Spurs need Jalen Duren

Originally Posted by objective

Here's Favors' combine measurements, and hopefully Duren will measure at the combine too for comparison

Favors: 6-8.75 barefoot
Wingspan: 7-4
Standing reach: 9-2

I still remember the Spurs interviewing Favors back then. I even remember the rumored trade of Tony Parker to the Nets for Devin Harris and the #3 pick, which would have been used on Favors.

And Duren is still super young.

He's only 5 weeks older than Primo for his draft year. November 18 birthday for Duren, December 24 for Primo.

Get him in the development program, get him working with Duncan, there could be so much to craft into something great.

Primo drafted discussion: "Stick him in the g-league, give him a few years! Let him learn. Who cares if the Spurs still have a hundred guards ahead of him on the roster, he's young!"

5 weeks older Duren discussion: "Eeeewww, we already have Poeltl! Kid can't play! We need another 6-5 combo with a bulbous cranium."

Folks who think Timmy can work miracles

Originally Posted by Dejounte

Folks who think Timmy can work miracles

It’s the new Chip Engelland thing apparently - let’s sign xxx who can’t shoot and Chip will teach him.

Originally Posted by BG_Spurs_Fan

It’s the new Chip Engelland thing apparently - let’s sign xxx who can’t shoot and Chip will teach him.

But even that is plausible, even if it’s rare. So many bigs have come through here and most of them come out the same way. Timmy has done nothing noteworthy for past bigs. Bigs already have the skill framework or they don’t. The fact that people want to waste a pick on a Javale McGee or a past-his-prime version of Dwight Howard ( , prime Dwight might not even excel today) is a headscratcher. To be a star center in this league, you’ve got to have an elite skillset as a big. This isn’t even a Kai Jones scenario where at least Kai was showcasing a bit more than a rim-rolling big. There doesn’t seem like much to work with with Duren and folks are simply blinded by his youth and his athleticism.

Originally Posted by objective

One of the reasons I think I've posted before for wanting a vertical big, just like how I wanted John Collins, is having a credible lob threat for the first time in forever.

For the love of God get Dejounte a lob threat.

There a Dunc'd On podcast last week or so on the free feed ranking the best point guards and they had Dejounte low and one or their reasons for having him so low was that he wasn't a real passer and despite his assist numbers he wasn't doing the kinds of assists that guys like Trae Young was doing. Well, no Dejounte isn't, because it's real easy for Trae to get those great assists because he's throwing lobs to Capela, Collins, and Okongwu all game long.

Let's see how many assists he gets when he has to deliver the ball to Jakob's waist because he can't get up, or the other stiffs the Spurs have

yup John Collins is the best roll man in the NBA. 1.49 points per posession

Oh good. Dejounte is down on Duren. That means he’ll be good. He ing HATED Devin Vassell.

Oh good. Dejounte is down on Duren. That means he’ll be good. He ing HATED Devin Vassell.

Originally Posted by exstatic

Oh good. Dejounte is down on Duren. That means he’ll be good. He ing HATED Devin Vassell.

This guy follows me everywhere and is the biggest hypocrite. Rent free.

Let’s not forget all the dumb you claimed you would be right about.

Get me on one guy whom I’ve acknowledged being wrong about (also, he hasn’t quite “made it” and he still has all the flaws I pointed out before he was drafted), and adjusted the way I view players but ignore the rest of the times I’m right

Meanwhile, you continue to double down on you’re wrong about and don’t have a clue when or how to be open minded because you’re a little weasel who is dumb as .

I still don't know why so many people want Duren it's just seems like yesterday these same people were ing about bringing Nikola over:
* The Center Spot has changed need players who can hit the 3 ball
* No need to waste a high pick on a center they hardly bring any thing because how the league has changed
* Don't bring Nikola over he can only Gorilla Dunk

Originally Posted by Ariel

Early? He's almost 19... if he's eligible and doesn't play because:
https://twitter.com/ukcoachcalipari/...988507143?s=21

again: if he's that good, why does he need an extra preparation year than everyone else? his parents and his coach don't think he's good enough for College level basketball right now, it seems... He's almost 19, doesn't add up... unless they're counting on people going by hype, which doesn't speak well of their confidence in his abilities.

I reiterate: he seems to be a talented kid. But he is more unproven than most other guys his age, and cir stances surrounding his situation are unusual, at the very least. He may very well end up the best player in the draft, I don't dispute that. It's the fact that we're acting as if it's a given that I have a problem with.

It's very interesting to me that Sharpe and Jabari Smith are the same age (born 17 days apart), but the age/potential argument is used so much more with him than it is with Smith. I get taking a chance with a guy that hasn't played a single college game, but it's also wise to remember that 18 months ago, many scouts had Emoni Bates as the best high school player in the country, and then he became a bench player at Memphis, and now he's in the process of transferring to a different college. If Bates came out right now, he might not even be a first round pick.

Originally Posted by BackHome

I still don't know why so many people want Duren it's just seems like yesterday these same people were ing about bringing Nikola over:
* The Center Spot has changed need players who can hit the 3 ball
* No need to waste a high pick on a center they hardly bring any thing because how the league has changed
* Don't bring Nikola over he can only Gorilla Dunk

Nikola didn’t come over for one reason: he’s a big lumbering Euro who can’t switch on defense.

Originally Posted by BackHome

I still don't know why so many people want Duren it's just seems like yesterday these same people were ing about bringing Nikola over:
* The Center Spot has changed need players who can hit the 3 ball
* No need to waste a high pick on a center they hardly bring any thing because how the league has changed
* Don't bring Nikola over he can only Gorilla Dunk

Nikola and Duren are not the same kind of player, one is athletic, the other is so so athletic. They have nothing in common except they are C's.

Jalen Duren likely won’t be the pick regardless imo. Just don’t think PATFO will take a swing on him when guys like Tari, Sochan, & Dyson Daniels will likely still be on the board.

Originally Posted by BatManu20

Jalen Duren likely won’t be the pick regardless imo. Just don’t think PATFO will take a swing on him when guys like Tari, Sochan, & Dyson Daniels will likely still be on the board.

Did you see them picking Primo last year?

Originally Posted by Dejounte

This guy follows me everywhere and is the biggest hypocrite. Rent free.

Let’s not forget all the dumb you claimed you would be right about.

Get me on one guy whom I’ve acknowledged being wrong about (also, he hasn’t quite “made it” and he still has all the flaws I pointed out before he was drafted), and adjusted the way I view players but ignore the rest of the times I’m right

Meanwhile, you continue to double down on you’re wrong about and don’t have a clue when or how to be open minded because you’re a little weasel who is dumb as .

You’re such an amusing little hater.

I don’t like Keegan Murray, because I think with only two years of NCAA experience, at nearly 22 he’s too old to select, but I would never leave him off of a tiered list of lottery prospects the way you omitted Duren. You just ing hate this kid, the way you did Vassell.

Originally Posted by exstatic

You’re such an amusing little hater.

I don’t like Keegan Murray, because I think with only two years of NCAA experience, at nearly 22 he’s too old to select, but I would never leave him off of a tiered list of lottery prospects the way you omitted Duren. You just ing hate this kid, the way you did Vassell.

There are plenty of lottery prospects I left off my tier list. I’m not anybody’s infallible source of truth. It’s my opinion and mine alone. It’s pretty evident that Duren isn’t anybody I strongly care about when I’ve made… three posts about him? The problem here is you latch hard to certain players and you have a need to defend them because you get your panties in a wad if someone says anything negative like the sensitive you are. Duren could or could not go on to prove me wrong and, like anybody should, I’ll admit I was wrong. I’m sorry that’s such a difficult concept for you… Let me tell you, it’s the only way someone can grow. And maybe you just stopped growing a long time ago, weasel.

I wanted the Spurs to bring milutinov over, yes, and I like Duren in this draft.

Why?

Because I'd like the Spurs to have a better roster. Pretty simple.

And Duren is 5x the rim protector Milutinov was/is. There's no comparison. Milutinov could square up and bother shots with his length. Duren can do that but can also go and get it. He's not Bam when moving his feet, but he's a lot closer to Bam then Milutinov on the feet sliding scale. There was some hope for Milutinov and switching when he was drafted as he was decent at it at the Adriatic level with Partisan, but as his body matured and the compe ion went up, that became less tenable for him.

Maybe people after decades of no vertical bigs on the Spurs just don't have an idea on what they can do for a team but also have no ability to scout it. Probably think that because Metu was a nobody that it doesn't matter, but mistaking Metu out of usc for a premium vertical big at the NBA level is like the Suns moving on from Amare for Hakim Warrick, who must be the same he can dunk too, right?

And re: Duncan working with bigs ... The point was Duren can and should still improve, he's literally 34 days older as an 18 year old than Primo at his draft. But there's one big difference: Duren will be a plus athlete in a big way, and Primo isn't. Maybe Duncan can help an 18 year old. Crazy.

Mark Williams

Originally Posted by objective

One of the reasons I think I've posted before for wanting a vertical big, just like how I wanted John Collins, is having a credible lob threat for the first time in forever.

For the love of God get Dejounte a lob threat.

There a Dunc'd On podcast last week or so on the free feed ranking the best point guards and they had Dejounte low and one or their reasons for having him so low was that he wasn't a real passer and despite his assist numbers he wasn't doing the kinds of assists that guys like Trae Young was doing. Well, no Dejounte isn't, because it's real easy for Trae to get those great assists because he's throwing lobs to Capela, Collins, and Okongwu all game long.

Let's see how many assists he gets when he has to deliver the ball to Jakob's waist because he can't get up, or the other stiffs the Spurs have

Agree that vertical spacer is an underrated skill and obvious longtime need, it'd just feel underwhelming to spend a top 10 pick on a slightly undersized big, who lacks ball skills and has a questionable motor.

As I've said though, I can't imagine they'll draft him given that he's the an hesis of their preferred type of big.

Originally Posted by TD 21

Agree that vertical spacer is an underrated skill and obvious longtime need, it'd just feel underwhelming to spend a top 10 pick on a slightly undersized big, who lacks ball skills and has a questionable motor.

As I've said though, I can't imagine they'll draft him given that he's the an hesis of their preferred type of big.

I guess measurements will come out to see if he's truly undersized. If he's really or 6-11 in shoes or even 6-10 in shoes at 250 pounds I wouldn't say he's undersized. Not sure about ball skills given his age, and the motor thing due to how he he's been coached. Dejounte at college looked like one of the worst defenders ever, had some bad whispers about his character if those YouTube video thumbnails are to be believed, and on top of that looked like he was only leaving Washington because Fultz was incoming to take his starting point guard spot.

Maybe there are some reasons the Spurs wouldn't touch him, sure. But I can't figure those out after their drafts. Select Milutinov, need a better back up then Eubanks ... Never sign him. Dejounte didn't seem the Spurs type. Lonnie didn't seem the Spurs type. Sengun did seem like their type but no go.

Originally Posted by TD 21

Agree that vertical spacer is an underrated skill and obvious longtime need, it'd just feel underwhelming to spend a top 10 pick on a slightly undersized big, who lacks ball skills and has a questionable motor.

As I've said though, I can't imagine they'll draft him given that he's the an hesis of their preferred type of big.

Bam lists at 6’9”, which means w/o shoes, he’s probably 6’8”. Doesn’t seem to hinder him with his wingspan and springs.

I actually hope he measures out a bit short. Might make teams shy off him like they did Bam.

Originally Posted by R. DeMurre

It's very interesting to me that Sharpe and Jabari Smith are the same age (born 17 days apart), but the age/potential argument is used so much more with him than it is with Smith. I get taking a chance with a guy that hasn't played a single college game, but it's also wise to remember that 18 months ago, many scouts had Emoni Bates as the best high school player in the country, and then he became a bench player at Memphis, and now he's in the process of transferring to a different college. If Bates came out right now, he might not even be a first round pick.

I think casuals get really excited by youtube footage. Johnny Juzang posted stuff on his twitter where he's hitting threes. Ben Simmons posted stuff where he hit outside shots. Who cares? High school footage isn't college.

Getting excited by a high school player who was on the cusp of playing for Kentucky... then for some reason didn't... and where Calipari made comments about his players needing to be in shape and ready right before he was shut down... doesn't bode well to me. Now, maybe things are different in work-outs, but if he doesn't do combines and so on, I move on. Those are really bad signs. The Emoni Bates comparison is spot on. Look back at the top high school rankings over the last 10-15 years and there are tons of guys who disappeared without a trace.

So, getting energized by Sharpe just because of some high school footage is just straight up casual garbage. Maybe he will be a great NBA player, but the indications will be anywhere else but those.

Originally Posted by exstatic

Bam lists at 6’9”, which means w/o shoes, he’s probably 6’8”. Doesn’t seem to hinder him with his wingspan and springs.

I actually hope he measures out a bit short. Might make teams shy off him like they did Bam.

And i really think Duren is at least 6'9 without shoes and a legit 6'10, don't know where that undersized theory comes from.

Low skill centers are probably the least important type of player in the NBA, right? You have to believe he has glimpses of more than that to take him top ten.