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

I think John Calipari basically convinced the Heat that this is Devin Booker 2.0.

Remember back at Kentucky in 2014-15, Booker was overlooked because of the presence of Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, plus they had Aaron Harrison hogging all the shots, and Andrew Harrison right up there in attempts with Booker.

The Suns grabbed Devin Booker and ran the offense through him a bit and suddenly he was a star.

Calipari has explained in the past about his system and how he recognizes it held back Karl-Anthony Towns a little bit, didn't allow him to show everyone what a good shooter he was. The Heat and Calipari both cited that when they talked about taking Bam Adebayo and how he might be more of a shooter than he's shown.

One other thing that's clearly happened with guys like Devin Booker and now Tyler Herro, is that where in High School they probably handled the ball a whole lot, and the offense essentially ran through them, they were both asked to fit into a system at Kentucky without the ball in their hands. It's an adjustment. Herro has mentioned it.

So I think that's what has been sold to Miami by Calipari, the same story he sold them before, that his system is his system and the players have to fit into it and sometimes that doesn't let them show their full capabilities, which was true of Devin Booker and is now true of Tyler Herro. I think when Herro blew them away with his shooting workout, maybe that induced them to fully buy into what Calipari was saying.

We will see how he translates to the NBA. One thing to note he finishes well at the rim... and he doesnt need much space to get a shot off well.

Chris Silva might be a hell of a find if he can stick with the Heat through Summer Leagues, which I think he will.

1) Coached by Frank Martin at South Carolina, who coached Udonis Haslem and Rodney McGruder. Martin was downright SALTY about Silva's lack of draft status, if you read Barry Jackson's latest. "He's such a beautiful kid," is something he says a lot about Silva.

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2) Look at his analytics at South Carolina, and his accolades, and Martin is right! He is two-time All-SEC. He was SEC Co-DPOY in 2018. He's had a PER in the 20's for three years in a row. His ORtg during his time at SC has been creeping up from 106 to 117, and his DRtg has been as low as 88 or 89! And like I said, Co-DPOY this year. High Usage as well, in the 26-28 range. And get this, he's 48% career on three pointers, 28 of 59. Also a consistent (three years in a row) 75% free throw shooter. Gets to the charity stripe A LOT, averaging 10.6 free throws per 36 minutes. Oh and he also averaged 2.6 blocks per 36 minutes, and 10.3 rebounds, to go along with his 20.4 points. He averaged 4.0 offensive rebounds per 36 minutes the last two years.

3) Let's add some good Combine data to this, just because. He didn't get invited to THE Combine, but he did participate in a Chicago Combine. The Shuttle is a misprint (probably 3.4 seconds), but otherwise these are measurements. His speed and agility are not so great (but not terrible either). His wing span is not good for being 6'10" height, and it drags down his standing reach relative to other players his height range. But his hands are huge and his jumping ability is superb. He shot 48% from three during the Combine drills, which is interesting because that's what he shot in his college career, lol. He scored 22 points and had 10 rebounds during the 3-on-3 scrimmage.

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4) Finally there's just watching him play ball, and I think it's pretty good. Strong as an oak under the basket, and physical as hell. He looks like Udonis Haslem, to be honest.

Watching Herro’s highlights and am I crazy to think that he’s kinda like a smaller Gordon Hayward? Probably because he’s also white?

I think NO shouldve stayed put and taken Darius Garland.

Apparently Morey was obsessed with Brandon Clarke, and had a deal in place with Boston to get him with the 22nd overall pick, but Memphis traded up and stole Clarke at 21.

CK....you were on to something.

"phinswolverinesrockets wrote:

Apparently Morey was obsessed with Brandon Clarke, and had a deal in place with Boston to get him with the 22nd overall pick, but Memphis traded up and stole Clarke at 21.

CK....you were on to something.

I’ve been following his nfl draft insight as well as this other dude at FH for years. I’m pretty sure if they were scouts for the dolphins, we would suck less.

"BevoPhin wrote:

I’ve been following his nfl draft insight as well as this other dude at FH for years. I’m pretty sure if they were scouts for the dolphins, we would suck less.

I don't doubt it.

According to Greg Cote, Pat Riley told him they had Herro and Okpala 9th and 10th on their board, and that they'd have taken Okpala at 13 if Herro was off the board. Riley could have been full of shit on this, but there were rumors that teams had him higher than people thought. Who knows if that was just Miami, or if other teams had him much higher than he went, but had other guys even higher than that. Opinions were all over the board on these guys this year.

"sports24/7 wrote:

According to Greg Cote, Pat Riley told him they had Herro and Okpala 9th and 10th on their board, and that they'd have taken Okpala at 13 if Herro was off the board. Riley could have been full of **** on this, but there were rumors that teams had him higher than people thought. Who knows if that was just Miami, or if other teams had him much higher than he went, but had other guys even higher than that. Opinions were all over the board on these guys this year.

Other years I’d call BS but between 10 and 35 this year there was a lot of differing opinions to the point where it’s very feasible. I know you liked Bol Bol and while Bol showed well in the 9 games, the flip side is it only took him 9 games to get hurt. KZ is a gritty player with potential for growth and I think that’s the correct gamble in a draft like this.

"Boik14 wrote:

Other years I’d call BS but between 10 and 35 this year there was a lot of differing opinions to the point where it’s very feasible. I know you liked Bol Bol and while Bol showed well in the 9 games, the flip side is it only took him 9 games to get hurt. KZ is a gritty player with potential for growth and I think that’s the correct gamble in a draft like this.

I liked Bol because he has a rare skillset, and his upside is massive. The injury questions are legit, though, and I like Okpala. He's the type of player I wanted them to take at 13, so getting him in the 2nd takes a little of the sting of the Herro pick at 13 off (although I'm warming to it anyway). Who knows if they really had him rated 10th, but they must have really liked him because they gave up 3 future 2nds to get him, and weren't going to wait until 44.

I didn’t watch any Tyler Herro before the draft because I didn’t think he was on our radar. Here’s the deal from my unprofessional eyes...this young savage has me excited. He can catch and shoot. He can create his own shot. He can finish around the rim. He can drive and he is a sniper from 3 and from the baseline. In fact, he shoots from anywhere. He will talk shit on the court (that bumps him up in my book). I’m not seeing too much distribution in his film on YT, but fuck it, he wants the ball in his hands so give it to him.

He came to the draft with a bust down watch, gold chain and the loudest suit in the building. He wore Christian louboutin spiked loafers to his meeting with spo and riley. I think he’ll instantly have the most swag and cockiness on the heat team. Our players are going to love him.

Hes gotta get in Heat shape tho.. needs about 15 lbs of muscle in his sophmore season with the Heat.

Thankfully I was in the anti Bol Bol and anti KPJ crowd so I feel nothing about the Heat not going either direction. I just don’t see what other people see on them.

That said, this whole business about Herro and Okpala being 9 and 10 on the Heat’s board is such crap. They were targeting Herro. They knew they were taking him. He knew they were taking him. That’s why he wore that suit.

I see what Herro is trying to be but I don’t know if he gets there. He may just be too physically limited in the end. And there’s something to be said for the criticism that you took a supposedly dead eye shooter that ranked in the lower half of this draft, below 2nd round picks, in three point percentage. And it wasn’t that he took too many shots. I think 13 college players drafted took more threes than him and 9 of them beat him on percentage. He can shoot...in PRACTICE. Show me that in games because it’s different.

As for KZ Okpala I like guys with his length but there’s so much missing in basketball IQ and ability to finish. The way he drives to the basket is funky, gets stopped a lot, not aggressive enough. And he doesn’t really offer you much other than being that attacking scorer type. Comes off like DJJ without the ridiculous athleticism, but with better handle. I would not be surprised if he becomes something. But it’s going to take a long while and maybe a new team.

I’m actually intrigued with several of their SL invites. Particularly Chris Silva and Nick Mayo. Those two are standouts and I’m here for them.

Windhorst mentioned Miami for Jimmy...

"ckparrothead wrote:

Thankfully I was in the anti Bol Bol and anti KPJ crowd so I feel nothing about the Heat not going either direction. I just don’t see what other people see on them.

That said, this whole business about Herro and Okpala being 9 and 10 on the Heat’s board is such crap. They were targeting Herro. They knew they were taking him. He knew they were taking him. That’s why he wore that suit.

I see what Herro is trying to be but I don’t know if he gets there. He may just be too physically limited in the end. And there’s something to be said for the criticism that you took a supposedly dead eye shooter that ranked in the lower half of this draft, below 2nd round picks, in three point percentage. And it wasn’t that he took too many shots. I think 13 college players drafted took more threes than him and 9 of them beat him on percentage. He can shoot...in PRACTICE. Show me that in games because it’s different.

As for KZ Okpala I like guys with his length but there’s so much missing in basketball IQ and ability to finish. The way he drives to the basket is funky, gets stopped a lot, not aggressive enough. And he doesn’t really offer you much other than being that attacking scorer type. Comes off like DJJ without the ridiculous athleticism, but with better handle. I would not be surprised if he becomes something. But it’s going to take a long while and maybe a new team.

I’m actually intrigued with several of their SL invites. Particularly Chris Silva and Nick Mayo. Those two are standouts and I’m here for them.

I think college 3pt percentage is an overrated stat because it can be incredibly team depended. Ethan said something similar in his latest pod. You look at his form, and his elite FT shooting, and see why they feel good about his ability to shoot. I'm more concerned about the other aspects of his game. Is he only going to be a one position defender? Is he going to be able to create offense? Is he going to be able to score at all 3 levels, or just a spot up shooter? Those are my biggest questions with him.

Espn has their 2020 mock up.

Miami’s picking 13th.

"BevoPhin wrote:

Espn has their 2020 mock up.

Miami’s picking 13th.

And who’s they pick?!? Haha

"GARDENHEAD wrote:

And who’s they pick?!? Haha

Matthew Hurt, from Duke.

Interesting tidbit from this college season. Vernon Carey Jr. (yep, son of former Hurricane and Dolphin Vernon Carey) was one of the top prospects in the country, and will be playing at Duke. He's a one and done candidate, and could be in the draft next year.

"sports24/7 wrote:

Matthew Hurt, from Duke.

Interesting tidbit from this college season. Vernon Carey Jr. (yep, son of former Hurricane and Dolphin Vernon Carey) was one of the top prospects in the country, and will be playing at Duke. He's a one and done candidate, and could be in the draft next year.

If we’re picking 13th next year, Idk how I feel about Pat anymore.

"BevoPhin wrote:

If we’re picking 13th next year, Idk how I feel about Pat anymore.

⚰️⚰️⚰️

"BevoPhin wrote:

If we’re picking 13th next year, Idk how I feel about Pat anymore.

For me, it depends on how they get there. If they play the kids, and that's where they end up, that's fine. You can't really be mad about that. If the priority is to win as many games as possible, and they play JJ, Dion, and Goran ahead of the young guys on the way to the 13th pick, that means there's a problem.

"sports24/7 wrote:

For me, it depends on how they get there. If they play the kids, and that's where they end up, that's fine. You can't really be mad about that. If the priority is to win as many games as possible, and they play JJ, Dion, and Goran ahead of the young guys on the way to the 13th pick, that means there's a problem.

I don’t think playing the young guys should be an excuse for being bad. They should’ve been doing that already to see what we have in those young guys. 6 years since Lebron left...get off the treadmill already, Pat.

Here’s to Herro shocking the world and Bam becoming a star this year.

"BevoPhin wrote:

I don’t think playing the young guys should be an excuse for being bad. They should’ve been doing that already to see what we have in those young guys. 6 years since Lebron left...get off the treadmill already, Pat.

Here’s to Herro shocking the world and Bam becoming a star this year.

13 isn't really bad, it's mediocre, and that's what this team is right now. There are no easy fixes, and the East could get considerably better this season. The best thing they can do if they can't trade for a star is to develop these guys and wait out or dump the bad contracts. I'm not really sure what else anyone expects them to do.

Looks like Kawhi will sign a one and one deal with the Raptors... that gives Riley and the Heat a whole year to prep a presentation for him... right? Or maybe not..