Gordon is certainly a unique nut to crack when it comes to prognosticating for the NBA. I don't like the Blake Griffin comparison because its lazy and based only on skin tone and their ability to dunk. I don't like the AK-47 comparison because AK moved like a wing and played on the perimeter whereas Gordon is clearly a smallish PF. Josh Smith is a better comparison physically but Smith is a relentless chucker and Gordon will likely be filling into a low usage role in the NBA.
Gordon is certainly a unique nut to crack when it comes to prognosticating for the NBA. I don't like the Blake Griffin comparison because its lazy and based only on skin tone and their ability to dunk. I don't like the AK-47 comparison because AK moved like a wing and played on the perimeter whereas Gordon is clearly a smallish PF. Josh Smith is a better comparison physically but Smith is a relentless chucker and Gordon will likely be filling into a low usage role in the NBA.
If I had to hazard a comparison for Gordon, I would take Joakim Noah's skills and motor, and shrink him down to Taj Gibson's size. I love his fit on the Kings as a low usage passing hub next to IT, Gay and Cousins. Defensively, he's going to be an impact defender but I'm not convinced he'll be an elite rim protecting type. Short, bouncy bigs don't usually become that.
One more thing is that I don't see the conflict between Gordon and Williams. I view Derrick as more of a big, beatdown SF and Aaron as a smallish roleplaying PF. If Rudy walks, I could envision a lineup where Derrick and Aaron play together as interchangeable forwards. Skillwise, Derrick is a good post defender but struggles in containing the perimeter, while Aaron can defend the perimeter against bigger SFs and is an excellent help defender with terrific instincts but his bulk will be an issue against bigger postup PFs. If Rudy resigns, I'm not sure Derrick has much of a role on the team anyways.
There's an international guy who many may not know but who has really intrigued me. I haven't read the last few pages of the thread so forgive me if he has been mentioned already. His name is Clint Capela and he's Swiss, but playing in the French league. The guy is very athletic, has great size for a PF at about 6'11'', and rebounds and block shots at a high rate. He's doing really well for a 19 year old in a good league. He's averaging about 18/13/3 per-40 minutes (he plays about 20 mins per). The guy could be a diamond in the rough and an ideal fit next to Cuz. I've noticed that DX has him going 13th, so they're aware of him. If we don't get a top 5 pick he's someone we should be taking a close look at, at the very least.
Here's the obligatory youtube video:
Capela is going to play in Hoops Summit very soon, and will have serious challenge on his hands as so far DX has him listed at 211 (in November he was weighed at 218 by the team - kinda small to play against grown man, but Anthony Davis measured at 221 at the Combine, and even though he doesn't have Anthony's frame, Capela should have no problem bulking up by his sophomore season): USA team will have bulky aggressive guys like Okafor and Alexander. This will be very important test to gauge his ability to handle NBA-level bodies. I imagine Towns Jr. will be back, and at least Capela won't have to deal with Emeka's cousin full-time.
Reading 2012-13 reports on him, it feels like Capela wanted to play as SF, which resulted in .424FG% last year among other things. But this season the bulb went on, he moved inside, dunking on everyone, though for now that's all he's doing offensively. Jumper is pretty far away, if it even appears down the road, so right now his offense will consist strictly of being the rolling man in screen action, dump-offs at the rim and offensive rebounds. Still getting above 65% from the field against grown men is quite an accomplishment. Interestingly, he averages 2.5 assists per 40 minutes, which for a finisher is impressive, though corresponding TO rate is equally worrisome. He's a very good rebounder, and his team routinely wins rebounding battles, so he's certainly not in a situation, where "someone has to get a rebound".
You can't argue, that main measuring stick for him is OKC player, and Capela comes out very good in comparison, though one can't deny level of ACB is higher than PRO1.
Information is still very scarce on him, all video available are mixtapes, so hard to get a reliable read on him, other than his tools and the fact, that he clearly progresses, getting 20 mpg after 8 mpg last season, plus he improves during the season, getting 23-26 minutes instead of 13-15 early in the season.
Here's an article with some background and probably most informative piece on Capela, written in English: http://www.eurohopes.com/player/1146/clint-capela/.
P.S. My current grasp of the draft is that outside of jumping into the top-3, Kings shouldn't keep their pick. Dangle it in front of Chicago and Atlanta to see, if they let former Gators go, explore some other options around the League. If hunt for inside defender fails, trade down for Capela (or maybe WCS - I'm really unsure about him) and maybe pick up perimeter guy like RHJ (if he declares) or Adams.
EDIT: Another solid game for him today - 17 points (7-8 from the field), 11 rebounds, assist and 2 blocked shots in 25 minutes in home game vs top-5 team. Capela's team Chalon is now 7-3 over last 10 games. Interestingly his importance to the team should've prevented him from participating in Hoops Summit, but apparently after the game on April, 5th their next game is on 15th, so he should be able to come over to USA.
haven't heard of the kid till right now from these posts. really really like what I'm seeing and hearing. We don' really need a highly polished offensive player next to cousins we can all agree. He has the height that T-rob didn't have. He can excel in the p&r game, block shots, rebound, and and seems to be quick off his feet for drop off passes when they double cuz. I want him.
I currently have Capela 10th on my wish list, based on what I've read on him, and on your recommendation. All I can find in the way of film on him is as you said, mixed tape. I'm looking forward to the the summit game. I'm still pretty high on Cauley-Stein. You'll never get much offense out of him, but I have no doubts about his ability to defend. Damm shame he had to get injured. However I doubt Marcus Lee has any complaints. Great game by him.
I'm now totally sold on Nik Stauskas. He almost willed his team to a victory against Kentucky. Only thing I'm not sure of is his defense at the next level, however I don't think he'll be a liability. He had no problem staying in front of either of the Harrison twins, and also guarded Young, who beat him off the dribble just one time. He's a lights out shooter with a lightning quick release. He has good handles, and is capable of getting to the basket. He also has a little PG in him, and I wonder if he's capable of playing the point. He's an excellent passer. Anyway here's my wish list, and I'm sure you'll disagree with some of it.
1. Jabari Parker: In my opinion, the most NBA ready.
2. Joel Embiid: Would be number one if not for his back
3. Dante Exum: Terrific athlete. Can he play the point?
4. Andrew Wiggins: Struggled in the tournament, but has highest upside.
5. Noah Vonleh: Great length for the PF position and with good upside.
6. Julius Randle: Combine measurements could drop him down, but I think he'll be a better NBA player than a college player.
7. Willie Cauley-Stein: Great shotblocker and pick and roll defender at the college level. Still has some upside left.
8. Nik Stauskas: It's reported that PDA loves Klay Thompson. Well, Stauskas is Thompson in waiting with better ballhandling and passing.
9. Aaron Gordon: Terrific athlete whose immediate impact will be on the defensive side. Horrible outside shooter, and horrible freethrow shooter.
10. Clint Capela: Hopefully he's the second coming of Ibaka.
You'll notice that I don't have Smart on my list. I just don't like him. I tried, I really did. I'm probably wrong, and for his sake I hope so.
Edit: By the way, I watched so many games in the last two weeks that my eye's won't focus. I still have two teams left from my original final four. The biggest surprise is UCONN. That's what makes it fun.
He moves better, than any guy above 6'4" in the NBA, and has handles to keep the ball at that speed. I would put him at #3, but only if he gets up to 210-215 by June. Exum moved to USA in January to concentrate on working out and preparing for the draft, so if he's around 200 pounds by then, Exum's either lazy/got distracted in LA or struggles to put on more weight.
188 lbs measurement is from Hoops Summit 2013, so a year ago. During HS season in Australia he was weighed at 198 reportedly, so if that's true he has ability to put 10lbs in half a year even without elite training program, that he should have access to now.
Tourney games are not appearing on youtube, probably due to copyright concerns, so we left with Conference tourneys and Pac-12 one was very interesting:Look between 15:40-17:05 and tell me it's not second coming of "The Beard".![]()
Well, one at 17:03 looks decent for a guy, who's playing mostly off the ball and doesn't have a lot of opportunities to perfect it in game situations.i don't see the euro step from the beard
. His offense will likely be limited but we're not looking for offense. We're looking for the glue guys, which Gordon looks like he'll end up being.
He's listed at 188lbs right? There's no way he'd be at 210 by June without putting on a lot of fat. Building muscle doesn't work like that, no matter how much expertise you have by your side. Even if he went on a bulk to gain as much muscle as possible and planned to cut his bodyfat down again before the combine, he'd still only be about 195lbs, maximum by the combine (unless he decides to keep some of the extra fat, which he may be able to do without losing athleticism)! And 7lbs of lean muscle within that time frame is probably being ambitious, to be honest, considering that he doesn't seem to be a genetic freak when it comes to muscle mass.
Just saying, expecting him to have put on 22lbs+ of muscle in 6 months is physically not possible for anyone. A genetic freak who does absolutely everything correctly over the course of the year, in their first year of lifting (where most gains should occur), might be lucky to put on 12, 15lbs maximum, of lean muscle. You often hear of people saying such-and-such a player needs to put on 15-20lbs of muscle over an off-season. It's ignorance - it's just not possible to do that. Not even possible to do it over the course of a year unless you're going to bring some unnatural substances into play.
Gordon is everything we need from the PF position and would be a great back wallet pick if we miss out on the top 3. He's 6'9 but highly athletic and looks to have the frame to add some bulk easily, most importantly he's a high IQ player, he's not just some chicken with his head cut off full of energy, he knows what he's doing out there and does it with purpose. In that sense I like the Noah in a PF's body comparison.
I think Stauskas shenanigans deserve mention here
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First, I think it's an individual thing. Some people are more prone to put on weight than others. Just as some people are more prone to lose weight than others. Nik Stauskas as a freshman weighed around 200 to 205 pounds. He was just a shinny kid that could spot up and shoot three pointers from the corner. During the offseason between his freshman and sophmore years, he put on around 20 pounds of muscle, and also developed, or stopped hiding his ability to pass, create off the dribble, and drive to the basket, as well as handle the ball. I suspect he was hiding most of those abilities, but he definitely redefined his body. As I said, everyone is different in that aspect, and there's certainly no reason that Exum can't at least start on that journey.
Ibaka always shot FTs around 70%, which for a raw big is extremely well. Capela doesn't seem to have the touch. Certainly can be worked on, and given Capela's serious improvement, he seems to have good work ethic, but jumper is not a sure thing for him in the future - that much is clear. Same for WCS.
EDIT: checked his FT shooting and sample size is really small, so it can just be statistical noise or hot/cold streaks, but he started the season 6-19, and in the last 10 games it's 22-31 for 71%. Maybe there is a distinct possibility of a reliable jumpshot.
I meant Harden, obviously.
Well, one at 17:03 looks decent for a guy, who's playing mostly off the ball and doesn't have a lot of opportunities to perfect it in game situations.
EDIT: just to be clear, I was talking more about the way Adams moves, which really resembles Harden, rather than comparing talent level of these players.