Enes Kanter or Brandon Knight?
- Thread starter The Midnight
- Start date
Great question. I can't tell the future. But I do know that it took Randolph a decade to get "it". "It" is winning basketball, and for Randolph, I think it was a matter of convincing him to play the game the right way, not so much trying to teach him the skills necessary or a base-level of intelligence.
The problem I have with Jefferson - in a sense - is that he already kind of gets it. He wants to win. He's a good guy. You can tell he wants to play the game the right way and wants to win above it all. But that hasn't seemed to change his actual game very much. He's just not a smart player, he's not a good passer and he doesn't have good vision. He'll hit some jumpers, but he's not Randolph. And he's not as relentless inside as Randolph, either.
Long story short, it's chancing it to assume that Jefferson would have a Randolph-esque transformation since that so rarely happens anyway. I don't know that Jefferson has the natural talent or intelligence to be that guy. Maybe he does, I don't know, but his numbers explosion has as much to do with the Jazz catering the offense to him (that is, CHANGING the offense so he got HIS looks, the same ones he got in Minnesota) as it does any other reason. His offense hasn't won anyone ****. That's what I DO know.
Back to Kanter, the guy has shown some very nice court awareness and insanely good touch on his jumper. He has some passing ability. His upside is a young, modern-version of Zach Randolph. Probably even a better defender too. But Kanter is a big question mark. The 3rd pick this year is an enigma and the most fascinating spot in the draft.
Plus I have heard in radio interviews with coaches and such talk about how young he is compared to everyone else, so Im pretty sure he is 18.
I ain't disputin you, bro.
prodigy
Well-Known Member
Here is a great video i found on Knight in High School:
https://www.prepticket.com/articles...chool-Basketball:-Pine-Crest's-Brandon-Knight
includes some highlights from his 52 point game
https://www.prepticket.com/articles...chool-Basketball:-Pine-Crest's-Brandon-Knight
includes some highlights from his 52 point game
I think Knight is a good kid, but this is kind of a concern to me as well.
Come on. Based on what?
There are so may plus and minuses to draft ether of these players. So let me list the things I like and dislike for each of them.
Knight:
Likes:
Known to be a good defender (of course that means **** in the NBA because of the new rules). Good outside shooter (I can just see the kick outs from Hayward on the drive to an open good shooting PG instead of Watson). Smart and a workaholic (Jazz players that have these traits seem to do very well in the league). Can play both PG and SG (Really could be a Jason Terry like player for us for a couple of years while learning the PG roll from Harris).
Dislikes:
He plays a position that might be able to be filled just as well with our latter pick or next year. Not a great finisher at the rim. Shot selection (this I think goes away in the Jazz offense though). Not a pure PG when it comes to court vision/passing (this is my biggest concern, but with Hayward handling the ball out of the Half court his shooting would be enough for me for now).
Kanter:
Likes:
Size (You can't teach some one to be tall and big). Good hands and solid post moves (this coming from a guy that is so young makes you drool). Shooting (has shown he can shoot the ball and stretch the Defense). Not afraid of contact/ Banger (This is a must for a big man IMO and he does it very well).
Dislikes:
Can he defend (both man to man but more importantly help, seems kinda slow to be much of a help defender). Does he check out health wise (we well find out this week hopefully). Well his game translate to the NBA were players are the same size as him (or was he only good because he was a man among boys).
Not a dislike per say but with a front court of Jefferson, Sap and Favors in place well we be able to get Kanter the development time needed? (not that this matters if he is the BPA, you take him anyway and make it work somehow)
At this point they are both players that I need to know more about. Hopefully this week and the player workouts for teams well make this choice easier. I think your have to go BPA were you pick and I'm not sure yet if Kanter is better than Knight or vise versa. I am seeing that some of the better Mocks have Kanter down in the 7-8 range (DX and Ford). Makes me wonder who really is the BPA.
Knight:
Likes:
Known to be a good defender (of course that means **** in the NBA because of the new rules). Good outside shooter (I can just see the kick outs from Hayward on the drive to an open good shooting PG instead of Watson). Smart and a workaholic (Jazz players that have these traits seem to do very well in the league). Can play both PG and SG (Really could be a Jason Terry like player for us for a couple of years while learning the PG roll from Harris).
Dislikes:
He plays a position that might be able to be filled just as well with our latter pick or next year. Not a great finisher at the rim. Shot selection (this I think goes away in the Jazz offense though). Not a pure PG when it comes to court vision/passing (this is my biggest concern, but with Hayward handling the ball out of the Half court his shooting would be enough for me for now).
Kanter:
Likes:
Size (You can't teach some one to be tall and big). Good hands and solid post moves (this coming from a guy that is so young makes you drool). Shooting (has shown he can shoot the ball and stretch the Defense). Not afraid of contact/ Banger (This is a must for a big man IMO and he does it very well).
Dislikes:
Can he defend (both man to man but more importantly help, seems kinda slow to be much of a help defender). Does he check out health wise (we well find out this week hopefully). Well his game translate to the NBA were players are the same size as him (or was he only good because he was a man among boys).
Not a dislike per say but with a front court of Jefferson, Sap and Favors in place well we be able to get Kanter the development time needed? (not that this matters if he is the BPA, you take him anyway and make it work somehow)
At this point they are both players that I need to know more about. Hopefully this week and the player workouts for teams well make this choice easier. I think your have to go BPA were you pick and I'm not sure yet if Kanter is better than Knight or vise versa. I am seeing that some of the better Mocks have Kanter down in the 7-8 range (DX and Ford). Makes me wonder who really is the BPA.
Yep. Ben10, that was pretty impressive, really. I am not only a die-hard UK fan (first), but extremely connected to the organization. I've seen (live) these kids play 'real' games and been to multiple 'closed door' practices. I have a lot to add, but your summary is the best I've seen thus far on this site.
Zerol
Active Member
Kanter will not get much playing time since we have Jefferson, Favors, Millsap and Okur under contract. I would want to kill him if he takes away Favors' playing time.
Knight can back up Harris and Hayward, or start when Harris goes down with an injury. Along with Hayward, he will be able to spread the floor for Jefferson and Favors.
Knight can back up Harris and Hayward, or start when Harris goes down with an injury. Along with Hayward, he will be able to spread the floor for Jefferson and Favors.
Jazz4ever
Well-Known Member
Again, you do not even consider positional needs at #3. These players are so young that by the time they hit their prime Jefferson and Millsap will be long gone. And even Favors may not turn out to be the superstar we expect. If you believe Kanter is a lock for a 20/10 guy, how do you pass?
Zerol
Active Member
The thing is he won't average 20 and 10 with the Jazz. He will NOT get the playing time.
Like the Jazz fans would have the patience to see it through. Kanter will be playing 5 minutes a game with averages of 0.8 points and 1.2 rebounds which led to being called the biggest bust since Oden. David Thorpe would put him as one of the biggest disappointments in the class while Chad Ford would declare that the Jazz FO is stupid to pass on Knight to draft Kanter. Not because he is not talented, but because he will not get on the court.
That's why Jazz FO will get rid of Miilsap and/or Memo within 1 year.
trigg3r
Well-Known Member
Exactly. We will see what happens with the combine. Right now, I think Kanter has to be your pick at 3 if DWill2 and Irving are off the board. This could change after the combine.
The Thriller
Well-Known Member
Go with the best player available.
We can pick up a good point guard anytime and in any draft. Heck, JJ Barea wasn't even drafted!
Getting a good big man? Typically impossible outside of the top 10.
Go with the BPA and then make trades. Al and Millsap are far from untouchable.
We can pick up a good point guard anytime and in any draft. Heck, JJ Barea wasn't even drafted!
Getting a good big man? Typically impossible outside of the top 10.
Go with the BPA and then make trades. Al and Millsap are far from untouchable.