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2020 NBA Draft

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Ehh, yeah Lavar is of course an annoyance, but I always feel like he will be more tied to Lonzo than LaMelo.

Regardless, LaMelo actually seems like a high IQ player. His game does not look like someone with maturity issues. I don't think Lavar will have too big of an effect on his draft stock if his talent places him in the top 5. I mean, Lonzo went #2 and Lavar was a known quantity then. He went 3 slots ahead of Fox who dominated him head to head in the tournament and who I thought was a clear better prospect. But I think LaMelo's ceiling is significantly higher than Lonzo's from the little I have seen thus far.

Oh definitely, and I don't mean to imply that LaMelo has any of those issues, but I do think that that narrative could take hold faster and more persistently than with most other prospects, simply because of how the whole thing went down during Lonzo's rookie year, the stay in Finland, etc. Even if it's nothing to be actually concerned about I think all those factors could lead to it being blown out of proportion and having more staying power than is actually warranted.
 
A couple things to keep in mind about Australian League:

-Teams typically play at a very fast pace, roughly 15% faster than NCAA and European international ball. The final score in Ball's debut last week was 122-119...that's in a 40 minute game!

-The level of competition is roughly equivalent to major conference NCAA competition. This makes comparison to NCAA prospects pretty straightforward: teenagers who take All-League honors in Australia probably have a case to be top-5 picks, much like teenage All-Americans typically have a case to be top-5 picks. That's the bar Ball has to clear to live up to expectations (and he could pull it off).

-It's worth mentioning that the level of competition is *not* similar to Euroleague. As a result, we can't directly compare him to other top internationals like Maledon and Avdija.
 
Terrence Ferguson averaged 4ppg on 37% shooting in the NBL and went pick 21 in the draft
 
Terrence Ferguson averaged 4ppg on 37% shooting in the NBL and went pick 21 in the draft

Well yeah, that's my point. They should've known he would suck based on how he struggled in the NBL. A first round caliber talent should be at least a league-average player in the NBL.
 
Well yeah, that's my point. They should've known he would suck based on how he struggled in the NBL. A first round caliber talent should be at least a league-average player in the NBL.
Think his draft spot was pretty accurate actually, there were a few players taken after him that are better and few players taken before him that are worse
 
Think his draft spot was pretty accurate actually, there were a few players taken after him that are better and few players taken before him that are worse

Allen, Anunoby, Kuzma, White, and Hart all taken in the 22-30 range...any of them would be an enormous upgrade. I think the Thunder probably put too much stock in Ferguson's high school credentials and didn't take a close enough look at the weaknesses he showed in Australia. I'll give him one more year, but he needs to figure out an identity soon to stick in this league. Just doesn't have any real strengths at the NBA level.
 
Allen, Anunoby, Kuzma, White, and Hart all taken in the 22-30 range...any of them would be an enormous upgrade. I think the Thunder probably put too much stock in Ferguson's high school credentials and didn't take a close enough look at the weaknesses he showed in Australia. I'll give him one more year, but he needs to figure out an identity soon to stick in this league. Just doesn't have any real strengths at the NBA level.
He is in the range of 21-25th best player in that draft, maybe a little reach but still first round

I rate Hart around the same standard
 
He is in the range of 21-25th best player in that draft, maybe a little reach but still first round

I rate Hart around the same standard

I suppose that's true, but then it comes down to the fact that the 21st-25th best players in a typical draft are fringe rotation guys, typically. I think they would've had a better shot in the playoffs last year with Hart.

Still, Ferguson's a good point of reference for analyzing Ball and Hampton. They're clearly far, far ahead of where he was at the same age.
 
Hampton has looked really good in the pre-season. Through (4) pre-season games: 17 PPG, 4.8 REB, 4 AST, 2.3 STL and 1.5 BLK.

He's kind of just flashed a little of everything. Really fluid with the ball in his hands, potential as a creator, potential as a defender....he is such an interesting player with his mix of size, versatility, skill....will be fun to see if he and LaMelo guard each other when their teams square off.
 
All these awesome, versatile guards in the 2020 class makes the decision to draft Garland all the more baffling.
 
17-year-old Usman Garuba made his debut for Real Madrid yesterday, tallying 5 points, 2 boards, and a block in 13 minutes off the bench. He's not quite as precocious as Doncic, but he'll enjoy two full seasons of elite pro basketball before the 2021 draft, which should give him the inside lane to a top-5 pick.
 
It's amazing how one ESPN article quoting one NBA scout changes so many peoples' opinions on LaMelo in an instant lol.
 
I think there is reason to be at least a bit worried about both our guards for the future being potential liabilities defensively, but I mean, it is what it is. June is a ways off into the future and there's a lot of basketball to be played on our way there. If Sexton takes a leap in the right direction it might not be an issue regardless.
 
17-year-old Usman Garuba made his debut for Real Madrid yesterday, tallying 5 points, 2 boards, and a block in 13 minutes off the bench. He's not quite as precocious as Doncic, but he'll enjoy two full seasons of elite pro basketball before the 2021 draft, which should give him the inside lane to a top-5 pick.

He's growing up fast...in his second game, he broke Doncic's record for youngest ever Real Madrid starter, and youngest to record a double-double in the ACB League.

 

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