Knicks · Fultz v. Ntilikina (page 1)

Could Nitty be the better long-term prospect? Nitty = bigger, longer, younger, better defense, and helped his pro team to the championship, vs. Fultz whose college team was 9-22 (9-15 when he played, out due to knee injury). This is a comparison I'm going to watch. Go Knicks.

Lol, that took no time at all.

NardDogNation wrote:Lol, that took no time at all.

Of course.

Fultz more of a "scorer," obviously, at this point, and more rounded on offense.

This is not a crazy idea to discuss, IMO. Folks have to remember that few young Euros in decent leagues are going to be able to play with the freedom that their counterparts have with some college teams over here.

Not going to get into arguments about this...much too early, but it might be something to revisit down the road.

The thing I was concerned about with Nitty was that he didn't seem to have that Star quality when watching tape. Still as has been mentioned he wasn't really in a situation in a Pro League to just go off. He's so young that it's hard to tell how much better he'll get. I think Nitty's value in a TEAM game is high but I doubt he's gonna be one of those big time scorers off the dribble. Tho he did show improvement with his handles which I must say was encouraging.

Can't wait for Summer League.

nixluva wrote:The thing I was concerned about with Nitty was that he didn't seem to have that Star quality when watching tape. Still as has been mentioned he wasn't really in a situation in a Pro League to just go off. He's so young that it's hard to tell how much better he'll get. I think Nitty's value in a TEAM game is high but I doubt he's gonna be one of those big time scorers off the dribble. Tho he did show improvement with his handles which I must say was encouraging.

Can't wait for Summer League.

I will say this, in 2015, kp's tapes from his euroleague play didn't impress me either or his workout tape. but he got the freedom in the nba and didn't disappoint. so again we will see in a couple of years.

For Knicks fans the comparison that will be made much more throughout their careers is Ntilikina vs SmithJr.

Our guy is 18, Smith is 19 (8 month difference). He is better defensively now. Smith has a better offensive player now.

Who will develop more over the next few years. John Wall a great player out of college took 4-5 years to turn into the player he is now.

I am sure FN will be very good but it will take time. He will contribute this season, start the following and be a force in his 4th is my guess at age 22/23. KP will be 25, Willy too. The team will be primed to challenge at that time.

That's my view through rose colored glasses.

Oh and Melo will be retiring.....

Definitely Y on the Smith (and Monk) career comparisons. But I think there is a real question of whether a player who led his team to a 9-22 record, no matter how individually talented, is better than a player who helped his team to the championship. I am ecstatic we got Nitty and think he will be a long-term star for us.

I felt that Nitty didn't look like he had Star potential and in general that's the consensus of scouts about him, however, that's really not the whole story. Nitty could be more of a Kawhi type player when it's all said and done. Not so much an Elite Offensive player with electrifying creativity but perhaps more of a great defender and EFFICIENT and SMART offensive player. In short more of a "good cog in a winning team" type than say a less efficient ball dominant type.

In any event it's going to be very interesting to see how he performs with more of a role than he had on his French team.

I started the Kawhi at guard comparisons for Frank, and that remains my feeling on him regarding his ceiling. 5 years down the road, given his defensive potential, its quite possible he routinely wins the match-up battle against any of the top point guards. Defense is 50% of winning and he has elite reaction time and length. If it turns out, he's only a setup guy/3pt shooter on offense, then he still has tremendous value as an on-floor strategist and play finisher.

As much as I like DSJ, like any prospect whose value is as a primary offensive option, the burden on efficiency is extreme; for that to work with DSJ, his shooting needs vast improvement.

codeunknown wrote:I started the Kawhi at guard comparisons for Frank, and that remains my feeling on him regarding his ceiling. 5 years down the road, given his defensive potential, its quite possible he routinely wins the match-up battle against any of the top point guards. Defense is 50% of winning and he has elite reaction time and length. If it turns out, he's only a setup guy/3pt shooter on offense, then he still has tremendous value as an on-floor strategist and play finisher.

As much as I like DSJ, like any prospect whose value is as a primary offensive option, the burden on efficiency is extreme; for that to work with DSJ, his shooting needs vast improvement.

Great points. Now by comparison, Nitty playing SYSTEM basketball is going to be looking to setup Post and Cutting players as well as running Drag Screens, PnR and Curls. The guys around him will be Efficient Shooters and guys moving towards the basket for high efficiency scoring opportunities. Rather than forcing things Nitty will also be working within the system much like Baker tried to do but hopefully much more successfully.

jazz74 wrote:

nixluva wrote:The thing I was concerned about with Nitty was that he didn't seem to have that Star quality when watching tape. Still as has been mentioned he wasn't really in a situation in a Pro League to just go off. He's so young that it's hard to tell how much better he'll get. I think Nitty's value in a TEAM game is high but I doubt he's gonna be one of those big time scorers off the dribble. Tho he did show improvement with his handles which I must say was encouraging.

Can't wait for Summer League.

I will say this, in 2015, kp's tapes from his euroleague play didn't impress me either or his workout tape. but he got the freedom in the nba and didn't disappoint. so again we will see in a couple of years.

KP didn't show his ability to create off the dribble, but you could see he had a great shot. He also surprised me with his defense. I thought ok, an athletic stretch 4 like Ibaka, but was surprised he was more like an athletic Dirk or (not at that level yet but very young raw Dirk).

Nti I don't know what his "hidden" skills are, but he has shown me he will defend and he will be active. He's a high motor, defensive minded player. That I think will translate to the NBA, but initially we may see foul issues. Young players who are defensively skilled and have a defensive motor can be foul prone. On offense, I don't see a really strong skill, or stand out skill. This is where you are now relying on work ethic. He's 18. How much does he want to work? How much will he fit his game and develop the skills needed in the Triangle? I think he seems like a kid that will put in the work.

We all may not see this, but I think we got the youngest player in the draft with probably on the more significant windows to get better. He isn't even close to his peak or full potential. There is this argument that the NCCA teams are better competition than the professional leagues KP or Nti played at, according to some ESPN scouts, they say a top professional team from France would beat NCAA teams easily.

Right now we shouldn't expect more than 8 points, 2-3 assists and active defense this first year (in about 24 minutes) but over the next few years the room to grow is almost double those numbers in my opinion.

We are all brainwashed by using stats from today's PGs as an evaluation guide. Frank is the old school Charlie Ward IQ type PG , but similar to the greek freak as far as physical tools at his position. That means Frank is everything you want in today's lead guard roll.....Has the rare ability to score in half court and full court. his points doesn't determine wins and losses. but his presence on both ends.....and passing ability is a bigger impact than trying to average 20.....

I love Frank's game....reminds me of myself. and why I never saw myself as an NBA player. but we are the glue guys on any team. lock down defense.....set up teammates with unselfish passes. hit open 3 pt shots. he's exactly what we are missing. just like he will.....i learned how to score on iso plays later in my career....that makes u dangerous when u are also unselfish by nature.

with that said, I still would've picked monk over Frank. most Euro PGs play like Frank and that's why Phil was able to find another long PG in the 2nd round. monk is a momentum changing player. his only knock is he's not well rounded. but he can shoot and finish in the open court. if Frank can do that at the next level like monk can.....then Phil made the best long term investment. using the spurs as a model to build solid high IQ unselfish players.