Knicks · D'angelo Russell With A Triple Double! (page 3)

gunsnewing wrote:Top 3
1. Towns - Best fit w/Melo
2.Russell
3. OK4

In the next week you will get to see Okafor head up with Rakeem Christmas. I consider Okafor one of the 3 top players with a slight lead for pick #1 and Christmas to me has moved into the 10th position on my mock. He reminds me a lot of Antonio Mcdyess and is getting low played in drafts because he is a senior(a senior who came to school at 6-8 200 and is now 6-9 250) We will see a lot more here about man to man post defense as long as Duke doesnt hide him with zone. Also it will be interesting on the other end to watch Okafor go against someone with size and athletic ability who blocks shots and rebounds very well.

Russell to me is a full tier better than Mudiay from what I have seen. IF Mudiay was in CBB I think hed be doing well--but zones would expose his shooting ability. Can Mudiay rebound better than Russell? I doubt it better passer--I doubt it better shooter--no. Better athlete yes but not overwhelmingly better in any sense. Russell is a LOCK top 3 and is the BEST pure basketball player coming into the draft. In some ways the fact that he is not an uber athlete makes him a lower injury risk(although he has experienced cramping several times this season.

Draft Express does some really nice video breakdowns of D'Angelo Russell in game action.

The kid is growing and getting better as the season has moved along.

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:I would still take Mudiay over Russell. Far superior athlete better passer probably the better defender too.

Is Mudiay more cerebral than Russell? I venture to say no. I would go with a smart player over an athlete any day. After 5 years in the league and a couple of injuries, athleticism is often worthless.

Mudiay to me is as cerebral and as smart with the ball makes the right decisions. I won't hesitate to say to that he is a better finisher too. While Russell may have a sweet stroke, Mudiay has the better handle and basically can break down any one with his handle with ease. Athleticism is never worthless it's always a plus.

Vmart wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:I would still take Mudiay over Russell. Far superior athlete better passer probably the better defender too.

Is Mudiay more cerebral than Russell? I venture to say no. I would go with a smart player over an athlete any day. After 5 years in the league and a couple of injuries, athleticism is often worthless.

Mudiay to me is as cerebral and as smart with the ball makes the right decisions. I won't hesitate to say to that he is a better finisher too. While Russell may have a sweet stroke, Mudiay has the better handle and basically can break down any one with his handle with ease. Athleticism is never worthless it's always a plus.

Don't you ever wonder why guys like Jordan stopped attacking the basket and relied a lot more on his jumpers as he aged? Athleticism is only good for a while. Blake Griffin is actually going through that transformation as we speak.

Mudiay may be the best but why take the gamble when you have 3 safer high end picks you get to see play vs better competition every night

gunsnewing wrote:Mudiay may be the best but why take the gamble when you have 3 safer high end picks you get to see play vs better competition every night

He's a bit of a risk, but I don't see a huge bust potential with him. I think he had shown enough to make it clear he's got the goods as an elite BB prospect. He's shown the handle, athletic ability, passing and scoring ability you would want in a top pick. It would certainly have been more of a confirmation had he played in the NCAA, but I think he's gonna be a good NBA player. It really depends on the team. The Knicks need everything so really we can't go wrong with a big or guard. I'm starting to think we need to look at the Guard spot because we've been so bad there and we may be able to get a solid big in Free Agency. We need an elite perimeter threat to score or setup his teammates. I'd like Russell or Mudiay in that role.

Vmart wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:I would still take Mudiay over Russell. Far superior athlete better passer probably the better defender too.

Is Mudiay more cerebral than Russell? I venture to say no. I would go with a smart player over an athlete any day. After 5 years in the league and a couple of injuries, athleticism is often worthless.

Mudiay to me is as cerebral and as smart with the ball makes the right decisions. I won't hesitate to say to that he is a better finisher too. While Russell may have a sweet stroke, Mudiay has the better handle and basically can break down any one with his handle with ease. Athleticism is never worthless it's always a plus.

I would rather have Steph Curry than Tyreke Evans.

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:I would still take Mudiay over Russell. Far superior athlete better passer probably the better defender too.

Is Mudiay more cerebral than Russell? I venture to say no. I would go with a smart player over an athlete any day. After 5 years in the league and a couple of injuries, athleticism is often worthless.

Mudiay to me is as cerebral and as smart with the ball makes the right decisions. I won't hesitate to say to that he is a better finisher too. While Russell may have a sweet stroke, Mudiay has the better handle and basically can break down any one with his handle with ease. Athleticism is never worthless it's always a plus.

Don't you ever wonder why guys like Jordan stopped attacking the basket and relied a lot more on his jumpers as he aged? Athleticism is only good for a while. Blake Griffin is actually going through that transformation as we speak.

Did you ever think what happens to guys without athleticism they become worse also and everything starts to fall apart for them to the point where they become role players or worse out of the league. You want athletic players with good basketball knowledge that is a plus to have.

Again, I would never waist a top lottery pick drafting an unknown commodity like Mudiay. He may turn out to be a great player, but hey.

If Mudiay turns out to be the best player which he won't then you tip your cap to whoever drafted him top 4.

Vmart wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:I would still take Mudiay over Russell. Far superior athlete better passer probably the better defender too.

Is Mudiay more cerebral than Russell? I venture to say no. I would go with a smart player over an athlete any day. After 5 years in the league and a couple of injuries, athleticism is often worthless.

Mudiay to me is as cerebral and as smart with the ball makes the right decisions. I won't hesitate to say to that he is a better finisher too. While Russell may have a sweet stroke, Mudiay has the better handle and basically can break down any one with his handle with ease. Athleticism is never worthless it's always a plus.

Yeah, Russell's athleticism will always leave a small amount of doubt in my mind in the months leading up to the draft. I know he will struggle guarding PGs in the league. Will that translate to SGs as well. Also, he's more crafty with the rock than explosive. Does he have enough of a burst to be really good in the NBA? I've seen guys like Evan Turner, Acie Law and Jimmer Fredette dominate the NCAAs, only to get stymied in the pros. Mudiay is tough because we haven't seen him play. John Wall was more developed entering the draft and it took him about three years before he got it. There'd no guarantee that Mudiay will develop the J needed for him to dominate in the league.

Vmart wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:I would still take Mudiay over Russell. Far superior athlete better passer probably the better defender too.

Is Mudiay more cerebral than Russell? I venture to say no. I would go with a smart player over an athlete any day. After 5 years in the league and a couple of injuries, athleticism is often worthless.

Mudiay to me is as cerebral and as smart with the ball makes the right decisions. I won't hesitate to say to that he is a better finisher too. While Russell may have a sweet stroke, Mudiay has the better handle and basically can break down any one with his handle with ease. Athleticism is never worthless it's always a plus.

how can even a decent assessment of Madiay be made at this point? Dude has high school clips and 10 games in the Chinese league.

mreinman wrote:

Vmart wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:I would still take Mudiay over Russell. Far superior athlete better passer probably the better defender too.

Is Mudiay more cerebral than Russell? I venture to say no. I would go with a smart player over an athlete any day. After 5 years in the league and a couple of injuries, athleticism is often worthless.

Mudiay to me is as cerebral and as smart with the ball makes the right decisions. I won't hesitate to say to that he is a better finisher too. While Russell may have a sweet stroke, Mudiay has the better handle and basically can break down any one with his handle with ease. Athleticism is never worthless it's always a plus.

I would rather have Steph Curry than Tyreke Evans.

LOL, they are not Step Curry or Tyreke Evans, they are their own players.

martin wrote:

Vmart wrote:

Knicks1969 wrote:

Vmart wrote:I would still take Mudiay over Russell. Far superior athlete better passer probably the better defender too.

Is Mudiay more cerebral than Russell? I venture to say no. I would go with a smart player over an athlete any day. After 5 years in the league and a couple of injuries, athleticism is often worthless.

Mudiay to me is as cerebral and as smart with the ball makes the right decisions. I won't hesitate to say to that he is a better finisher too. While Russell may have a sweet stroke, Mudiay has the better handle and basically can break down any one with his handle with ease. Athleticism is never worthless it's always a plus.

how can even a decent assessment of Madiay be made at this point? Dude has high school clips and 10 games in the Chinese league.

Exactly....

Keeping Mudiay in the top 4 but mainly because Larry Brown really likes him. Then again Larry Brown drafted Darko

gunsnewing wrote:Keeping Mudiay in the top 4 but mainly because Larry Brown really likes him. Then again Larry Brown drafted Darko

That says it all.....Darko????

gunsnewing wrote:Keeping Mudiay in the top 4 but mainly because Larry Brown really likes him. Then again Larry Brown drafted Darko

Larry Brown is insane, but I believe Mudiay would have been better off playing for him. Larry Brown knows what it takes to succeed in the NBA. I don't even know who coaches Mudiay in China.

BigDaddyG wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Keeping Mudiay in the top 4 but mainly because Larry Brown really likes him. Then again Larry Brown drafted Darko

Larry Brown is insane, but I believe Mudiay would have been better off playing for him. Larry Brown knows what it takes to succeed in the NBA. I don't even know who coaches Mudiay in China.

he was the one who dared say that Lin was overrated.

gunsnewing wrote:Keeping Mudiay in the top 4 but mainly because Larry Brown really likes him. Then again Larry Brown drafted Darko

larry brown hated Darko. Dumars drafted Darko.

martin wrote:

gunsnewing wrote:Keeping Mudiay in the top 4 but mainly because Larry Brown really likes him. Then again Larry Brown drafted Darko

larry brown hated Darko. Dumars drafted Darko.

thats right I forgot about Dumars but they drafted Darko so Larry must've been onboard at first then soured on him shortly after seeing him play