Last few hours I've been watching a lot of tape on Tari Eason as a Cavs fit, specifically: he was primarily a college 4, can he be an NBA 3, and not just a Lauri 3/4? I think absolutely yes.
Can he dribble and create offense from the perimeter? Check out the video below. There's a lot of cases of him getting the ball outside the arc and chaining together a bunch of moves to get downhill. Between the legs dribbles, crossovers, spin moves, hesis. I think absolutely he can.
He's also an amazing foul drawer and can really draw contact on his drives.
Can he defend the perimeter? I think absolutely, with the caveat that he's extremely foul prone and that will need to change. He's a bit of a wild man where he's constantly hustling and trying to do everything, which leads to a ton of reach in fouls. Was this why he was their 6th man even as the unquestioned best player, to limit his minutes? But he's extremely athletic and I think he's got the foot quickness to defend 3s and even switch onto guards.
He's also probably one of the strongest guys in this class, and I think he can defend bigs on switches for a possession here and there.
Can he shoot well from 3? Not quite sure about this one. It's a bit of a funky catapult motion from his right shoulder, although the results have been very good. It's not particularly slow so I think he'll be fine as a catch and shoot guy, but shooting off the dribble is a big question mark I think.
I think he has the complete package, just raw for now. But give him a professional system where he can be taught to reign in the wild and focus on his strengths, and a proNBA shooting coach to fix his little things - and if those two things can improve, I mean what a tremendous ceiling.
Coz he has all the rest. Size? Check. Defense? Check, both with on ball and true up and down switchability, and off ball as he's described by everyone as his teams vocal anchor. Handle and creation? Needs to improve, but you don't find this kind of creation from the usual 6'8 wings at all. Slashing ability and finishing? Yep. Shooting? Well yeah, concerns, but he's not an Okoro level of a project at all, he makes shots and even hits some off the dribble. High FT% too. Playmaking? I'm not sure it's his biggest strength, but at that point we would creep into LBJ level skillset.
I'm a sucker for well spoken intelligent guys btw, so always watch the interviews and this guys is definitely a good communicator. Seems intelligent and confident.
The favorite thing though about him that I saw is in this video:
Right from the beginning when he's describing Tari's bag of tools, he goes to explain how adaptive the guy is, and how he adjusts to what the defenders are trying to make him do. That's high IQ... That's a trait that's going to take him places as he develops.
Like how is this guy not being talked about higher? Is it the rawness and seemingly out of control style that scares people off? Coz those are the exact things you can correct with a strong development system. Everything else is there.
Plus, big plus! Our resident draft gurus already singled him out as the one to watch, with
@I'mWithDan driving the bandwagon, so he has the RCF darling of approval.
I'm no scout and know nothing, but I'm pretty comfortable betting Eason is going to end up as one of the best players from this draft. That tool bag with that intelligence... We know he has the motor too, and isn't a slacker. His ceiling is very high. But I'm pretty sure after workouts he's going to vault up draft boards ala Patrick Williams. How do you not live this kind of package in today's wing heavy game.
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