Good discussion above, btw, @mgl, @guest, @dizzo and I think a few others on the difference between Ausar at 32% or 26%. Or 33 and 35. My sense is that at that 33 line you unlock more and teams start to respect you. But does the line need to go up because Cade and Ivey aren’t certain to be much higher than that line? Is there a difference in spacing if you have 4 players shooting 30-34, or if at least one or two of those guys is at 37 or more? I don’t know.
I know it’s frowned on to draft for fit when you’ve won 17 games. But it’s unquestionable that Cade and Ivey are going to have the ball in their hands for the forseeable future, and creators need a spread floor and possession finishers. We could have added a more bankable possession finisher and a better fit, and did not. We’ll see if it was the right move. Everyone acknowledges the higher bust faster.
Those are pretty high expectations. And Giddey is not an awful defender.
I feel he’s going to put up numbers like 4.7/3 reb/2.6 ast his first year.
If he’s putting up 12/8/6, I’m feeling pretty stupid and heaping praise on Weaver.
My concern is that Ausar (and Amen) are both very impressive individuals who absolutely blow interviews out of the water. Personable, charismatic, and clearly very bright off the court. That can easily sway a front office, and it clearly did. But these attributes don’t always translate to the court and when there are so many glaring flaws to their profiles, I worry we’re stuck with fool’s gold.
Joking, obviously. I’m really curious about the role he’ll be able to play next year. If he could play 24 min a game as a rookie, that would be incredibly impressive to me, given his training and competition to date. I suppose at some level it would validate OTE in my mind if he manages to play 24 mpg.
I wonder what the 3pt shooting average is in the OTE. Since it’s younger players shooting from the NBA line. In the NBA it’s 36% and in the GLeague it’s 32%.
Edit: Just checked and it looks like Ausar shot 32 of 96 from 3 between the regular season and playoffs. 33% from the NBA line. Not terrible for an incoming rookie.
Ausar fits every need Detroit had except being a knockdown shooter. It was a clear position of need, upgrades athleticism, upgrades wing defense that was lacking, upgrades passing and ball movement, and improves the transition game. If Ausar or Amen shot 38% from 3 they would’ve been clear 2-3 picks after Wemby.
Still not convinced with that fragmented skill set that he actually was BPA at 5. Still worried that the lack of real exposure added to the sizzle factor and not the skepticism. Not much left to say though. Either way, we’re going to know what we need to know about Weaver as a GM, or if not about Weaver about the current version of the amorphous front office power structures Gores usually creates in lieu of giving a person clear authority.
I don’t understand the idea that it’s a “fragmented” skill set. Ausar has the IQ and the passing that athlete-first picks often lack. He’s doo doo at shooting and perhaps isn’t an elite handle + lateral movement combo. It really doesn’t take an incredible imagination to see how that set of skills is coherent.
If he can’t create in iso or be a second side roll guy, then his O will be at best average and he’ll have to grind at the margin to make his O good enough and rely on D to generate value. But he’s got a lot of outs for being at least useful.
Not sure that’s average given the skill set he has now, that has him out of the NBA.
But I’m hoping for the best. The way I view him now is kind of how I vieiwed Scottie Barnes when he was taken 4th overall. At the time I thought that was a laughable pick and I was swiftly proven wrong.
On that note, he kind of does remind me of Scottie although Scottie has truly elite physical measurables.
Whitmore wasn’t an option. He totally tanked his workout and interviews with the Pistons. The Pistons let that leak and that’s why guys like Givony started dropping him to the back half of the lottery in their mock drafts. I’d heard that Nova’s coaches also gave him poor reviews and there were medical concerns.
So, you are really looking at Ausar, Walker, Hendricks or Black as realistic options.
I think they wanted both Ausar and Hendricks but there wasn’t a realistic way to get Hendricks after Ausar was picked. The Pistons lack a long term option at the 4 that can guard multiple positions and shoot well from 3, so that’s the last big piece I’d expect them to add going forward. Cade-Ivey-Ausar-Duren is basically 4 of the core starters and Stewart and Sasser could be rotational pieces long term. Hopefully there will be another Hendricks-like prospect in next year’s draft class around the 8 to 10 range again.
