Kawhi Leonard Vs. Chris Singleton Vs. Tristan Thompson Vs. Markieff Morris

He may just be a good player. But he wouldn’t be for the Wiz.

Singleton: I know he gets a lot of love around here, but I’m pretty worried that he doesn’t have the offensive skills to be anything besides an end-of-quarter stopper. So much hangs on that 37% 3 point shooting, and it’s only 95 attempts. Given that he’s a bad FT shooter, he reminds me too much of Dom.

Leonard: Given his athleticism, his shooting numbers are mystifying to me. I remember him being way too tentative in the post during the tournament and that’s not the kind of thing that’s easily improved. Having said that, he’s supposedly shown an improved stroke in workouts and it’s not impossible to imagine him becoming a solid finisher around the basket with Wall feeding him.

Morris: I don’t know. I can’t seeing him being a bust since he can hit a jump shot and plays hard on defense. He just isn’t that big and isn’t that athletic. He screams 3rd big man to me, which isn’t bad, but isn’t much different from Booker. I’d rather take a chance on whichever Euro falls to us.

Thompson: Bad rebounder and has no offensive skills. I do love his defense, but he just seems to have no offensive instincts whatsoever.

So, I see Leonard as being a step above everyone else, especially when it comes to ceiling. I’d much prefer taking a higher risk European guy, regardless.

1. Best defender in the draft – including perimeter defense….
2. His 3-point shooting improved, as did his Free Throw percentage and his TS%

If you watched Florida State this year, you know that they relied on Singleton on Offense to create shots. They had really no one on the team that could create… and that is NOT Singleton’s strength. He is much better playing off the ball – shooting from the perimeter. He’s a decent OPEN catch-and-shoot guy with excellent mechanics on his shot…

His problem this year is that they asked him to be a high usage, shot creator – and because of his limited ball handling capabilities, he struggled at times… Shooting contested shots, and generally trying to create with the ball in his hands, when he’s better as an off-ball cutter and shooter..

I’ll bet that his catch-and-shoot numbers from Synergy are good… He’s great in transition…. and although he may be a “tweener” on Offense.. he’s a pure wing on defense.

He guarded everyone from Point Guards to Power Forwards… I especially loved watching the BYU games – where they asked Singleton to guard Jimmer Fredette… and he did a very good job. He has the physical tools, and skills, along with the defensive mind set to become a true lock down defender – with the ability to defend anyone from Joe Johnson to Dwyane Wade to LeBron James to Kevin Garnett.

On a team that includes some good offensive players like John Wall (shot creator), Jordan Crawford (shot creator), Nick Young, and Andray Blatche (shot creator); the Wizards should be looking for a low usage wing that can defend, rebound, get out in transition and hit the occasional open shot created by Wall or Crawford.

Draftexpress says:

This is a big reason why he projects as more of an off-the-ball role player than someone expected to carry a heavy offensive load in the NBA. Clearly he would be best suited playing on an up-tempo team that likes to get out in transition, alongside a point guard who can get him the ball in a position to score.

Does that sound like John Wall and the Wizards, or what?

And the best thing? They can probably get Singleton with pick #18…..

Its fun when detailed statistical analysis backs up what I see with my eyes. I like Markieff Morris as a fit for this team. I see him becoming our best interior defender upon arrival. His jump shot continues to develop. I’m interested to see the other stats from the combine because he is suppose to be a pretty good athlete for his size too.

Issues may remain regarding his energy and urgency. He seemed real-real laid back in his interview. I don’t like that he only really lit a fire under himself when Marcus was getting ink. He wanted to be as good as Marcus, instead of as good as he could possibly be. Oddly enough, that leaves even more room for improvement.

I’d be fine with Marikeff (who I still also believe will be better than Marcus in the long term), Singleton or Thompson but I think the issue is:

1) At the position we are picking, they all seem like reaches. Most other players arent far and away better than them though and are mostly projected as projects so this really isn’t a huge issue.

People say that our first pick has to be that “star” or has to be a starter right away and I disagree. In order to build this team into a championship contender, you need solid rotational players anyway, and this draft is full of them. What’s the difference in getting that “star” next year? Especially since THAT draft will be full of them.

2) What position do the Wiz draft? If they go for wing players instead of a big man, that would leave the team in an awkward spot, being as they’d get a solid wing this year, but the great wings come out next year, do they draft a big? For example, the Wiz draft Singleton and {insert wing here} at 18. Then next year they are in a position to pick up the like of a Harrison Barnes, or Perry or Terrance Jones, etc (won’t mention Jeremy Lamb because I have him as a SG and if he’s available the Wiz shouldn’t even blink).

Obviously you shouldn’t let scenario’s that are that far away affect what you’re doing now, but this is a rebuilding effort and those are things you have to take into consideration.

Why doesn’t this kind of writing/analysis work in print journalism?

You’re using 2 point percentage to say drafting him isn’t a good idea. You’ll need more than that. How many times have you seen him play? I’ve probably seen about 12 of his games. He’s built for the NBA. Surefire 10 rebounds per game player. He’s tough, and he’s just recently started to develop his mid-range game this past year. It will only get better. But he’s not a 3P shooter. Never will be. He’s got a big upside on his midrange game. I haven’t seen a whole lot of some of the others at this #6 spot, but Leonard is at least a guaranteed role player, whereas others could be busts. He is a safe pick. He’s tough, gets just about every rebound, plays D. I highly approve this pick.

but i watched kansas play a few times, and the Morris twins suck

Sometimes (usually) you have to go with a player who does one or two things well. I don’t expect Kawhi Leonard to become the next Reggie Miller – I expect him to do what he did in college: get boards, and play defense. As Mike often remarks, rebounding is a skill that translates well from college to the pros. More rebounds will mean more second chance opportunities, which means more points for the Wizards and fewer for opponents.

I have my doubts, though, about whether the Wizards’ defense will be improved simply by adding players who are good at defense. I don’t think the team really values defense. I guess it’s a chicken & egg scenario – does it start with the players, or does it start with the coaches and the culture?

Would love to see a similar breakdown for:
Marshon Brooks vs Tyler Honeycutt vs Klay Thompson vs Alec Burks

THE MAN CAN SPAN A FREAKING TOILET SEAT! HE COULD PICK ME UP LIKE A DAMN BABY!

Question, Vesely or Leonard?

Kawhi Leonard surprised me with poor testing. 32" vert is not very good for a guy who has a rep as a great athlete. Only benched bar 3 time

then:

Clarification on bench press. The bench is 185 lbs.

Jimmer Fredette’s vertical was 33".

He has started to move up and I think he is going to move up drastically as the draft approaches.