Peter_Gibbons
Starter
I know we have KMart at SG already. But DeMar DeRozan has superstar potential. Great size, 40+ vertical, very very good potential. May be a stronger TMAC/kobe type player a few yrs from now.
DeMar DeRozan --- #4 Pick?
- Thread starter Peter_Gibbons
- Start date
Henkel
Starter
I don't see superstar potential. I don't think hes balls skills will ever be good enough to get to that level. He is a guy who knows how to cut and work off the ball in the mid range. If he gets a consistent jump shot from out side he has the first step to get to the basket. Defensively he was solid last year with the physical tools to be great. I see a lot to like about with Derozen although like you said he has some red flags on the offensive end.
Kings Faithful
Starter
I think the chances of DeRozan ending up as the new Joe Alexander are too good.
Henkel
Starter
True and i think Gay has a couple inches on him as well. I just think the two are similar in terms of how they operate offensively. Body wise Gay is more impressive but both guys are gifted in that area.
Last edited:
bajaden
Hall of Famer
Don't care much about the wingspan part, especially with a SF, but in general I agree with you. He's proven nothing in college. I wouldn't call his freshmen year a bust, because he did start to play well toward the end of the season. But his ball handling needs a lot of work, as does his shooting. I can see him becoming a good player in the future, but I don't think I would throw the word superstar around that loosely.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
Gay had a lot more than that going for him. Court vision, high basketball IQ, good shooting ability, great passing ability, leadership ability. And, Oh yeah, wingspan....
He's a good rebounder, especially offensively, because he gets off his feet so quickly. He's also got a great mid-range jump shot which he can hit consistently off the dribble. He gets most of his offense from moving off the ball, either cutting to the basket, put backs off the offensive glass, or shooting off of picks. If he can work hard enough on his defense to become a plus player on that side of the floor, I can see him becoming a good starting SF. He doesn't have three point range yet and you're not going to want him handling the ball very much either. I don't see superstar potential, but possibly borderline All-Star like Josh Howard. I think #4 is a bit high for him, but he could end up being the best player available at #4. That's not out of the question.
Vlade4GM
All-Star
Strengths: He's a great leaper, good quickness, gives good effort on D, has shown willingness to work on his game, worked within his game at USC, has a solid mid range shot, and plays well off the ball.
Weaknesses: Average wingspan, poor ball handling, poor playmaking ability, lacks three point range, can't create his own shot, doesn't appear to be a guard, and not especially good at anything but athleticism.
Arby's Roast Beef
Starter
Has bust written all over him. Just has a lot of flaws that may probably prevent him from taking advantage of his strengths even, and I'm not sure if he has the work ethic to overcome that. Really, I thought he should have stayed another year at USC, so the fact that we're talking about him as the 4th overall pick really boggles the mind.
I'm a huge proponent for athletic players, but if you've seen what happened to cases like Harold Miner, James White, and Gerald Green...those prototypes just haven't had a great track record as of late--it's just either boom-or-bust, and lately it's been bust. But he's pretty much just athletic clay as of now. He has flaws both offensively and defensively, and has much to learn.
I'm a huge proponent for athletic players, but if you've seen what happened to cases like Harold Miner, James White, and Gerald Green...those prototypes just haven't had a great track record as of late--it's just either boom-or-bust, and lately it's been bust. But he's pretty much just athletic clay as of now. He has flaws both offensively and defensively, and has much to learn.
Henkel
Starter
Gay had a lot more than that going for him. Court vision, high basketball IQ, good shooting ability, great passing ability, leadership ability. And, Oh yeah, wingspan....
Go look at Gays freshman year. Similar stats for good and bad, really DeRozan had a better freshman year but Gay played on a more talent team. The leadership ability is the worse example considering Gay was killed during his two years a Uconn for being weak mentally. Gay a great passer? really thats a joke. I didn't know averaging under two assist while playing 30+ minutes a game for your career makes you a great passer. Lastly Gay was a average shooter coming out. Shot like 30% from three in his Sophomore year. He turned himself into a good deep shooter and DeRozan will have to do the same if he wants to be a similar player. He has a fine looking shot so i don't think thats a unreasonable expectation. You sound a little misinformed, maybe DeRozan doesn't grow like Gay did but skill wise they are similar players at the same age.
Peter_Gibbons
Starter
Lets face it, at #4... there is rarely a sure thing pick. Most picks at #4 are highly talented and has great potential "but"....
There is always cons for every draft entrant, even the Rubio has weaknesses. Of course we rather have a higher pick, but #4 is our reality now. With that said, will we really go with Jordan Hill when we already have JT? James Harden is very skilled, but we have KMart at SG. Harden is too short to play SF.
For me, it comes down to DeRozan or Jennings at #4 considering we already have JT and Kmart. Unless, we do a trade that consist one of those players.
Also, keep in mind OJ Mayo was also considered as a poor shooter coming out of USC. He worked really hard over the summer and improved his game a lot. He ended up probably the top 2 or 3 rookie this yr. These players are all so young so they can make big improvements to their game quickly if they work hard. Not saying DeRozan is a sure superstar, but with the #4 pick and considering we do need help at SF and we also lack a good athlete, he deserves a good hard look.
There is always cons for every draft entrant, even the Rubio has weaknesses. Of course we rather have a higher pick, but #4 is our reality now. With that said, will we really go with Jordan Hill when we already have JT? James Harden is very skilled, but we have KMart at SG. Harden is too short to play SF.
For me, it comes down to DeRozan or Jennings at #4 considering we already have JT and Kmart. Unless, we do a trade that consist one of those players.
Also, keep in mind OJ Mayo was also considered as a poor shooter coming out of USC. He worked really hard over the summer and improved his game a lot. He ended up probably the top 2 or 3 rookie this yr. These players are all so young so they can make big improvements to their game quickly if they work hard. Not saying DeRozan is a sure superstar, but with the #4 pick and considering we do need help at SF and we also lack a good athlete, he deserves a good hard look.
nbrans
All-Star
I disagreed a bit V4GM, he does have great potential and he improved a whole lot last year. Whether he's likely to pan out in a big way is another story, and there I would agree with you. He has a looooooong way to go, and yeah, like someone else pointed out, there are a lot of similarities to Gerald Green. And another former USC star: Harold Miner.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
He could be a good player, but I don't see it happening. Reynolds was very frank on the radio yesterday. Really, he had nothing to gain by dissembling on talking about different players. Basically, they are not impressed by Jennings and he said DeRozan has a loong ways to go, specifically 5 years, before he saw a player. I don't think anybody is picking DeRozan in the top 3, so again, I see no reason for him dissemble. It's Evans, Harden, Rubio (if he's available), from what I can tell.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
My bad. Probably because of the depression I was in at the time. I was talking about Gay, and thinking about Roy. Hey! Their names are close
I disagree with Vlade4GM. If anything else, DeRozan has all the potential to be a super star, or at least a star in this league. He might not pan out as I expect him to. But I would gamble on him. We didn't get #1,or2 pick we wanted. I would try all or nothing. That's how desperate I am right now.
Peter_Gibbons
Starter
http://www.sacbee.com/topstories/story/1876546.html
According this article the Kings are high on
Jrue Holiday + "also are believed to be high on Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn, Memphis shooting guard Tyreke Evans and USC shooting guard DeMar DeRozan."
I think the workouts will let GP and whoever the coaching staff may be see who will be a good fit. Remember no one heard of JT before but he showed what he can do in the workouts. Guys that we think are not #4 pick worthy may be worthy once they show what they can do.
According this article the Kings are high on
Jrue Holiday + "also are believed to be high on Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn, Memphis shooting guard Tyreke Evans and USC shooting guard DeMar DeRozan."
I think the workouts will let GP and whoever the coaching staff may be see who will be a good fit. Remember no one heard of JT before but he showed what he can do in the workouts. Guys that we think are not #4 pick worthy may be worthy once they show what they can do.
Vlade4GM
All-Star
Yeah, just like James White and Gerald Green had star potential. DeRozan has good potential, but he's lacking so much ability to create that it's really hard to imagine him ever developing into much more than a decent starting 3, which are a dime a dozen in the NBA. I'd rather take Evans or Jennings if we're that desperate for "potential" at least they can create off the dribble.
nbrans
All-Star
I wouldn't say he's completely inept creating off the dribble, he has a nascent midrange game that could serve him well down the line. But he's not a shooter and not a great finihser around the basket, so it's all pretty undeveloped at this point. He's got a long way to go. I also don't think he's quite as athletic as his reputation suggests. He's not an athletic freak by any means.
Dime Dropper
All-Star
I am not crazy on DeRozan. He doesn't look as explosive as he did in highschool, and he can't create. I wouldn't hate the pick, but he wouldn't be my first choice.
Peter_Gibbons
Starter
With all the talk of him being a poor shooter, his FG% is 52%. His 2pt FG% is 56% while his 3pt is 17%.
So I don't know if you can really consider him a "poor" shooter since a lot of SG/SF doesn't develop a 3pt shot until a few yrs into their NBA careers. The mid range game is a "lost art" as many says. He does finish strong around the basket and is good at picking up offensive boards. With that said, he is still very raw in other areas. The encouraging thing is he did improve a lot through out the yr at USC.
So I don't know if you can really consider him a "poor" shooter since a lot of SG/SF doesn't develop a 3pt shot until a few yrs into their NBA careers. The mid range game is a "lost art" as many says. He does finish strong around the basket and is good at picking up offensive boards. With that said, he is still very raw in other areas. The encouraging thing is he did improve a lot through out the yr at USC.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
The common denominator is that they are all athletic (Holiday is probably a small cut below the others). If this article is close to the truth, that's a good sign imo. Flynn is ranked much lower than the Evans and DeRozan by the consensus, but based on history, it wouldn't exactly shock the hell out of me if Petrie went for him with the #1. I like Flynn, but it would be nice to see FOR ONCE in the millenium that Petrie trades up with his second #1 pick to get him, because you sure can't count on him being there at #23.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
Nbrans, did you see Michael J. in college? Personally, I can't recall whether he made the impression that he was as fantastic an athlete we came to know in the NBA. I recall a fluidity about his game, but frankly, not jaw-dropping dunks we saw in the NBA. Maybe it's just me and my memory is fading...
One guy I do recall is Paul Pierce, and I don't think that people viewed him as an awesome athlete in college. But he was very smooth. Could change gears quickly and had a great fluidity about his game. I see DeRozan having that same smoothness as Pierce. Some guys run, and some guys glide. I really like the gliders.
Last edited:
Peter_Gibbons
Starter
^ A lot of people are saying that Harden's game is a lot similar to Paul Pierce's. I do see the similarities. Both are not very athletic but they have very skilled and textbook moves that just works. Harden is strong enough. Only thing is he is a bit undersized listed at 6'4" or 6'5". He looks taller than 6'4" for sure. We'll see in the combine.
But back on topic, I agree that what we see of a player in college does not tell the whole story. If, and only if DeRozan works hard, then he can be an all star type player. He has to tools, but he needs to put in the work. Thats the difference for a lot of NBA players I guess. Some don't work hard. It will be very interesting to see how DeRozan does in the work outs.
But back on topic, I agree that what we see of a player in college does not tell the whole story. If, and only if DeRozan works hard, then he can be an all star type player. He has to tools, but he needs to put in the work. Thats the difference for a lot of NBA players I guess. Some don't work hard. It will be very interesting to see how DeRozan does in the work outs.
Similar threads
