I'd be pretty happy nabbing Maker at 23, and allowing him to take the Red Claws route of development. Kid has talent, and 23 is a place where you take a chance.
That said, I don't think you can take him at 16. And more so, if were not planning on bringing back ET, we should really target Valentine with the 16th pick. Kid is ready to play right now, is very similar to Turner, and can hit the outside shot. Between Smart, Rozier and Valentine, someone would emerge as the secondary ball-handler off the bench.
Why do you like Valentine and want him at 16? Yikes. He's a terrible defender who is too small to guard 3s and not nearly quick enough to guard 2s, let alone point guards, and I've never seen him go left or even use said hand to finish anything, which, to me, anyway, is pretty alarming, considering that he's a senior, and you'd expect a guy like that to be more well rounded. I'll give you the passing and shooting, sure, but if you want a much better version of the same skill set, Caris LeVert is the guy to go with at 16, imo. Better athlete, ball handler, has a nice step back, his length creates problems (deflections, etc.), he's an excellent passer, and he can guard 2s, 3s, and I've even seen him on point guards and do a very good job because, again, of his length. I guess this is how I look at it - if Draymond Green had not become what he is today (and I personally think he's overrated), would Valentine have received nearly the same kind of attention that he did this year and be compared to Dr. Dray
(which is unwarranted, imo), because I don't. I think he'd just be looked at as another good-to-great college player who doesn't have the physical attributes necessary to stay in the league, but I'm probably wrong. Can you actually see him getting minutes with his defensive deficiencies, because I can't. That's all I'm saying.
Topic: Thon Maker After Celtics Workout: "I'm Pretty Good" (Read 4065 times)