Mitchell Robinson skipped college and the NBA combine. He didn't play organized ball for a year, and scouts hadn't seen him outside workout settings since the 2017 Jordan Brand Classic (15 points, 7-of-7 FG). They should have rolled the dice anyway.He led all of summer league in player efficiency rating (minimum four games), and now the question is, just how big of a steal did the New York Knicks get?
Hot take: He'll be better than two Top Six bigs in Marvin Bagley III and Mohamed Bamba.
Despite missing a season's worth of action, Robinson proved his athleticism and timing haven't gone anywhere. He set a record dating back to 2004, blocking 4.0 shots per game in just 24.7 minutes, per RealGM.com.
We've already established that Bagley will have trouble in the pros. And while Bamba has the chance to be special, Robinson brings a whole new level of explosiveness, power and energy in the paint.
His 14.0 percent block rate and 21.3 rebounding percentage blew away Bamba's (9.4 percent BLK, 14.1 percent REB). He didn't take jumpers in Las Vegas, but Robinson still averaged 13.0 points on 66.7 percent from the field.
Robinson has a better chance to be Clint Capela 2.0 than Bamba does to be the next Rudy Gobert.
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2786...To be clear, Wasserman clarifies that this is based on summer league performance and is a hot take. He has been very clear in the two articles he has written (redraft) that it is early on in the process and only the summer league. No need to double down on the, its too early mantra again.
Knox should have gone top 5.
It looks like Kevin Knox was misused at Kentucky based on what he showed during summer league, where he averaged 21.3 points.It became clear that he's far more threatening off the dribble than initially expected. Knox went from an off-ball role to the Knicks' featured player, and it helped illuminate strengths that were masked in college.
At 6'9", 212 pounds, Knox blends power forward size with guard skills, specifically the ability to face up and attack, shoot off the dribble and knock down threes. He's big and athletic, loaded with scoring versatility that hints at a combo-forward mismatch down the road.
And he hasn't turned 19 years old yet.
Knox went No. 9, and there will still be a handful of teams in the top eight who'll regret overlooking him as an option.
A Rookie of the Year sleeper, the Knicks' newest cornerstone is going to emerge as one of the draft's top players over others who received far more hype prior to the 2018 draft.
CrushAlot wrote:Knox should have gone top 5.
It looks like Kevin Knox was misused at Kentucky based on what he showed during summer league, where he averaged 21.3 points.It became clear that he's far more threatening off the dribble than initially expected. Knox went from an off-ball role to the Knicks' featured player, and it helped illuminate strengths that were masked in college.
At 6'9", 212 pounds, Knox blends power forward size with guard skills, specifically the ability to face up and attack, shoot off the dribble and knock down threes. He's big and athletic, loaded with scoring versatility that hints at a combo-forward mismatch down the road.
And he hasn't turned 19 years old yet.
Knox went No. 9, and there will still be a handful of teams in the top eight who'll regret overlooking him as an option.
A Rookie of the Year sleeper, the Knicks' newest cornerstone is going to emerge as one of the draft's top players over others who received far more hype prior to the 2018 draft.
I created a player in 2k18 with his exact measurables, before I knew who we were drafting. And this size and skill is a problem for most on the game. If anybody plays 2k18, let me know.
Back to knox....he's the sh!t.....nothing more to add. lol....Life is the only thing that can slow him down.
It IS early and the claims are outlandish. Let's wait till we see what Robinson does for a full NBA season. It's ok to hope he will outshine those two,but that's all it is right now.
I think Porzingis may end up being the Robin to Knox the Batman!
And I say that only half kidding - to impact the game today, you have to be able to dribble and attack the basket - KP is simply too tall to do that effectively.
Kp and KK will both be Franks bytches!!!!!
Just kidding, Love the summerleague buzz. Just kick back and enjoy it.
Nalod wrote:Kp and KK will both be Franks bytches!!!!!
Just kidding, Love the summerleague buzz. Just kick back and enjoy it.
This is how I see it as well. Who cares if we put too much stock in stuff like summer league sometimes. It's part of the fun of being a fan. You get to project greatness on a young prospect in the hope of it becoming a reality. We all know 95% of the young prospects will never reach greatness but this part of the process is still fun.
franco12 wrote:I think Porzingis may end up being the Robin to Knox the Batman!And I say that only half kidding - to impact the game today, you have to be able to dribble and attack the basket - KP is simply too tall to do that effectively.
your probably right, but the way JH and rambis used KP was retarded, especially when the scouting report was in after that blazing hot start..remember they started posting him up and watching him get doubled and triple team.
He is going to be more of a face up like bosh was in Miami with bron and wade
Would like to see RM become a stretch 4 eliminator. The combination of KP, RM, KK, FN could be something special defensively given the length and instincts on the perimeter with the length and instincts in the paint.
Just think you would have to get by the top PNR defender in the NBA only to have to deal with instinctive lengthy shot blockers like RM & KP.
With these guys all being able to contribute in some capacity without needing the ball in their hands. Any ball dominant player that is brought in. It wont be stated that they don't have enough help.
knicks1248 wrote:franco12 wrote:I think Porzingis may end up being the Robin to Knox the Batman!And I say that only half kidding - to impact the game today, you have to be able to dribble and attack the basket - KP is simply too tall to do that effectively.
your probably right, but the way JH and rambis used KP was retarded, especially when the scouting report was in after that blazing hot start..remember they started posting him up and watching him get doubled and triple team.
He is going to be more of a face up like bosh was in Miami with bron and wade
I agree. He should not be doing much iso. He should be running off free throw extended screens and catch and shoot from 10-15 feet. Pick and pop to the 3-point line. Pick and roll to an easy finish around the basket. We can make the game easy for him and he can average 23 and 8 on 50% shooting/40% from 3pt.
meloshouldgo wrote:It IS early and the claims are outlandish. Let's wait till we see what Robinson does for a full NBA season. It's ok to hope he will outshine those two,but that's all it is right now.
Did you miss this in the initial post?
To be clear, Wasserman clarifies that this is based on summer league performance and is a hot take. He has been very clear in the two articles he has written (redraft) that it is early on in the process and only the summer league. No need to double down on the, its too early mantra again.
franco12 wrote:newyorknewyork wrote:Would like to see RM become a stretch 4 eliminator. The combination of KP, RM, KK, FN could be something special defensively given the length and instincts on the perimeter with the length and instincts in the paint. Just think you would have to get by the top PNR defender in the NBA only to have to deal with instinctive lengthy shot blockers like RM & KP.
With these guys all being able to contribute in some capacity without needing the ball in their hands. Any ball dominant player that is brought in. It wont be stated that they don't have enough help.
Who is RM?
I developed the bad habit of pronouncing his name backwards as for some reason it's more catchy to me.lol. Robinson Mitchell sounds like a future superstar. Mitchel Robinson just another solid player 
newyorknewyork wrote:franco12 wrote:newyorknewyork wrote:Would like to see RM become a stretch 4 eliminator. The combination of KP, RM, KK, FN could be something special defensively given the length and instincts on the perimeter with the length and instincts in the paint. Just think you would have to get by the top PNR defender in the NBA only to have to deal with instinctive lengthy shot blockers like RM & KP.
With these guys all being able to contribute in some capacity without needing the ball in their hands. Any ball dominant player that is brought in. It wont be stated that they don't have enough help.
Who is RM?
I developed the bad habit of pronouncing his name backwards as for some reason it's more catchy to me.lol. Robinson Mitchell sounds like a future superstar. Mitchel Robinson just another solid player
it could be that he is so athletic, he can be in 2 places at once!
newyorknewyork wrote:Would like to see RM become a stretch 4 eliminator. The combination of KP, RM, KK, FN could be something special defensively given the length and instincts on the perimeter with the length and instincts in the paint. Just think you would have to get by the top PNR defender in the NBA only to have to deal with instinctive lengthy shot blockers like RM & KP.
With these guys all being able to contribute in some capacity without needing the ball in their hands. Any ball dominant player that is brought in. It wont be stated that they don't have enough help.
I think Robinson is a 5. But he definitely could be an eliminator. The guy ran baseline to baseline in 2.8 seconds in high school.
Mitch is a physical FREAK! He has even more skills than he showed in SL. His agility and Quickness at his size is scary. He just needs time n Training to refine his game and adjust to NBA Level competition. Love his potential.
nixluva wrote:Mitch is a physical FREAK! He has even more skills than he showed in SL. His agility and Quickness at his size is scary. He just needs time n Training to refine his game and adjust to NBA Level competition. Love his potential.
I actually think he needs to slow down a bit. Freakishly athletic bigs don't last long in the NBA, this kid is too skilled to waste on a freak injury. What he needs is a ton of coaching and tough love when he gets out of line.
We drafted a championship team. It will be the end of the season before the rest of the league acknowledges it but we essentially have deandre Jordan, KP, Paul George, Hardaway, and a young Chauncey Billups on our team. Add Kyrie and this team pushes for the championship next year. Scott Perry for executive of the year. Yes, I said it.
Props to matching Nixlevel faith. Seldom seen here and I love it. I have different comparisons for Knox and Frank but I like the positive vision.
TheGame wrote:We drafted a championship team. It will be the end of the season before the rest of the league acknowledges it but we essentially have deandre Jordan, KP, Paul George, Hardaway, and a young Chauncey Billups on our team. Add Kyrie and this team pushes for the championship next year. Scott Perry for executive of the year. Yes, I said it.
nixluva wrote:Mitch is a physical FREAK! He has even more skills than he showed in SL. His agility and Quickness at his size is scary. He just needs time n Training to refine his game and adjust to NBA Level competition. Love his potential.
He's not a better prospect than Bagley and Bamba.
He can run the floor better than both and will likely, if he gets minutes, be better in transition than both. His fundamentals need work and he may profile out to be too far foul prone to stay in games very long. There is not enough book on him yet to determine if he can quarterback a NBA defense yet either.
The lingering deeper issue is missing the Combine was a huge mistake, but to be fair to his former agent, the question remains if part of the factor was that there were questions that Robo could not answer or would not answer in the interview phase. That's troubling on all kinds of levels.
There have been long standing viewpoints/arguments in the league in the past regarding developing young big men. The D/G League is NOT seen as a best pathway for many young big men. For wings and guards, it's a different story. Individual coaching is a major factor, playing against NBA grade competition is another. Having rapport with NBA refs is yet another issue. Guys like Kevin Willis and Terry Cummings played so long, because, in part, they knew how to game the refs.
Robo is a Knick, thus I want him to do well. But there are strong reasons why he fell and other teams avoided him.
