Cause I believe being a tweener is the best thing ever in the NBA. I see him as an absolute elite closeout attacker, multi positional defender and a pretty good one on the perimeter now that he has lost weight, a decent passer, good rebounder and a very high energy guy as his floor.
Mikal Bridges? He just has a higher bust chance. People are downplaying how problematic his weight and size is.
- He gets pushed around on the boards by wings
- Too soft or scared to set screens on the offensive end...every time he is told to set a screen he evades it at the last second
- has trouble checking quicker guards and has serious issues with handling screens as his technique is seriously flawed, and will not be able to check front court players on a switch unless he somehow improves his lower body strength(At least early on, though I don't believe his legs have promise lol). Was in the 10th percentile as a post defender as a sophomore...while he is in the 85th percentile as a post defender now(only 21 possessions), I believe he is going to look much closer to how he looked as a sophomore. Overpowered and overmatched. He was such a good team defender because he was able to switch a ridiculous amount of screens...do you think it's going to be the same case in the NBA? If he isn't getting scored on in the post, is he going to be able to handle the boards on a switch?
- below average passer
- below average as a shooter off the dribble which significantly limits his upside as a shooter and as an overall player...teams will most likely switch the off-ball screens which is problematic unless he is able to punish them for it; isn't explosive coming off screens either...while he is able to shoot over defenders is he going to make them from NBA 3? is he capable of coming off screens and shooting them from above the break? I doubt it.
;Is he going to be able to punish smaller players in the post with his build? is he going to punish bigger man with his sub par handles and average efficiency off the dribble?
As a 3pt shooter which he is supposed to be great at, the majority of his attempts come from the wings which he is elite at, though he is just average to below average from above the break. Which is huge. Seriously, how much his value drops if that's also the case in the NBA? You can find great corner 3 shooters everywhere and it limits the actions that we are going to be able to run for him signicantly.
Okay as a mid range shooter coming off-screens and when he doesn't have to put the ball on the floor, but as trouble shooting from mid range when he has to put the ball on the floor.
I also want aa player like him to be able to run the PnR efficnetly as a shooter. While he was good as a PnR Ball Handler in College, he was mostly efficient as a passer and as as a penetrator. Struggled when he had to take a dribble jumer. Again, if he isn't able to become efficient at that then his value drops for me. Signicantly.
I put a lot of emphasize on Nova's system, which to me he benefitted a ton from.
Do you even think he was the best player on his own team? FYI, every player in Nova's rotation had EXCELLENT offensive efficiency. He played on a team with absolutely crazy spacing, 3pt ability that ran an BNA system. A system that every player excelled at. I compare it to GSW's system and we both know how good their role players look.
He is going to be close to 22 when the season starts right? Mikal is being talked as someone who is supposed to be an immediate impact player, but how is he different than a rookie Otto Porter(Which is still considered skinny evenghough he is overall much bigger and has a much better frame)? Porter as a rookie was absolutely terrible and it took him 3 years to become a slightly above average starter...what makes people think Mikal isn't going to need an adjustment period with his weight issues and his inability to create? and what if he is never able to put on enough weight in order to deal with strong SF,PFs and Cs as his build doesn't instill much confidence in me in that regard.
By far my biggest concern is his build and it's not even close. All the rest of the issues that I have are not of signifcant important is his shot translates. You just don't see tons of successful players with his build...the only one that comes close is Durant, but he is 7'0 and is ridiculously good off the dribble.
If Mikal was 20 then I wouldn't have nearly the same concerns. But he is not, he is 22. It's not the same case as Giannis coming into the league for example...
NBA is just much more about girth than it is about length nowadays. As the opposing team will get the matchup that they want.
I'm not saying that Miles should be the Cavaliers pick. What i'm saying that I got a handlful of prospects that I'd rather roll the dice on. His chance to bust is much much higher than his chance to become a starter or a star...heck even a good role player.
I just don't want the Cavs this selection to be an extension of the Celtics trade where we are being goofed by the system. Jay Wright to me is Brad Stevens, and he makes his players better. I think you need to take this into consideration and vice versa...players that are obviously talented, but suffer from efficiency issues because of the lack of system.
Are you content with him being the return for Kyrie over other players in this deep draft? what makes Mikal better than some talented in the mid 1st round?
I very much be wrong, but it's the NBA, so you never know. Regardless if he pans out or not, I still have players that I'd much ather roll the dice on.
@Cavatt