The Process God
Birthing All-Stars
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The pessimism on this board is overwhelming at times. Many think that it's "impossible" to get Anthony Davis, and, while I agree that it's unlikely, there's still a decent--not great, but decent chance at getting the guy. Regardless of what our chances are, I don't want this thread to turn into a thread about how likely or unlikely it is that we have a chance at him, so please don't contribute to such discussion. My goal is to discuss Anthony Davis as a prospect in general and how he would fit on the Cavs' roster. With that said . . .
I think that Anthony Davis is one of the most interesting prospects of the past decade. When has a player seen such a late growth spurt and shown talents that equate to both a guard and a big man all at the same time after the growth spurt? The guy has immense potential in that he shows great flashes of what he could become on a regular basis. He is already a defensive monster. He's got Dwight Howard defensive potential if not better especially if he puts on some weight. He has unbelievable timing for blocking shots and a very quick jump that sends his head above the rim. I wouldn't be surprised if his standing reach is somewhere in the 9'2-9'5" range. For comparison, TT's is about 9'0.5" if memory serves me right. With is size, athleticism, natural instincts, mobility, timing, and absolutely relentless dedication to the defensive end of the floor, he screams defensive player of the year. I fully expect him to achieve that sometime in his career.
Davis' offense has the potential to be just about anything. With his physical traits and skill set, he could potentially be adept at anything from being a shooter out to the 3-pt line to a face-up player who can drive by opponents or create his own shot to being a back to the basket player to a great player off the ball with pick'n'rolls or pick'n'pops to being the ultimate garbage scorer to being a run'n'gun big man. You name it, and it is not crazy to say that he can do it and potentially do it very well. His offensive skills right now are average at best except at maybe run'n'gun and being a garbage man, but his potential there is extremely high. With his natural skills, I have no doubt that he'll, at worst, be an above average offensive player, and, at best, one of the best scorers in the NBA. It should be noted that he is only 18 years old. Despite having the highest PER in the NCAA, he is still extremely raw. He also could hit yet another growth spurt, putting him over 7 feet tall. If that happens, game over. Crazy to think about.
His assists numbers may not show it, but, having been a guard previously and from the passes I've seen, I believe he could be a pretty good passing big man as well. He isn't exactly the focal point of that Kentucky team, so I don't blame his assist numbers being that low. With his basketball IQ, I expect his passing ability to blossom in the NBA with time.
A major weakness right now seems to be his lack of bulk. However, with is frame, I have no doubt that he can reach any weight goal thrown at him by his basketball coaches and/or strength and conditioning coaches, whether that be 235 or 265. Regardless, he's going to need to gain some weight in order to be a better offensive and defensive player in the post. His offense is another weakness of his, but his relative weakness in this area is more due to inexperience as a big man and to his body than anything. He's going to be going through much change over the next couple of years between gaining weight, converting to the NBA and still getting used to a new position. It is also to be determined whether he will be a PF, C, or both. He has the frame to put on enough weight to become a C, but, with his excellent mobility, it may serve him better to stay a little lighter and be a PF. It could all depend on whether he could stay as mobile as he is now while having enough weight to hold his own at center. Some guys actually gain athleticism when they get bigger and stronger. Regardless of where he ends up, he'll likely be extremely dominant at his position.
For the Cavs, it would be preferable if Davis could be successful at the center position since we already have TT, whose natural position is at the PF position. At defensive combination of TT and Davis would be a scary duo. However, if Davis would be better at the PF position, perhaps putting him there and having TT come off the bench as a PF/C would be better. Again, it all comes down to how Davis matures physically and, more importantly, if we get him at all.
Regardless of where Davis would play on the Cavs' roster should the Cavs land him, he and Kyrie could be one of the best duos of all time like Kobe and Shaq. Stockton and Malone. Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. I expect a lot of people to highly doubt that Kyrie and Davis could be as good as those duos. I acknowledge peoples' doubts, but, with the knowledge that we have of these two players especially Kyrie, it's a reachable feat to at least be compared in the end to these greats. That's a lot of "ifs" in order for those two to be considered as good as some of the best basketball players of all time, but Kyrie has already dispelled a lot of those "ifs" and is looking to be a future superstar in the making and possibly even an MVP and all-time great if he keeps on improving at the rate he has been. Davis also definitely has the freak-among-freak physical tools along with the phenomenal potential in skills and the same drive to succeed as the all-time greats had. in order to potentially be as successful as they were.
Before this season, people were saying that Kyrie's absolute ceiling was unlikely a super-star, but more likely an all-star, and his floor a very good starter or even Mike Conley. As of right now, with as best of a sober judgment as I can use, his floor is looking more like superstar while his ceiling is looking like an all-time great. If he improves his PER above 22.1, which I believe he will by the end of the season, he will have the highest PER of any rookie PG in history, and he will have done it at a younger age and with less basketball experience than pretty much all of the players that would be ranked right below him in rookie PER for a PG such as Chris Paul or Magic Johnson. Not to mention that he has just come off an almost season-long injury where he was asked to not get back into shape before the season after he healed, therefore leading to Kyrie struggling with conditioning the whole season. I can't imagine what he's going to be like next year after he improves his conditioning, puts on a few pounds, and improves his skills further especially his defense. That's another thing. Kyrie's been doing all of this with a girl's physique. He really looks like the PG version of Z-Bo right now. Anyhow. :chuckles:
I suspect nothing less than Kyrie being an all-star and maybe even being included in the MVP talks as early as next season due to his heroic style of play and sheer badassery. He leads the NBA in 4th-quarter scoring since late January, and he is doing it at a much higher shooting efficiency than anyone close to him. Did I mention he's a rookie?
Davis also has superstar written all over him between his overall potential and what he has already shown to be capable of. If he is truly the second coming of Kevin Garnett or at least reaches a talent level equal to what prime-level Garnett was, then he and Kyrie will absolutely dominate.
If we win the lottery and can take Davis, wow. Just wow. Barring any injuries, I expect this team to win a championship in that case. If we don't win the lottery, I'd tell Grant to play the name-your-price game with the team that does win unless they somehow don't choose Davis and we are in a position to do so. We have plenty of very enticing assets to do so, too. Davis is the epitome of the kind of player Chris Grant would want on this team, so I expect him to try to get Davis if we are in position to do so.
Wucking get it done, Grant/Scott/Jamison/Parker/Casspi/Nick Gilbert/Stern/Lady Luck/Jesus!
P.S. I have a feeling that we don't walk out of this draft without either Anthony Davis or MKG. I think that these two are, by far, Grant's two top choices, and he will get one of these guys one way or another.