Lavine can actually handle the ball so that gives him a huge leg up on Gerald. If Gerald wasn't such a terrible ballhandler, he might be an all-star. As such, his limitation hinders his ability to attack the basket as well as move the defense to create passing opportunities.
It was really frustrating to watching Lavine just stand around and never get the ball. When he was out there with Kyle Anderson, Jordan Adams and the Wear twins, it was understandable because he was only a freshman and those other guys were more established and the team leaders. But when he was out there with Alford's son, it was incredibly frustrating to see Alfred's son, who called himself a "pure point" before the season, monopolize the ball so much. The worst was when the shot clock got down to 15 seconds left, which is still an ample amount of time, and the "pure point" would go into iso scoring mode 90 percent of the time. I could understand Lavine leaving just to get away from Alford and his son.
Towards the end of the season, Lavine showed some ability to attack the paint as well as create for teammates off the dribble. Players who are 6'5 with all-around skills and plus athleticism just do not come around all that often. His weight and thin frame bother me the most. I'm not sure his frame can handle much more weight. Is he going to be able to get to the line? Is he going to be overpowered defensively? Still, with the 17th pick, he'd be definitely worth the gamble. It doesn't look like he's going to get there however.
