It looks unlikely that he will play much, but getting after it in practice, and in whatever time he gets in the preseason, is a good thing for his development.
I think he could see playing time with our 2nd unit if he can score decently consistently. He’s one of our best athletes, is 6’ 6”, can go one on one a bit and you can see how he puts that athleticism to work on the defensive end. He’s looking really promising on D.
he's a plus-defender in isolation right now, which is outstanding for a guy his age. his playmaking was great in the summer, but he'll need seasoning to translate that against the big boys. he's another reaves/caruso level find, imo.
talent, size, iq, and supposedly work ethic (manifests over time, so i don't know). another guy that the more i watch the more i'm confused as to how he slipped out of the first round. i mean, he played for michigan state and was a top recruit prior to that. people got soured that he didn't dominate year 1 in the big ten? anyway, our gain. we continue to murder other scouting teams.
yeah, he's not ready, just like he wasn't ready for his freshman year. but just like in summer league, he gave murray issues that apparently not a single other player on our team did based on the box score. he's going to get there.
He uses his length well, plays angles, doesn't die on screens, and is generally the right position to contest. He's going to be a very good defender.
Nice prospect, he looked more comfortable last night than he did in the summer league to me. I think he'll be ready to play next season. He might light up the G league, and come back and get a few minutes late this season. I like him, he needs to work with Cole, on that trigger some tho!
Saw some nice glimpses last night. What excited me the most was on a couple defensive reads he was making that most rookies don't see. He was reading it a couple passes ahead of where the ball was going on multiple plays. Specifically there was one he got hung up on a screen so he didn't make the rotation, but he saw it developing two passes ahead so I was still impressed with the recognition. He's not ready this year, but hoping a year developing with the JV team and working on his shot will get him there.
Size-wise he really fills a void we have been missing since Kuzma. Not as athletic as Kuz but is possibly smarter and has a bit of handles, can pass, more of a Joe Ingles-type player. Put up damn good numbers at Syracuse. If he can shoot the 3 (17/30 from 3 in the Summer League and a lot of contested shots in there too, sign of a good 3-point shooter) and pull a big out of the paint onto the perimeter and defend a few positions he really has no peer on this team ability/size-wise besides Lebron.
