"G-League defenders blah blah", but man there's some seriously nice self-creation moves there in that highlight film. Absolutely perfect use of his developmental time in the G-League to just work on being a first option down there. Should hopefully help him translate well to being a good offensive player with the big league club.
Stockton 23/24 thread
- Thread starter iowamcnabb
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"G-League defenders blah blah", but man there's some seriously nice self-creation moves there in that highlight film. Absolutely perfect use of his developmental time in the G-League to just work on being a first option down there. Should hopefully help him translate well to being a good offensive player with the big league club.
NewArena
All-Star
Yea, Duarte does the little things. TD got hot every 15-20 games but we don't need that
notoriousBEN3
Bench
Looks like he has some really crafty offensive moves. Made his own offense and worked well as a catch and shoot guy. Love his game.
I see more than just offense. I see a lot of intangibles with Colby. Would love to see him get some burn.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Krunker
Northernmost Kings Fan
I guess he got tired of playing overseas. I guess he could be a good vet presence for the young guys as long as he doesn't take away too much time from guys to develop.
It appears that his previous (and only) G-League stint lasted three days. Not sure what happened there.
I watched a handful of Stockton games on my DVR over the last couple weeks and they're actually a pretty fun team to watch. We've got our rookies and a bunch of vets so they rarely play unwatchable basketball.
Slawson is their Draymond Green lite. They run the offense through him a decent amount. He's a bull in a china shop with the ball sometimes but he always fills out the box score. Good and bad. He needs some seasoning but he's got some promise. He's also not afraid to mix it up and get in the face of the opponent either. Plays with a chip on his shoulder for sure.
Colby Jones is pretty inconsistent. He'll go from the best player on the floor for a couple games to playing like G League fodder the next. Needs to dial in his shot and tighten up his ball handling. He has a tenacity for rebounds and getting steals. He's definitely ahead of Slawson but not quite an NBA player yet.
Mason Jones is interesting. Big body for a SG and an absolute sniper from the outside. He thinks he's a better passer than he is and his AST/TO ratio has always shown it. Was teammates with Isaiah Joe in college and I think he could fulfill the same type of off the bench shooting role if given the chance.
Stanley Johnson looks good. His shot looks much improved and his straight line drive and midrange game looks solid. Could just be because he's playing against less skilled/experienced players but I feel like he would be a better option than Kessler/Duarte.
Nowell is shooting like a madman and his percentages would probably be better if he wasn't the guy they pass the ball to with 5 seconds left on the shot clock in order to create something out of nothing. He had similar shooting percentages in a previous G League stint that didn't translate to the NBA but he's dynamite on offense in Stockton. Could also be a Kessler/Duarte upgrade but he's definitely more offense than defense.
Lamb is in the same boat. Good all around player and consistent. I feel like he's still as good as a lot of NBA players.
Skal still kinda looks like Skal. Can take it to G League opponents but is never really dominant and you can just tell that the stuff he's doing wouldn't translate effectively to the NBA on a night to night basis. He's kind of a tweener like Bagley with more defense and less offense.
Slawson is their Draymond Green lite. They run the offense through him a decent amount. He's a bull in a china shop with the ball sometimes but he always fills out the box score. Good and bad. He needs some seasoning but he's got some promise. He's also not afraid to mix it up and get in the face of the opponent either. Plays with a chip on his shoulder for sure.
Colby Jones is pretty inconsistent. He'll go from the best player on the floor for a couple games to playing like G League fodder the next. Needs to dial in his shot and tighten up his ball handling. He has a tenacity for rebounds and getting steals. He's definitely ahead of Slawson but not quite an NBA player yet.
Mason Jones is interesting. Big body for a SG and an absolute sniper from the outside. He thinks he's a better passer than he is and his AST/TO ratio has always shown it. Was teammates with Isaiah Joe in college and I think he could fulfill the same type of off the bench shooting role if given the chance.
Stanley Johnson looks good. His shot looks much improved and his straight line drive and midrange game looks solid. Could just be because he's playing against less skilled/experienced players but I feel like he would be a better option than Kessler/Duarte.
Nowell is shooting like a madman and his percentages would probably be better if he wasn't the guy they pass the ball to with 5 seconds left on the shot clock in order to create something out of nothing. He had similar shooting percentages in a previous G League stint that didn't translate to the NBA but he's dynamite on offense in Stockton. Could also be a Kessler/Duarte upgrade but he's definitely more offense than defense.
Lamb is in the same boat. Good all around player and consistent. I feel like he's still as good as a lot of NBA players.
Skal still kinda looks like Skal. Can take it to G League opponents but is never really dominant and you can just tell that the stuff he's doing wouldn't translate effectively to the NBA on a night to night basis. He's kind of a tweener like Bagley with more defense and less offense.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Slawson being a defensive ace for us would be a dream come true. I’m not going to get my hopes up though like I did with Queta. Slawson played 4 or 5 years in college right? Not to say he can’t improve but I won’t bet the farm on it
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iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Kessler Edwards has been assigned to Stockton. He’s not playing so might as well but seems a bit odd
Can't say Monte doesn't know what sort of help we need with him mining for gold with these defensive prospects. They're all the same archetype (Keon/Colby/Kessler/Slawson) etc.
Thanks for this! I keep intending to watch some games but never really get around to it. I wish NBA teams in general made use of the G-League development pipeline more. It's clear that we have some big holes to fill on the Sacramento roster and it sure seems like every GM in the league is setting the price too high for their players, requiring multiple first round picks for decent veterans now. Considering the notable lack of wing defenders on the main squad, I can't help looking at guys like Johnson and Slawson and wondering when/if they'll get a 15 day tryout,
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
More Stockton news
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
Ridiculous situation. Leave it at that
Say whatever you will, Stockton has been successful and I really feel this is unfortunate for any future Vivek succession plan.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
They are 8-2 with a pretty deep roster actually. Don’t know who gets the credit rebut successful season so far.
sactowndog
All-Star
not sure wins is the correct measure for G league success. Development and moving guys up to the NBA is a better metric
And I don't think any of that has to do with the GM of the G-League teams, who are most likely all about day to day operations.
Everyone loves to crap on the nepo-baby but I hope that should anything ever happen to Vivek or he decides to just pass along operations to his kids, we get a Jeanie Buss and not a Jody Allen. If she didn't like doing the dirty work I don't want her running the team. But getting a PhD is honorable if it's not just a way to keep fooling around on daddy's dime (in my field it is common to work through your PhD not go full time which she appears to be doing).
I dunno, I never took over the family business but I spent a lot more summers polishing brass in the bars than I did in the office. So I liked the strategy with putting her in Stockton. oh well.
Everyone loves to crap on the nepo-baby but I hope that should anything ever happen to Vivek or he decides to just pass along operations to his kids, we get a Jeanie Buss and not a Jody Allen. If she didn't like doing the dirty work I don't want her running the team. But getting a PhD is honorable if it's not just a way to keep fooling around on daddy's dime (in my field it is common to work through your PhD not go full time which she appears to be doing).
I dunno, I never took over the family business but I spent a lot more summers polishing brass in the bars than I did in the office. So I liked the strategy with putting her in Stockton. oh well.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Sure, that remains to be seen. Development is largely a coaching thing I’d say
sactowndog
All-Star
It’s certainly part the coach but also the GM getting players who can be developed.
Telemachus
Starter
Defense was one of Slawson's strengths in college.
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
for sure, but I wanted the kings to draft Neemy because he was a defensive stud in college but he was always so raw for the kings. Slaw is raw too and that makes me nervous after that many years in college. Would be awesome if he turns out
iowamcnabb
Hall of Famer
Slawson is starting to look damn good in Stockton. Looks too good for the league, which is a great sign.
That's pretty epic, but isn't he required to be behind the three-point line until the ball hits the rim? He was all the way to the lane.
