I’m not super concerned with his offense. He’s a second round pick so the normal expectation is he won’t be in the league in a few years. He needs to stake his claim for minutes on defence and I believe he has the tools to be a pest this season. With good development coaching I can see him getting 10-15 mins in 30 odd games. That would give him a few years to develop the rest of his game and grow into a more substantial role. I kind of see the same thing with Bronny, show us you can defend positively at the NBA level this season.
compared to a bunch of lotto picks? and he came out ahead in several metrics. i'm certain he knows the difference between tens of millions of dollars and a different job lie in improving this area of his game. and i continue to beat the drum that shooting is one of the easier skills to take from bad to passable. look no further than our own DFS for a good example of an even older guy who came in as a non-shooter and got just good enough.
My post WAS NOT a knock on him. I LOVE this pick. I graded our draft A+ because of him. And my 2nd paragraph is exactly what you said in your 2nd part. There's tons of non-shooters that develop enough to be playable. I'm more worried about Knecht improving his defense lol My point was just to highlight something that popped up in that comp. The 3 ball is crucial for him and in this comp you can see how bad he is, because the other guys aren't shooters either. This is relevant because I already read here some guys saying he will be in the rotation. I really hope not. At least, we shouldn't plan for that. We go through this every year, but how many rookies crack rotations on top 10 teams? Close to none. I mean, look at Knecht. He was a STEAL in the #17, 20 picks higher than Thiero, and unplayable when it matters. That's normal, and he's older than usual. He should be slotted as the 12th guy or down, play in the G-league and occasionally have some opportunities in garbage time or as an emergency in a random game where half the rotation is out. That should be the plan. If he balls out and claims more minutes, great! But we shouldn't build a roster counting on him to contribute right away, imo. I think he will be Vando's replacement when his contract runs out or we eventually trade him in a couple years
No we’ve been told no chance … 2 years or more because he can’t shoot the 3 for decent % yet. In spite of the other ways he scores UNLIKE Vando.
I don’t want to get too attached to this guy like I did Max. But with an almost 45 inch vertical leap what’s not to love lol, he’s the payment for the JHS/Cam Whitmore mistake
