Without a doubt, the One Who Shall Not be Named is playing out of this world.
But what if I tell you I still see a path where Bagley will become the better player? Or at least, on the same level as the heir apparent to Lebron (or so they say)?
Hear me out, I envision prime Bagley to put up roughly 20+ ppg, 10+ rebs, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1.5 steals, shoot 35% from 3s, and a very good defender. His per 36 from last season already put him at 21 and 11, with improvement in awareness, positioning, and 3 pt shooting; I think he will very likely become this baller who fills the stat sheets.
His defense is going to get better, a lot better. I can't think of a long athletic freak who plays this hard and doesn't end up being at least a good defender. He will be good on the defensive end, I have no doubt about that. He may even become great with added strength and better acumen.
So we'are looking at a two way player who can carry your offense and a plus on defense. That's a franchise player isn't it?
Now, what if he up his scoring numbers to 26 ppg, 12 rebs, 2.5 assists, 2 blocks, 1.5 steals, and shoot 35% from 3s? That is Barkley, Malone, Webber, Anthony Davis territory. The thing is, he was already scoring 21 ppg per 36 mins in his rookie year.... and he was winging it half the time! What I'm trying to say is - these are not unreasonable numbers to expect from a prime Bagley. It's achievable if a few things that are not far fetched fall into place.
And what if he becomes a really good defender - a freak big who can guard other bigs then also switch to wings and hold his own? He'd be the Kawhi Leonard of big men. The type of player who wins in the playoffs.
Am I too optimistic? Perhaps. But I don't think it's unreasonable nor surprising if Bagley becomes that player. His ceiling is that high, from day one.
And if Bagley turns into a two-way franchise player who can carry your team offensively and defensively; I think an argument can be made that a well rounded player is better than a one-dimensional one, even if he is lights out awesome in that one dimension.
.
But what if I tell you I still see a path where Bagley will become the better player? Or at least, on the same level as the heir apparent to Lebron (or so they say)?
Hear me out, I envision prime Bagley to put up roughly 20+ ppg, 10+ rebs, 2.5 assists, 1.5 blocks, 1.5 steals, shoot 35% from 3s, and a very good defender. His per 36 from last season already put him at 21 and 11, with improvement in awareness, positioning, and 3 pt shooting; I think he will very likely become this baller who fills the stat sheets.
His defense is going to get better, a lot better. I can't think of a long athletic freak who plays this hard and doesn't end up being at least a good defender. He will be good on the defensive end, I have no doubt about that. He may even become great with added strength and better acumen.
So we'are looking at a two way player who can carry your offense and a plus on defense. That's a franchise player isn't it?
Now, what if he up his scoring numbers to 26 ppg, 12 rebs, 2.5 assists, 2 blocks, 1.5 steals, and shoot 35% from 3s? That is Barkley, Malone, Webber, Anthony Davis territory. The thing is, he was already scoring 21 ppg per 36 mins in his rookie year.... and he was winging it half the time! What I'm trying to say is - these are not unreasonable numbers to expect from a prime Bagley. It's achievable if a few things that are not far fetched fall into place.
And what if he becomes a really good defender - a freak big who can guard other bigs then also switch to wings and hold his own? He'd be the Kawhi Leonard of big men. The type of player who wins in the playoffs.
Am I too optimistic? Perhaps. But I don't think it's unreasonable nor surprising if Bagley becomes that player. His ceiling is that high, from day one.
And if Bagley turns into a two-way franchise player who can carry your team offensively and defensively; I think an argument can be made that a well rounded player is better than a one-dimensional one, even if he is lights out awesome in that one dimension.
.