Frank Ntilikina:

bajaden

bajaden

Hall of Famer
Since there's a high possibility that Ntilikina will be available when the Kings pick, I thought I'd post as much info as I could find on him.











If you watch enough film of him, you come to realize that no, he's not as quick as Fox or Smith, but he's not slow either. He's a good athlete, just not an elite athlete. He's not particularly great at any one thing, except maybe defense. But overall, he's pretty good at just about everything. He doesn't leap out at you like Fultz does. He doesn't have the flair of Ball. But when it comes to basics, he's a very solid PG.

Yes, he needs to improve across the board to be a top PG in the NBA, but remember, he's not 19 years old yet. He runs the pick and roll extremely well, and that's the bread and butter play in today's NBA. His jumpshot needs a little tweaking, but overall, he has very good form with a high release. Defensively, he can play in the NBA right now. He'll need to get stronger. Fighting through picks in the NBA is a lot tougher. But he has terrific lateral quickness, and great instincts. Add in a 7 foot wingspan and his 6'6" height, and you have a potential lock down defender who can guard more than one position.

Get this kid into an NBA training room, and let him work with NBA coaches for a year, and the improvement could be dramatic. He's an unselfish player that thinks pass first. I think players like Willie, Buddy and Skal will fall in love with him. I'm not sure I would take him over Dennis Smith Jr., but I'd have to think about it long and hard. I'm pretty sure what I'm getting with Ntilikina, and not sure with Smith. On the other hand, Smith is dripping with star potential..
 
I have started to pencil Ntilikina to the Knicks at #7.

Phil wants to move Carmelo (and Melo now seems to be willing to sign off on a trade to the right team) so really the only building block is really Porzingis. And if Big Chief Triangle is really committed to Tex Winter's offense then the two big considerations for the draft are (1) which players would thrive in the triangle and (2) compliment their young Latvian star.

The answers aren't Fox or Smith Jr. They don't shoot well enough, aren't the big PGs Phil likes and are too ball dominant. Markkanen is redundant with Porzingis. Isaac has a wider set of skills but also isn't a great compliment to Porzingis. Barring lotto luck, Fultz, Ball and Jackson will be gone. I could see the Knicks taking Tatum if he's there but I don't think he will be. So that leaves Monk and Ntilikina or reaching for a center like Collins or Patton or Allen. Phil has never prioritized skilled centers so I don't really see that happening either.

I think Ntilikina will end up being his guy. Especially since Monk to Philly makes so much sense to me.
 
funkykingston said:
I have started to pencil Ntilikina to the Knicks at #7.

Phil wants to move Carmelo (and Melo now seems to be willing to sign off on a trade to the right team) so really the only building block is really Porzingis. And if Big Chief Triangle is really committed to Tex Winter's offense then the two big considerations for the draft are (1) which players would thrive in the triangle and (2) compliment their young Latvian star.

The answers aren't Fox or Smith Jr. They don't shoot well enough, aren't the big PGs Phil likes and are too ball dominant. Markkanen is redundant with Porzingis. Isaac has a wider set of skills but also isn't a great compliment to Porzingis. Barring lotto luck, Fultz, Ball and Jackson will be gone. I could see the Knicks taking Tatum if he's there but I don't think he will be. So that leaves Monk and Ntilikina or reaching for a center like Collins or Patton or Allen. Phil has never prioritized skilled centers so I don't really see that happening either.

I think Ntilikina will end up being his guy. Especially since Monk to Philly makes so much sense to me.
Click to expand...

That would leave either Fox or Smith at eight. Well, if that happens, then I hope it's Fox at eight, but I doubt it. If it's Smith, then we have to take him. He's not my first choice, but he's certainly talented. I'm still hoping your wrong and Ntilikina is there at eight.
 
Frank has a lot of nice tools, I love his defensive potential because this is a guard driven league now and you need perimeter defense to stand any chance. That said, if it boils down to Smith or Frank at 8, then I'm taking Smith Jr. I've been high on him all season long and that won't change after any workouts he holds.
 
bajaden said:
Since there's a high possibility that Ntilikina will be available when the Kings pick, I thought I'd post as much info as I could find on him.

If you watch enough film of him, you come to realize that no, he's not as quick as Fox or Smith, but he's not slow either. He's a good athlete, just not an elite athlete. He's not particularly great at any one thing, except maybe defense. But overall, he's pretty good at just about everything. He doesn't leap out at you like Fultz does. He doesn't have the flair of Ball. But when it comes to basics, he's a very solid PG.

Yes, he needs to improve across the board to be a top PG in the NBA, but remember, he's not 19 years old yet. He runs the pick and roll extremely well, and that's the bread and butter play in today's NBA. His jumpshot needs a little tweaking, but overall, he has very good form with a high release. Defensively, he can play in the NBA right now. He'll need to get stronger. Fighting through picks in the NBA is a lot tougher. But he has terrific lateral quickness, and great instincts. Add in a 7 foot wingspan and his 6'6" height, and you have a potential lock down defender who can guard more than one position.

Get this kid into an NBA training room, and let him work with NBA coaches for a year, and the improvement could be dramatic. He's an unselfish player that thinks pass first. I think players like Willie, Buddy and Skal will fall in love with him. I'm not sure I would take him over Dennis Smith Jr., but I'd have to think about it long and hard. I'm pretty sure what I'm getting with Ntilikina, and not sure with Smith. On the other hand, Smith is dripping with star potential..
Click to expand...

This is basically where I'm at too with Smith vs. Ntilikina. Fox has separated himself for me as my #1 target (assuming we have no chance at Fultz and Jackson) but it's a harder choice between the other two we might have a shot at. I agree that Smith has more star potential. I don't see Ntilikina becoming a star, just a very good starter. But I'm also not worried about him becoming a problem -- he seems like a humble hard-working kid, he can shoot and he's got the size and aggressive instincts to be a standout defender. That makes his floor reasonably high even if he doesn't pan out as a lead guard since 3 and D wings are always in demand. Dennis Smith Jr. has got everything you want in a PG prospect except willingness to play defense and experience running an NBA style offense. His athleticism and ball-handling ability are off the charts impressive and he's a streaky shooter but not a bad one. If you believe in your coaching staff, there's a ton of potential there that would be tough to pass up. But then I watch Ntilikina play defense and that kind of potential would be hard to pass up too! Can you imagine adding Ntilikina or Fox and an elite wing defender at the SF position? That would be a team I want to watch next year.

So ultimately I would be happy with either one of these guys. I'm hoping Monk and Tatum go early so we're guaranteed one of the top PGs at #8. Ntilikina seems like a no-brainer for the Knicks but that could be good for us if the choice is between Fox and Ntilikina. Or there's always a chance New York moves into the top 3 and gets their guard there. I'm counting on Minnesota passing on all of the PGs with Rubio and Dunn already on the roster and Philadelphia going with a shooter to compliment Ben Simmons at Point Forward. If those two things happen, I like where we're at.
 
kingsboi said:
Frank has a lot of nice tools, I love his defensive potential because this is a guard driven league now and you need perimeter defense to stand any chance. That said, if it boils down to Smith or Frank at 8, then I'm taking Smith Jr. I've been high on him all season long and that won't change after any workouts he holds.
Click to expand...

Well at least your being openminded! :rolleyes:
 
I like Frank as well! Still really unsure about his PG abilities, but at the very least, he could be a 3&D PG. If we put Ntilikina next to Buddy or Bogdanovic, their ball handling ability could help out Ntilikina too.
 
I was thinking about this more today and I think the Sixers might actually be a dark horse to pick Ntilikina, especially if they end up with two picks. They're pretty much set in the frontcourt with Embiid, Saric, and Simmons and they don't need a primary ballhandler if they're planning on giving Simmons that role. Malik Monk looks like the obvious pick but Ntilikina is more versatile on defense and he can also space the floor and be the secondary ballhandler. He might not be the best talent on the board but the fit is good and if they get two picks they'd probably be willing to take a bigger risk with one of them. Also, Timothe Luwawu played well for them at the end of the season and if he ends up being a regular part of the rotation it could be good for them to have two countrymen on the same team who could develop chemistry in the off-season playing together on their national team.
 
Ntilikina's shot chart from BHoops: https://twitter.com/bhoops2016/status/857002650428112896

C-SuQ12WsAEhYz4.jpg:large
 
Not sure how accurate it is. But interesting enough, he was statically good around the rim area. However, eye tests tell you that finishing around the rim is a weakness for him.

If I did the math right, 41/151 shot attempts were at the rim, meaning 29% of his shots come from that area.

Comparing it to other players according to Hoop-Math:
Fultz: 25.5%
Ball: 35.9%
DSJ: 37.1%
*Left out Fox and Jawun Evans because both guys are iffy shooters and their games rely on attacking the rim.
Fultz can be a superstar, but his shots at the rim are low, and he's only an average finisher. Him and Ntilikina both need to attack the rim more.

oh god, I was looking at recently drafted PGs to compare their numbers too... didn't realize that prospects from the last 4 years have not proved much at the NBA level............ this is why the Kings need to draft a PG in a loaded class lol. Only starting caliber player has been Schoreder, everyone else is still really unproven and young. Lots of time left for them, but never realized how bad PGs have been missing.. we talk about Lillard like he's a 3rd year player, but he was drafted 6 years ago.. yeah, PGs haven't been so great.
 
206Fan said:
Not sure how accurate it is. But interesting enough, he was statically good around the rim area. However, eye tests tell you that finishing around the rim is a weakness for him.

If I did the math right, 41/151 shot attempts were at the rim, meaning 29% of his shots come from that area.

Comparing it to other players according to Hoop-Math:
Fultz: 25.5%
Ball: 35.9%
DSJ: 37.1%
*Left out Fox and Jawun Evans because both guys are iffy shooters and their games rely on attacking the rim.
Fultz can be a superstar, but his shots at the rim are low, and he's only an average finisher. Him and Ntilikina both need to attack the rim more.

oh god, I was looking at recently drafted PGs to compare their numbers too... didn't realize that prospects from the last 4 years have not proved much at the NBA level............ this is why the Kings need to draft a PG in a loaded class lol. Only starting caliber player has been Schoreder, everyone else is still really unproven and young. Lots of time left for them, but never realized how bad PGs have been missing.. we talk about Lillard like he's a 3rd year player, but he was drafted 6 years ago.. yeah, PGs haven't been so great.
Click to expand...

To be fair, I think we have to do a little wait and see on the more recent picks. It's rare for any young PG to come into the league and be immediately successful. It usually takes two to three years before you know what you have. It took Steve Nash almost five years before he became the Steve Nash were all familiar with. The trick to my mind, is that do you see improvement from year to year. If not, then Houston, we may have a problem.

As an example, I think it would be a mistake to draw any conclusions on Kris Dunn after just one year. Lets see where he is two years from now. There are exceptions of course, but that's what they are, exceptions.
 
bajaden said:
To be fair, I think we have to do a little wait and see on the more recent picks. It's rare for any young PG to come into the league and be immediately successful. It usually takes two to three years before you know what you have. It took Steve Nash almost five years before he became the Steve Nash were all familiar with. The trick to my mind, is that do you see improvement from year to year. If not, then Houston, we may have a problem.

As an example, I think it would be a mistake to draw any conclusions on Kris Dunn after just one year. Lets see where he is two years from now. There are exceptions of course, but that's what they are, exceptions.
Click to expand...
I agree with you. I think the entire NBA was spoiled by the 09 class, then the classes that shortly followed. There were PGs who made immediate impacts and showed lots of promise. Tyreke ROY, with Curry right behind his tail. 2010, Wall was really promising. 2011: Kyrie, Kemba, Knight, and even IT made immediate impacts. 2012: Lillard had an amazing rookie year.

2013....short-lived MCW, Burke has been a bust.
2014... Smart has been ok only because of his D, Exum has been underwhelming, Payton has been ok probably backup, Napier underwhelming
2015.... Russell has been ok, Mudiay has been underwhelming, Payne been ok, Grant has been ok, Wright has been ok.
2016.... Dunn has been underhwelming, Baldwin has been underhwelming

Such an ugly list for PGs. Lillard was drafted 5 years ago, not 6, but the recent wave of PGs have been extremely weak. This is why I'm much higher on a prospect like DSJ. I think NBA "readiness" and shooting have been a big factor in the recent disappointments.
 
I really like Frank ( and Fox) and if you consider his age and what little footage we have he is a big mystery to most. I think with the PnR playing so heavily today Frank could be a gem for us.

His height and length go a long way towards negating the lack of an explosive first step. When you consider how long , quick and athletic Willie and Skal are, he seems a great fit. In addition his defense and being a good C & S as well as pull up 3pt shooter.

Some of us go with gut feelings about players. No one is right all the time, but my gut tells me Frank is going to surprise some doubters.

With regards to NY , for what its worth Rose supposedly "wowed" Phil in his exit interview. If Markanen is still there at 7 I would not be surprised if he's a Knick.
 
hrdboild said:
I was thinking about this more today and I think the Sixers might actually be a dark horse to pick Ntilikina, especially if they end up with two picks. They're pretty much set in the frontcourt with Embiid, Saric, and Simmons and they don't need a primary ballhandler if they're planning on giving Simmons that role. Malik Monk looks like the obvious pick but Ntilikina is more versatile on defense and he can also space the floor and be the secondary ballhandler. He might not be the best talent on the board but the fit is good and if they get two picks they'd probably be willing to take a bigger risk with one of them. Also, Timothe Luwawu played well for them at the end of the season and if he ends up being a regular part of the rotation it could be good for them to have two countrymen on the same team who could develop chemistry in the off-season playing together on their national team.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this is a great call here. For the same reasons we think we can hide Ntilikinas ball-handling/passing while he develops with Bogdan and Buddy, Philly can do the exact same thing with Saric/Simmons and Embiid controlling a lot of the ball.
 
With regards to DSJ vs Ntilikina, it depends a lot on what you think of the guys we already have on the roster. I feel much safer with Ntilikina's floor to be a quality player, but he doesn't have DSJ's offensive upside/star power to be a top-tier scorer. If we feel good that Bogdan/Buddy/WCS/Skal can carry the load offensively, then drafting Ntilikina is the much better fit with his defensive promise.
 
hrdboild said:
I was thinking about this more today and I think the Sixers might actually be a dark horse to pick Ntilikina, especially if they end up with two picks. They're pretty much set in the frontcourt with Embiid, Saric, and Simmons and they don't need a primary ballhandler if they're planning on giving Simmons that role. Malik Monk looks like the obvious pick but Ntilikina is more versatile on defense and he can also space the floor and be the secondary ballhandler. He might not be the best talent on the board but the fit is good and if they get two picks they'd probably be willing to take a bigger risk with one of them. Also, Timothe Luwawu played well for them at the end of the season and if he ends up being a regular part of the rotation it could be good for them to have two countrymen on the same team who could develop chemistry in the off-season playing together on their national team.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've actually been thinking the same thing. I still think Monk makes a lot more sense, but Ntilikina to Philly wouldn't shock me.
 
The_Jamal said:
With regards to DSJ vs Ntilikina, it depends a lot on what you think of the guys we already have on the roster. I feel much safer with Ntilikina's floor to be a quality player, but he doesn't have DSJ's offensive upside/star power to be a top-tier scorer. If we feel good that Bogdan/Buddy/WCS/Skal can carry the load offensively, then drafting Ntilikina is the much better fit with his defensive promise.
Click to expand...

Yes, agreed.

But you have to see who on the current Kings roster can be that go to scorer when you need a basket. Buddy? Skal?

If Vlade feels we have an alpha scorer(s) on the Kings right now, then Frank N, makes a lot of sense as a defensive, pass first PG.

If not, DSJ has a lot more potential to be that go to scorer in the league. He just has to have his head screwed on correctly to achieve that level.
 
Headline in today's New York Post: "Knicks enamored with 18-year-old French point guard"

According to an NBA source, Knicks general manager Steve Mills jetted to France to catch 18-year-old point guard Frank Ntilikina play Tuesday night for Strasbourg in a French League match against Nanterre.

The 6-foot-5 Ntikilina is considered the top international prospect in the draft, and if the Knicks stay with the seventh pick, he would be heavily considered.
Click to expand...

http://nypost.com/2017/05/03/knicks-eyeing-18-year-old-point-guard-from-france/
 
LPKingsFan said:
Headline in today's New York Post: "Knicks enamored with 18-year-old French point guard"



http://nypost.com/2017/05/03/knicks-eyeing-18-year-old-point-guard-from-france/
Click to expand...

There is a lot of smoke and mirrors right now. Phil Jackson probably has one more year to implement his triangle and try to win next year.

In the Triangle, the Point Guard is not the essential component to make it work. In Chicago and L.A., the point guards essentially were 3 and D players. I don't see how Phil would all of the sudden use a top 7 pick on a point guard, since he has never put high value on them before.

Personally, I think a "lights out" shooting guard is more essential to Phil's triangle offense then a young point guard.

I think he takes Monk if he is still there at #7, if Monk is not there, then I think he tries find another wing scorer, Issac maybe?.
 
I saw some games of this kid playing for Strasbourg and came away unimpressed. He's big but not that quick nor explosive. He doesn't get separation from his defenders and relies heavily on screens to do so. I don't see him as a guard who can get where ever he wants on the floor, which concerns me if he is going to be a PG. He also struggles to get to the rim and often settles for scoop/floaters, which is fine, but it does show that he is not the most explosive player around. I don't see him as a PG who can create a shot (for himself or a teammate) with the shot clock winding down.

On the plus side, he can D, is unselfish, and stable. He seems destined to be a solid role player who plays within himself and defer to better players.

I don't see him as a traditional PG who is the primary ball handler. He does seem very well suited for offense that just need someone to bring the ball up, pass the ball off, run to the corner and wait for an open shot - the Jarrett Jack role when he was paired up with Brandon Roy. I can see him fitting in nicely in the triangle offense.

I also can see him eventually developing into a solid borderline starter/good sixth man like Brian Shaw, Jarrett Jack, etc. He may be a good backcourt mate next to Bogdanovic, with the later doing most of the heavy lifting on offense and Nikitina doing most of the dirty work on defense.

Overall though, he's not someone that I say to myself, "Wow, we gotta get this kid!" And I wouldn't be at all upset we the Kings do draft him.
.
 
@beb0p

I don't think your obeservations are far off, however a few things to keep in ming with Frank.

He is what, 18 years old right now? Not saying he will suddenly become explosive but he is too young to put in a box.

Also about the explosiveness. It all depends what type of role the PG is to play in Joergers offense going forward. Remember Boogie's assists getting up to around 7 a game? Notice how Willie's assist numbers were creeping up to end the season. I think if you were to put Ntilikina in a Mike Bibby type role he will excel here. He can knock down his shots and has the tools to be a formidable defender vs. opposing guards.

Fox looks great too , as do others. Hopefully we come away with two prospects that reach their potential. All you can ask for really.
 
bajaden said:
Or perhaps trade up. Watched a video workout with Fox today and he was impressive. His shot is getting better.
Click to expand...

I would be okay with trading up for Fox.

My ideal scenario is the Kings landing Fox and Isaac but I don't think there's much chance of that. I think both will be gone by 8. And if it boils down to either Ntilikina or Smith Jr being there at 8 and then having to decide on Collins or Markkanen (or somone else) at 10 I'd rather package the picks to go get Fox.
 
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