***The Official 2018-19 NBA Thread***

"Boik14 wrote:

Herro is a dead eye shooter. Think Klay. 3 and D with upside to be really good. 1 of the real upside players this draft.

I hope you're right, but you're in the minority on the upside part. Maybe the fact that he's white plays into that, though.

"sports24/7 wrote:

I hope you're right, but you're in the minority on the upside part. Maybe the fact that he's white plays into that, though.

Half these "analysts" just go by stats instead of traits. Another reason i pay limited attention to them. Id give more credence to something you or CK said over many analysts.

"BevoPhin wrote:

At least bam was/is an athletic freak of nature.

Sure, but Herro also has an elite skill-set as a shooter, so I think you're at the same place, really.

I wonder if they were thrown off with PJ Washington going to the Hornets. Here's hoping they somehow get Kevin Porter in round 2, although I doubt he does, and the word is they like Carsen Edwards and Ky Bowman.

"Boik14 wrote:

Half these "analysts" just go by stats instead of traits. Another reason i pay limited attention to them. Id give more credence to something you or CK said over many analysts.

Admittedly, I haven't watched much of him, because I didn't think he was a real option, and didn't love the reported skill-set. I do think the white bias thing is real, though, so hopefully that's at play here. It's similar to the age thing when it comes to these prospects and perceived upside.

"phinswolverinesrockets wrote:

I like what ATL is doing over there. I see the blueprint. They are going to be a problem in the east in 2-3 years.

A lot of people are down on Reddish, i like the pick there too.

Minnesota...i dont know what theyre thinking?

Just found out that the Atlanta Hawks GM was the Warriors' Assistant GM before he was hired 2 years ago.

That explains everything I am thinking, lol. No wonder they have killed 2 straight drafts. Im telling you, they are coming along nicely.

"Boik14 wrote:

A lot of people are down on Reddish, i like the pick there too.

Minnesota...i dont know what theyre thinking?

I like everything they have done for the past 2 drafts. I think that Hawks GM is putting in work. I usually don't speak on other teams, but I have to give props when I think it's needed.

Minnesota hired the former Morey protege. He has his work cut out for him.

As you guys know, I wasn't the biggest Brandon Clarke fan, but the fact that he's still here at the 20th pick in the draft is really surprising. Same for Nassir Little.

Damn you Spurs. I wanted Samanic for the Nets

"sports24/7 wrote:

As you guys know, I wasn't the biggest Brandon Clarke fan, but the fact that he's still here at the 20th pick in the draft is really surprising. Same for Nassir Little.

Clarke may have great athleticism but didnt test well supposedly

"phinswolverinesrockets wrote:

Just found out that the Atlanta Hawks GM was the Warriors' Assistant GM before he was hired 2 years ago.

That explains everything I am thinking, lol. No wonder they have killed 2 straight drafts. Im telling you, they are coming along nicely.

They got a lot of former Warriors personel in atlanta actually.. even the medical staff most notable Chelsea Lane, who got a lot of credit from the Warriors players, moved to Atlanta. There was chatter 2 weeks ago that if Chelsea was still around, KD would not have been cleared to play.

"Vertical Limit wrote:

They got a lot of former Warriors personel in atlanta actually.. even the medical staff most notable Chelsea Lane, who got a lot of credit from the Warriors players, moved to Atlanta. There was chatter 2 weeks ago that if Chelsea was still around, KD would not have been cleared to play.

KD getting hurt not only cost the Warriors a good chance at another title, it also cost the Knicks a legit shot at an ECF next season.

So I hope the new team doctor in Oakland gets genital warts.

Can't believe the jazz took bazely. Fuck you utah!!!!!!!

At this point I don't know who to take. I think porter and bol bol would be my two choices

Cool. Traded our pick to the paper clips. Think the guys we wanted were off the board

"adamprez2003 wrote:

Cool. Traded our pick to the paper clips. Think the guys we wanted were off the board

I think you didn’t want guaranteed salary. You got phillys first next year that LAC owned.

Miami traded 3 future 2’s for KZ Okpala

Such a weird draft for the Heat. They take a guy most think is a reach, and a safe player in Herro. I get bummed. The Heat trade for KZ Okpala who is in the mold of what I wanted at 13, and I get excited, even thought I might have preferred Bol Bol. Then they take Bol Bol at 44, and I'm getting really excited. Then they trade Bol to the Nuggets, and I'm sad.

David Griffin is a magician. Goodnight.

I don’t get the Bol Bol trade at all. Pat Riley seems discombobulated in his press conference.

"Serpico Jones wrote:

I don’t get the Bol Bol trade at all. Pat Riley seems discombobulated in his press conference.

They weren't going to commit to three rookies on the roster at this point. It's weird the way they went about the second rounders trading for one yesterday, trading other picks to get Okpala, then trading the pick they traded for yesterday, but they currently just don't have the room. Personally, I would have liked to see them make it work for all 3, but with the uncertainty over the roster right now, I understand why they didn't keep both seconds.

Tyler Herro was a 1st round pick genuinely, so at least there's that.

He's a dead-eye shooter, as Boik14 says. He was #8 in the draft in 2-point field goal percentage away from the rim (47%).

He's a 94% free throw shooter, which is incredible in its own right. That was second-best in the NCAA. Riley talked about how he made his last 25-consecutive shots during the workout. Something that was really striking to me about the championship and the playoffs was watching how Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard seem to never miss their free throws.

His 3-point percentage was surprisingly low for what he is, only 36%, but only 49 of his 60 makes were assisted, which is a lot lower percentage than Devin Booker when he came out hitting 58 of 141 from behind the arc, but with 57 of those being assisted.

And for all that, I find it interesting when I watch him finish shots at the basket. He's pretty good there, 66% is above-average for guards in the draft. It's higher than Ja Morant.

Devin Booker, incidentally, was also a dead-eye shooter, and yet his free throw percentage was decidedly lower (83%) and his percentage at mid-range was also decidedly lower (39%). He did, have a higher 3-point percentage (41%) but as I said he had the benefit of only making one of those unassisted. On the other hand, one area where Devin Booker clearly excelled a bit more than Herro is at the rim, where he finished 73% of his shots, which would've been best among guards in this year's draft class.

Tyler Herro has a genuine fighter's personality. Pat Riley wasn't just whistling dixie when he talked about his personality and work ethic. There's a nice video out there of him in high school having a 45 point game during/after the opposing fans started chanting, "over-rated" at him.

The first thing I did is go back and re-watch the Kentucky-Mega Bemax video from I think it was August of 2018 and the thing that popped out at me is Tyler Herro was not a starter. When Pat Riley said that John Calipari found that he couldn't keep him off the floor, that was a genuine comment reflecting how Tyler Herro had gone from NOT a starter, probably because of his age and recruiting status, to all finishing the season with the most minutes on the team. That's something. Pretty interesting.

I think he's a SG in the NBA. He handles the ball pretty well to my eyes. He's fast. He's very, very active. I've been turned off by the way he shoots in the past but perhaps that's even a source of upside as the coaching staff can make him even better.

But I'm not sure I'm in love with the philosophy behind taking him, as described by Pat Riley in his press conference. It reminds me overall of Dave Wannstedt's philosophy behind taking Jamar Fletcher. Riley made it clear he's aiming low and attempting to fill a discrete role. I don't think that's going to cut it, when it comes to changing the fortunes of this team.

Here's a pretty good article on Herro: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2826435-you-can-hate-tyler-herro-all-you-want-but-its-hard-to-hate-his-game

It doesn't mean he's going to be a good player, but he sounds like the type of guy you want on your team.

At some point though you have to reconcile how this dead-eye shooter who is to be compared with Kyle Korver, J.J. Reddick, and Ray Allen (Pat Riley's comparisons)...ends up being only #26 in three point percentage, out of the 42 college draft picks with at least 50 attempts.

I mean...come on.

Yeah he's got a good free throw percentage and he's pretty good at mid-range jumpers, and apparently he knocks down shots in the workouts, but it's got to translate into games. The fact it didn't do so at the college level makes you wonder about when things get harder.

Unlike some prospects, this aspect of his game is and has always been a big part of who he is as a player. Not a whole lot of excuse for it being underwhelming.

"ckparrothead wrote:

Tyler Herro was a 1st round pick genuinely, so at least there's that.

He's a dead-eye shooter, as Boik14 says. He was #8 in the draft in 2-point field goal percentage away from the rim (47%).

He's a 94% free throw shooter, which is incredible in its own right. That was second-best in the NCAA. Riley talked about how he made his last 25-consecutive shots during the workout. Something that was really striking to me about the championship and the playoffs was watching how Steph Curry and Kawhi Leonard seem to never miss their free throws.

His 3-point percentage was surprisingly low for what he is, only 36%, but only 49 of his 60 makes were assisted, which is a lot lower percentage than Devin Booker when he came out hitting 58 of 141 from behind the arc, but with 57 of those being assisted.

And for all that, I find it interesting when I watch him finish shots at the basket. He's pretty good there, 66% is above-average for guards in the draft. It's higher than Ja Morant.

Devin Booker, incidentally, was also a dead-eye shooter, and yet his free throw percentage was decidedly lower (83%) and his percentage at mid-range was also decidedly lower (39%). He did, have a higher 3-point percentage (41%) but as I said he had the benefit of only making one of those unassisted. On the other hand, one area where Devin Booker clearly excelled a bit more than Herro is at the rim, where he finished 73% of his shots, which would've been best among guards in this year's draft class.

Tyler Herro has a genuine fighter's personality. Pat Riley wasn't just whistling dixie when he talked about his personality and work ethic. There's a nice video out there of him in high school having a 45 point game during/after the opposing fans started chanting, "over-rated" at him.

The first thing I did is go back and re-watch the Kentucky-Mega Bemax video from I think it was August of 2018 and the thing that popped out at me is Tyler Herro was not a starter. When Pat Riley said that John Calipari found that he couldn't keep him off the floor, that was a genuine comment reflecting how Tyler Herro had gone from NOT a starter, probably because of his age and recruiting status, to all finishing the season with the most minutes on the team. That's something. Pretty interesting.

I think he's a SG in the NBA. He handles the ball pretty well to my eyes. He's fast. He's very, very active. I've been turned off by the way he shoots in the past but perhaps that's even a source of upside as the coaching staff can make him even better.

But I'm not sure I'm in love with the philosophy behind taking him, as described by Pat Riley in his press conference. It reminds me overall of Dave Wannstedt's philosophy behind taking Jamar Fletcher. Riley made it clear he's aiming low and attempting to fill a discrete role. I don't think that's going to cut it, when it comes to changing the fortunes of this team.

I watched this last night and it made me dislike the pick less. He’s carrying a squad that looks like UTEP basketball pre Don Haskins and nailing some ridiculous shots while doubled and even tripled all game. James Harden would be impressed with his step back. In the videos I’ve watched, he’s hitting off balance 3s and making it look easy.

I also love his swag and cockiness. If he pans out he’s marketable as hell. I just hope he keeps his nose clean in Miami.