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- Posted on: Fri, 04/26/2013 - 10:41pm #48464
lawrencejdParticipantDo you guys think that Steven Adams could potentially sneak into the lottery after the combine and workouts? His size, freakish athleticism and undoubted potential and ceiling will have scouts drooling. What do you guys think? If not, why not? Where do you think he will go?
0 - Posted on: Fri, 04/26/2013 - 11:14pm #766593
stepback3ParticipantBut I well and truly believe he should go in the lottery.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 12:56am #766595
omphalosParticipantHonestly, nothing would surprise me in this draft.
It depends how he goes in the combine and workouts, but I could see him being taken before Zeller with a strong showing, especially given how poorly Zeller played in the loss to Syracuse.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 2:00am #766602
JunkYardDogParticipantlots of bigs in this draft with intriguing potential : len as adams could be seen as the next leonard (who showed some flashes this year) and noel could benefit of drummond’s good year (even with his injury).
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 3:06am #766607
omphalosParticipantNoel and Drummond are night and day as far as prospects go to me, so I’m not sure what benefit Noel could get from Drummond’s performance.
Drummond is a very mobile, well-built athletic specimen, he combines mobility with great strength and has a great handle for a big, and had been healthy his whole career barring a broken nose leading up to the draft.
Noel is a slender pogo-stick who blocks shots, passes well and is VERY limited offensively, and is also carrying an ACL injury into the draft.
Outside of the capacity to block shots they are almost completely different.
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 3:25am #766612
JunkYardDogParticipantnoel and drummond ?… two young centers, prospects from the same university, not the same game at all or past with injuries (completly agree) but the same kind of intriguing upside. I’m not comparing the kind of player they are or could become but only comparing their stock and how it could evolve.
They were both expected to be top 3 pick (if not number 1) and both got high and low during their only year. Drummond fall in last year’s draft and Noel could really too (even if this year’s draft is weaker) after the combine and the workouts (his injury won’t help of course).
drummond’s success could help noel’s stock to be more steady and still be attractive for scouts to take the risk on him.
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 5:39pm #766790
tblazer_NZParticipant“prospects from the same university”
Andre Drummond went to UCONN and Noel went to UK
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- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 4:14am #766617
CrocoduckParticipantCertaintly they’re not similiar physically, but I think production wise we can expect similiar results (I don’t think Noel will have as good a rookie year, when healthy however). Drummond rarely created his own shot and thrived on offensive rebounds and used his athleticisim to finish strong when set up. He set solid screens all year, and although I do think he looked a bit lost defensivly at times he was effective at challenging shots. He played to his strenghs brilliantly and didn’t try to do to much.
There will not be any teams that expect any more out of Noel early on. His focus will be 1. to gain weight (yes I know he has narrow shoulders, but they said the same thing about Noah), 2. rebound, 3. challenge shots while staying out of foul trouble, and 4. finish easy shots.
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- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 2:05am #766603
benny15Participantcurrently have him going lotto right now to the Thunder. he’s a project big who has good physical tools. well know that bigs take the longest to develop in this league, but his frame, built and mobility gives him starting center at the very least.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 5:04am #766624
treytalkssports.comParticipantAdams has good athleticism, but ‘freakish athleticism’ ???? I don’t see that. The term ‘freakish’ should be reserved for Centers like Drummond, Howard, Jordan, McGee, etc. Adams is not that kind of athlete.
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 8:09am #766676
SiggyParticipantYeah I would consider him a freakish athlete, taking all his attributes into consideration. he’s a 7′ 250 with already a powerful, muscular frame and a strong base. Laterally he is very quick for his size, runs the floor very well, has good recovery speed and is a quick leaper. doesn’t explode all the time, but when he decides to jump, like for area rebounding you can see he’s got hops. The difference b/t he and a guy like D.Jordan is that Adams doesn’t try to block and dunk everything. He doesn’t try to posterize or send shots into the 18th row, but I think he’s every bit of an athlete that DeAndre is.
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 9:44am #766691
lakeshow22ParticipantSo siggy why was deandre Jordan a second round pick and you have Steven Adams as a top 5 pick
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 11:53am #766732
SiggyParticipantBetter draft and quite frankly, Jordan had a rep as lazy and dumb.
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 1:12pm #766752
lakeshow22ParticipantThat’s still a huge difference and with Jordan having better physical tools he seemed to be a better prospect than adams
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 6:47pm #766803
SiggyParticipantI don’t agree that Jordan had the better physical tools. Adams has better lower body strength, better lateral quickness and more definition to his body than Jordan did at the same stage. Also, despite his experience in the game, Adams shows better fundamentals at the same stage too, with little to no bad habits, having avoided the AAU culture. He’s more sound defensively, not hunting down blocks or biting on fakes, being just as content to wall off the shot attempt, while being in position for a rebound. He boxes out just about every single defensive rebound opportunity. Plays physically, always looking to put his body on somebody as a willing screen setter who sets wide, crushing picks, jockeying for position or looking to seal the help defense. Even at his level of experience, he’s at a higher point than DeAndre was physically, mentally and in terms of fundamentals.
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- Posted on: Sun, 04/28/2013 - 5:28am #766847
JoeJoParticipantI was actually pretty disappointed with Adams’ athleticism. I had seen full games of him before this season and been impressed with his combination of strength and athleticism, especially for his age. However, what I saw at Pittsburgh was a guy with good straight line speed and decent lateral quickness but limited hops and poor balance in the post. He’s mechanical and not fluid. I’m not dismissing him but just projecting based on his freshman season, he seems unlikely to be much of a scorer, maybe never cracking double-digits and he doesn’t get off the floor well enough to be a huge difference maker on defense.
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- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 5:48am #766632
arowsky205ParticipantIf a guy is so raw that he even has a hard time catching a basketball when it is thrown to him, he certainly should not be a lottery pick. I’ve seen that happen to Adams many times this year. He’s not a “freak” athlete; the best things he has going for him are that he’s big and young. There are plenty of young bigs out there already. This kid is not a lottery pick, maybe not even first round.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 5:50am #766635
CavFanPRParticipantHe has lottery talent but it seems like the draft looks stronger and stronger by the day (especially big men).
0 - Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 6:04am #766639
BasketballJunkie224Participanti feel like he needs to get wayyy tougher
0 - Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 6:27am #766648
JoeWolf1I think it’s a safe bet. I think his range will end up being 9-16. I think OKC could pick him up as a future replacement for Perkins.
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 6:42am #766655
JunkYardDogParticipantI don’t know if it would be a good solution for him…
Neither Mullens Koufos nor Aldrich managed to get playing time (and really developped their game) in the almost same situation.
OKC should look perk’s replacement via tade with an older proven big or draft the best prospect available (I even think Adetokoubo or Saric would be better pick playing overseas 1 or 2 years)
Sea / OKC has an horrible drafting (or developping) history with bigs (petro, sene, swift…beofre mullens aldrich koufos)…
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- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 8:00am #766669
MattHoopsParticipantI am guessing a 7 footer with potential will go into the lottery eventhough he is very raw.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 8:03am #766673
SiggyParticipantYes, he has the best physical tools in this draft.
0 - Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 5:25pm #766786
TheLastWordParticipantAt 44% foul shooting he would need to be Howard, Drummond, or Deandre Jordan level equivalents on defense to play. None of these bigs ever improved their foul shooting, Drummond still could, but I highly doubt it. Adams would be the exception. Are we comfortable saying Adams has their defensive potential?? He certainly has no offense.
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 6:55pm #766806
SiggyParticipantFWIW, he does have a better stroke than any one of them. Howard started out OK, but his shot has really devolved because he absolutely refuses to raise his release point and get better extension.
Also, surpassing Jordan defensively isn’t saying much since he isn’t that good of a defender to begin with.
I don’t expect Adams to be a force offensively, but I do think his defense and rebounding potential is immense. Being an Asik type C eventually wouldn’t be out of the question IMO.
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 7:20pm #766807
lakeshow22ParticipantAnd that’s worth a top 5 pick?
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 7:52pm #766812
SiggyParticipantAbsolutely
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 8:02pm #766816
GrandmamaParticipantThis dude man crushes over Adams…..
0- Posted on: Sat, 04/27/2013 - 8:08pm #766818
lawrencejdParticipantHe just knows his stuff about steven
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- Posted on: Sun, 04/28/2013 - 8:33am #766869
TheLastWordParticipantI trust you have seen him nearly every game to make this kind of projection? Your explanation why he only played 23 minutes a game when only averaging 1.3 fouls?
0- Posted on: Sun, 04/28/2013 - 11:11am #766908
SiggyParticipantBecause he’s raw, he played for Jamie Dixon who makes his players earn everything and Pitt played a 10 man rotation with all players averaging at least 12 minutes a game.
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- Posted on: Wed, 05/01/2013 - 12:13am #767662
JoeJoParticipantHeight, physique-wise, I can buy the Asik comparison but I don’t think Adams played with the same kind of motor Asik does. It can get better, Noel’s did, but there was something too self-controlled about how Adams played. It was like he was too self-conscious of himself on the big stage and never let himself go. It’s understandable that it happened, since the atmosphere of college basketball was unlike anything he had experienced before but I wonder about guys like him.
I also think Asik is a better athlete than Adams. I don’t see the same plus athlete you do. When you refer to him showing his athleticism on rebounds out of his area, I see the exact opposite. He could barely get off the ground when he had to extend for a board just a little bit out of his reach.
I thought Adams looked like a bigger Zaza Pachulia..
0- Posted on: Wed, 05/01/2013 - 8:54am #767802
SiggyParticipantI wouldn’t consider Asik a high motor guy. He’s not a low motor guy either IMO. He doesn’t accomplish what he does by just playing harder than his opponents. He’s big, he’s strong, physical, long, mobile and he does things on the defensive end and on the glass in a fundamentally sound manner. To me that’s why he’s as good as he is. He doesn’t expend any unnecessary energy going for blocks. He doesn’t hedge out too high. He doesn’t over-rotate. On the glass he doesn’t out hustle people, he out-positions them. IOW, he does his work early. Guarding the PnR he stays wide and gives ground. Defending the paint he stays tall and he contests as many shots as he can without leaving the floor so he’s in a better position to rebound. Adams does a lot of those same things. That’s one of the reasons why I find him so intriguing. Even with his lack of experience in the game, he still does a lot little things fundamentally well. He always boxes out. He always sets wide, hard screens. He looks to get early positioning. He understands sealing the help defender on his teammates’ drives.
He does leave some stuff on the floor though and I do see your point about him being too self-contained. Even though he rebounded at a good rate ( 11 per 36, pace adj), he could’ve been more selfish on the glass. One of the things I didn’t like about his game was that he was too unselfish and too concerned about his own man. He’d box out and stick to his man. Which is good for team rebounding, if your teammates track the ball well too. But if he wants to be a dominant rebounder individually, he has to box and go get it. Same goes for his help rotations. He had a tendency to defend the dump off and was reluctant to give up rebounding position. Both fundamentally sound things, but overly conservative play.
I don’t see any physical or athletic limitations. He’s not one to look to explode every chance that he gets to launch himself like a DeAndre Jordan or JaVale Mcgee. He uses his athletic ability as necessary. I’ve seen him get super high off of rebounds or shot contests. What’s more important for a big is agility and quick leaping ability and that he has. Asik has the advantage in pure size (he’s about 7’2 with length), but I’d give the edge to Adams in terms of athleticism. He’s quicker, more agile, runs the floor faster and has better recovery speed. I don’t see the Z-Pach comparison athletically. Z-Pach is strong, but lacks spring and quickness.
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- Posted on: Tue, 04/30/2013 - 11:10pm #767657
lawrencejdParticipantAdams was actually injured for the majority of the season, his thumb. It healed by the time the last 3 games and tournament came around, his free throw shooting improved drastically, he actually has a very nice stroke
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- Posted on: Sun, 04/28/2013 - 1:59pm #766928
SnowtaParticipantDoes anyone know Adams’ wingspan?
0- Posted on: Thu, 05/02/2013 - 9:19pm #768324
TheLastWordParticipantIt’s never been measured, would guess around 7’3″.
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- Posted on: Sun, 04/28/2013 - 2:05pm #766934
HitsterParticipantInteresting point by AJY, if Adams did have a big wingspan he could shoot up the mock boards, with his build I could see him putting up a good combine and he already has an NBA build and comes from a sporting family (Half sister is a double Olympic shot putt champion).
As I always say it only takes one GM to like a player.
A lot could depend also on whether teams get some of the bigs to work out against each other in the workouts.
0 - Posted on: Thu, 05/02/2013 - 5:40pm #768258
Marcus50ParticipantIf genetics is anything to go by (google an image of his sister Valerie Adams 6’4″ 260lb Olympic shotput gold medalist), this guy can still add some size and strength. Adams is still only 19 and at 7’0″ and 250lb another 15-20 lbs and extra strength conditioning makes him a handful in the paint.
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