I can’t find it, but there was an article somewhat recently where Givony and Schmitz were discussing their evaluation missed, and Shea Gilgeous-Alexander came up. Their takeaway was “don’t under-estimate what ultra-athletic guards can do in NBA spacing if they can handle well enough to exploit it.”.
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hmmm…this doesn’t sound like one Aden Jivey at all.
$20m per season is teetering on the edge of my comfort zone. $18m per seems legit.
Which is the equivalent of saying “I don’t want Ayton” (I agree with you). The issue isn’t whether he’s good (we all agree - he is!), it’s whether he’s good enough to spend what it will take to get him (a max salary slot + close to equal value in trade assets).
Just to take it from the Suns perspective, having Booker, Ayton, Bridges all in their low-mid 20’s…I am absolutely going to match what anyone throws at him and attempt to smooth out whatever discord exists. I am only trading him if that fails. I am absolutely NOT going to just not match an offer sheet, ever ever ever.
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Suns seem in a tough place to me personally. Paul is old, Ayton is a difficult decision. It feels like maybe that’s a championship window that was only open a crack and only for a small period of time. I don’t know how you build around it without draft picks and with already expensive players on the roster.
Yeah the Paul acquisition made it a “weird” team certainly. But Booker just got all-NBA first team and he’s young. Ayton and Bridges are young-ish.
I’d have a hard time not at least trying it with an all-nba first team guard, the premier 3 and d guy in the league, and a 24 year old fringe all-star center.
You’re right. Might as well at least try.
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I agree with all the comments that NBA spacing and a larger floor will help Ivey significantly. I just wish Ivey could shoot, pass, go left in the half court or want to defend. He’s generational in transition but that’s all I really see as a plus.
I don’t get this. Ivey can make passes. He’s not some visionary point guard but Purdue ran things through him way too often and he got off some good looks for his teammates.
And I really, really don’t get the criticism of his shooting. He shot 36% from 3 on higher volume than Caleb Houstan…
Going left…I didn’t know this was a flaw of his, might have to look more into it.
I just think the criticism of Ivey’s shot and passing is losing sight of what’s actually there. .
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Might be over simplifying but I see Ivey as basically Jalen green
I think people will also be surprised when he doesn’t have Edey and Williams sucking up gravity on the court and he has better spacing to create for himself and others. He also won’t have the burden of being miles away the best player on his team
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His assist rate last season was closer to sophomore Franz Wagner than any Michigan point guard in the last decade. He misses a lot of obvious reads in the half court in favor of driving right into three defenders and letting supreme athleticism take over. That worked a good amount in college but I’m skeptical it will in the NBA.
RE: his shot, you might be right. I look at the full sample of both years in college and see a 32% shooter on 276 attempts. Wouldn’t want that in my backcourt. He had a two month period as a sophomore where he went scorching hot like best high volume shooter in the Big Ten hot and then back down to bad again for the second half. Maybe I’m overly critical there but I don’t trust it
But it’s clear Ivey isn’t a point guard. He’s a classic 2 guard who was forced to crate on a team without a traditional point.
I think that’s the comparison I keep coming to. He’s a slightly shorter, maybe slightly more athletic, slightly worse shooter Jalen Green
Jalen Green is going to be a 40% three point shooter in his prime, I don’t see that from Ivey (in all the Cade 2nd-half hype, the world missed that Green was really good in the 2nd half too).
For me, Ivey is Wade with a better jump shot and maybe a giant step back defensively (Wade was a generationally good defender at the 2)
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He just seems undersized if he’s a full time 2. Maybe he’s Victor Oladipo with no defense?
I’d be willing to be Ivey turns into a respectable defender.
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I’d love to have Oladipo with no defense from this draft, though I think it’s way too early to say he’s not going to improve as a defender. He absolutely will.
He’s extra appealing when you have Cade to handle the PG duties he can’t handle. He’ll be a fine second scorer and defender as long as he can shoot just a little better than he has. There are plenty of very good NBA players who shoot ~34% from 3, and he’s not far off that. If he can get a real shot and get up in the high 30s than you have a very serious weapon.
But I am scared of his rawness. I think he’s too raw.
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His effort level on defense is much better than last season. I think it’s mainly bc he was asked to carry a heavy load on offense to save his energy. He does have the potential to be an elite lockdown defender. I’m not too worried about defense. He can get better at it.
My comparison is Russ Westbrook who are more willing to be a team player. Guess who was part of the FO who drafted him in the lottery? Hmmmmm
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How’s this: Big Ja Morant
Ja is a way better passer.