4. Singleton [for his Glue Potential (tm)] Call me crazy, but DD/CS/ED will be a championship calibre 2-3-4 set down the line. Why I rank him so high is that he brings that elite defense without sacrificing offense. We saw what just happened to OKC, CHI and MEM (they had their elite defender on the floor, but as a result couldn't score to catch-up/pull-away). His wing defense is more valuable than the offensive skills of nearly everyone in the draft.
I see him being a Tony Allen/ Shane Battier type player.
Would love to see the Raps get their hands on him.
What qualifies in Europe as good defence, does not always translate so well in the NBA. This is not a euro bashing message at all, just the reality of judging a players defence on that level and attempting to translate it to the NBA. For instance, Jose Calderon was considered one of the better defenders at his position in Europe.
This is silly. When scouts talk about Vesely's D, they're obviously talking about his potential to be a good NBA defender. And I have no idea how Calderon was in Europe but he wasn't a poor defender until he lost a step or three over the years. Keep with the revisionist history though.
This is silly. When scouts talk about Vesely's D, they're obviously talking about his potential to be a good NBA defender.
You are correct in saying this. I've read a lot recently about how opposing teams call iso on him because of his poor man to man defense. It should be an immediate red flag on a player any time the opposing team has decided to isolate a particular player because he can be easily exposed. When I read about Vesley I keep hearing out of this world physical tools without the means to adequately take advantage of them... Yet. To me that says 50/50 bang or bust. He sounds like a player who would fit best on a team looking to push the ball because he's not going to get you much on offense if he's not running the floor.
You are correct in saying this. I've read a lot recently about how opposing teams call iso on him because of his poor man to man defense. It should be an immediate red flag on a player any time the opposing team has decided to isolate a particular player because he can be easily exposed. When I read about Vesley I keep hearing out of this world physical tools without the means to adequately take advantage of them... Yet. To me that says 50/50 bang or bust. He sounds like a player who would fit best on a team looking to push the ball because he's not going to get you much on offense if he's not running the floor.
He's definitely a high risk pick (if you want to build a defensively sound team), but he also has the upside to be the best player out of this draft. As you commented about his man D, it's not for lack of trying -- he definitely works hard on the defensive end -- but he might be just a tad too slow to guard SFs and definitely not strong enough to guard PFs. And if Bargnani is making people cry about 7-footers who don't rebound, I can't wait to see Vesely in action.
Trying only gets you half way. My worry is that, as you mentioned, he's not going to be fast enough on his feet to defend the 3. If he's getting ISO'd and exposed in Europe then he's going to get crushed in the NBA. Then on the flip side he can't handle the ball that well and he can't shoot that well. He's going to need others to get him opportunities. That's a really big problem considering they have few guys already who can handle well and they already have a bunch of forwards who can't shoot and need somebody to set them up to get points other than put backs, tips and other choppy stuff around the basket. If they draft him there will be "Trade Vesley" threads and new "fire Colangelo" threads before the end of November. Book it. He's on the other end of the spectrum in terms of "instant gratification". Dude looks like a project.
I can see it now, "finally, we've gotten rid of Bargnani and now the defense can thrive around the rim. No, wait a second, Vesley can't keep up with his shadow... Damn it."
I think they need to take the best player available and it looks like the Kanter, Walker, Knight and Leonard are all better players right now and they all have high upside.
Trying only gets you half way. My worry is that, as you mentioned, he's not going to be fast enough on his feet to defend the 3. If he's getting ISO'd and exposed in Europe then he's going to get crushed in the NBA. Then on the flip side he can't handle the ball that well and he can't shoot that well. He's going to need others to get him opportunities. That's a really big problem considering they have few guys already who can handle well and they already have a bunch of forwards who can't shoot and need somebody to set them up to get points other than put backs, tips and other choppy stuff around the basket. If they draft him there will be "Trade Vesley" threads and new "fire Colangelo" threads before the end of November. Book it. He's on the other end of the spectrum in terms of "instant gratification". Dude looks like a project.
Oh yeah, he's definitely not a good fit for the Raptors. I can see him being a very good pick for another team but not for us.
Trying only gets you half way. My worry is that, as you mentioned, he's not going to be fast enough on his feet to defend the 3. If he's getting ISO'd and exposed in Europe then he's going to get crushed in the NBA. Then on the flip side he can't handle the ball that well and he can't shoot that well. He's going to need others to get him opportunities. That's a really big problem considering they have few guys already who can handle well and they already have a bunch of forwards who can't shoot and need somebody to set them up to get points other than put backs, tips and other choppy stuff around the basket. If they draft him there will be "Trade Vesley" threads and new "fire Colangelo" threads before the end of November. Book it. He's on the other end of the spectrum in terms of "instant gratification". Dude looks like a project.
Agreed, and the same concern I would have with Derrick Williams.
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