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LeMelo Ball Scouting: Discuss

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If you want playmaking and defense from a guys that is larger than a pg, you have to go with Haliburton

Yes, I wouldn't mind Haliburton. He's put up great stats at Iowa State against class A competition. It appears he can shoot lights out.

I just think Garland and Sexton are a really bad combination In the backcourt. Sexton is really an undersized SG who needs to play with a big PG. And Garland is a project.

Either Ball or Halliburton would be fine with me. There are a couple of other big PGs in this draft, Maledon and Hayes. But none of them can pass like LaMelo.
 
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To me, the improvement Sexton has shown makes him untouchable. He is the exact kind of player you need as a rebuilding franchise.

Sure, you'd be willing to move him if you're talking about acquiring a superstar talent like Doncic or Williamson, but nobody is going to trade you someone like that anyway. So among the universe of acquisitions it is possible to make...you just don't trade Sexton.

I agree Sexton is a special player.

I also agree Doncic and Williamson are untouchable.

Doncic is putting up historic numbers. Doncic is Larry Bird, if Larry Bird were a PG. Doncic is putting up Oscar Robertson numbers in the modern era. He is Magic Johnson with a phenomenal jump shot. He is James Harden with a much higher BB IQ. I hope he doesn't get hurt.
 
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I'd rate Hayes solidly higher than Ball. He put up slightly better numbers than Ball in what is considered a better league.

If you want a guard, I'd rank them Hayes/Haliburton/Ball
 
I reckon Ball will be a massive flight risk if we draft him, can’t see him spending his whole career with cavs but I would prefer him to the other 2.
 
I had to turn that off 5 minutes in because that was some of the worst film breakdown I've ever seen.

I still think Ball is a very talented prospect, but that was difficult to watch. All we got there was Mike Schmitz asking leading questions and talking about how much guys are going to love playing with him.

I wish we could have seen an actual film breakdown with LaMelo because I have a feeling he's much more intelligent than this video is giving him credit.
 
I don't really want the guy. My concerns are kind of twofold:

1) On the low side, I worry that he's never going to be even a decent defensive player, nor a good shooter. Moving one or two other guys to make room for a poor shooting, poor defending PG doesn't excite me at all.

2) On the high side, he's a social medial/Hollywood kind of guy -- 5.3 million Instagram followers already before he's played a second in the NBA, and with zero college experience. If he blows up as a player, I worry that he's going to be angling to get out of Cleveland as soon as he can. While that may not happen, I do think it is a higher possibility than I'd like. I'd almost prefer Lonzo.

Just rather see us go in another direction.
 
In fairness, that can be an “and” instead of an “or.” Draft the BPA, develop all the guys we have, and don’t let traditional views of positions in the NBA cause you to make a potentially huge mistake in the draft.
right they "should be" in the business of doing that aka asset acquisition based on numerous factors by not passing on bpa for fit. However I think he is NOT the best player nor will he become the best player but if the cavs are at 1 or 2 will get a lot of calls to trade down which might be reasonable if it is only a couple spots because he is a terrible effort defender even if he is the best or close to the best of the lottery guards as a ball handler and floor general with excellent head height for a pg and put up big numbers in a bad league etc etc.
I would not draft another on ball guard even if they were the best player on the board unless the likes of Toppin,Wiseman and Okongwu were already taken. because none of the on ball guards are that impressive to justify creating a log jam with current players at those spots. I would consider Edwards or Okoro who can initiate or play off ball and the sf spot as well as bpa's worth taking for defense because they are more versatile
 
get the best player, trade Garland or Sexton if it makes sense. LeMelo looks like he could be the BPA 1-3. If you think he is you have to take him.

I like his quick-ish release, his passing is obvious, like that he rebounds well. I wonder if he could bulk up enough to play a hybrid 3 (PG/SF) because then he'd almost be ideal playing with Sexton.
the only sell on Melo is the size handle and basketball IQ. He projects as a empty stats guy to me and not a legit top 5 pick
 
You're thinking of Lonzo. LeMelo is a much, much better shooter than Lonzo.
not really, I mean the results look better on paper so maybe, but the form is just as ugly and unlikely to transfer
 
He's not thinking of Lonzo. Small sample size, but LaMelo shot just 25% from deep on nearly 7 attempts per game in Australia this year.

I keep seeing him described as a good shooter, but he's been streaky at best from Chino to Lithuania to AAU to SPIRE to the ABL.

Also, not directed at you, but he may have the size to defend the wing, but he's never shown himself to be much more than a lackadaisical turnstile defender.

I'd add that as ugly as Lonzo's shot is, he improved to 38.3% from three this season on 6.5 attempts/game. And he's improved that shot every year.

I rather like Lonzo. He seems like a really humble, hardworking guy, and I like how he has worked on his game. Very good defender, good passer, accurate (thought not fast/high release) shooter from outside.
 

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