« Reply #7 on: May 26, 2020, 03:11:31 PM »
I don't love the short term roster fit of drafting Maxey but he checks the boxes for a successful DA draft pick and could fit well in a future more Tatum centric roster.
was the #13 ranked player by espn in his class
has a strong frame and a +5 wingspan
struggled as a 3pt shooter in college ( in line with Smart, Langford, Brown and Rozier) but shows promise
Maxey could be an interesting fit for this team. He is a physical on ball defender who does a good job fighting through screens and by most accounts is a very competitive player. This could earn him early minutes on the court and make him a interesting 2nd unit back-court mate for Marcus
It’s interesting to me that players like Smart and Brown; who didn’t have a college 3-pt shot, were able to get enough Court time to develop their NBA 3-pt shot due to their defensive abilities, while players like Hunter, Young, and now possibly Carsen Edwards, who all had a college 3-pt shot, weren’t able to transition.
Maybe that is the better strategy? Don’t expect that the guy with the NCAA-3 will be able to make the NBA-3. Instead develop the guy that can play NBA defense and hope he can be trained to shoot?
Smart and Brown were top 6 picks not mid to late 1st round or 2nd round (in Edwards case). At the end of the day, talent is what matters and you quite simply have way more talent if you are a top 6 pick than if you go much later. Draft position isn't a be all tell all of course as plenty of top 6 picks are busts and plenty of later 1st/early 2nd round picks pan out, but you definitely want to play the percentages on those.
Let's be real. Carsen Edwards has talent. His issue is his height not talent. If he was 6'3 he'd have been drafted in the lottery. For some reason he just forgot how to shoot this year but with how smooth his delivery is I believe it will get better. His issue with shooting is hes had to change it a bit because guys close a lot quicker in the NBA then College and his release has struggled a bit because of it. This is more mental then physical but if we are comparing talent Carsen has a ton of it. He's just short.
Short matters a lot though. And he shot 35.5% his final year at Purdue. It wasn't like he was a guy that never missed. 35.5% is certainly not bad, but it also isn't world beating either. Obviously the Big Ten is quality competition, but there is just such a huge jump from college to pros, especially in size, physicality, etc. that Edwards is always going to struggle in the NBA because contrary to your assertions his talent is lacking (Darius Garland is basically the same size as Edwards as an example).
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2023 Historical Draft - Brooklyn Nets - 9th pick
Bigs - Pau, Amar'e, Issel, McGinnis, Roundfield
Wings - Dantley, Bowen, J. Jackson
Guards - Cheeks, Petrovic, Buse, Rip