For today's "pair to compare", we'll look at a couple forwards who many mocks indicate won't be available at our spot, but a few show dropping farther than expected. Perhaps an odd pairing, but it's my thread, so... Poku has been talked about quite a bit as of late: rail-thin 7-footer with a guard's game who is probably 2 years away from being 2 years away, but very well could be the next Porzingis. Williams is mocked by some up into the low single-digits, and seems to be pretty good at just about everything, but may not have a single elite-level skill. Great motor, but shot only 32.8% from 3 last year, so may not have the perimeter touch needed for this Blazers squad. So--if both happen to be available at 16, who do you want in Portland?
Aleksej really looks like a bust, but he is the youngest player in the draft apparently so I'll cut some slack. The next Porzingis? These are the same draft experts that said Nikoloz Tskitishvili could be the next Dirk. No way he lasts to 16, but Williams all the way.
It is a head shaker to me that some people evaluate players without regard to context. Williams showed flashes of real talent against good college players, some of whom may even play in the NBA. Who did Poke-you play against? They are both "projects", but one (IMHO) is much less of a risk.
Because a player with his size that is able to utilize the skillset he appears to possess at the NBA level would be incredibly difficult for most teams to match up with and handle.
Williams wouldn't get more minutes if he were in Poku's place playing for Olympiacos. That doesn't mean Poku is better, but their situation was completely different and Poku didn't get a chance to show what he got so far. When you draft at 16 I'm not sure if there is anything safe though.
Patrick Williams shades of Gallo and PJ Tucker. Those are two completely different types of players lol that scouting report
I guess Pokusevski could be the first INCREDIBLY skinny, gangly super-tall white guy who struggled against people his own age who blossoms into a contributing NBA player, but I wouldn't like to be the guy who had to gamble a pick on him. Can you pick "neither"? Patrick Williams brings Noah Vonleh to mind: great measurements but hasn't demonstrated he can play.
We do it with high school players all of the time. The fact is you can effectively evaluate a lot about a basketball player during workouts, against no live competition. In Poku's case you can easily see that for a long seven footer he has better handles than pretty much anyone in the league, even better than AD. Do we know how that will hold up against the pressure of an elite or even average NBA defender, we can't be certain but we can be certain that the handle is there. His shot looks great but not because it goes in, there's this thing called form, his is excellent, his balance is fantastic, he pulls up well, shoots it stepping back and can do all of that from distance. It's a streaky shot right now but he's also 18 and it's pretty solid for any 18 year old prospect let along one this long. His feet are fast and move fluidly, for this one there is no but it's just a fact and it will serve him well. He's active defensively and gives a lot of effort. That also can't be taken away from him. Not having any post moves, not following through on your shot despite the great shooting motion and not always taking advantage of your length defensively are all bad parts of his game that can easily be fixed for such a gifted 18 year old. The unknown is will a year or two or any amount of time at all make his body more NBA ready? There is no way of knowing that but a team can be damn sure they know how to try and get him there. I think that's how you evaluate someone who hasn't gone against great competition... by the way that is the context, that he was playing in a mid level euro junior league so our assessment against live play is largely incomplete, he does have one game against the elite in under 18 euro ball where he was great but we can't really draw solid conclusions from the the euro version of the McDonalds All-American game but it is another thing that gives you a bit more context. Your assertion that anything can be without context is a fallacy, everything has context. We all understand that this kid has a low floor but on a team that has a pretty robust rotation and a full MLE who rarely plays rookies, this pick in this draft class isn't going to do pretty much anything for us this season regardless of who we take, the height of this guys ceiling should be the determining factor.
Yeah most of these guys from former Yugoslavian countries aren't wrapped up in their countries' political difference but find common ground in shared heritage... at least that's what I've seen in the NBA. Most of these guys hate their governments for what they see as the pointless wars in years past... I know Vlade Divac expressed that back when the wars were actually going on.
