Man, this is a tough one. I don't really know enough about McDermott at the NBA level to have a very strong opinion. Outside shooting is at a premium in today's NBA and supposedly he has the mental makeup of a champion. But.... what position is he.... who can he guard...... can he score at the NBA level while not hurting the team too much in other areas? Snell on the other hand can defend his position and has the body type and skill set to be a solid NBA 3. Does he have the mental makeup, basketball smarts and intensity to be a great pro? I was leaning towards no up until a couple weeks ago. I think its basically a coin flip in my opinion, but I'll pick Snell, gun to my head.
Snell is 6'7" 200 lbs Jimmy is 6'7" 220 lbs McDermott is 6'8" 225 lbs It wouldn't shock me to see Dougie get some time at the 2. But What we saw him do in college and how they're radically asking him to change his game in the pros isn't going well. Snell, I said.
Yah, that's what I just can't see regarding Dougie. What position does he defend? What position is he best suited for on O? The first is the tougher question, IMO.
He kind of reminds me of Mike Miller as far as my expectations go, but he's played mostly like Adam Morrison. Miller is 6'8" 218 lbs. He had some pretty good seasons for Memphis when he was younger - playing SG.
This poll is evil. I went with McDermott. A couple weeks ago, I was in the early stages of giving up on Snell. McDermott has looked bad, but he's only played about 200 NBA minutes. The McDermott I saw in college was a freak shooter. It'll take a lot to convince me he won't be a very good shooter in NBA.
I voted for McDermott too. Defense and handling are great, but it seems like shooting guards live or die on their ability to sink open jumpers and ensure spacing. I don't believe in Snell yet. The inconsistent angles he uses on his shot have me spooked, and I want to see it over at least a full season.
I think he's a two on offense. Part of the reason Thibs had him running all that off-the-ball Ray Allen vocabulary is because I think it obviates the need to have shooting guard level ball handling abilities. I'm relatively confident that Dougie M is going to figure out how to score, working himself open in those sets. It's just going to take time. Rip Hamilton was never much of a handler either. And I like McDermott's strength. I don't know if he's ever going to be an above average defender -- I actually have no feel for what type of defender he'll become, outside of the fact that I'd be very surprised if he became an elite defender. But I don't think he's going to be so poor that it restricts a coaches ability to give him minutes.
So he isn't a 2, 3, or 4. What is he? Korver plays SG some, so has Dunleavy, and Mike Miller too. Because they were tried at other positions and it didn't work out. Miller is 6'8" 218 lbs. Dougie is 6'8" 225 lbs. if Dougie is as good as Miller, he's going to be around a long time. Korver is Joe Johnson's replacement at SG in Hotlanta. The similarity I see is they were all considered too unathletic to play either SG or SF, but have the size to play SF.
