The Ringer: Zach Kram: Young Core Rankings

[Drom John]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/10/21/22737574/nba-young-core-rankings-2021-22-luka-doncic-trae-young-zion-williamson


24. San Antonio Spurs

Wins above replacement: 30.2
Best under-25 player: Devin Vassell (12.6)
Previous rankings: 14th, 15th

Here are the preseason win projections, per Basketball-Reference, for the bottom nine teams in this ranking:

Nets: 56.5
Bucks: 54.5
Lakers: 52.5
Jazz: 52.5
Suns: 51.5
Clippers: 45.5 (thanks to Kawhi Leonard’s injury)
Trail Blazers: 44.5
Spurs: 28.5

One of these things is not like the others! Most teams at the bottom of this list have little in the way of youth production because they’re set to win now; the Spurs aren’t set to win now or, as this ranking suggests, later. They’re stuck in no-man’s-land, with no extra first-round picks headed their way. A sneaky tank job might be in order to reset the franchise’s future.

[exstatic]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2021/10/21/22737574/nba-young-core-rankings-2021-22-luka-doncic-trae-young-zion-williamson

Dude doesn’t know his head from his ass. We Have Chicago’s pick headed our way.

LOL, Lakers young players.

[rjv]

yeah, that wasn't a very impressive take-and it would help to actually know a team's future 1st round draft picks inventory.

[TheChillFactor]

its just the same bullshit OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Vassell our best under-25er? bold take

[exstatic]

Vassell our best under-25er? bold take

Lonnie
Keldon
Devin
Drew
Tre
Josh

Not that bold of a take.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Lonnie
Keldon
Devin
Drew
Tre
Josh

Not that bold of a take.

I'm a vassell man myself and have rrally high hopes for him (2nd to primo who naturally is more uncertain) but right now to rate him over keldon .... bold imo

[exstatic]

I'm a vassell man myself and have rrally high hopes for him (2nd to primo who naturally is more uncertain) but right now to rate him over keldon .... bold imo

Keldon has been my favorite player since the Bubble, but Devin handles, shoots, and defends on another level from Keldon.

[Uriel]

Doesn’t this guy know Primo is going to be a Hall of Famer?

[Kurgan]

I'm a vassell man myself and have rrally high hopes for him (2nd to primo who naturally is more uncertain) but right now to rate him over keldon .... bold imo

Vassell has much higher upside than Keldon if he can put it together on offense. His defense guarantees that. Keldon will always have problems there due to his physical limitations.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Very meh shallow analysis. Random forum posts offer more insight tbh.

[BillMc]

Lonnie
Keldon
Devin
Drew
Tre
Josh

Not that bold of a take.

Are these in order? You don't really believe Lonnie is at the top of this list?

Mine would be Devin for now.

[lmbebo]

Considering we really don't have much lottery level talent, not surprising. We've had 2 late lotto picks in Devin and Primo....

[John B]

I'm a vassell man myself and have rrally high hopes for him (2nd to primo who naturally is more uncertain) but right now to rate him over keldon .... bold imo

Vassell is a more finish product on both sides of the court than Keldon, and that’s on his 2nd year.

Albeit, IF Keldon improved his mid-range game. This team is a playoff team.

[couchman]

25 is an arbitrary line and it excludes our best young player, DJM.

That being said, my ordered list of our Best U25 Spurs Players Today:

Vassell
Keldon
Drew
Lonnie
Primo
Tre

[wildbill2u]

League may have caught up to Keldon's skills and will defend against them. He better get that long range shot working. Too bad he can't learn "height" from a coach. Will desire and hustle earn him a spot on the starting five??? If his most natural position is SF, then I think Devin is going to push him out of there. Where does he fit?

[Dejounte]

What separates Keldon from Devin is his physicality. When shots aren’t falling, Keldon will at least get you shots inside. That’s important in the playoffs. Keldon scored an easy 15 points last night on limited minutes. With Devin, if his shots aren’t falling he’ll keep shooting costing them the game due to the inefficiency… as we’ve seen plenty during Summer League and some in pre-season. Devin remedies this by bulking up some more and becoming more crafty inside.

The starting line-up without Keldon would be soft as tissue.

[cjw]

Wait, the Ringer actually ranks the Spurs’ youth behind that of the team they just stomped yesterday?

These rankings on 30 teams that are put together in a few days aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. It’s to get clicks. We’ve all fallen for it.

[Drom John]

5. Orlando Magic

Wins above replacement: 86.9
Best under-25 players: Franz Wagner (16.3), Jalen Suggs (16.0), Jonathan Isaac (14.1)
Previous rankings: 10th, 11th

Do you believe in (the) Magic? Sorry, but it’s been a while since that was even a remotely interesting question. Now, the team has one of the five best young cores in the NBA. That lofty placement is largely thanks to the 2021 draft, as Suggs and Wagner, the no. 5 and 8 picks, respectively, look like two of the more promising rookies in the class.

Beyond that leading duo, the Magic have oodles of other intriguing names on their U25 list: Isaac and Markelle Fultz (3.5 WAR), who are both returning from injury; Chuma Okeke (11.0) and Cole Anthony (3.8), who are looking to take substantial steps forward in their second seasons; the recently extended Wendell Carter Jr. (8.8); the other Wagner brother, Moe (6.5); and the project, Mo Bamba (4.6).

Orlando has by far the least 25-and-over talent of any team in the league; the Magic’s best-projected player in that older group is Michael Carter-Williams. But looking at the full list of young’uns is enough to warrant real enthusiasm. The Magic could be fun again soon!

1) These are FiveThirtyEight Five Year Projections, not just a quick sloppy clickbait.
2) The rest of the Magic looked stompable.
3) Orlando is tanking to add to the youth.

[exstatic]

Are these in order? You don't really believe Lonnie is at the top of this list?

Mine would be Devin for now.

No, that was just a list of our <25 players. I had already said that Vassell was the apex predator of the group.

[Drom John]

FiveThirtyEight 5-YR Market Value

$60.3M Vassell
$32.6M Johnson
$13.9M Eubanks
$13.3M Cacock
$8.3M Jones
$7.0M Walker
Not rated Primo, Weiskamp

[TD 21]

1) These are FiveThirtyEight Five Year Projections, not just a quick sloppy clickbait.

That and the cutoff is 25, so Poeltl and Murray have joined White in aging out, which explains the precipituous drop.

I suspect Vassell is projected to provide the most WAR in the next five years because he's more likely to attain and be better at his ceiling (probably elite role player) than Johnson is at his (low level or pseudo star?).