
#23
he has trouble finishing inside
Does he? I certainly would expect him to given his slight build, but BB-R shows him shooting 70.7% within three feet. Unfortunately, I don't see an easy way to compare that league-wide (NBA.com shows within five feet, which is less helpful), but 70% seems high to me.

I think Fox's quickness, ability to get to the rim, and finish there are his calling cards for now--but those are very good things to build on! As Jerry might say, you can learn how to shoot, but you can't teach fast.
 
#24
Does he? I certainly would expect him to given his slight build, but BB-R shows him shooting 70.7% within three feet. Unfortunately, I don't see an easy way to compare that league-wide (NBA.com shows within five feet, which is less helpful), but 70% seems high to me.

I think Fox's quickness, ability to get to the rim, and finish there are his calling cards for now--but those are very good things to build on! As Jerry might say, you can learn how to shoot, but you can't teach fast.
Interesting to say the least. Shows how your eyes can fool you sometimes. Honestly I would have expected a much lower percentage. Thanks
 
#25
Does he? I certainly would expect him to given his slight build, but BB-R shows him shooting 70.7% within three feet. Unfortunately, I don't see an easy way to compare that league-wide (NBA.com shows within five feet, which is less helpful), but 70% seems high to me.

I think Fox's quickness, ability to get to the rim, and finish there are his calling cards for now--but those are very good things to build on! As Jerry might say, you can learn how to shoot, but you can't teach fast.
Interesting to say the least. Shows how your eyes can fool you sometimes. Honestly I would have expected a much lower percentage. Thanks
I think that % is inflated by his transition. Here's his shot-chart which confirms your eyes of him not being a good finisher.

 
#26
My opinions- (Mostly based off of draft position)

WCS- Bust, may have a role in the NBA but will not even be a bonafide starter on a playoff team.

Buddy- Bust, can bring some instant shooting off the bench possibly but defensive IQ and inability to run an offense make him an odd fit. He is not better than guys who are similar that were signed off of the street like Bryn Forbes, Shabaz Napier etc. not really sure how much better he is than Ben Maclemore. He cant be on the floor as a starter or for heavy mins against elite teams.

Skal- I would like to see what he would do in a different offense but he is looking like he may be a bust as well.

Malachi- Hasnt earned the playing time and really has not looked good since his injury. Do not see him being a major contributor down the line and possibly out of the league soon.But unlike some others he has age on his side.

Bogie I actually think can be a solid bench rotation guy down the line, he needs the right situation and I do not think this current coaching scheme is right for his game. Bench guy because he will have issues staying in front of the elite guards in the league.

FM3 reminds me of a dellvadova type guy who is scrappy and can help a team off of the bench. Seems like he will have a nice role and a long NBA career.

JJ- He will be alot better in year two but he is another bench shooter type player he would be fine at 10-20MPG on a playoff team off of the bench when fully developed to me thats his absolute ceiling. (and he was NOT worth missing out on Donovan Mitchell)

Fox- He is our big hope and definately shown some flashes but his career still could go many different ways hopefully we dont handle him the way we handled our last potential all star 5th pick.
Agree for the most part. I think WCS and Hield will both be guys that drift in and out of the the league bouncing from team to team. Neither one has any clue what to do on defense and both go through terrible offensive lapses where a lot of their shots are ill advised and usually not even close to going in. I almost want to group Malachi and Skal in that bust category too because they've been horrible this year, but I'm willing to give them a little longer because of their age and flashes they showed last year. Both have long ways to go though.

I think JJ and Bogie can both be solid 3 and D guys. Obviously you need to actually be able to hit your 3's to be called that, but I think both guys have shown enough potential to at least be rotational pieces with those roles down the line once we have some offensive focal points that will allow them more open looks.

Mason has shown enough to be comfortably considered a long term option at back up point guard. He has a high bball IQ and clearly doesn't get bothered by pressure.

Fox has shown enough to be a long term starter IMO. Not sure if he has all star or even star potential, but if he can at least hit jumpers consistently (forget about the 3 right now) and play aggressive D while also pushing the tempo I'm more than comfortable with I'm at starting PG long term. His rookie numbers right now are identical to Mike Conleys. If he even gets close to that I think it's a win.

Jury is out on Papa G and Giles.
 
#27
A couple of thoughts on minutes.

First, I'm not a huge fan of Vlade breaking up the 2016 and 2017 picks to take several flyers instead of just shooting for one really good player. Some folks both: think it's a good idea; AND are also saying "What do you want, we can't play all of these young players!" I don't think you can have it both ways. They chose to load the roster up with kids. Give them the reps, not guys who will be out of basketball in 3 years.

In terms of development. You get these guys don't practice that much during the season and scrimmage even less, right? Granted the trimmed down travel helps that a bit, but the practice time still gets sparse later in the year. You only get so many reps at a shoot around.
 
#28
Does he? I certainly would expect him to given his slight build, but BB-R shows him shooting 70.7% within three feet. Unfortunately, I don't see an easy way to compare that league-wide (NBA.com shows within five feet, which is less helpful), but 70% seems high to me.

I think Fox's quickness, ability to get to the rim, and finish there are his calling cards for now--but those are very good things to build on! As Jerry might say, you can learn how to shoot, but you can't teach fast.
Interesting to say the least. Shows how your eyes can fool you sometimes. Honestly I would have expected a much lower percentage. Thanks
Him shooting 70.7% within 3 feet doesn't necessarily equate to him being good at finishing at the rim because this doesn't exclude open layups from steals/fastbreaks, someone setting him up really nicely, etc. What would be ideal is to see 0-3 ft FG% with a defender 0-2 feet away, 2-4 feet away, 4-6 feet away, etc. I took a quick look and couldn't find that on NBA.com. However, they have "Drives" in their player tracking section. Fox is shooting 35.4% on drives. For reference, here are what other starting PGs are shooting on drives:
  1. LeBron James - 62% (unfair comparison but he's essentially the PG of his team)
  2. D'Angelo Russell - 54.3%
  3. Kemba Walker - 53.5%
  4. Jrue Holiday - 52.8%
  5. John Wall - 51.9%
  6. Ben Simmons - 51.2%
  7. Mike Conley - 50.7%
  8. Reggie Jackson - 50%
  9. Darren Collison - 50%
  10. Patty Mills - 50%
  11. Steph Curry - 48.9%
  12. Dennis Schroder - 48.8%
  13. James Harden - 48.6%
  14. Kyrie Irving - 47.5%
  15. Kyle Lowry - 44.4%
  16. Eric Bledsoe - 44.4%
  17. Damian Lillard - 43.6%
  18. Goran Dragic - 42.9%
  19. Russell Westbrook - 42.5%
  20. Emmanuel Mudiay - 42.4%
  21. Patrick Beverley - 40.9%
  22. Jeff Teague - 39.3%
  23. Dennis Smith Jr. - 37.8%
  24. Frank Ntilikina - 37.5%
  25. George Hill - 37.2%
  26. Elfrid Payton - 36.4%
  27. Ricky Rubio - 36.2%
  28. De'Aaron Fox - 35.4%
  29. Lonzo Ball - 34.9%
  30. Kris Dunn - 34.6%
Fox obviously doesn't look very impressive in this statistic. However, if we look at how many points they personally score (not taking into account the assists they might make) per drive (which would factor in being fouled and the points scored at the line), this is how the rankings stack up:
  1. LeBron James - .774
  2. D'Angelo Russell - .632
  3. Mike Conley - .627
  4. Kyrie Irving - .596
  5. Reggie Jackson - .583
  6. Damian Lillard - .573
  7. James Harden - .557
  8. Kemba Walker - .556
  9. Dennis Schroder - .541
  10. Stephen Curry - .54
  11. John Wall - .537
  12. Emmanuel Mudiay - .514
  13. Ben Simmons - .5
  14. Jrue Holiday - .472
  15. De'Aaron Fox - .457
  16. Eric Bledsoe - .442
  17. Darren Collison - .431
  18. Dennis Smith Jr. - .402
  19. Jeff Teague - .39
  20. Russell Westbrook - .367
  21. George Hill - .367
  22. Kris Dunn - .342
  23. Kyle Lowry - .336
  24. Frank Ntilikina - .333
  25. Patrick Beverley - .333
  26. Patty Mills - .329
  27. Goran Dragic - .327
  28. Lonzo Ball - .291
  29. Elfrid Payton - .291
  30. Ricky Rubio - .265
 
#30
One thing about Fox is he will be a gym rat working on his game. WCS and Skal need the same attitude. Willie was inconsistent at Kentucky as well. Could play great one game and totally check out the next. It’s his laid back personality. He needs some Frank Mason ‘bulldog’ in him. With the amount of money these players could earn, I don’t get the lazy attitude.
Boogie is playing great in NOLA. Although he had some issues, he had a fire to win. These young Kings need some of that passion.