Brandon Ingram Discussion: He Is Who We Thought He Could Be

Pretty good for the 8th pick in the draft...

Oh wait

 

I was looking at rookie leaders in terms of per game averages among qualified players:

Here is the Top 7: Ingram, McGruder, Brogdon, Embiid, Saric, Harrison and Whitehead.
So basically 3 guys not in the 2016 draft class, an undrafted player, two 2nd rounders... and Ingram.

The top 3 in scoring are 20.2, 10.1 and 9.2. Embiid is the leader. After that is Saric, Brogdon.
The top 3 in rebounding are 7.8, 5.8 and 5.7. Embiid is the leader. After that is Hernangomez, Saric.
The top 3 in assists are 4.2 and then two tied at 3.0. Brogdon is the leader. After that is Whitehead, Harrison.
The Top 3 in steals are 1.18 and then two tied at 1.0. Brogdon is the leader. After that is Levert, Troy Williams.
The top 3 in blocks are 2.45, 0.89 and 0.85. Embiid is the leader. After that is Siakam and Zubac.

Not a single player in the Top 3 of any of these stats was drafted in the Top 19 of this past draft class and Levert (#20) and Siakam (#27) are the only 1st rounders.

It's been a lackluster 2016 draft class in terms of production.
If not for Embiid, the ROY right now would probably be #36 pick Brogdon.

 

This continues to be a problem as long as we let 19 year olds in the draft. That extra year or two of physical, mental, and emotional maturity, along with a more developed game would make the draft far less of a crapshoot.

 

Yup. But there is an argument on the other side so it's a moot point. NBA could create more parody this way too. A team can turn around a season quicker. It's all positive.

 

eh, what's the problem, exactly? teams that draft younger players are taking bigger risks in the hopes of bigger rewards. it takes longer to reap those in almost all cases.

the draft has always been a crapshoot. people had time to look at malone and stockton and passed. if you invest yourself fully in the draft as a rebuilding process, you're looking at some grim probabilities. are they better than, say, not drafting? sure. but that's a bit of a strawman argument.

 

No team ever fully invests in just the draft for the rebuilding process. It's not like teams outright ignore free agency and don't do trades. Even the Sixers during "the process" made moves outside just stockpiling and using draft picks.

That said, the draft still remains realistically the best shot at landing a star. And that will be even more true with the new CBA that will make luring a star away via free agency more difficult.

Just consider the Top 10 in MVP voting last year. 6 of the 10 were acquired by their respective teams via the draft and 3 were acquired via trade that involved young talent/draft picks. The one outlier: Lebron. We can all agree that was a special circumstance.

So yes, drafting is better than not drafting based on just that being pretty dang obvious.

 

I like his moves, his overall game, he can be good on D. But his shot is so raw. And his FTs are awful. Need to do some shooting sessions on the daily basis.

 

But he's a shooter. Great stroke and all. No?
I'm starting to get tired of all the kids. We need a real star ASAP.

 

A session with Chip Engelland would do wonders but the selfish San Antonio Spurs gobbled him up exclusively, the bastards

 

Brandon Ingram's defense explained

Spoiler: It's a secret

 

that hitch in his shot seems to have gotten more pronounced of late. he's loading it up and slinging it. both inefficient and ineffective.

 

He needs to assert himself more.

 

That's an understatement.

 

I actually think he and Russell can benefit from a shooting coach in the offseason. Ingram for what you just said. Russell for his foot placement.