Kessler Edwards

#33
Yeah he is obviously strong and lengthy too. Underrated pickup by Monte.
I would be shocked if he actually is only 6'7". Seems like that's a bit low - or maybe it's just accurate and everyone else overstates. Maybe he's 6'7" without shoes? Looks at least 6'8" to me and maybe even close to 6'9" measured the way a lot of other guys do (in shoes). In any case his wingspan is huge and he has the delt strength to steer those flappers on a dime too!

Doug was listed at 6'6" and Kessler seems more than an inch taller. But the key thing for wing defenders is how much space you can meaningfully take up. With Kessler it's a lot - and with his lateral quickness it's even more. Am I crazy or did one of the league's most elite wing defenders just fall into our lap?
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#34
The beauty of Monte's trade is that he got Kessler for basically nothing and the Kings have him locked up for next year with a cheap team option.

This marks the 2nd trade deadline deal where Monte gets a viable rotation player for basically nothing. First TD and now Kessler. That's how you build a contender in a small market!
Of course my comment was just excited post to show support for Kessler as a team member. Yes I've looked at the contract and yes given what we're seeing it seems to be grossly undervalued but as a second round pick on a first contract probably as good as it's going to get. So we get them for one more year for under 2 mil and then he's restricted free agent hard to beat a deal like that!
 

Larry89

Disgruntled Kings Fan
#35
I would be shocked if he actually is only 6'7". Seems like that's a bit low - or maybe it's just accurate and everyone else overstates. Maybe he's 6'7" without shoes? Looks at least 6'8" to me and maybe even close to 6'9" measured the way a lot of other guys do (in shoes). In any case his wingspan is huge and he has the delt strength to steer those flappers on a dime too!

Doug was listed at 6'6" and Kessler seems more than an inch taller. But the key thing for wing defenders is how much space you can meaningfully take up. With Kessler it's a lot - and with his lateral quickness it's even more. Am I crazy or did one of the league's most elite wing defenders just fall into our lap?
Kessler Edwards measured at 6'7" without shoes and 6'8 with shoes on. 6'11.5" wingspan. These are measurements from almost 2 years ago. Almost the same measurements as our very own Harrison Barnes but has a tad more length and probably grew a smidgen more since being a rookie.

Barnes had a 8'5.5" standing reach while Kesslar Edwards is 8'10"(!!!) That's almost the same standing reach as an NBA Center! 2 Inches shorter than Draft standing reach measurements of notables such as Anthony Davis 9'0" and Drummond 9'1.5".

The only equivalent that is from his draft class that kind of has the same build but is a bit shorter listed at 6'6" is... Herbert Jones. A very good defender and draft pick for the Pelicans
 
#36
6'11.5" wingspan... probably grew a smidgen more since being a rookie
I would bet that he has just based on the eye test. Many guys his size would be in the books at 6'9"... if he did indeed grow a smidge let's call it a 7 foot wingspan, and 8'11' standing reach.

Folks, a guy like that with the lateral quickness Kess has... that is a monster. We have a defensive monster.

Kessler if you're reading this I'd like to recommend Piatti restaurant in Sacramento to keep yourself well fed, we're gonna need some minutes out of you. It's not my nonna's lasagna but it will do in a pinch! :cool:
 
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#38
Some good stuff in those clips for sure. He has really good instincts and did an exceptional job rotating quickly. The Suns had to really use up energy to get buckets. It’s also a reminder that good offense beats good defense as there were plenty of scores in those highlights. Hope he shows out tomorrow against the Bucks.
 
#39
Some good stuff in those clips for sure. He has really good instincts and did an exceptional job rotating quickly. The Suns had to really use up energy to get buckets. It’s also a reminder that good offense beats good defense as there were plenty of scores in those highlights. Hope he shows out tomorrow against the Bucks.
Yeah he spent a ton of time on Booker and CP3, which is insanely tough for anyone in the NBA, much less a dude who hasn't established anything so far in the league. I really liked the defensive rotations and he was decisive in his reads on where to rotate. You can tell there's some really good defensive IQ
 
#41
Not entirely sure if this is the right thread to put this, but figured since Kessler played quite a bit of time on Booker in this game:

Booker line previous 2 meetings:

34.9 MPG
38.0 PPG
6.5 RPG
3.0 APG
4.0 SPG
3.5 TOV
8.0 FTA/game
37.8% USG
69% TS
+36 overall (+/-)

Last game:
39 minutes
28 Points
3 Reb
8 Ast
4 steals
4 TOV
4.0 FTA
67.4% TS
27.4% USG (Oh?)
-5 overall (+/-)

So while Booker was still good, you live with this kind of performance where he's more or less hanging around his season averages. And I think most importantly, you took possessions out of his hands so he didn't have the same opportunity to torch us as he did the first 2 games.