Spurs Select F Chimezie Metu in the 2018 NBA Draft (49th Overall)

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I dont mind the pick, better than murray, i would have taken allen. He could easily do what green does.

Allen.....did you say Allen WTF do you watch college ball man? Serious question?

[tholdren]

Allen.....did you say Allen WTF do you watch college ball man? Serious question?

Sad you dont

[Chinook]

I don't think anyone who watches games thinks Allen is a better athlete than Walker. He may jump higher, but he's not explosive. Dude is a legit NBA athlete, but he seems closer to DeJounte Murray in terms of size and speed and ability to convert vertical into plays at the rim. Neither is as good as Jonathon Simmons in that regard, and Simmons is not as good as Walker. Lonnie seems to fly down the court and can sky with no effort at all. But he can also adjust in the air, and do more above the rim than just dunk. They aren't close in that regard at all, honestly.

Allen is much more polished as a player, and I don't think a lot of people give him enough credit for how much skill he demonstrates when he plays. Dude's not a goon. I really liked Bagley during the draft, and watching him made me appreciate Allen, because Grayson set him up beautifully. He could have totally come in and been a factor in the guard rotation from Day One. That's the trade-off with picking older players though. If Walker can get that same level of polish to his game, he'll be much better than Allen is now and may be in the future. He could easily be the player that many Spurs fans hope Murray ends up being.

[SpursBills]

I don't think anyone who watches games thinks Allen is a better athlete than Walker. He may jump higher, but he's not explosive. Dude is a legit NBA athlete, but he seems closer to DeJounte Murray in terms of size and speed and ability to convert vertical into plays at the rim. Neither is as good as Jonathon Simmons in that regard, and Simmons is not as good as Walker. Lonnie seems to fly down the court and can sky with no effort at all. But he can also adjust in the air, and do more above the rim than just dunk. They aren't close in that regard at all, honestly.

Allen is much more polished as a player, and I don't think a lot of people give him enough credit for how much skill he demonstrates when he plays. Dude's not a goon. I really liked Bagley during the draft, and watching him made me appreciate Allen, because Grayson set him up beautifully. He could have totally come in and been a factor in the guard rotation from Day One. That's the trade-off with picking older players though. If Walker can get that same level of polish to his game, he'll be much better than Allen is now and may be in the future. He could easily be the player that many Spurs fans hope Murray ends up being.

How would you compare Walker's athleticism to someone like zhaire smith? I'm reasonably happy that walker fell to the spurs, but in my opinion smith was the true prize with the potential to be a two way monster.

[TD 21]

Metu is pretty much the same physical profile a LJC was. He's a higher leaper, but Livio was probably more mobile. Jean-Charles plays a lot of center in the g-league, but he was on track to be an SF before he tore his knee up. I'm hoping they keep Metu as a combo-forward rather than hoping he'll be a five.

Despite being listed as an SF, Jean-Charles was never going to be one the way the league was/is trending. Since he hasn't developed 3-point range, he became a C in a PF's body. Those types only work next to stretch C's.

Metu has no chance to be a combo forward. I'm not even sure he can be a combo big. Despite the relatively short wingspan, he's probably just a C.

[Chinook]

How would you compare Walker's athleticism to someone like zhaire smith? I'm reasonably happy that walker fell to the spurs, but in my opinion smith was the true prize with the potential to be a two way monster.

Smith can jump higher and seems better at flashy dunks. I wouldn't say he's more explosive, though. Dude's a slasher who could develop into a three-and-D-plus guy. Walker has lead-guard potential. He tightens up that handle, and he's going to be the best penetrator on the team.

http://www.tankathon.com/players/com...-lonnie-walker

This comparison seems to suggest that Smith was the best of the two-guards drafted around where the Spurs picked, while Walker was the worst. But Walker's age and physical tools give him a chance to be the best of the four in a few seasons.

[Chinook]

Despite being listed as an SF, Jean-Charles was never going to be one the way the league was/is trending. Since he hasn't developed 3-point range, he became a C in a PF's body. Those types only work next to stretch C's.

Metu has no chance to be a combo forward. I'm not even sure he can be a combo big. Despite the relatively short wingspan, he's probably just a C.

He's really small for center, even in the smaller college game. That's why he was a PF. He may not be able to keep up with forwards, but he'd struggle big time against bigger and stronger players. There were wings like KBD that were bigger than him. Despite the hype surrounding his vertical leap, he wasn't that impressive at the combine. I worry that he won't even have an agility advantage over centers if that's where his game goes. His only shot is going to be versatility on offense, and that suggests to me that he'll need to focus on perimeter skills.

[RGMCSE]

He's really small for center, even in the smaller college game. That's why he was a PF. He may not be able to keep up with forwards, but he'd struggle big time against bigger and stronger players. There were wings like KBD that were bigger than him. Despite the hype surrounding his vertical leap, he wasn't that impressive at the combine. I worry that he won't even have an agility advantage over centers if that's where his game goes. His only shot is going to be versatility on offense, and that suggests to me that he'll need to focus on perimeter skills.

You are being a real ing buzz kill dude. When I watched his highlights, its the first time I legitimately felt we finally got a big with real potential. Now your telling me hes not worth the 2nd round pick. Damn...

[Chinook]

You are being a real ing buzz kill dude. When I watched his highlights, its the first time I legitimately felt we finally got a big with real potential. Now your telling me hes not worth the 2nd round pick. Damn...

Real-talk: I am disappointed in getting him at 49. A normal second-round pick from SA would have been fine. But I was hoping someone really interesting would fall, and someone almost did.

Anyway, I'm actually not saying Metu isn't worth a pick or that he won't develop. I just don't think he's going to be the player people expect. I think he's going to have to be an unorthodox player if he's going to make it, so comparing him to players like Capela just doesn't jive with what I see. A defensive-minded combo-forward who can play some five seems best. That's probably what KBD would have ended up being anyway. I don't think there's any way in the team could roll with LMA/Gasol/Metu as their three bigs. If they can get Milutinov to come over, and Metu can be the swing-big who can play both four and five, then that makes the most sense. In my mind, Metu shouldn't leave Austin until their season is over.

[duncan2150]

He's really small for center, even in the smaller college game. That's why he was a PF. He may not be able to keep up with forwards, but he'd struggle big time against bigger and stronger players. There were wings like KBD that were bigger than him. Despite the hype surrounding his vertical leap, he wasn't that impressive at the combine. I worry that he won't even have an agility advantage over centers if that's where his game goes. His only shot is going to be versatility on offense, and that suggests to me that he'll need to focus on perimeter skills.

Imo he's a PF in today's nba and he could be a small ball C. As you said he wasn't impressive at the combine but his numbers are good, and really good for the vertical leap.

If he can do other things than dunks or putback wich was the case last year : shoot, floater for exemple, he will be interesting.

[kobyz]

Drew Gooden clone!

[palangi]

Most of you were crying last year for Jordan bell last year. We Just got a guy in round 2 who is bigger, longer, just as athletic, just as good at rim protecting, and comes with a better offensive skill set.

[Chinook]

Imo he's a PF in today's nba and he could be a small ball C. As you said he wasn't impressive at the combine but his numbers are good, and really good for the vertical leap.

If he can do other things than dunks or putback wich was the case last year : shoot, floater for exemple, he will be interesting.

His leap was really good for a center. The rest were pretty mediocre:

https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-...TY_TIME&dir=-1

I mean, sure, he might be the Gasols of the world off the dribble, but he's not a match-up problem for modern centers. And I don't put a ton of stock into max vert for bigs. You normally get into position before trying to grab a board, so standing vert is more often applied. He wasn't great there, and with his shorter arms and height disadvantage, I don't see him having any physical edge there.

[palangi]

His leap was really good for a center. The rest were pretty mediocre:

https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-...TY_TIME&dir=-1

I mean, sure, he might be the Gasols of the world off the dribble, but he's not a match-up problem for modern centers. And I don't put a ton of stock into max vert for bigs. You normally get into position before trying to grab a board, so standing vert is more often applied. He wasn't great there, and with his shorter arms and height disadvantage, I don't see him having any physical edge there.

How does he have shorter arms? At 6'9" and a 7' wingspan. That is a 3"+ wingspan, which is considered very good.

[Chinook]

How does he have shorter arms? At 6'9" and a 7' wingspan. That is a 3"+ wingspan, which is considered very good.

That's not considered anything but mediocre. It's normal to have arms much longer than height when you're an NBA player. Walker's wingspan is like seven inches more than his height.

[palangi]

That's not considered anything but mediocre. It's normal to have arms much longer than height when you're an NBA player. Walker's wingspan is like seven inches more than his height.

3"+ is considered good. Metu measured 6'8.5" with a 7' .5" wingspan. That is 4 inches. Plenty long and not a worry what so ever.

[Chinook]

3"+ is considered good. Metu measured 6'8.5" with a 7' .5" wingspan. That is 4 inches. Plenty long and not a worry what so ever.

Repeating yourself doesn't make it true. 3-plus is not even abnormal for the regular human population, let alone NBA players. To put it into perspective, Metu tied at the combined for the fourth-shortest arms among centers (and since Porter and Konate went back to school, it was really like second-shortest). And that was with guys like Bamba, Carter and Ayton not attending. He was the fifth-shortest center measured, with only Omari Spellman being drafted among the players shorter measurements. And Spellman, like a normal NBA player, has a six-inch differential between his wingspan and height, and he outweighs Metu by more than 30 points while also being more skilled and having range.

https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-...F=POSITION*E*c

Those are the actual combine results for centers. Metu is really small. He's not too small to ever make it work, but it's not fine.

[TD 21]

He's really small for center, even in the smaller college game. That's why he was a PF. He may not be able to keep up with forwards, but he'd struggle big time against bigger and stronger players. There were wings like KBD that were bigger than him. Despite the hype surrounding his vertical leap, he wasn't that impressive at the combine. I worry that he won't even have an agility advantage over centers if that's where his game goes. His only shot is going to be versatility on offense, and that suggests to me that he'll need to focus on perimeter skills.

Bell is 1.5 inches shorter, with a 0.75 shorter wingspan, yet plays C. Lauvergne has a 3 inch shorter wingspan, yet plays C. If Metu goes on to have an NBA career, it'll likely be as a deep bench player. They're not going to throw him on an island against the elite, back to the basket, overpowering C's.

[spursreport]

Real-talk: I am disappointed in getting him at 49. A normal second-round pick from SA would have been fine. But I was hoping someone really interesting would fall, and someone almost did.

Anyway, I'm actually not saying Metu isn't worth a pick or that he won't develop. I just don't think he's going to be the player people expect. I think he's going to have to be an unorthodox player if he's going to make it, so comparing him to players like Capela just doesn't jive with what I see. A defensive-minded combo-forward who can play some five seems best. That's probably what KBD would have ended up being anyway. I don't think there's any way in the team could roll with LMA/Gasol/Metu as their three bigs. If they can get Milutinov to come over, and Metu can be the swing-big who can play both four and five, then that makes the most sense. In my mind, Metu shouldn't leave Austin until their season is over.

You wanted a washed up Birdman a few years ago, and you support a ty ravens teams. Your opinion literally is worth jack . GMAFB.

[picnroll]

Metu has a standing reach 3.5” longer than Bell. Nothing to complain about. That said by statistics he doesn’t appear to have anywhere near the shot blocking or rebounding instincts of Bell.

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

You wanted a washed up Birdman a few years ago, and you support a ty ravens teams. Your opinion literally is worth jack . GMAFB.

radioactive

[Mugen]

This guy will be out of the league before Manu tbh, who cares

[spursreport]

Metu has a standing reach 3.5” longer than Bell. Nothing to complain about. That said by statistics he doesn’t appear to have anywhere near the shot blocking or rebounding instincts of Bell.

Your opinion also means jack . You said you would be anti-Kawhi if they worked their differences out and he stayed a Spur. Go root for the Warriors and their soon to be imploding team, you ing got.

[RD2191]

This guy will be out of the league before Manu tbh, who cares

Tbh

[RD2191]

Your opinion also means jack . You said you would be anti-Kawhi if they worked their differences out and he stayed a Spur. Go root for the Warriors and their soon to be imploding team, you ing got.