I don't at all agree that Semi is NBA ready, certainly not more so than Tatum.
I want to be very, very clear about something: Tatum is going to be a star. His skills are not merely "god-given" - no one can do what he does, especially at his tender age, without a 95th percentile work ethic. So his future is rosy indeed.
But he has made only token strides up to this point in, for example, giving up the ball - he's got a lot of lectures in front of him about over-dribbling and being aware of the clock and of his teammates. Semi is miles ahead of him in this important area; he's just got an instinctive feel for team basketball.
The big area of growth for Jayson Tatum, however, is on defense - both individual, and, longer-term, team defense. Semi - astonishingly, I think - is already playing good team defense, and his individual defense is really, really good.
There's a reason he wasn't drafted in the first round, teams see weaknesses in his game.
What weaknesses do
you see? Or are you inferring this from his draft position? I'd be far from claiming that he has none...
NBA front offices are the best in the world at evaluating talent; and yet, every year someone slips through the cracks.
Looking good in summer league means just a little bit more than nothing, it certainly does not suggest he's NBA ready.
Well, you give us an important reminder here. If I may add to your point a little bit, I'd advise amateur scouts to ignore SL box scores. You've got to look at the players in Summer League, how they move and where they move to - how they play
basketball, not at highlights, not at shooting streaks.
But if you bear that in mind when watching Summer League play, you can do far more effective scouting than in college ball. It's a standard line that "SL is meaningless"; but while there is truth in that, it's got its limits. Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater...
His shot looked good in the summer, when there was essentially no defense, I think he'd likely shoot very poorly against an NBA defense.
Frankly, I thought his 3-pt. shot looked flat - he'll need to adjust to the NBA distance.
What makes you say that he'd
likely shoot very poorly against an NBA defense? To me it looks like his mechanics are outstanding and his shot-selection is quite good; I didn't see him force anything in Summer League.
Tatum, on the other hand, has NBA ready offensive skills. No comparison.
Shooting skills, yes. He has a wide repertoire of ways to get an open shot, and he can deliver. I agree on that much; but offense is more than shooting.
This all might sound like I think that Semi is a better player than Jayson. No. In addition to Ojeleye's outstanding work ethic, he's a couple of years ahead in working with coaching and in developing his body.