Game Day: Hornets (26-34) @ Suns (18-42), Thurs 3/2/17

[Superbone]

+ Jones Jr knows how to get open, and that is a very good NBA skill. He has a lot of learning to do, but he does seem to have a good foundation.

He had a nice rundown from behind a player to take away the ball and another steal when D'ing up his man face up. He's showing signs there as well. And yet another play where he didn't give up on the play and it resulted in a turnover for the opposition.

[O_Gardino]

+ Jones Jr knows how to get open, and that is a very good NBA skill. He has a lot of learning to do, but he does seem to have a good foundation.

An elite passing pg would take advantage of that so well. Lonzo Ball with Chriss and Jones on a break, man oh man...

We'll be in a tough spot if we don't land one of the top two picks. Ulis has clearly earned the backup PG minutes. We could be excused for starting Ball or Fultz if we drafted them (and dealing Bled), but that's probably not the case with any of the other PGs: drafting a PG outside the top 2 creates problems I'm not interested in dealing with. Once you're out of the top 2, you're almost obliged to take a SF - that could also be very awkward, considering that the players in that range overlap to varying degrees with TJ and Dragan. And then you have DJJ at that position as well. I would suggest trading the pick in such a scenario, but I can't imagine a worthwhile return.

I guess if I'm outside the top 2 I engage Philadelphia to see if they're interested in dealing SAC '19 and LAL '18 for our selection (that strategy obviously won't work if LA doesn't get a top 3 pick, in which case we're likely in the middle of a Philly sandwich). I don't even know if I'd have much interest in trading down. I'm interested in grabbing a starting PG and C and little else, as our backup slots are spoken for.

I'm looking for a future HOF type talent at any position. If I think Josh Jackson has a chance to be a star, and Warren at best is a good starter, then I draft Jackson and work out the roster and rotations.

[O_Gardino]

+ Jones Jr knows how to get open, and that is a very good NBA skill. He has a lot of learning to do, but he does seem to have a good foundation.

He had a nice rundown from behind a player to take away the ball and another steal when D'ing up his man face up. He's showing signs there as well. And yet another play where he didn't give up on the play and it resulted in a turnover for the opposition.

Nice, I didn't catch the last one you mentioned, but he does seem to get a lot of blocks and steals. Some of that is athleticism, but the fastest guy in the world won't get a steal if he doesn't have some basketball instincts, too. I think Jones is a guy who will turn out to have a decent BBall IQ when it is all said and done.