I think we stole one with the drafting of RJ Hunter.
He's a real 6-6, with long arms. He's not a one trick pony. He looks like he will be a pretty solid defender and a very good passer. He's not lost on the court, he's involved with the flow of the game. His shooting and his shooting range is real impressive.
Him declining the invitation shows where his priorities are. He has one thing on his mind.
Credit to Danny for drafting guys with great character - every one of our rookies is a hard working / high motor guy.
Also loved that he went after needs- three scorers and a rim protector. Exactly the roles we need filled. If any one of Hunter / Rozier / Thornton develops into a consistent #2 or #3 scoring option, then we've hit the jackpot.
I'm excited too, to an extent. Looks like we drafted 3 NBA players.
But drafting based on need? We added to our 2 logjams, and Rozier's skillset largely overlaps with those of our 2 primary guards. He's also a lot more raw than posters here seem to acknowledge...
By no means an expert, and this is entirely observational (I know you appreciate stats, but I don't think college numbers matter and no one is putting up stand-out SL numbers).
In general, Rozier has shown some pros and cons thus far:
Pros - He's very fast with the ball, has shown good instincts finding opening guys (esp in transition), he doesn't force many shots, has shown an ability to finish (again esp in transition), hounds the ball, has good defensive instincts and wingspan benefits him in ripping guys (again esp in open court).
Cons - While he's fast with the ball, he doesn't have a great command of the ball (a la Rondo), doesn't seem fluid enough to be consistently creating, forces passes that are creating TOs, hasn't shown a lot in the way of shooting (despite some nice fadeaways), and hasn't shown an ability to score in the half-court (e.g., a floater). Without an elite command of the ball, his speed won't benefit his scoring unless he develops a consistent floater, mid-range game, etc.
Re: scoring, Hunter is the only one of the bunch that could become a go-to scorer imo, but I'm not sure he has the skill set to become a #2, and he definitely doesn't have the bulk/strength to make significant contributions this year. I do love his IQ, feel for the game, passing, the benefits of his length on defense, commitment, and gradual improvement. He's a ball player, no doubt... far more well-rounded than I expected.
Honestly expect spot minutes from RJ and Rozier this year, but doubting Thornton makes it at this level.
I (respectfully) disagree.
In order to understand what Danny/Brad are doing, I think you need to look at the game the way they do.
Brad doesn't look at guys with specific positions in mind. For example, he doesn't look at Thornton and Rozier as PG's, at Hunter as a SG, and Mickey as a PF. I mean hey, Smart even spent a few minutes at the SF spot last year, and likewise it wouldn't surprise me at all to see a Thomas/Bradley/Smart lineup a few times this coming year.
Brad seems to look at guy sin terms of the role / skill they offer - ball handlers, shooters, rim protectors, etc. I think he looks at matchups.
Before we went in to this offseason, Danny said his primary needs that he wants to fill this year are rim protection and scoring.
If you look at Rozier, Hunter and Thornton, their greatest talents in college were their abilities score. All three guys were top college scorers who happened to also be good at other things too.
If you look at Mickey, his number one selling point was his shot-blocking ability, but he also happened to have other complementary skills to add to that.
If you look at the rookies in terms of pure positions, then by all means we have too many PG's an SG's on the roster. But if you look at them in terms of skill set, I think each of those guys offers a skill that we really need.
I think Danny knows that every team in this league wants scorers and rim protectors. They aren't easy to find, and when you do find them they don't come cheap. So if you can't find one in free agency,l draft a bunch of them and hope one turns in to the guy you're looking for.
I believe that when all is said and done, Rozier is going to be the best offensive player out of all the guys we drafted this year. I think he's the only one of these guys who has the potential to be a 20 PPG scorer. I think he's a better scorer that people are giving him credit for. He has the speed, quickness and ball handling to get to the basket and the strength/length to finish there. He has solid form on his jumper and looks comfortable shooting on spot ups, on pull ups and on the move. He also looks comfortable shooting from three, from midrange and from the line. I believe that Rozier is just straight up scorer, and once he gains the confidence and the reps I think he's going to be a very dangerous offensive player. I could see him becoming a 20/4/6 guy.
For Hunter, I think he's going to be more of a complementary player. I think he could be an excellent 3rd scoring option on a team, and could see him averaging up around 16/5/4 while also playing some nice defense too. Ultimately though I think Hunter's scoring ability will be limited by the fact that he doesn't really have the tools to create his own shot. He just doesn't have the quickness, ball handling or strength to give himself an advantage in ISO situations. He'll be a nice player though, and I think he'll be the type of guy who impacts a game beyond his stats.
Mickey I think will become somewhat of a smaller, poor man's Serge Ibaka. Nothing to complain about, by any means. I could see him averaging around 12 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in around 30 minutes of play. I think there are two key factors for Mickey:
a) Can he add enough bulk to bang with NBA bigs?
b) Can he develop his jumper to extend to the three point line?
The answer to those two questions could be the difference between him becoming a potential starter, versus him being a solid career backup.
Thornton is a bit of a wild card. I see a LOT of potential in him. He's got a pretty rare offensive package in that he can handle the ball, he can shoot the three (off the catch and off the dribble), he can shoot from midrange (ditto), he can get to the basket (with his athleticism) and he can get to the line (where he shoots a high percentage). It wouldn't surprise me to see him one day develop into a Jamaal Crawford or Jason Terry type combo guard. I think that becoming a 15/4/4 player is within the realm of possibility given what I've seen of his skill set so far.
Of course none of us will known anything until we see where these guys are 2-3 years from now, but I will be following all four of these guys very closely. I will be extremely surprised if we don't get at least getting at least one really good starter out of this group.
Topic: RJ Hunter nominated for Espy award, declines invite to stay with the Celtics (Read 7355 times)