Yahoo scouting videos are up

[Vlade4GM]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/prospects?rank_type=1

Check out Glen Davis' video, the guy is pretty heavy but he can move. Pretty entertaining.

 

[nbrans]

Holy cannoli, check out Jason Smith's video. It's clear he's playing against inferior competition, but wow.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Holy cannoli, check out Jason Smith's video. It's clear he's playing against inferior competition, but wow.

Yea, dude has got some hops and he likes to use it...a lot. David Lee with range?

 

[nbrans]

Yea, dude has got some hops and he likes to use it...a lot. David Lee with range?

Watching his video and Spencer Hawes' video back to back is eye-opening. (i.e. Smith looks approximately 10 times as athletic.)

 

[SkinnerBox]

Spencer Hawes looks pretty nice. He even has some nice blocks and hustle plays in there.

Jason Smith does look good, but he won't be able to do those things in the NBA.

 

[nbrans]

Spencer Hawes looks pretty nice. He even has some nice blocks and hustle plays in there.

Jason Smith does look good, but he won't be able to do those things in the NBA.

Actually, I feel like it's the reverse. Spencer Hawes isn't going to get those easy hooks against NBA players.

 

[Ryle]

Check out Sean Williams' video. If that dude could have put down the pipe and not got kicked off his team he would have looked good in a Kings uni. He comes out of nowhere to block some of those shots.

I like Jason Smiths' game and I wouldn't mind seeing the Kings pick up a mid-late late first round pick to take him.

 

[Ryle]

Josh McRoberts has "Bust" written all over him.

 

[Big Cuz 15]

thx for the link

 

[Bricklayer]

Spencer Hawes looks pretty nice. He even has some nice blocks and hustle plays in there.

Jason Smith does look good, but he won't be able to do those things in the NBA.

Kinda agree with this. Had seen little of either player last year, although I've seen Smith in the past. Smith has skills obviously (the question on him is rather been whether he can defend or bang), but that video...he reminded me a bit of Marty Conlon. Bigger, maybe a little faster. Maybe it was just the flinstone build -- all body and 1 foot legs. Anyway, nothing to defeat the soft label, although he's clearly an NBA center.

Hawes though..did not blow me away, and the body needs serious work (as does Smith's), but I could see a bit of nasty there, and a bit of that torture box effect down on the block. Would have to see more, but a guy who has not only favorite moves, but then counters to every mvoe, who can show the ball over one shoulder, fake back the other way, and then finish with an up and under...that's art. And that would be where the McHale comparisons, or Vlade's cleverness in the post, come to mind. I feel better about him now than I did, although again whether he can hold position and reboudn with that kind of athleticism was not answered in that video.

 

[Bricklayer]

As a further aside:

Thronton is small. He's no tweener. Pure SF. Not hoirribly quick, so not an OG either. Had a solid video and showed a lot of ability, but nothing eye opening. Kind of a variety of moves and shots that other guys do better. Looks like a solid scorer, but not sure about the star potential there.

Green did not look terribly athletic actually, bit of a surprise. But he's bigger than I remembered him. Quite a bit bigger than a guy like Thornton. And no that does not make him a PF. It does however mean that maybe he could have a calling card in the NBA working inside. Looked very smooth in the tape and with the size might be able to translate his rebounding over to the pros.

 

[nbrans]

As a further aside:

Thronton is small. He's no tweener. Pure SF. Not hoirribly quick, so not an OG either. Had a solid video and showed a lot of ability, but nothing eye opening. Kind of a variety of moves and shots that other guys do better. Looks like a solid scorer, but not sure about the star potential there.

Green did not look terribly athletic actually, bit of a surprise. But he's bigger than I remembered him. Quite a bit bigger than a guy like Thornton. And no that does not make him a PF. It does however mean that maybe he could have a calling card in the NBA working inside. Looked very smooth in the tape and with the size might be able to translate his rebounding over to the pros.

This is confirmed by the draft measurements -- Thornton is 6'7 and Green measured out at 6'9.5".

Green can jump, but I just question whether he has the quickness to guard guys in the NBA and to create any offense. And he doesn't really have post moves, so I'm not sure if he's going to be able to make a living posting up SFs.

 

[supamari0]

Jeff Green reminds me of Shane Battier. Good college player and scorer but will probably become an uber-role player in the NBA.

 

[Vlade4GM]

Kinda agree with this. Had seen little of either player last year, although I've seen Smith in the past. Smith has skills obviously (the question on him is rather been whether he can defend or bang), but that video...he reminded me a bit of Marty Conlon. Bigger, maybe a little faster. Maybe it was just the flinstone build -- all body and 1 foot legs. Anyway, nothing to defeat the soft label, although he's clearly an NBA center.

Hawes though..did not blow me away, and the body needs serious work (as does Smith's), but I could see a bit of nasty there, and a bit of that torture box effect down on the block. Would have to see more, but a guy who has not only favorite moves, but then counters to every mvoe, who can show the ball over one shoulder, fake back the other way, and then finish with an up and under...that's art. And that would be where the McHale comparisons, or Vlade's cleverness in the post, come to mind. I feel better about him now than I did, although again whether he can hold position and reboudn with that kind of athleticism was not answered in that video.

Athleticism is never going to be his strong poing, but he's got pretty good quickness and he has good mobility. His post moves are very good, I would say he's better than Bogut in the post but Bogut is a better passer. I think he can be a 15+ ppg center, he's going to need to put back the weight he lost though if he's going to bang with the big boys and get 9+ rebounds a game.

 

[Bricklayer]

Thaddeus Young's tape should be burned -- it was completely unhelpful. Just a series of alleyoops and open court layups for the most part. Only one or two moves, basically no jumpers, one play on defense. Good size and whatnot, but really now. Go get me some real tape!

 

[Vlade4GM]

This is confirmed by the draft measurements -- Thornton is 6'7 and Green measured out at 6'9.5".

Green can jump, but I just question whether he has the quickness to guard guys in the NBA and to create any offense. And he doesn't really have post moves, so I'm not sure if he's going to be able to make a living posting up SFs.

A more perimeter oriented Boris Diaw is how I envision him. He's just not aggressive enough to be anything more than a good role playing starter.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I think I would take Young over Green. It would be risky, but we would need more starting potential IMO.

 

[Bricklayer]

Corey Brewer's vid of course made all the other SFs look like they were going in slow motion. But one thing, especially when you watch them back to back to back -- with that body damn if I'm not sure if Brewer isn't an OG in the NBA, not a SF. LeBron plays SF inthe NBA. Artest plays SF in the NBA. Ron would eat Brewer alive, and ask for seconds.

That was the one thing you could gather from that Thaddeus Young vid -- incredible specimen, broad, rangy, they may be the same height but there's absolutley no comparion to aguy like Brewer, who is built kind of like Larry Huges with an extra inch or two. If he is an OG, wonder how that will effect where he gets drafted? Who among the top draft teams needs an OG? Not Atlanta, If Gay is an OG, not Memhphis. Not Boston. Minnesota next to Foye? Charlotte maybe with the failure of the 'Stache?

 

[Bricklayer]

Jeff Green reminds me of Shane Battier. Good college player and scorer but will probably become an uber-role player in the NBA.

With that size and bulk, and a bit of a butt -- maybe Rodney McCray?

 

[Bricklayer]

And Julian Wright of course the longest of the bunch. You can still see the revolutionary potential there. But he moves like a 3/4 rather than a 3/2. Good passer out on the break, but he scores as a finisher. Needs handles + moves or he might just be a long athletic defensive roleplayer. Plugged into the middle of a leinup where he didn't have pressure to produce points though he could give a serious boost of length + athleticism. I know the idea was for Portland to get a 2nd pick and nab Conley. But if they got a 2nd pick and instead nabbed Wright, so he could be the non-knucklhead player that Miles was always supposed to be, that young frontline could be incredibly imposing for just about forever.

 

[Bricklayer]

If Rodney Stuckey has any potential as a PG the people who put together his video did a terrible job of showing it. The only times he passed were when he absolutely could not get a shot off, and that wasn't often. Beware the 6'4" SG, but has a good body and scored in all kinds of ways and could be a poor man's Wade type guy (problem is that Wade type characters are pretty much either stars, or bench players). Bo Kimble syndrome perhaps.

 

[Bricklayer]

Josh McRoberts is not an NBA level athlete. He's goign to get his shot blocked. A lot. Would not be surprised to see him chased out entirely to the perimeter.

 

[Bricklayer]

Javaris Crittenton just wasn't terribly impressive, which is kind of disappointing for a 6'5" PG. Got no sense of him using his size, and as a larger PG was not exceptionally quick. Of course that's why he's a 20-something pick rather than a lottery guy I guess. If a 6'5" PG was really all that, he'd be Top 10 material.

Sorry Slim.

 

[nbrans]

Josh McRoberts is not an NBA level athlete. He's goign to get his shot blocked. A lot. Would not be surprised to see him chased out entirely to the perimeter.

Josh McRoberts tested out as a better athlete in every category than Spencer Hawes, which is scary about Hawes. I know Hawes has those extra couple of inches, but still. Not very encouraging.

 

[Entity]

Brick its good you speak well of Wright as some mocks have him coming to us. If Ron Artest is indeed being shoped I wouldn't doubt Petrie taking another 3 this year.

 

[Bricklayer]

Josh McRoberts tested out as a better athlete in every category than Spencer Hawes, which is scary about Hawes. I know Hawes has those extra couple of inches, but still. Not very encouraging.

Diff is if you watch the vids one guy (Hawes) looked like he knew how to compensate, the other? Not so much.

Not sold on Hawes as a star, and the athleticism is a major reason why, but he looked comeptitive and I could see what he could do in the NBA -- sneaky post skills are rare even in this league. But Josh...think I saw what he could do in the league too. Unfortunately it was because they (perhaps wisely) decided to include a couple of clips of him shooting uncontested threes from the corner.

 

[nbrans]

Diff is if you watch the vids one guy (Hawes) looked like he knew how to compensate, the other? Not so much.

Not sold on Hawes as a star, and the athleticism is a major reason why, but he looked comeptitive and I could see what he could do in the NBA -- sneaky post skills are rare even in this league. But Josh...think I saw what he could do in the league too. Unfortunately it was because they (perhaps wisely) decided to include a couple of clips of him shooting uncontested threes from the corner.

I mean, maybe Hawes can be a sort of shorter Ilgauskas, and yeah, he can absorb some contact and get his shot off, but I can't see him being anything other than a one-dimensional scoring guy. Not really big and strong enough to be a post defender, not athletic enough to be a shotblocker, couldn't even really rebound in college... I guess there's a reason people keep coming back to Brad Miller and Vlade Divac as the examples, but I don't know. Vlade had those extra couple of inches and the size, and Brad Miller was, once upon a time, a pretty strong rebounder and a banger in the post. I just can't see taking him with the 10th pick, particularly to join our front line.

 

[LPKingsFan]

Hah, I bet Petrie gets a mid-round pick and picks up both Hawes and Smith as heirs apparent to Miller and SAR.

 

[Vlade4GM]

I mean, maybe Hawes can be a sort of shorter Ilgauskas, and yeah, he can absorb some contact and get his shot off, but I can't see him being anything other than a one-dimensional scoring guy. Not really big and strong enough to be a post defender, not athletic enough to be a shotblocker, couldn't even really rebound in college... I guess there's a reason people keep coming back to Brad Miller and Vlade Divac as the examples, but I don't know. Vlade had those extra couple of inches and the size, and Brad Miller was, once upon a time, a pretty strong rebounder and a banger in the post. I just can't see taking him with the 10th pick, particularly to join our front line.

Oh come on, he's not that unathletic.

 

[nbrans]

Watching this Jason Smith video again, I really am starting to think he's the guy. That move where he does the up and under from the edge of the key only he dunks it home... you just don't see that type of stuff often. The things he's doing in this video are easily as impressive as anything I've seen from Yi Jianlian.

Smith is 7'0", has a 37.5" vertical, is the quickest player in the draft, can shoot from outside, is a good rebounder, can put the ball on the floor, has post moves.... I mean, I just have to think that a year from now people are going to be thinking, gee, a seven footer with a 37.5" vertical and a jump shot? How could people have slept on him?

To put 37.5" inches in perspective, Hakeem Warrick jumped 38". Dwight Howard jumped 35.5". It's a pretty crazy number for someone who's 7'0". (Noah actually also jumped 37.5".)