I'll be rooting for Swaggy C as much as the next guy (it's hard not too). BUT, i fear he may be a tweener - not big enough for the C position and not quick enough for the modern day stretch 4. Some people who say he is a good defender or want to play him at SF are smoking too much of the good stuff. Either way, he has excellent intangibles along with high BBIQ & top tier passing/rebounding - so automatically he should get all of Leonards minutes from the get-go.
He looked tough as nails during summer league for sure. But common sense tells you summer league is such tough way to judge a player. Qyntel Woods for instance. Other side of it, Nic was horrible his first summer league and ended up starting all season for us and contributing his rookie year. Hope this kid is more ZBo than Diagu.
Based to him being a real offensive player, having very good basketball IQ, hence "nose for the ball", being an excellent rebounder and while maybe not a strong defender, an adequate defender that needs a center beside him (Nurkic, Zach Collins). He could come of the bench but he's our best Power Forward
We have seen a lot of volatility at the PF position the last two seasons. Several players have seen their roles and minutes reduced due to injuries and poor play. This season, I think we may again see some volatility at the PF spot, but not because someone falters, but because someone earns it, steps up and carves out a role for themselves - and I think Caleg Swanigan is the most likely to do so. Vonleh is Vonleh. He played much better alongside Nurk, but is still very limited offensively. I think he goes into the season as the defacto starting PF, with veterans Ed Davis and Al-Farouq Aminu penciled in for most of the back-up minutes at that position. However, because of his work ethic, high motor and relentless rebounding, I think Swanigan will gradually carve out a role for himself. As a rookie, I think he will struggle both offensively and defensively against NBA competition, but I think it's his rebounding that will earn him playing time. Rebounds = possessions and it is a skill that correlates highly to won-loss record and one that tends to translate well from college to the pros. It will take a while, but I think by March, Swanigan will be part of the regular rotation. I think Vonleh (if not traded) will still be starting, but it would not surprise me to see Swanigan actually playing more minutes than Vonleh come March and April. BNM
How many NBA games has Jordan Bell played? You've been proclaiming him an elite defender for months, yet not one single NBA game... Double standard much? BNM
Not at all. Jordan Bell has been an elite defender, and actual NBA scouts have said he is an elite defender.
Not in the NBA he hasn't. He has played exactly the same number of NBA games as Swanigan. Swanigan has been an elite rebounder, was Big 10 Player of the Year and a unanimous 1st Team All American. He was also ranked higher than Bell in all the mock drafts. Actual NBA scouts considered him a better NBA prospect than Bell. Yet, if someone here praises Swanigan, you feel compelled to ridicule them by pointing out he hasn''t played a single NBA game. Well, neither has Jordan Bell. So yes, it is a double standard. BNM
I disagree. He is still young and very impressionable with what people say is also z great work ethic. When he was on the side of nurk, he flourished. If we stay healthy I think we gel next year and take a big jump. We will be the surprise team we were two years ago. But this time that puts us in the wcf. Well for one, he wasn't our starter after he went down. When he came back from injury he came off the bench... and I think that is where he needs to stay. Dame/cj/hark/vonleh/nurk is a great balance of offense and defense....if harkless shows more improvement and vonleh takes the leap I expect him to playing with nurk. Then we have Napier/turner/aminu/Davis/leonard(swanigN?) We still need upgrades to our bench but the season will dictate whether that will come from within as our rookies grow. I really want to see a more consistAnt rotation focusing on the starting five coming out and returning together. We will be fine. Our core is still young and contrCts aren't forever.
Fair enough but I know talent, hoped we'd get him before the draft and before he played a summer league game. Put him next to a C and he's even better
I'm starting to really feel concern about our bench in regards to 3 point shooting. I know Crabbe was super one dimensional, but without him, we have no one coming off of the bench that is consistently a good 3 point shooter. I'm hoping Neil can add that swish3 factor before the season starts.
The $12.9 million TPE from the Crabbe trade could address that, but I think Neil is seeing what else might become available before playing his trump card. If Paul is cool paying the luxury tax, I'd be cool with using the TPE to add a veteran 3 & D guy like Jared Dudley or Courtney Lee. BNM
I really hope Stotts start integrading a five man rotation. Dame/CJ/Harkkless/Vonleh/Nurk as our starters and they all come off together. This will give more time for Napier. Napier/Turner/Aminu/Davis(Swannigan)/Leonard(Collins) with PattyC and Layman to use situationally. Only if Swannigan makes big leaps, should we mess with the starting rotation That second unit has allot of flexibility defensively and if the first unit is clicking like it should, very few teams will outscore them. So scoring doesn't have to be the primary goal of the second unit. I think it should be more locking down defensively on the opposing benches and forcing their starters back in the game sooner, hence wearing them down. We are young we should be able to wear most teams down.
Is there one single team in the NBA that does this? I don't recall any in the last 30 years. NHL yes, NBA no. BNM
Did not the Jordan Bulls do this on a regular basis? As well as the Wallace Pistons? NO it will never be always, foul trouble, injuries, etc come into play, but when possible and when fluid, Id like to see them primarily play with each other and stop this CJ running point for the second unit. That's really more to the point of what I want, I suppose. I want the second unit to know their role, so they can become comfortable and confident with it. I think it will help if Napier Knows he is the backup PG and I think Him and Turner can handle the backcourt ball handling. Tons of PnR with Swannigan and Davis and Collins with Leonard there for the swish3... I think we can get back to a more traditional rotation than using CJ in two different positions.
Matter of fact, I remember the Drexler Blazers doing this on the reg too. All five of Porter, Drexler, Kersey/Buck and Duck would all come back in together I will admit, none of my references are todays NBA teams, lol.
I don't think any coach literally subs all five starters in and out together throughout the game. The closest is probably Doc Rivers with the Clippers, who often subbed all three of his stars (Paul/Griffin/Jordan) out together, because he felt they played best together. That led to his team going through hellacious droughts, especially since his benches have been pretty weak.
I like Swanigan, but I still think the surprise starter this fall will be Collins. Especially with Nurkic in the paint, our biggest weakness is not getting out-muscled or out-rebounded. It's perimeter players blowing past CJ and Dame. In a league where practically everybody has an All-Star caliber point guard, we need somebody long and fast at PF who focuses on defense. That's Collins. Swanigan is probably more NBA-ready, but in preseason when coaches look at who fits best next to Dame/CJ/Nurk, nobody is going to remember summer league. Collins just looks like the best defensive option we've got at PF.
