Willie Cauley-Stein

Just thought I would throw this in. Watched the Philly game last night and Nik had a decent game. 21 minutes, 12 points on 3 of 6 shooting and 2 of 3 from the three. He also grabbed 3 boards, had 2 assists and 1 turnover. Not earth shattering, but solid. Believe it or not, he tied for the team lead in poiints. Philly looke pretty bad las night, and Okafor found out what it's like to go up against players as big or bigger than him.
 
I think with Rondo at the point he might be able to develop into a Tyson Chandler role 6 or 7 years back when Chris paul played with him on New Orleans. He has the shot blocking, the athleticism, and overall defense to be a huge asset to our team.
 
Always loved watching Willie Thrill at Kentucky. He is a different kind of guy in a good way. Very grounded, interviews always leave you thinking basketball isn't all that interest him. Art, nature, he loved it all.


I watched him last night, people can see what Cal talked about. He does so much that you do not see in the box score. He filled that up last night.

Is there a 7 footer as athletic as him in the league? With the exception of a few teams, he can guard 5 positions.

I still think back to the TRob draft that was . Hopefully, the Kings have turned the corner. I am happy that it looks like these UK/Calipari kids for the most part do well, especially the lotto kids.
 
sneaky_g said:
I think with Rondo at the point he might be able to develop into a Tyson Chandler role 6 or 7 years back when Chris paul played with him on New Orleans. He has the shot blocking, the athleticism, and overall defense to be a huge asset to our team.
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I think his ceiling is clearly above that. A problem is due to his shot blocking being what he's known for, the comparisons of him are to shot blockers, more pure defensive guys. Chandler outside of dumpoffs and screen/rolls, you ignore on offense.

Big Willie has a completely different feel for the game. Has some pretty good passing instinct about him. Is quicker and looks like a guy who can score off 2-3 dribbles around the paint. He has a touch inside that none of the Chandler/Ibaka/Jordan types have. Much more fluid.

I don't want to get ahead of myself but he's much more an Anthony Davis type to me, without the midrange jumper. And I say that because Davis is more the ultimate role player type than a go to guy, at least until he adds to his game.

Of course when I see this, the form he has, combined with the touch we've seen from him, an NBA jumper seems like it'll come with a matter of time.


His movement is very similar to Davis. Ultimately, if he becomes an All NBA level defender which he clearly has the potential to do but also become more a poor man's offensive version of Davis, we're looking at an All Star level and potential HOF level player on our hands.

Not to get ahead of myself lol. But talent is talent and his talent is rare.
 

I don't want to dampen the high hopes for Willie, but sometimes we forget how good all of the guys playing in the NBA are. Shooting jumpshots in practice or versus NBA competition is a whole different story.
But it's really difficult to not get ahead of oneself, when you see a player with so much athletic potential. Compared to Davis I think Willie is even a tad more mobile and quicker. That alone is extremely rare. Personally I never saw a 7 footer move like this.
 
I will continue to pushback against ANY talk of Willie as star. That's never been him, But the more those sorts of unrealistic expectations get thrown on him, the more people absorb them and then get disappointed when we get Willie as terrific roleplayer.

Now just talking about his defensive potential you can't get too far astray. He's got tools and toolbox to be top flight.
 
King Baller said:
I think Willie can be ROY. If his PPG/RPG/BPG = 10/7/3, he is a dominant defender and the Kings make the Playoffs.
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I kind of doubt it...even with those numbers. There's still KAT, Okafor, and Mudiay. I know everyone was excited after his play, but he went up against Ryan Kelly.. Kelly is more of a SF than anything. The Lakers had him playing C.

KAT might be my pick for ROY. The average of his first 2 games are 21pts 13rebs 2blks at 58% shooting.

Defense alone will not win Willie ROY.
 
Bricklayer said:
I will continue to pushback against ANY talk of Willie as star. That's never been him, But the more those sorts of unrealistic expectations get thrown on him, the more people absorb them and then get disappointed when we get Willie as terrific roleplayer.

Now just talking about his defensive potential you can't get too far astray. He's got tools and toolbox to be top flight.
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OK so maybe he will not make this list: http://www.nba.com/history/nba-rookie-of-the-year-award-winners/

But he can make this list: http://www.basketball-reference.com/awards/dpoy.html
 
The thing about Cauley-Stein is that I can't think of an appropriate NBA comparison for him. Relatively speaking he's unique. Tyson Chandler might be the closest comparison but even that you have to squint to see. WCS is considerably faster east-west and probably faster north-south too.

He's a disruptive defensive force from day one. Who's the last rookie we could say that about?

If he becomes more than that, great. But his mark will be made as (hopefully) one of the league's greatest defensive role players.

Okafor and Towns can battle it out for ROY. They'll get the minutes and the touches for teams that need their production. Willie's goal should be helping the Kings make the playoffs.
 
Bricklayer said:
I will continue to pushback against ANY talk of Willie as star. That's never been him, But the more those sorts of unrealistic expectations get thrown on him, the more people absorb them and then get disappointed when we get Willie as terrific roleplayer.

Now just talking about his defensive potential you can't get too far astray. He's got tools and toolbox to be top flight.
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Well there's different types of stars. I'm not sure anyone thinks WCS is the Cuz type, who you can run the offense thru.

Defensive stars, mainly considered role players as they're not offensive focal points still make the AS team. When guys like:

Horford
Hibbert
D12
Noah
Chandler
Bynum

all have made AS teams, they can be considered stars in a certain context. But if you're going more with the definition of a guy you can build a team around, run the offense thru, play thru when you need baskets, who can essentially carry your team, then the list becomes much smaller.

And I'd say Willie's ceiling is clearly higher than those six above who were all All Stars in the last four years alone. Is an All NBA defender who makes a few AS teams as an elite role player a star in your eyes? He is in mine. That's the kind of potential we're looking at.
 
rainmaker said:
I think his ceiling is clearly above that. A problem is due to his shot blocking being what he's known for, the comparisons of him are to shot blockers, more pure defensive guys. Chandler outside of dumpoffs and screen/rolls, you ignore on offense.

Big Willie has a completely different feel for the game. Has some pretty good passing instinct about him. Is quicker and looks like a guy who can score off 2-3 dribbles around the paint. He has a touch inside that none of the Chandler/Ibaka/Jordan types have. Much more fluid.

I don't want to get ahead of myself but he's much more an Anthony Davis type to me, without the midrange jumper. And I say that because Davis is more the ultimate role player type than a go to guy, at least until he adds to his game.

Of course when I see this, the form he has, combined with the touch we've seen from him, an NBA jumper seems like it'll come with a matter of time.


His movement is very similar to Davis. Ultimately, if he becomes an All NBA level defender which he clearly has the potential to do but also become more a poor man's offensive version of Davis, we're looking at an All Star level and potential HOF level player on our hands.

Not to get ahead of myself lol. But talent is talent and his talent is rare.
Click to expand...

Yep, I've compared his ability to Davis in private. I was reluctant to say it on this forum, but since you brought it up, the biggest difference between the two, is basketball experience. Davis has played BB for a long time. His adjustment was that until his junior year of highschool, he was only 6'4". He suddenly shot up to his current height, but along with that growth came the ballhandling and passing skills he had already acquired as a guard.

Willie, on the other hand, didn't even start playing BB until his junior year of highschool, so he's still a diamond in the rough. If he can acquire the necessary skills, your right, we could be looking at an all star. Your also right that we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves. He's going to hit some bumps along the way. Hopefully not tonight.
 
funkykingston said:
The thing about Cauley-Stein is that I can't think of an appropriate NBA comparison for him. Relatively speaking he's unique. Tyson Chandler might be the closest comparison but even that you have to squint to see. WCS is considerably faster east-west and probably faster north-south too.

He's a disruptive defensive force from day one. Who's the last rookie we could say that about?

If he becomes more than that, great. But his mark will be made as (hopefully) one of the league's greatest defensive role players.

Okafor and Towns can battle it out for ROY. They'll get the minutes and the touches for teams that need their production. Willie's goal should be helping the Kings make the playoffs.
Click to expand...


Mutombo
 
WCS must become JT with better defense. WCS's potential is unreal due to his body, but the chances that Kobe-esque work ethic/obsession coincides with a really optimal body is rare. I don't expect WCS to be a star, but I expect him to get better, develop a jumper, and play his video games.
 
lawlman91 said:
WCS must become JT with better defense.
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WCS already looks like a better player than JT. He rotates well and people can reliably dump him the ball without worrying it will bounce off his fingers out of bounds.
 
rainmaker said:
I don't want to get ahead of myself but he's much more an Anthony Davis type to me, without the midrange jumper. And I say that because Davis is more the ultimate role player type than a go to guy, at least until he adds to his game.
Click to expand...

24/10/3blk is "ultimate role player" to you? Fourth highest scorer last year? Seriously? Jrue, Gordon, Tyreke are OK players, but no one's Steve Nash here. Why do we have to keep talking about AD like he's just another guy? Look at the playmakers around him. Look at the roster.

WCS had a good game. But why do we have to keep downgrading stars to make our guys sound better?
 
I meant JT's jumper. WCS is better defensively no doubt. Offensively they perform similar roles (screens, converting drop off passes from guards into points), except that JT can shoot from mid-range.
 
rhythmless said:
24/10/3blk is "ultimate role player" to you? Fourth highest scorer last year? Seriously? Jrue, Gordon, Tyreke are OK players, but no one's Steve Nash here. Why do we have to keep talking about AD like he's just another guy? Look at the playmakers around him. Look at the roster.

WCS had a good game. But why do we have to keep downgrading stars to make our guys sound better?
Click to expand...
I'm not all that interested in your sensitivities. Davis is and will be more a role player until he becomes a guy you can give the ball to to close out games, who creates his own offense, who you can run sets thru and creates for himself/others. By and large he's a guy who needs offense created for him. Hence, role player.

But it's hardly downgrading the guy. That's more your emotions coming into play.
 
King Baller said:
I think Willie can be ROY. If his PPG/RPG/BPG = 10/7/3, he is a dominant defender and the Kings make the Playoffs.
Click to expand...

I have a better chance winning ROY he can average 10/10/3 dominate defense won't matter. I love WCS but what Towns has done since preseason shows he's in a class by himself. Towns is winning that and it won't be close he's an MVP type player who will put up numbers this year.

Towns will be better than Anthony Davis. Ya I said it dudes already creating for himself and might be better defender.
 
rainmaker said:
I'm not all that interested in your sensitivities. Davis is and will be more a role player until he becomes a guy you can give the ball to to close out games, who creates his own offense, who you can run sets thru and creates for himself/others. By and large he's a guy who needs offense created for him. Hence, role player.

But it's hardly downgrading the guy. That's more your emotions coming into play.
Click to expand...

LOL. Quality post. No strawman going on here.

Calm down. Stop overreacting. See how everyone can do it too, yet it means absolutely nothing?
 
rainmaker said:
I'm not all that interested in your sensitivities. Davis is and will be more a role player until he becomes a guy you can give the ball to to close out games, who creates his own offense, who you can run sets thru and creates for himself/others. By and large he's a guy who needs offense created for him. Hence, role player.

But it's hardly downgrading the guy. That's more your emotions coming into play.
Click to expand...
rhythmless said:
LOL. Quality post. No strawman going on here.

Calm down. Stop overreacting. See how everyone can do it too, yet it means absolutely nothing?
Click to expand...

If you guys want to keep going in this vein, please take it to private messages. Thanks.
 
rhythmless said:
LOL. Quality post. No strawman going on here.
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You appear unaware of what a strawman is.

Second, I haven't seen anyone suggest Davis isn't a star or doesn't have impressive numbers. Still, his major weakness is his inability to be a go to guy, to create his own, to run the offense thru. Far too dependent on others to do all the creating for him. The eye test says that. That 77% of his baskets were assisted last year shows that.

In the end, he's still a role player. But probably the best role player in the league. Hardly something to get worked up about.
 
lol Anthony Davis is the best role player in the NBA. That'a what my dummy head got out of this.
 
rhythmless said:
24/10/3blk is "ultimate role player" to you? Fourth highest scorer last year? Seriously? Jrue, Gordon, Tyreke are OK players, but no one's Steve Nash here. Why do we have to keep talking about AD like he's just another guy? Look at the playmakers around him. Look at the roster.

WCS had a good game. But why do we have to keep downgrading stars to make our guys sound better?
Click to expand...

83% of GM's said AD would be the player they would take to start a franchise. That is not a role player. Role players don't get the Rose rule supermax contracts. 5/145 mil.

WCS knows he is a role player and an important one. How many 7 footers can guard 5 positions? Willies scoring is dunks, put backs and he will occasionally make a nice move. He can improve offensively, his bread and butter is being a disruptive force. If he could add some weight and muscle it would be interesting to see.
He and Boogie are beloved in Kentucky
 
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