Go back to previous topic
Forum nameOkay Sports
Topic subjectIf the jumper works, a high IQ role player. If not? Could be rough.
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2741470&mesg_id=2743678
2743678, If the jumper works, a high IQ role player. If not? Could be rough.
Posted by Frank Longo, Thu Jul-22-21 02:23 PM
I hate betting against JRE, because he's a high-character kid, a high-IQ player, and has won at every level. There's nothing that he can't do at least decently well. Good defender. Good passer. Good rebounder. Really good in PnR. Knows exactly where to be on both ends, how to space, how to rotate, everything.

Problem is he's almost certainly bottom half of the NBA in athleticism and speed for his position. Like, he can use his IQ to be a valuable team defender... but he can't stop anyone, and he probably can't really protect the rim. And he can be a valuable, unselfish role player on offense... but if he can't shoot the ball and space the floor well, what is he? What does he do? And right now, there are real questions about if he can shoot the ball from 3 at the NBA level-- he hit corner 3s at a reasonably high rate, but everywhere else on the floor, his numbers were rough, and he averaged out at about 30% from 3 for his career at Villanova.

So if he's a 4 man who can't defend 1v1 and can't help your offense except for ball movement, then... he's not an NBA player, he's a very good Euroleague player. If you think, however, that he can shoot, say 37% from 3 eventually on catch-and-shoot opportunities? Then I like him as a role player-- not a sixth man, but a valuable minutes guy in the second unit.