fishonjazz
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TIL that Ace real name is Airious
Who Do You Prefer Among Ace Bailey, Tre Johnson & V.J. Edgecombe? (Poll)
- Thread starter Ferguson_Mellochill
- Start date
David Stern
Well-Known Member
I’ll be excited with any of the three, but I love the potential that VJ has on both ends of the floor. He’s my pick
Coach Ellis
Well-Known Member
For me, I think it’s Ace, Tre and then Edgecombe. Also, I like all three a lot and would be happy with any of them.
I have no problems with Ace’s overconfidence. Like really? I don’t care about that. I want the guy that thinks he’s the best player in the draft - regardless of where he’s picked.
"For me, I still think I am the best player in the draft. I know what I am capable of, so like I said, it’s just being true to yourself."
Tre’s offense and higher than expected athleticism have me convinced he’s going to be an elite scorer in the NBA.
Edgecombe sold me on his two-way potential. I think he’s got a lot of Oladipo-like qualities. If he levels up on offense? Awesome.
I have no problems with Ace’s overconfidence. Like really? I don’t care about that. I want the guy that thinks he’s the best player in the draft - regardless of where he’s picked.
"For me, I still think I am the best player in the draft. I know what I am capable of, so like I said, it’s just being true to yourself."
Tre’s offense and higher than expected athleticism have me convinced he’s going to be an elite scorer in the NBA.
Edgecombe sold me on his two-way potential. I think he’s got a lot of Oladipo-like qualities. If he levels up on offense? Awesome.
Coach Ellis
Well-Known Member
Which is how it usually goes that high in the draft. It’s rarely based on what they actually did as much as it is based on what the organization thinks they will become as a part of their team.
One can be confident as well as grounded.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udAjvnUkxV8
Like I said, he's grounded and I think he and Harper are likable people. He's also still 18 years old:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulkz5pYzdD8
Coach Ellis
Well-Known Member
Also, the quote I attributed to Ace Bailey actually wasn’t Ace. It was Isaiah Collier -
Isaiah Collier on his draft stock: "For me, I still think I am the best player in the draft. I know what I am capable of, so like I said, it’s just being true to yourself."
Right now it's Edgecombe for me. I agree with others that we should "swing for the fences", but all three of these guys will need to look a lot different than they did in college to be a high level all star. I think VJ has a lot of potential if he can tighten up his handle.
I think Ace is the proverbial Paul George of this draft. I think he's the guy if he's there. Remember, PG was a 20 y.o. soph entering the league, so Ace is a full year younger. If Tre Johnson falls to #5, then he's fine too, and the Jazz can aim for Dybantsa, Peterson, Boozer or Cenac next year.
Draft watchers seem to think that VJ Edgecombe is the least likely to slip to #5. Choosing between Ace and Tre is a 1st-world problem.
Draft watchers seem to think that VJ Edgecombe is the least likely to slip to #5. Choosing between Ace and Tre is a 1st-world problem.
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After giving it more thought, I kinda think PHI is the ideal situation for Ace. It will force him to be a role player and build out the parts of his game besides mid range shot making. Come to think of it, there’s actually a lot of good wings that started as role player first, then became a star later. Maybe it’s just the case that wings rarely come in ready to play a larger role, but I’m starting to feel like this is exactly what he needs and what he doesn’t need is to have complete freedom to do whatever he wants. Could result in a Kuminga situation, but the unlimited freedom could also reinforce his bad habits. I’d rather have him in a locker room with Embiid, PG, and Maxey than having the freedom he would have here. Eventually he can take over, but he needs those base role player skills first.
On the flip side, I think Utah is a great situation for VJ….or at least it’s a great situation to explore his star potential. He’s going to be a great role player at least. He has those traits locked down. But if he were in the winning situation that might pigeonhole him early. If there’s any chance of VJ becoming a star, he needs reps and reps and more reps in initiator situations. I’m not really worried about VJ picking up the bad habits even if he’s focused on developing out his offense first.
TL/DR: Ace needs less freedom to become a star, VJ needs more.
On the flip side, I think Utah is a great situation for VJ….or at least it’s a great situation to explore his star potential. He’s going to be a great role player at least. He has those traits locked down. But if he were in the winning situation that might pigeonhole him early. If there’s any chance of VJ becoming a star, he needs reps and reps and more reps in initiator situations. I’m not really worried about VJ picking up the bad habits even if he’s focused on developing out his offense first.
TL/DR: Ace needs less freedom to become a star, VJ needs more.
Also, PG is one of his heroes and he understands shot distribution and distributing.
I think Tre is third in preference for me.
I think Tre can unlock some potential just by shooting more 3’s. I want to see him be in the top 10-15 guys in 3 point volume. He shot a lot of mid range jumpers, but I think he’ll have an easier time (and is likely more willing) than Ace extending out to 3.
I’ve had Ace ahead of Tre for awhile, but Tre’s offense just looks far superior to Ace’s offense.
I’ve had Ace ahead of Tre for awhile, but Tre’s offense just looks far superior to Ace’s offense.
Having endured the last seasons of the Jazz I really like Edgecombe: his defense is superb and he is much better than Tre or Ace at understanding the game on both ends and anticipating the action. He is also a much better and willing passer. But at the end of the day he is a SF who desperately needs 2+ inches of height to be effective in the NBA. VJ is a tweener who must play the guard but simply does not have the handle to do that. If he magically improves both the handle and his half-court game he would be by far the best player out of those three but the chances are pretty low: all his basketball life VJ leaned heavily on the pure athleticism and never developed the basic guard skills, so to be successful he needs to completely reinvent who he is as a player.
Ace and Tre both have clear positions and the physical tools to play them. Tre is obviously more skilled and a better (although unwilling) passer. I think he could develop his inside game in time. Both of them have enough size on defense to be OK. The deciding factor to me is that Tre is simply smarter at basketball and that would matter long-term. My order of preference would be Tre-Ace-Edgecombe.
Also, if we draft either Tre or VJ both of them could benefit tremendously from working with Clarkson and learning how to be effective and creative in attacking the basket.
Ace and Tre both have clear positions and the physical tools to play them. Tre is obviously more skilled and a better (although unwilling) passer. I think he could develop his inside game in time. Both of them have enough size on defense to be OK. The deciding factor to me is that Tre is simply smarter at basketball and that would matter long-term. My order of preference would be Tre-Ace-Edgecombe.
Also, if we draft either Tre or VJ both of them could benefit tremendously from working with Clarkson and learning how to be effective and creative in attacking the basket.