Got to be careful mentioning Lebron, no player ever can ever be mentioned with him it's like no kids have ever tried to pattern their game from all-time greats. This I had no idea he played guard in high school, and for him to have already developed his post-game footwork to such a high degree shows his work ethic and how much of a natural basketball player he is. I am really starting to think it's gonna be like Luka all over again and people are going to be clowning the other 2 teams for passing on him.
In fairness, Chet is an incredible talent. Jabari is a strange consensus BPA. Passing on Luka was one of the most baffling things I can remember. I think all three of these guys have an equal chance to be the best player in this draft. No one had Luka's upside in that draft.
Yeah, I agree with Jabari, it's amazing how many people get enamored with a 3-point shooting big man, and even more amazing how much Banchero's game is picked apart yet Smith's game does not. I can understand the fascination with Holmgren because he has a multitude of skills but Smith is really a one-trick pony, his defense is not so great that you ignore all of his other limitations. I really need to go look at Kawhi in college to see if he had the dribbling deficiency that Smith does, what I do know is that Kawhi had a much better inside game than Smith.
oh no, I can save you the time. Kawhi was an incredible dribbler. So was KD. Even Mikal Bridges was a better dribbler than JSJ. Jaren Jackson Jr. without rim protection is my best comp for Jabari. I think he's awesome and I'd be thrilled with him at 3. I just don't understand why he is so favorited to go first.
I would be underwhelmed with him at 3 I would be looking to trade down or pick Ivey, I just think Smith will always be a huge tease and never be a guy you can run the great offense through, he will always be very guardable if focused on. My comp would be Donyell Marshall.
I think some of it is fit with Orlando and their “type”. They want long switchable guys (who doesn’t?) and they are in desperate need of shooting. Smith fits in on any team but he really provides what the Magic need while Banchero is getting the but his defense?!?! and is only effective with the ball nonsense. The more I watch Paolo the more I think he could be a generational talent. He has guard handles, elite vision, three level scorer, and according to one of those earlier tweets is now 6’11’’. But most importantly he’s another guy who can go and get a bucket when the play breaks down or it’s crunch time. The Paolo/Green pnr is going to be amazing.
I don't understand why CFers don't think Magic and Thunder GMs are BPA. And would strangely put more emphasis on fit. If those GMs really believe Paolo is a supposed '3-tier generational talent', they would take Paolo with their 1st/2nd pick. Maybe it's less 'fit' as more 'flexible'. Can build teams differently with Jabari/Chet, as opposed to have let Paolo be ball dominant and have to supplement on defense. The 'chore' / legwork on rest of the rebuild is already obvious once you pick Paolo. Of the listening and reading of Magic/Thunder pundits/fans, most of them, at least they claim are also BPA. With the exception of few; most prefer Jabari or Chet. The recent national boards have Jabari/Chet 1 & 2. Do they not do BPA? Could it maybe... just be that the consensus BPA among the three is that Paolo is last. It's just a grade of where they are now, and that's all GMs can really go on. Since we received the 3rd pick, it's as if Rocket fans are trying to talk themselves into liking the probable 3rd candidate. Once Chet/Jabri are gone, Paolo is probably BPA (against the likes of Ivey, Murray and Sharpe).
Sometimes all these are wrong (see Luka). Only time will tell who is the best of the three. Personally, I have Chet and Paolo as the two best players available (in either order). Picking Jabari is based not on the player he is right now, but on the player he could become if he fixes his weaknesses. Just my thoughts..
Yes, we can't predict the future. The consensus is not always right, and when it is wrong, people point it out. But when it is correct, few say anything because it went according to plan. I'm just dubious when a player fan base is 'so sure' that 'their guy is the guy', despite the majority of outside say the opposite. It's OK if the 'guy' we pick, not end up a disappointment, but it doesn't mean that guy is necessarily better than those, who went ahead of him. The same could be said if Paolo is chosen, and Ivey or Sharpe ends up being that 'Luka'.
Comparing one player to another doesn’t always have to do with skill set or measurables. I am comparing what I see in Banchero’s mentality to that of Luka. I’m wrong plenty of times but it’s pretty easy to go back a few years and find my post history. I was firmly Luka #1 because he had that same killer mentality. What separates the good from the great has to do with their mental make up. It’s like Dejavu all over again with the concerning defense, not athletic enough for the NBA, if he was anything like Lebron he’d be consensus #1 pick etc. Meanwhile everyone was convinced Jeremy Lin was the next Steve Nash and I fought the entire board over Linsanity and was called a hater. Context matters and mentality matters more than anything. People who are truly great in any field will tell you the power and role of their subconscious mind. Finding unicorn players is half the battle at best. Finding the players who identify as “the man” and have an unwavering core belief and mindset that they are the best player at all times under any circumstances period is equally important and the rarest of the rare trait. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want a combination of those things. Paolo wins everywhere he goes. Regardless of sport or circumstance or level. The dude is a winner. He always looks like the best player on the floor regardless of who else is out there because he has already accepted he is the man as a hardened fact. It is subjective and the hardest thing to judge but I don’t believe there is anything more important in sports or any other field. Deshaun Watson wasn’t the first QB off the board but he had a similar pedigree and mentality and we see the results. This is the star quality people point to and it is seldom without merit or tangible evidence. Paolo is notorious for his work ethic and it’s hard to argue with the results thus far. He might be the most skilled player in the draft for a reason and that true is regardless of his size or tools. He’s dominated at every level and I’m willing to bet he’s of the mindset that he will dominate at the next level just the same. It really seems to me at this point that it’s in his nature. Paolo Banchero at one point in his high school career was thought to be a generation talent same thing with Chet. But because some pundits now say it’s a weak class I’m supposed to forget about their upside. I’m supposed to forget about what the same pundits said only a few years ago. Sports pundits flip flop more than politicians. Everyone knows this is the case. Everything is what have you done for me lately. Apparently Christian Wood this year was worth 2 first round picks, worth next to nothing and worth one lottery pick all in one month of the season. Jabari had a good year but he didn’t exactly carry his team very far in March madness and even if he projects as a great shooter he scored 17ppg on 42% shooting. In what world is that good and how is he better than that against NBA defenses? The argument has to do with shot selection and difficulty… well if you want a player that exclusive creates on midrange pull-ups aka the most inefficient shot in basketball while attempting 5.5 threes a game and hitting a little over 2 of them, you can have him. If you are the best player in college basketball on a number #2 seed playing alongside the DPOY(that didn’t even go to you it went to your teammate) how do you get blown out by Miami. How do you allow that to happen? They didn’t even make the sweet 16. And what exactly did he do or win before that? I’d rather take the guy who consistently wins and dominates at every single level regardless of sport or competition and can also take more efficient shots especially close to the rim and actually dribble and pass the ball. In the long term and the even in the short term Banchero has the proven track record over Jabari and you’d be hard pressed to argue against that. If you had to pick the winner between the two it seems quite obvious to me who that would be.
Banchero is the star. Even if he’s consensus 3rd, Clutchfans discusses all 3 prospects in depth in one place. The Paolo Banchero thread. I don’t see a thread for Jabari or a thread for Chet. It’s because he’s their daddy.
Because that seems to be the argument against Paolo more often than not. He doesn't fit with Wagner/Fultz (LMAO) He doesn't fit with Giddey/Shai. When discussing Chet or Jabari, no one ever talks about them being future stars. They call them 3 and D guys. Know what that also sounds like? Role players. Pundits consistently say about Paolo "he'll probably win rookie of the year". And yet he's behind Jabari and Chet usually because of fit. Even here in Clutchland people worry about his perceived "fit" with Sengun. Banchero has been a better player through 18 YO than any player mentioned in the "will he fit?" spectrum. He looks the part. He plays the part. He's touted as "most likely to win rookie of the year" and yet is predicted to go 3rd because....he'll never improve his defense and he encroaches on players that he's probably way better than? And Jabari will assuredly develop a whole handle? Chet will suddenly become an offensive force even though he didn't show any of that at all in college? Paolo and Ivey just scream Luka/Trae draft to me. Can't say they'll be as good as them but if you think Paolo doesn't have Luka type of potential you don't know what you're watching. When a kid has all the physical tools AND has dominated every level of ball he's played in AND never backed down from big moments....you always take that kid. Always. And yet the Magic and Thunder somehow prefer the 3 and D role player. I wish the draft was tomorrow so the Magic don't have enough time to come to their senses.
Magic GM, in recent memory did bust last year by passing on Barnes for Suggs. He has some excuse, back then after Cade/Green/Mobley, most had Suggs above Barnes. Thunder - Presti is not perfect; but by reputation is one of the better draft GMs, no? (15 years in the league). Just as teams grab assistants from Morey's GM tree, so did teams like Detroit grabbing Troy Weaver from Presti/OKC. I don't know; personally I'm going through a bit of draft fatigue; reading too much stuff. I might shift over to the finals or something.
Agreed. I understand Chet is thin and people have concerns. The thing for me is, how does his body hold up in a grueling 82 game season? If we are straight up calling him injury prone, I think he’d have to had actually been injured by now, otherwise it’s speculation. Still, some players don’t last 82 games of physical play and I’d like to see it to believe it. Jalen Green heading into his sophomore season is talking about exactly this. Both Green and Mobley are thin and played 67 and 69 games respectively. Chet always seems to make up for his frame or even lateral movement with smarts and positioning. He’s super smart on defense. I don’t know that he even has to be this post monster on offense to be a franchise cornerstone. The hate on Chet is weird but he is certainly an awkward looking dude. Still, he has all the tools to be a franchise cornerstone if he hits his ceiling imo. He has a lot of intangible qualities that I don’t see in Smith’s game and it is hard to quantify those things in a box score.
People had been saying he bulked up at Duke for Coach K and was much slimmer in high school. Saw a video last week saying he wanted to get back to his original weight because he was quicker. If Paolo can swing between the 3 and 4, this changes everything. I was looking at him as a 4 and small ball 5. He would bully any small forward in the league. He has a bag, gets to the basket, and has a pull up middy. He’d be Melo lite scoring with much better passing. No more 6’3 and 6’4 starting small forwards!
No one calls Chet a future star? What national guys say that Paolo is a future star and Chet isn’t? Genuinely asking
If he can actually stay lean and play the 3 more, then he deserves the praise. I still have worries about his frame adding weight too easily, going to have to stay on top of his conditioning.
This is a guy who is documented getting to the gym 5am every morning as a high schooler. How many athletes were talking about the importance of stretching, conditioning, diet and meditation at 18? He’s an absolute gym rat. He put on a lot of muscle rather quickly for Duke and it appears he’s already putting his money where his mouth is and shedding the weight. Maybe his game doesn’t translate but I wouldn’t be worried about his work ethic at all.
