NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
We've been quiet on the UDFA front but this is a big get IMO.
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Yes! That was my dream signing for undrafted guys. He has some size in the backcourt, really good defender, and pretty good shooter.
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Here’s Sam Vecenie’s thoughts on Ty-Shon:
50. Ty-Shon Alexander | G | Creighton | Birthdate: July 16, 1998 (Age: 22) | 6-3 | 200 LBS | Hometown: Charlotte, N.C.
BACKGROUND: Parents are Tina and Eric. Quiet, but confident kid. Moved around high schools quite a bit in high school. Started at Concord High in North Carolina, then moved to Northside Christian High as a sophomore. Transferred to prestigious Oak Hill Academy as a junior, playing two years there. Team won the Dick’s High School Nationals event in his junior season as the best high school team in the country. Went 37-4 as a senior, while getting slightly overshadowed by fellow guards Lindell Wigginton and Devontae Shuler. Played with Team Charlotte on AAU circuit with fellow draft prospect Devon Dotson, where the team won the UA Finals on the Under Armour circuit as the best team. Regularly overshadowed by higher profile recruits on his own team. Coached and trained by former NBA guard Jeff McInnis. Consensus four-star recruit. Chose Creighton over Virginia Tech, Clemson, and Charlotte. Solid freshman season off the bench before emerging into a breakout player as a sophomore. Averaged over 15 points per game as a scoring guard. His 10.2-point-per-game leap from his freshman to sophomore season was the biggest scoring jump of any player in the Big East in 2019. Named Honorable Mention All-Big East (poorly, as he was one of the 10 best players in the league that year). Continued high-level offensive output, then added elite-level on-ball defense a junior to work his way into First Team All-Big East as a junior. Declared early for 2020 NBA Draft.
STRENGTHS: Prototypical 3-and-D guard. Alexander’s emergence this year as one of the better on-ball defenders in the country transformed his draft prospects from high-level on-ball pull-up threat and catch-and-shoot option to multi-faceted player with multiple NBA level skills. Great size for defending on-ball threats at 6-foot-4 with a 6-8 wingspan. Really terrific at sliding his feet laterally and staying in front of even the quickest guards. Very pesky and disruptive with his hands at bothering shots and handle. Gets through screens off the ball at an exceedingly high level, keeping skinny and recovering while also displaying strong lock and trail technique. Good in on-ball exchanges. A generally disruptive defender.
Unsurprisingly for someone who has this level of defensive acumen, Alexander also generally plays really hard. He doesn’t quit on plays. Not unusual for him to dive on the ground for loose balls. Fights to get back in recovery constantly on defense. Scrambles around at a high level. Really runs the break hard in transition on offense, either going to the rim or spacing out to the corners and wings. The same goes on defense where he’ll sprint to try to get back. Worked well within the motion-heavy Creighton offense as he constantly back cut off of screens or tried to find little openings.
High-level shooter. Makes open shots off the catch very consistently. Hit at a 65.5 effective field goal percentage on open catch-and-shoot jumpers this year according to Synergy. Great out of spot-up opportunities. Not only can make shots, but also effective at attacking closeouts and making simple kickouts to teammates. More than that though, also a tremendous pull-up shooting threat. Good in ball-screens at coming around and firing with a quick release if defenders go under. Hit 10 pull-up 3s and has a strong in-between game. Excellent at re-aligning his body toward the basket in mid-air off of his pull-ups to create better angles. Strong with fadeaways in the midrange area. Likely won’t be asked to take a ton of these, but a good weapon to have in his back pocket for when teams close out heavily on him.
WEAKNESSES: Not quite as effective moving up the lineup and defending wings because they can push him around a bit. Not a disaster there, but not the same plus defender against wings over 6-foot-6 as he is against guards. Also has a tendency defensively to play a bit high in his stance, which can allow guys to get low, push off, and get by him. Good in recovery, but he’ll need to clean up his stance a bit so that guards don’t penetrate regularly against him and force his teammates to rotate over in help.
Has not been quite as effective coming off of screens as a shooter in his career off the ball. Much better when his feet are already set and he can fire. Could stand to work on his shot prep coming off of screens a bit given the role he’ll be asked to play. Not much of a driver. Finishing is very average, as he posted about a 50 percent mark at the rim in half court settings over his career. Took under two shots per game at the rim in half court settings. Doesn’t have exceptional wiggle or burst as a ballhandler, which makes him more of a perimeter player than one that really is effective at breaking down defenses. Needs a ball screen to get any separation.
In that vein, not really a point guard. Can be a secondary ballhandler because of the pull-up game but doesn’t involve teammates at a high enough level to play the point. Unselfish, but doesn’t really read defenses at a high level and hit creative passes to his teammates. Makes the easy ones. Given that he’ll be asked to play on the ball more often than not defensively, it does relatively limit his options in terms of where he’ll best find a role. Almost definitely needs to play with a big wing playmaker or a taller point guard in order to get the most out of his skill set.
SUMMARY: This is a specific player type that has gotten more attractive in recent years with the league-wide proliferation of the bigger wing playmaker. Think of Alexander as kind of a Patrick Beverley starter kit. He defends at a high level and can knock down shots. In a pinch, you might be able to squeeze some minutes out of him at the lead guard spot. But more often than not, you’re going to get the best out of a player like this when he’s next to a primary ballhandler, a la Harden in Houston and Kawhi in Los Angeles for Beverley. That does somewhat limit the playing field of teams for Alexander to be selected by, as he is more of a situational player. It doesn’t realty make sense to pair him with someone like Chris Paul or Trae Young as a smaller lead. But teams like Dallas, Houston, both Los Angeles teams, Boston and Milwaukee should absolutely be looking at Alexander at some point in this class. He fits everything those organizations need given that they have a heliocentric, ball-dominant wing who needs space to operate and could use a tough on-ball defender.
GRADE: Right on the borderline of a guaranteed contract or a priority two-way guy. Completely depends on where he’s drafted. Could go second round. Chance to go undrafted, and if that was to happen, should be immediately signed.
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Yes.Indy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 9:38 pmda_suns_fan wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 9:36 pmAs I say every year, the draft is a total crap shoot. I’ve never seen anything to make me believe any team is better at drafting than others.
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Oh, and plenty people still owe me an apology over Jimmer Frdette.
wait, you are coming to a message board asking for an apology over your assessment of a draft pick, just after posting how the draft is a complete coin flip and nobody is better than anyone else and it is all luck?
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Draft Graders are worthless. Go back five years and see how they graded the draft. They dont have a clue either:
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
The Suns got a B+ for drafting Booker.
The Rockets got a B+ for drafting Sam Decker who is currently playing in Turkey.
There are tons of other examples there. "A-" for drafting Mario Hezonja etc.
The Rockets got a B+ for drafting Sam Decker who is currently playing in Turkey.
There are tons of other examples there. "A-" for drafting Mario Hezonja etc.
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Bleacher report isnt an anomaly. Same draft. CBS Sports grades. Equally terrible in hindsight:
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2015 ... t-so-much/
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/2015 ... t-so-much/
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Ya, Cam Payne, Trey Lyles, Stanley Johnson, Justise Winslow, Willie Caulie Stein, Mario Hezonja all got the same or better grades as the suns drafting Booker. Even Frank and Okafor got B’sda_suns_fan wrote: ↑Thu Nov 19, 2020 12:28 pmThe Suns got a B+ for drafting Booker.
The Rockets got a B+ for drafting Sam Decker who is currently playing in Turkey.
There are tons of other examples there. "A-" for drafting Mario Hezonja etc.
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Watching ESPN+ and Jay Williams is high on the Suns. Said we're coming & had a really good draft. So we're starting to turn some heads already.
Go Suns!
Og Snus!
Og Snus!
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Problem with Jalen Smith is that he was a relatively unkown. Once people start to watch, they find out there is a lot to like. Literally a lot, in the sense that he does several things right and his physical profile, while not elite, is far from poor.
Also, hearing Haliburton asked teams not to draft him and that he actually wanted to go to SAC makes me feel even better about our pick.
Also, hearing Haliburton asked teams not to draft him and that he actually wanted to go to SAC makes me feel even better about our pick.
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
I like Jalen, the test will be if he can play alongside Ayton for significant minutes. I’m not sure we’ll need him to do that in year 1, but that should be the top developmental goal for him. To accomplish that I think there are two big things he needs. Ability to defend on the perimeter and be able to find the open man on offense.
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Ayton is able to credibly guard the perimeter. Perhaps they need to switch the roles on defense: Ayton PF, Smith C, then the other way around on offense. The roster still needs a SF/PF with defensive chops, though.Split T wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:25 amI like Jalen, the test will be if he can play alongside Ayton for significant minutes. I’m not sure we’ll need him to do that in year 1, but that should be the top developmental goal for him. To accomplish that I think there are two big things he needs. Ability to defend on the perimeter and be able to find the open man on offense.
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
That was Ayton's role in college. He played PF and I it was Ristic(another 7 footer) played center.Ring_Wanted wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:45 amAyton is able to credibly guard the perimeter. Perhaps they need to switch the roles on defense: Ayton PF, Smith C, then the other way around on offense. The roster still needs a SF/PF with defensive chops, though.Split T wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:25 amI like Jalen, the test will be if he can play alongside Ayton for significant minutes. I’m not sure we’ll need him to do that in year 1, but that should be the top developmental goal for him. To accomplish that I think there are two big things he needs. Ability to defend on the perimeter and be able to find the open man on offense.
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Ya it might be doable that way, but then you take Ayton away from the hoop defensively. I want to keep him there.Ring_Wanted wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:45 amAyton is able to credibly guard the perimeter. Perhaps they need to switch the roles on defense: Ayton PF, Smith C, then the other way around on offense. The roster still needs a SF/PF with defensive chops, though.Split T wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 2:25 amI like Jalen, the test will be if he can play alongside Ayton for significant minutes. I’m not sure we’ll need him to do that in year 1, but that should be the top developmental goal for him. To accomplish that I think there are two big things he needs. Ability to defend on the perimeter and be able to find the open man on offense.
Offensively I also think Jalen loses some of his advantage playing him against other 4’s. I wanna see Whiteside or Vucevic or Drummond, etc. chasing Smith around screens. I don’t think guys like Covington, Isaac, or Nance will have trouble doing that.
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Agreed on principle but Smith can protect the rim too. In any case, it's nice having the pieces to mix things up depending on what you have in front of you.
Against other 4s Smith is a pick and pop threat (with ability to roll and finish) waiting to be used by Paul and Booker, no less. And defenses need to worry not only about that, but also about Ayton inside. Plus another 3pt shooter in the corner. And when Smith plays as a 5, bigger plodders are going to suffer due to his mobility, as you say. It's going to be tough for a lot of teams.Offensively I also think Jalen loses some of his advantage playing him against other 4’s. I wanna see Whiteside or Vucevic or Drummond, etc. chasing Smith around screens. I don’t think guys like Covington, Isaac, or Nance will have trouble doing that.
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Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
He needed to work on that when he was playing center too. I felt like he was the most gassed on the court at nearly any time.Ring_Wanted wrote: ↑Fri Nov 20, 2020 3:11 amYeah, the role would not be new to Ayton, but he needs to work on his conditioning.
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
Everyone in the NBA needs to be able to switch, regardless of position.
The league needs heroes, villains... and clowns. -- Aztec Sunsfan
Re: NBA DRAFT NIGHT 2020
I was picturing Smith being our PF next to Ayton, but a lot of the Suns guys on Twitter are saying he's more of a 5 and shouldn't play with Ayton. If that's the case, I would be less excited about him. I'd much rather see him as a 4 than a backup 5.