I think these 2 will be forever linked. Both have the potential and talent to lead their franchises to success and become future Hall of Famers. But over the last year, Towns has become the guy most GM's would want to build a franchise around. I can't say i disagree, but i want to know why there is such a large perceived gap between he and KP. Both are the same age (3 months apart), and Towns is more developed physically, which typically indicates he's a slightly more finished product. His post game is more defined and he's a better rebounder too. But KP is taller, maybe a little more athletic, better pure shooter, much more defensive potential given his length, and was better than Towns in most advanced metrics last season, such as WS and RPM. Both seem to have the IQ, work ethics, drive, and overall 'it' factors that it takes to be a superstar. I have no doubt both will be great. I am not saying KP is or will be better than Towns, but i am curious as to what the general opinion is on why he is such a better overall talent.
Towns will be a 5, or stretch 5. Kid has good range too.
KP is a baby unicorn and perhaps its hard to project what he'll become because his talents are so varied.
Thus, without any comparison how can one really get the hype out on him?
Towns is like one part Al Horford and one part Noah.
1 and 1A. I dont know who ends up being better. Going into the draft I thought both had red flags, but I could not have been more , both are perfect prospects. Hard working, high BB IQ, gym rats, good families, etc etc... the only thing that derails either would be injuries. How good do they become? They both have a ceiling. Every player does.
Towns has less pressure and is in more of a learning environment. Towns is also surrounded by peers, where as KP is surrounded by vets. Only time will tell, but I dont think there is any doubt if you redo the draft its 1) Towns and 2) KP and any team who ends up with one of them would be thrilled.
Love KP but I'd still take Towns over him
smackeddog wrote:Love KP but I'd still take Towns over him
I was one of the biggest Towns supporters before the draft. And even after last year, I would've taken Towns over KP. But I'm starting to think KP has better help defensive IQ and length than Towns. KP is like a human umbrella in the paint. Probably the best help defender to have on your team. He's also a matchup problem for all positions. I think KP will eventually pass Towns, because of the players he's surround by. Melo, Noah, KOQ, Rose.....
He's being developed by a nice mix of offensive and defensive assassins! Towns is starting to look more predictable to me. And might be one of the best Centers in the game. But KP is the future of the NBA. Tall shooters, who can drive, post up, and wire strong. Towns is the old school Patrick Ewing type of centers, who are currently on the endangered list.
The best thing that happened to this franchise (and I said this before) is when Fisher went on a winning streak and knocked us out of the 1st pick. I think Towns doesn't know how to play defense without getting in foul trouble. KP is longer, so he doesn't have to foul, to impact the game on defense. KP is 4 inches taller than Towns.....Let that soak in!
blkexec wrote:smackeddog wrote:Love KP but I'd still take Towns over him
I was one of the biggest Towns supporters before the draft. And even after last year, I would've taken Towns over KP. But I'm starting to think KP has better help defensive IQ and length than Towns. KP is like a human umbrella in the paint. Probably the best help defender to have on your team. He's also a matchup problem for all positions. I think KP will eventually pass Towns, because of the players he's surround by. Melo, Noah, KOQ, Rose.....
He's being developed by a nice mix of offensive and defensive assassins! Towns is starting to look more predictable to me. And might be one of the best Centers in the game. But KP is the future of the NBA. Tall shooters, who can drive, post up, and wire strong. Towns is the old school Patrick Ewing type of centers, who are currently on the endangered list.
Towns is also the future of the center position. He can shoot and pass, he's much more versatile than Ewing ever was, if he brings it all together. The Jahlil Okafor types are the endangered centers, which is why he has fallen off the radar all together. Big centers who are skilled in the post but can't step outside and can't defend the pick and roll are being relegated to change-of-pace roles off the bench. Okafor, Randolph, Jefferson, etc.
I am not sure who i would choose between Towns or KP right now, but i definitely think KP has more potential. Falling to #4 might be the best thing that ever happened to this franchise when its all said and done. It seems no question the board prefers KP, i just want to know why there is such a disparity in the general public then. It seems like KP is just as good as Towns now, or at least very close, with a lot more potential.
fishmike wrote:1 and 1A. I dont know who ends up being better. Going into the draft I thought both had red flags, but I could not have been more , both are perfect prospects. Hard working, high BB IQ, gym rats, good families, etc etc... the only thing that derails either would be injuries. How good do they become? They both have a ceiling. Every player does.Towns has less pressure and is in more of a learning environment. Towns is also surrounded by peers, where as KP is surrounded by vets. Only time will tell, but I dont think there is any doubt if you redo the draft its 1) Towns and 2) KP and any team who ends up with one of them would be thrilled.
I agree, and i still can't believe it was actually us that had that stroke of good luck.
Talent is vague and I guess it depends on what you mean. Last year, Towns played at a much higher level than Porzingis and that's why he was the unanimous ROY choice. You seem to have the wrong info. on their advanced stats. Towns was way better than KP in win shares last year and their box plus minus stats were about equal. I'm not sure KP is the better rebounder. There were reports last year about how much better his rebounding was when he played with Rolo than with other teammates. And so far (just spring training and 2 games), his rebounding doesn't look good. They're both great prospects but Towns looks like more of a sure thing.
Better balance, footwork.
They are the same player. KP is probably the better defender. Towns has a killer instinct. He wants the ball and he wants to attack his defender. KP is just not that type of player yet
KP is much more fluid in the open court and in space. Towns has more of a refined post game where as KP has an open multi-faceted game where he developing multiple pieces of his game. When towns is on the perimeter or in space his game and shot looks more mechanical. KP is still learning the game and his body, but from a finesse standpoint and defensively I believe he will be better than Towns.
Right now Towns is more of a dominant player on a regular basis than KP. KP has spurts of dominance, none more so than last year's game in Houston where he took over that game offensively and defensively. That KP last year is like 1.0 KP I believe we will see m ore this year it will just be more meaningful as we make a push to the playoffs.
Like Phil said, I believe in the importance of playing winning basketball...hopefully we will be playing winning basketball this year and this will help KP.
I think every edge goes to Towns even as a sooter. KP might have the better looking stroke but Towns is more effective. A lot of shooters had better looking shots than Reggie Miller but Miller's was more effective than most and Towns is similar. People get hung up on KP size but it's a blessing and a curse. It may prevent him from being a great defender because he can notsink his base which is why he gets blown by on close outs so much.
KP has a lot of work to do and until he gets stronger(not necessarily bigger) he will have a hard time taking advantage of his size because players can push him off his spots and he struggles in traffic at the rim. He was suppose to work out with Dirk this summer but they couldn't hook up hopefully he will work out with Dirk and his coach going forward to help him refine his skills. KP has so much potential in so many areas that it may be hard for him to develop everything at once. He needs to take it slow and add one or two thinks each summer. Look at how Blake Griffin kept developing year after year adding a little more each year. He went from a finisher to someone who can run the break. A one lob machine to a mid range dynamo. On top of all that he became a high post playmaker. Hopefully Noah can teach him that and if Rose can return to avg of status it would help as teams rotate to give help on Rose off a PnR it leave KP free to shoot or attack the 4 on 3 opportunities similar to how Draymond, Blake, Plumlee, and best of all Noah does.
Also, KP is probably even behind Jokic offensively and who knows what kind of years Turner and Embiid out up. KP can't test on his laurals or he could get left behind.
KP looks lost in this offense. A credit to his talent that he's still getting 18ppg. I think he should be playing center when Noah is on the bench. Our bench needs the scoring and KP needs times where he is featured. Also, Jennings is far better at finding him than Rose right now. KP should still start, but maybe go out after 6min and come back in with the bench.
But Towns is the far more finished product right now. He has moves in the post KP can't even dream of.
I remember Phil after draft said KP is 3-4 years project, i think he was right, we need to wait more 2-3 seasons to see KP full potential.
crzymdups wrote:KP looks lost in this offense. A credit to his talent that he's still getting 18ppg. I think he should be playing center when Noah is on the bench. Our bench needs the scoring and KP needs times where he is featured. Also, Jennings is far better at finding him than Rose right now. KP should still start, but maybe go out after 6min and come back in with the bench. But Towns is the far more finished product right now. He has moves in the post KP can't even dream of.
The crazy thing is that Towns learned those post moves over one college season. Calipari told him thats what was missing from his game, and the next season he worked in the paint until he looked like Zach Randolph.
Gudris wrote:I remember Phil after draft said KP is 3-4 years project, i think he was right, we need to wait more 2-3 seasons to see KP full potential.
No doubt about it. The fact that he is playing so well now is just all about his talent and work ethic. It will take him until he is at least 24 years old to bring it all together.
In a hypothetical re-draft with Knicks having the #1 - I'd take Towns right now, but only by the slimmest margin.
Of course, I'm also elated that we "fell" to 4 and landed our unicorn. We probably would not have picked him at a higher slot, and we'd be mired in the usual frustrations of a Knicks fan.
Moonangie wrote:In a hypothetical re-draft with Knicks having the #1 - I'd take Towns right now, but only by the slimmest margin.Of course, I'm also elated that we "fell" to 4 and landed our unicorn. We probably would not have picked him at a higher slot, and we'd be mired in the usual frustrations of a Knicks fan.
Yeah it's amazing that what looked like bad luck was actually a great break
Bonn1997 wrote:Moonangie wrote:In a hypothetical re-draft with Knicks having the #1 - I'd take Towns right now, but only by the slimmest margin.Of course, I'm also elated that we "fell" to 4 and landed our unicorn. We probably would not have picked him at a higher slot, and we'd be mired in the usual frustrations of a Knicks fan.
Yeah it's amazing that what looked like bad luck was actually a great break
Phil spoke as if he didn't want Okafor. All his talk about Duke players not living up to high expectations and his style not being fit for today's game. I think he definitely would have taken Russell at #2. At #3, he would have either reluctantly taken Okafor with fear of passing on him for a complete unknown, or the more likely scenario, would have taken Porzingis and pissed everyones off and risks losing the entire faith of the franchise at least for the off-season.
Knixkik wrote:Bonn1997 wrote:Moonangie wrote:In a hypothetical re-draft with Knicks having the #1 - I'd take Towns right now, but only by the slimmest margin.Of course, I'm also elated that we "fell" to 4 and landed our unicorn. We probably would not have picked him at a higher slot, and we'd be mired in the usual frustrations of a Knicks fan.
Yeah it's amazing that what looked like bad luck was actually a great break
Phil spoke as if he didn't want Okafor. All his talk about Duke players not living up to high expectations and his style not being fit for today's game. I think he definitely would have taken Russell at #2. At #3, he would have either reluctantly taken Okafor with fear of passing on him for a complete unknown, or the more likely scenario, would have taken Porzingis and pissed everyones off and risks losing the entire faith of the franchise at least for the off-season.
I think Phil wanted Okafor pretty badly. He also downplayed KP - he was quick to highlight that KP got injured during the workout with the Knicks. Once I heard that, I knew Phil was taking KP if Okafor was off the board. But I think the way he downplayed Okafor was similar - he was trying to act like he didn't want him. Standard pre-draft smokescreen.
It is funny that we all thought it was terrible to get the 4th pick, but really the only way it could've worked out better is if we got #1 overall. KP was a godsend. Whatever happens this season, I hope we continue to develop him well and can add some nice young draft picks around him in the coming years.
