SI Article: "Kanter passes first few tests but team workouts will be key"

[Gyp Rosetti]

Big Al was the third highest scoring center in the league last year. Do you really think Kanter is better?

Must I provide a seemingly infinite list of (prolific) scorers who are or were massively flawed?

In short, I'll just say Jefferson's awful on defense and a complete black hole on offense. Neither are good when it comes to a team concept and success.

 

[trigg3r]

Must I provide a seemingly infinite list of (prolific) scorers who are or were massively flawed?

In short, I'll just say Jefferson's awful on defense and a complete black hole on offense. Neither are good when it comes to a team concept and success.

I have to agree about the offensive part at least. The offense seems to go stagnant every time he is given the ball in the post. He isn't a good passer and it's not likely that is going to change soon.

 

[Mr. McGibblets]

Big Al was the third highest scoring center in the league last year. Do you really think Kanter is better?

I like Al, but the thought of trading him for a solid 2 or 3 to play with Hayward and replacing him with a 6'11" athlete next to Favors sounds pretty great.

 

[akirac73]

OMG New Jersey wants Kanter. Harris and Kanter for Dwill!

LOL...basically the net effect (no pun intended) would be NJ giving the Jazz Derrick Favors and the 2012 GS Pick for NOTHING in return.

 

[BENTLEY]

Kanter is what, seven or eight years younger than Fat Al, and we know this about him without the former even playing a single college game.

He's in better shape and has better, almost unlimited, range on his shot.

It also seems evident that he invites contact rather than shies away from it, has a better basketball iq and work ethic (let's just look at body fat percentages and move on) from all accounts, and without even looking up his numbers, is a better passer because, well, can he be any worse than Fat "The Black Hole" Al? I'd say it's not a stretch to think that he will be able to rebound as well or better than Jefferson too though I won't fully assume that just yet.

So how can we not take this guy? Three years from now at age 21 or 22, he could be better than Al is currently. The guy has so few true red flags in my opinion, especially compared to Knight or the other guys predicted below him, and add in the fact that bigs are valued far more in the league and thus can be traded for more in return and it's a no-brainer to draft him. If he's gone, then we must go Derrick Williams and in my opinion, try to trade up from 12 to get Biyombo for we'll need his defense behind DWilly.

This.
Kanter is supposed to be fundamentally sound too, with a high BBIQ. That's all that Jefferson is lacking.
I wonder what Jefferson's trade value is.

 

[Borat]

Three years from now at age 21 or 22, he could be better than Al is currently.

Either that or he could be completely out of the League or ride a pine somewhere, like Koufos, or play in Europe.

The guy has so few true red flags...

Really? And the fact you are making this entire evaluation based on a bunch of nothing is not a giant red flag?

 

[mellow]

I re-read the original post. Kanter's agent went out of his way to smooth things over with KOC. nice to see KOC has some clout.

Kanter works out with Jazz on June 3rd. https://hoopshype.com/workouts.htm

I like Al Jefferson, I want him to succede. But his teams have won 35% of thier games. Last year for the Jazz was above his average. Also, his injury record cannot be ignored.

I think Kanter would be a great fit, naturally the Jazz will draft Kemba Walker like this guy says.

 

[spycam1]

So, if we did draft Kanter, it seems a Jefferson trade would be very likely. Who would you guys want in return?

 

[Borat]

At the nbadraft.net scouting report it says Kanter "Played one year of high school ball at Stoneridge Prep in Simi Valley, California and was somewhat inconsistent … " Does anyone have any info on his HS career, what kind of prospect he was coming out of HS?

 

[LogGrad98]

How many minutes would Fes last on the treadmill? Over or under 3?

"In Russia, treadmill run on players!"

 

[LogGrad98]

I re-read the original post. Kanter's agent went out of his way to smooth things over with KOC. nice to see KOC has some clout.

Kanter works out with Jazz on June 3rd. https://hoopshype.com/workouts.htm

I like Al Jefferson, I want him to succede. But his teams have won 35% of thier games. Last year for the Jazz was above his average. Also, his injury record cannot be ignored.

I think Kanter would be a great fit, naturally the Jazz will draft Kemba Walker like this guy says.

But Kanter's can?

 

[sepanol]

Must I provide a seemingly infinite list of (prolific) scorers who are or were massively flawed?

In short, I'll just say Jefferson's awful on defense and a complete black hole on offense. Neither are good when it comes to a team concept and success.

i totally agree. jefferson may have good intetion, try to win and have some skills in the post, but he has no basketball iq. If you dont have iq, then skills and talent doesnt mean a lot. Kanter will be better than jeffersons prime in his sophomore year

 

[Hipporippo]

But Kanter's can?

What injury history? I have never seen a good source citing any real knee issues with Kanter. What I saw on one of the photos from his U18 playing days, was a specialized band around his knees worn below the patellae. This is used for Osgood-schlatter syndrome--a painful enthesopathy of adolescence which is self-limited and of no long-term consequence. I am a physician by the way.

We do know that he had a sore back at the Nike Hoops Summit. Big Deal. He played through it and had the highest point total ever (and 13 rebounds) in 22 minutes. He had had a year to rehab any lingering back issues which are unlikely to be long-term problems anyway.

We also know that he sprinted for 21min on the treadmill test (which no center has done before) and that he can dunk it from the free throw line. He may not have a 12 foot maximum reach, but he beat the other centers in sprints and rocked that lateral drills. He is laterally VERY athletic and is long enough to be fine at the 5.

How anyone can compare him physically to Koufus is beyond me. We should HOPE Kanter is available at 3. In 2 years, he will be considered the best player from this draft. In 10 years, we might be talking about not taking him 1st as one of the biggest draft blunders.

 

[gregbroncs]

What injury history? I have never seen a good source citing any real knee issues with Kanter. What I saw on one of the photos from his U18 playing days, was a specialized band around his knees worn below the patellae. This is used for Osgood-schlatter syndrome--a painful enthesopathy of adolescence which is self-limited and of no long-term consequence. I am a physician by the way.

We do know that he had a sore back at the Nike Hoops Summit. Big Deal. He played through it and had the highest point total ever (and 13 rebounds) in 22 minutes. He had had a year to rehab any lingering back issues which are unlikely to be long-term problems anyway.

We also know that he sprinted for 21min on the treadmill test (which no center has done before) and that he can dunk it from the free throw line. He may not have a 12 foot maximum reach, but he beat the other centers in sprints and rocked that lateral drills. He is laterally VERY athletic and is long enough to be fine at the 5.

How anyone can compare him physically to Koufus is beyond me. We should HOPE Kanter is available at 3. In 2 years, he will be considered the best player from this draft. In 10 years, we might be talking about not taking him 1st as one of the biggest draft blunders.

Or we could be comparing him to Sam Bowie or Darko Millicic. I'm all for drafting him but don't fool yourself into thinking it's anything but a huge gamble. I'm a gambler, playing it safe is not my preferred choice. So I say take a chance if he's there at 3.

 

[Hipporippo]

Or we could be comparing him to Sam Bowie or Darko Millicic. I'm all for drafting him but don't fool yourself into thinking it's anything but a huge gamble. I'm a gambler, playing it safe is not my preferred choice. So I say take a chance if he's there at 3.

I agree he's not a sure thing. My main point is that medical concerns should not be an issue if he checks out on his physical (which he will).

I do think he has a higher chance of being truly great than anybody else this year. Irving will be really good, but I think his ceiling is lower. Same for Dwill2.

 

[default]

I agree he's not a sure thing. My main point is that medical concerns should not be an issue if he checks out on his physical (which he will).

I do think he has a higher chance of being truly great than anybody else this year. Irving will be really good, but I think his ceiling is lower. Same for Dwill2.

Hmm. . . I wonder how did Curtis Borchardt's pre-draft physicals went.

 

[Hipporippo]

I'm not saying that a clean physical exam would ensure anyone of an injury-free career. Actually, I'm quite sure it makes little difference at all long-term. Any player comes with a risk of being injured down the line. A physical exam doesn't even exclude that the player is trying to mask a current injury. The things it will turn up are few and far between, ie. lack of an ACL in either knee like Dejaun Blair.

The treadmill test, lateral quickness drills, and dunking from the free throw line say a lot more to me about his current state of injury (or non-injury) than any physical exam would.

Just think about it for a moment. Who would be more frail in the NBA brawl-type game? rail-thin, gangly Borchardt or built-like-bull Kanter? It's not really fair to compare the two.
I'm just saying that the claims of him being injury prone are completely unsubstantiated.

 

[mellow]

But Kanter's can?

Didn't know it was an issue. I was trying to say Al is a likable guy but flawed, if the Jazz think Kanter is BPA they should not hesitate to take him just because they have AL, Milsap and Favours.

I'm not advocating any player this year, including Kanter. Last year I was one of the idiots who booed the Hayward pick because I thought the jazz needed a big (P. Patterson). This year the Jazz have more holes, more options, a new coach and the uncertainty of a lockout--KOC can do whatever he wants.

 

[Hantlers]

I really have no problem trading Al Jefferson. Hell, we just traded Deron Williams. We've got to remember that the only reason we even have Al Jeff in the first place is because we were looking to contend for a championship and needed a big. We needed to appease Deron after getting rid of our best post scorer. Well...Deron is gone. And now we have a 26-27 year old, great post scorer, possibly not very smart player in his place. We're no longer in contender mode, we're in rebuilding mode, and by the time we could possibly begin to contend Jefferson is going to be 30 and Kanter is going to be just entering the beginning of his prime stage. If KOC thinks that Kanter is going to be a better player, he will draft him. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he's trying to shop Jefferson right now. It's gonna be hard though, he has the reputation of always being on a losing team and has a large contract. But don't think that KOC won't try to trade him just because we've only had him for a year. IMO, we really only have two players we won't trade, Hayward and Favors. Those two are the faces of the franchise now. Obviously the other problem with this idea is that we also have a 28 year old PG....so I could understand an argument for Knight. But really, the only way I'm going to be happy with drafting Knight is if we trade down. He's just not worth the #3 pick. I look at it this way, in my opinion (which doesn't mean jack) Kanter is going to be a great player. Knight will be a good player. The difference between great and good is what makes a team a championship contender and what makes a team a 7/8 seed every year.

This isn't a perfect draft. We're going to get a role player with our #12 pick, I mean, the chances of getting a pretty good player there is slim. But we have the opportunity to get a young, skilled big man on a rebuilding team and people are saying no because we have Jefferson?! People, Jefferson is expendable. KOC is a very good GM and he will make a good decision. I'm not worried about what choice he's going to make, but if the choice is mine, I would draft Kanter and trade Jefferson. Keep Millsap and tell him he's going to get his 30 minutes but it's coming off of the bench. If we want a veteran as a mentor, you can be damn sure that it's going to be Millsap and not Jefferson.

 

[BENTLEY]

Nice.