To me, if 4-10 are in the same tier, I’m taking the fit. I’m much lower on the Thompson Twins than the consensus.
I also think the pistons are much better than the 17 win team. A healthy Cade would’ve gotten them at least 30 IMO.
I think Cade and Jaden are now a sure thing. That’s the difference between you and me as far how we view the Pistons.
Yeah Hendricks can get to Jaren Jackson is you ignore what Jackson does inside the arc maybe? I also would just hesitate to project anyone to have Jackson’s defensive impact (though Hendricks seems like a good defender)
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Yeah, was saying best case. I generally think JJJ was one of the best rim protectors I’ve seen in college. Hendricks feels kind of soft to me and shoots a few threes and blocks a few shots. 
Nice package, but I dunno.
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(He’s also the best rim protector in the NBA)
Yeah, so Hendricks in a best case maybe goes in that direction or is he just. … DJ Wilson?
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I’m not excited about the Thompsons and I have serious concerns about their shooting ability and that OTE just continued to prolong the “AAU style” of basketball without developing some of their other skills. Maybe the potential still develops but it will probably take longer. So I’m not thrilled with this pick and I am not sure what the outlook is…
…BUT - I didn’t really like anyone with the 5th pick and they were all projects with shaky fit and potential. So I’m not too worked up. They drafted a lottery ticket…we might have to wait two years to see if they scratch off a winner.
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On-ball defense is also a valued skill set.
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shooting a poor percentage of uncontested or sag-off, weakly contested threes is a lot worse than shooting a slightly below average on highly contested threes …
I’m not sure all percentages are directly comparable
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I think there was a Box And One video that Adam Spinella did covering Ausar that said a weakness was finishing. It had a bunch of clips of him getting to the rim and missing. If I remember right, he was saying Amen was better at the rim because he’d just explode and dunk it where Ausar didn’t do that and often tried to fade away from contact and float it or make a tough shot off the glass.
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Hendricks isn’t a big. He’s a super sized wing player who can switch and do weakside rim protection with elite shooting. This type of player is super valuable for any team. I also think he has the potential to do more on offense. He has a very high floor as a 3 and D wing player at minimum.
He’s a stretch four. Switchable defensively, sure. But he doesn’t do anything with the ball.
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I consider him a 3/4 more than a pure stretch 4. That’s why I think his role should be strictly 3 and D to begin with and expand to do more things on the ball.
If you want to talk about a guy that struggled with layups then Hendricks is up there
He reminds me of Trey Murphy a little. Who is a good player, not quite as good a shooter as him though I wouldn’t think. Probably better on D
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Hendricks shot 40% on half court layups, FWIW. As a stretch four.
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That is more of a strength issue IMO. I acknowledged that it’s a weakness of his but I also think he has the upside to be more than just a pure 3 and D wing player. That’s part of the reason why I have Hendricks at #5 on my big board.
Yes. Spinella also published a substack on box-and-1 detailing at-the-rim concerns for both players.
Right. That’s a really valuable player. Even if you have Ausar Thompson and his shot isn’t broken, you need that kind of player as well.
I think the JJJ comparison is too optimistic. I’d have been happy with the 3s, switchability and weakside rim protection. The whole idea that he doesn’t do anything with the ball is ok with me. He’s definitely going to struggle to attack closeouts, at least at first. But if people are closing out on him that means he’s doing his job spreading the floor. Especially since he’s so long he can shoot over a lot of closeouts. The 3 and the D are the meat and potatoes. Are you getting gravy? Dunno; don’t count on it. But with Ausar you might not be getting both the meat and the potatoes. You might end up with a nice bench forward who can be played off the floor in the playoffs. Or you might end up with meat, potatoes and more gravy. We’re gonna see. Troy said he was gonna swing for the fences and he did.
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Could very well be. I think Spinella put it a similar way. Good decision maker unless he’s got the ball in his hands within 10 feet of the rim, when tunnel vision sets in.
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Their OTE team seemed generally centered around telling the twins to just go score.
Which wasn’t even awful cuz they’re dang good but I think there’s a great chance he’s put in significantly better situations to maximize his efficiency playing off of Cade in the half court and alongside Ivey in transition.