2021 NBA Draft Thread

[J-Mac 80]

26 minutes ago, Mike1989 said:

I guess he could provide a highlight reel with dunking and attacking the rim, but the rest of his game is unlikely to be fun to watch or develop to the extent that would see him become a star. 

Idk what you’re expectation is for an 18yr old who doesn’t turn 19 till October. Polished footwork, 40% 3 point threat like bro what? Obviously he needs work but look at what he did against grown men in the G league. He wasn’t playing college ball and plus he was under an nba system already under Brian Shaw. I would enjoy watching the kid

[Babir_9 93]

1 hour ago, CTMagicUK said:

I don't think Kuminga has good awareness or feel for the game personally. I think he's a very mixed bag in terms of feel on both sides of the ball.

He's a pretty good athlete but he's not some kind of athletic phenomenon, he can dribble a bit but he's not primary ball handler good. He can pass but his vision isn't great. His jumper looks ok but he shot 25% from 3 and 63% from the FT line. 

I think the margin for error for him to be the prospect we hope he is is so slim. So much would have to go right for him to reach those high end outcomes people attach to him. He might be more Stanley Johnson than Jaylen Brown.

Yes, of course he is not absolutely great at what I have described but there are good glimpses…I am sure he will be much better than Stanley Johnson. 

[Babir_9 93]

7 minutes ago, J-Mac said:

Idk what you’re expectation is for an 18yr old who doesn’t turn 19 till October. Polished footwork, 40% 3 point threat like bro what? Obviously he needs work but look at what he did against grown men in the G league. He wasn’t playing college ball and plus he was under an nba system already under Brian Shaw. I would enjoy watching the kid

I agree, the foundation that he already has is great. If he is competitive and ready to work out then he is going to be great. He has great potential. 

[gobucsmagic 13]

33 minutes ago, og magic fan said:

So what.  Just because Isaac and Gordon didn't that doesn't automatically mean Kuminga won't.  Who else are you drafting at 5 that as you say can shoot and score?

Exactly. You can’t abandon taking BPA just because other players didn’t develop the way you hoped. Having said that bring in a frickin’ shooting coach already

[CTMagicUK 1,480]

https://www.patreon.com/posts/k-u-m-i-n-g-52585312?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=postshare

This is now an essential read for all Magic fans. 

Goes deep on Kuminga as a prospect, his strengths his weaknesses and his development path, here's the conclusion:

"The challenge in my evaluation is trying to explain why the on-ball equity isn’t feasible without inferring that it doesn't make him a bad prospect. A concern is that every degree of misunderstanding from the idea of the player to a front office’s experience of said player is a degree less of institutional investment - a degree a bad coach doesn’t “get” it, a degree harder it is to craft a optimal developmental environment, a suitable roster, a more perfect usage profile. There is a knock on effect of misaligned perceptions that has hurt many good prospects historically and god knows how many forwards this applies to, causing 2nd draft steals, 3rd draft steals. Hello Uncle Jeff. I really hope that Kuminga goes to an environment that can slow-play his development and play him next to a spacing 5, can PNP him into space, that will allow him to guard big and big wings and rep out his feel in a contained way.  The problem with his stock is those conditions are just not guaranteed. If/When that happens, there will be meaningful development on the way.'

Or if you prefer here's a 90 minute video by the same dude that'll touch upon similar things:

 

[Babir_9 93]

58 minutes ago, Mike1989 said:

Isaac and Gordon both showed a fair stroke in college, yet neither player has developed into consistent shooters and are unlikely to become prolific outside shooters.

Sometimes players can develop their shooting, and shot selection can improve with age and experience, but there are more examples of players that don’t. 

The way this team has been built in recent years I’d like to see us try to draft players that can shoot and score, rather than pin our hopes on fixing and improving their shooting. 

Kuminga is already more polished than Gordon and Isaac in college. And his jumper looks better as well.

[CTMagicUK 1,480]

30 minutes ago, J-Mac said:

Idk what you’re expectation is for an 18yr old who doesn’t turn 19 till October. Polished footwork, 40% 3 point threat like bro what? Obviously he needs work but look at what he did against grown men in the G league. He wasn’t playing college ball and plus he was under an nba system already under Brian Shaw. I would enjoy watching the kid

Confused by the idea that 18 year olds can't have polished footwork or be great shooters. 

Jalen Green is like 8 months older and shot almost 37% from 3 in the same league. 

Alperen Sengun has some insanely good post footwork and he played in the Turkish league this season at 18 years old. 

Roko Prkacin shot 39% from 3 in the Adriatic league this season at 18 years old. (EDIT: to be clear Roko is not a super great shooting prospect but he has better indicators than Kuminga at a similar age)

That's just 3 guys in this draft off the top of my head. 

 

[CTMagicUK 1,480]

1 minute ago, Babir_9 said:

Kuminga is already more polished than Gordon and Isaac in college. And his jumper looks better as well.

Isaac in college shot 35% and 78% from the FT line. Much better than Kuminga's 25% and 63%. He was also a considerably better defensive prospect than Kuminga is. 

[Babir_9 93]

4 minutes ago, CTMagicUK said:

Isaac in college shot 35% and 78% from the FT line. Much better than Kuminga's 25% and 63%. He was also a considerably better defensive prospect than Kuminga is. 

Isaac looked awkward in college. He already was dealing with the knee issues. Every time JI drives to the basket or goes for a rebound I have a fear that he gets injured. I am not checking percentages, Kuminga’s jumper, release looks good and better than Isaac’s. He has good potential.

[Magicman28 295]

5 minutes ago, Babir_9 said:

Isaac looked awkward in college. He already was dealing with the knee issues. Every time JI drives to the basket or goes for a rebound I have a fear that he gets injured. I am not checking percentages, Kuminga’s jumper, release looks good and better than Isaac’s. He has good potential.

You really should look at the percentages because that tells quite a bit.

 

 

[Albert Lergier 99]

9 hours ago, Babir_9 said:

I can’t tell you the lottery results because it is a lottery but I can tell you for sure again that Chuma won’t be an all star in this league…hopefully he gets a healthy career and becomes a good role player for us.

I didn't said here (wasn't posting then) but the night we drafted Chuma I said....."Chuma will be the next Magic to be an All-Star".

Not too many players have such a complete game like he has at 22. The way he plays for this team right now is border line All-Star caliber. He will get there and help the Magic be one of the Eastern Conference contenders. Stay positive everybody.

[CTMagicUK 1,480]

Sometimes percentages can lie. Like for example I believe Ziaire Williams is going to be a good 3 point shooter in the league despite his percentages this year based on his form, his shooting volume and versatility and the fact that he was dealing with injuries for quite a while at Stanford which could have affected his numbers. 

I've seen nothing from Kuminga that suggests he's a better shooter than the numbers look.