I was thinking Chris Paul. The dude measured under 6' and was an elite defender. I saw him give KD more problems than players much bigger. And of course, fans wanted to pass on him as well because of Damon Lamon Stoudamire.
So take Richardson with the assumption he could be a really good defender because Chris Paul did it? No thanks. I don't get why you take Richardson when there are several guys who are very good defenders, are good shooters and have plenty of length. Unless you think Richardson is an elite scorer who can defend well. I'm taking Bryant, Clifford, Coward and probably McNeeley before Richardson.
I am the only one who mentioned Chris Paul, so I assume you are responding to my post? Again, I don't want him at 11. I was just responding to the "exception to the rule" post.
Comps are tough. They're often in the eye of the beholder. I focus primarily on the stats vs feel. Although I agree that the feel of Bryant's game is primarily defense compared to Oubre's offense, Bryant actually took more 3 pointers per 36 than Oubre, and hit them at a higher rate. Looking at Battier, he was a bad 3 point shooter/scorer his freshman year but ramped it up significantly over his next 3 years to be a prolific scorer at Duke. Part of the reason I enjoy this time of year is because it's so difficult to predict how these kids will progress. Carter only averaged 19.3 mpg. I wouldn't pigeonhole Carter into a singular category just yet.
It certainly looks like you haven't spent much time watching Richardson's game film. I do think he has a chance to be an elite scorer (say CJ level), who is at least willing to try and defend. He's going to be a good player in the league for a long time. I'm probably taking Bryant before Jase... It's a coin flip between Jase/Clifford. But I think Jase is clearly the better player over Coward and McNeeley.
Sell me on Demin. Normally I'm the one who's supposed to be in love with soft Euros with flashy passing skills but I can't think of a success of his type in recent years and I can think of a good deal of failures (well, this guy for one). Will he match the greatness of Viktor Khryapa and Sergei Monya?
1. He is a foreign player who worked on skills in a team game early on. He’s not a pound the rock guy or score first. I am not a fan of PGs who get theirs looking like a scoring guard. From what I can tell, he’s a really long straw that stirs the drink. 2. I like my point guards at 6’3 to 6’5 or 6’6 (without shoes and not with ridiculous wingspan as it seems to make having great handles harder) nor a T-Rex. One exception is Magic but he’s a one-off … and he was a point-forward with the emphasis on point. I am a fan of point-forwards who are actually as much point as forward. 3. Strength, handles, shooting — his floor on these is as a 8th or 9th man, back-up, and 2nd initiator (taller Evan Turner). That’s what I think when reading or hearing what his strongest critics say. His ceiling is “I don’t know” — as in all star. I buy his shot, want to, and enjoyment of a team game.
not advocating one way or the other on Demin.... but I agree about wingspan. I think it's very overrated metric. Obviously, you don't want T-Rex/Bayless arms, but players never stand on the floor with their arms straight out to the side. When it comes to defense, reaction and lateral mobility are much more important than wingspan. I mean sure, if there's a choice between two prospects of equal talent and upside, it could be justified taken a player with a longer wingspan....maybe I mean, Rupert has a 2 inch wingspan advantage on Amen Thompson, and a 3.5 inch advantage over Luguentz Dort
