Sure, but there's still a gigantic gap between that and Durant. A whole lot has to go right in Bailey's development to come anywhere close to that comparison. To my limited viewing, Bailey looks like a longer Brandon Clarke, with more of a perimeter game.
Jeremiah Fears has been very up and down in SEC play (mostly down), but he's finally looking like he's figuring things out. Good game vs a great Florida team and just had likely his best game of his career today vs Mississippi State. His ability to get anywhere on the floor with a unique blend of speed and deceptiveness are traits still worth betting on in the lottery.
I don't think many people are making the comparison of Bailey to Durant. Durant's an MVP candidate multiple times over. Bailey has elite scoring skills and is a mismatch nightmare that needs to put it all together -- Durant had it all together as a freshman in college. But Brandon Clarke? Clarke has nowhere near the offensive tools Bailey has to work with. Maybe I've just seen more of him because I live in Big Ten territory, but to compare Bailey to Clarke as a prospect is insulting to Bailey, and I saw Clarke play in college, too. I honestly have no idea where that comparison comes from. These players are nothing alike.
Could happen if another Avidja trade became available, but I'm not betting on that. I think even if the Blazers are in the bottom of the top 10, there are going to be players they can draft that will help them and maybe even help pretty quickly. I think McNeeley, Knueppel and Tre Johnson are potential elite shooters which is something the Blazers don't have right now. They'd be really good fits. I know his stock's dropped, but I saw enough of Egor Demin early in the season to believe he could be special; 6-9 and a great handle and elite passer -- guys who pass the ball like that make teams better, and he's not someone you need to hide on defense, he just needs to shoot better. Jakucionis could drop, and he's going to be a good pro. And I still really like Essengue, the kid we saw from Ulm in the preseason; 6-10 and can play basically any position, he could be a better Batum when it's all said and done. Asa Newell and Thomas Sorber are worth drafting. There's easily 10 really good prospects in this lottery. In fact, I think it's more likely that we'd move one of the vets if we could for an extra pick this year or next rather than trade out of this draft.
Those who follow college basketball, who are the nearest players to these archetypes? Klay Thompson Draymond Green Jrue Holiday SGA ?
The top 4 look pretty good. I would love to have any of them. But I am not sure there is a clear generational talent there. They all will need to improve to be a "difference maker"
SGA = Dylan Harper Klay Thompson = Ace Bailey, albeit he is more like MPJ/KD put together. That's about it. The other guys are probably in another draft. I thought Jarace Walker had Draymond/Aaron Gordon potential and Pacers fans seem to like him but until he turns 23 or 24, we probably won't see how true that is.
I was hoping for players other than two of the top three that everyone talks about. Is Ace Bailey a good defender? And I see more of Cade Cunningham in Dylan Harper.
Ace Bailey is toolsy and plays good defense but still needs to develop it further for the NBA. SGAs don't exactly grow on trees. If there's an SGA in the NBA, there's a McGrady/Wade/Manu to his Kobe and that's probably just about it. Cade, Harper are probably the only "PGs with SG height" to compare him to.
His off ball defense needs a lot of work but the movement skills a 6'10" are pretty damn good, stl and blk% are solid and he's made enough flash plays that I think you can safely project him to be above average by his 3rd year. I'm actually more confident in that projection than his offense. His decision making and inability to generate high quality looks in the half court are the big question marks for me
