2019 Draft Prospects...

[AzStevenCal]

It's a pretty open secret right now that one of the big issues Duke might have this year is that Barrett is a bit too ball dominant and it already cost them the Gonzaga game.

Yeah, despite all the publicity I'd think twice and then think twice again before I'd spend a top 3 pick on a Canadian player today. They are putting out some incredible athletes but I don't care much for the way they play the game. And you're right, Duke's biggest problem is no secret. It's embarrassing the way they finished that game against the Zags.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Yeah, despite all the publicity I'd think twice and then think twice again before I'd spend a top 3 pick on a Canadian player today. They are putting out some incredible athletes but I don't care much for the way they play the game. And you're right, Duke's biggest problem is no secret. It's embarrassing the way they finished that game against the Zags.

I am not sure what Canadian has to do with it. He is playing at Duke, not Saskatchewan Polytechnic. If he is playing at Duke you are seeing him in a setting that should make it as easy as possible to evaluate. If he is too ball dominant, that should be evident.

 

[Mainstreet]

Steve Nash is considered Canadian.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I am not sure what Canadian has to do with it. He is playing at Duke, not Saskatchewan Polytechnic. If he is playing at Duke you are seeing him in a setting that should make it as easy as possible to evaluate. If he is too ball dominant, that should be evident.

Take a look at the list of players that have come out of Canada in recent years. There's a few good ones but the superstars, the ones that get all the publicity like Barrett and Bennett and Wiggins and so on, scare the heck out of me. Lower down the list, players like SGA and Jamal Murray don't seem to have that same sense of entitlement.

And I'm not saying don't draft anyone from Canada, I'm just suggesting extra caution. The hype machine out of Canada has run amuck IMO.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Steve Nash is considered Canadian.

Yes he is but I wasn't talking about players of yester-year. Perhaps you missed where I said "Canadian player today"?

 

[Mainstreet]

Yes he is but I wasn't talking about players of yester-year. Perhaps you missed where I said "Canadian player today"?

Actually I saw it. If you you mean there is no Steve Nash coming out of Canada today, I guess that's true.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Actually I saw it. If you you mean there is no Steve Nash coming out of Canada today, I guess that's true.

No, that's not exactly what I'm saying. Recently they have poured a lot of money into Canadian basketball and I believe they have marketed the heck out of some of their better athletes. I think they've done a much better job of marketing them than they have of developing them into complete players. That's from an outsider's perspective, maybe the reality is quite different but still, I'd be extra careful with any "next great player" coming out of Canada.

 

[Mainstreet]

No, that's not exactly what I'm saying. Recently they have poured a lot of money into Canadian basketball and I believe they have marketed the heck out of some of their better athletes. I think they've done a much better job of marketing them than they have of developing them into complete players. That's from an outsider's perspective, maybe the reality is quite different but still, I'd be extra careful with any "next great player" coming out of Canada.

I appreciate the input. Can't say I have been following Canadian basketball.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I appreciate the input. Can't say I have been following Canadian basketball.

To be fair, I'm not exactly well informed on the subject either.

 

[Hoop Head]

Take a look at the list of players that have come out of Canada in recent years. There's a few good ones but the superstars, the ones that get all the publicity like Barrett and Bennett and Wiggins and so on, scare the heck out of me. Lower down the list, players like SGA and Jamal Murray don't seem to have that same sense of entitlement.

And I'm not saying don't draft anyone from Canada, I'm just suggesting extra caution. The hype machine out of Canada has run amuck IMO.

I don't know that the marketing of the Canadian players is an issue. I was curious why someone would be hesitant to bring in a Canadian player, especially one who is playing in the US right now under one of the top coaches in the country, at any level. If they were coming from a Canadian university or a professional league up there then I could understand the caution but that's not the case here. I do think that most of the recent Canadian players seem to be a bit soft and lack a strong competitive drive but I don't know if that comes from being Canadian or not. When I say that I mean players like Wiggins, Bennett, and SGA but I think it might just be limited to those players specifically. I found a list of Canadian pro's and there are a number of them that don't have that problem like Cory Joseph, Kelly Olynyk, and Jamal Murray.

Here's the list I found if anyone cares to look at it. I didn't know some of those guys were Canadian either, like Joseph and Olynyk, so I'm not sure their marketing of their players is much more of an issue than some of the hype that follows other foreign prospects like Dante Exum from Australia or Doncic from Solvenia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadians_in_the_National_Basketball_Association

 

[AzStevenCal]

I don't know that the marketing of the Canadian players is an issue. I was curious why someone would be hesitant to bring in a Canadian player, especially one who is playing in the US right now under one of the top coaches in the country, at any level. If they were coming from a Canadian university or a professional league up there then I could understand the caution but that's not the case here. I do think that most of the recent Canadian players seem to be a bit soft and lack a strong competitive drive but I don't know if that comes from being Canadian or not. When I say that I mean players like Wiggins, Bennett, and SGA but I think it might just be limited to those players specifically. I found a list of Canadian pro's and there are a number of them that don't have that problem like Cory Joseph, Kelly Olynyk, and Jamal Murray.

Here's the list I found if anyone cares to look at it. I didn't know some of those guys were Canadian either, like Joseph and Olynyk, so I'm not sure their marketing of their players is much more of an issue than some of the hype that follows other foreign prospects like Dante Exum from Australia or Doncic from Solvenia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadians_in_the_National_Basketball_Association

I think you missed my point. I've heard numerous times on the various college and NBA shows about how Canada has made such headway with their concerted effort to join the big dogs of basketball. This is a recent effort, I'm not talking about Canadian players from the 90's or even the 00's. And IMO the most highly publicized of this group have been, almost to a person, more show than go. We've kind of bought the hype and accepted them as your typical US player because they come here for college but I think we need to start viewing them in the same light we view Euro's. Our highly touted homegrown one and done players are a little risky, I believe the Canadian versions carry even more risk.

 

[Western Font]

Obviously Canadians are excited about the national team’s potential, and others are interested in more exciting Olympic and FIBA tournaments, but this causes people to over-emphasize what is actually a small sample size of players.

Almost all of the current Canadian NBA players attended prep schools in the US before spending a year or so at big US college programs (Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Maryland, Michigan). They’re just not that different from a comparable group of similarly rated prospects. Certainly no one is overestimating them because they’re Canadian. Probably the reverse.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Almost all of the current Canadian NBA players attended prep schools in the US before spending a year or so at big US college programs (Kentucky, Kansas, Texas, Maryland, Michigan). They’re just not that different from a comparable group of similarly rated prospects. Certainly no one is overestimating them because they’re Canadian. Probably the reverse.

Hmm. Well, I think they are, at least the really big named players. If Wiggins or Bennett, for example, had played in the US for several years I believe their lack of focus and drive would have set off more alarm bells. I don't have any real proof to back this up but I think some of the top players in this country are incredibly self entitled and it appears to me that is even more true of the elite Canadian players. Again, I'm not saying don't draft them, I'm suggesting even more caution than usual when you're looking at them as franchise players.

And I'm just talking about a matter of degrees, not a hard and fast rule.

 

[Western Font]

Hmm. Well, I think they are, at least the really big named players. If Wiggins or Bennett, for example, had played in the US for several years I believe their lack of focus and drive would have set off more alarm bells. I don't have any real proof to back this up but I think some of the top players in this country are incredibly self entitled and it appears to me that is even more true of the elite Canadian players. Again, I'm not saying don't draft them, I'm suggesting even more caution than usual when you're looking at them as franchise players.

And I'm just talking about a matter of degrees, not a hard and fast rule.

But both Wiggins and Bennett did play for several years in the US. Each moved to US prep schools to play basketball before playing for a D1 program. Maybe they weren’t as scouted when they were 14 or 15 as some Americans, but it’s not like they were products of hype that no one had gotten a look at. The same is true for most of the Canadians in the NBA.

You mention having no proof etc. and again I think this is an impression gleaned from a small sample size. I suppose it’s also fair to say that top Canadian picks don’t pan out until proven otherwise.

Bennett was a bad pick, period. But aside from Embiid, there aren’t many players from the 2014 draft that you’d absolutely want over Wiggins at the same price, IMO. Embiid is the only all-star or all-NBA player from the draft so far.

 

[AzStevenCal]

But both Wiggins and Bennett did play for several years in the US. Each moved to US prep schools to play basketball before playing for a D1 program. Maybe they weren’t as scouted when they were 14 or 15 as some Americans, but it’s not like they were products of hype that no one had gotten a look at. The same is true for most of the Canadians in the NBA.

You mention having no proof etc. and again I think this is an impression gleaned from a small sample size. I suppose it’s also fair to say that top Canadian picks don’t pan out until proven otherwise.

Bennett was a bad pick, period. But aside from Embiid, there aren’t many players from the 2014 draft that you’d absolutely want over Wiggins at the same price, IMO. Embiid is the only all-star or all-NBA player from the draft so far.

You could be right.

 

[Russ Smith]

Take a look at the list of players that have come out of Canada in recent years. There's a few good ones but the superstars, the ones that get all the publicity like Barrett and Bennett and Wiggins and so on, scare the heck out of me. Lower down the list, players like SGA and Jamal Murray don't seem to have that same sense of entitlement.

And I'm not saying don't draft anyone from Canada, I'm just suggesting extra caution. The hype machine out of Canada has run amuck IMO.

Coming Soon Makur Maker, brother of Thon, if he doesn't go to college and since he'll be 21 any day now he might not ever see college.

Apparently turns 21 Jan 1st and is a senior in highschool in Canada.

 

[Russ Smith]

I don't know that the marketing of the Canadian players is an issue. I was curious why someone would be hesitant to bring in a Canadian player, especially one who is playing in the US right now under one of the top coaches in the country, at any level. If they were coming from a Canadian university or a professional league up there then I could understand the caution but that's not the case here. I do think that most of the recent Canadian players seem to be a bit soft and lack a strong competitive drive but I don't know if that comes from being Canadian or not. When I say that I mean players like Wiggins, Bennett, and SGA but I think it might just be limited to those players specifically. I found a list of Canadian pro's and there are a number of them that don't have that problem like Cory Joseph, Kelly Olynyk, and Jamal Murray.

Here's the list I found if anyone cares to look at it. I didn't know some of those guys were Canadian either, like Joseph and Olynyk, so I'm not sure their marketing of their players is much more of an issue than some of the hype that follows other foreign prospects like Dante Exum from Australia or Doncic from Solvenia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Canadians_in_the_National_Basketball_Association

Blame Canada, blame Canada!

 

[Hoop Head]

Coming Soon Makur Maker, brother of Thon, if he doesn't go to college and since he'll be 21 any day now he might not ever see college.

Apparently turns 21 Jan 1st and is a senior in highschool in Canada.

I thought you were joking about that name, sort of a play on Bol Bol but there is a Makur Maker, WTF?

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I thought you were joking about that name, sort of a play on Bol Bol but there is a Makur Maker, WTF?

Glass house Poop Head, glass houses.

 

[Hoop Head]

Glass house Poop Head, glass houses.

I'd rather be Poop Head than Poop Poop. I guess that needs a spelling variation, Poup Poop would work.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

I'd rather be Poop Head than Poop Poop. I guess that needs a spelling variation, Poup Poop would work.

Oooooookay . . .

 

[Russ Smith]

FYI I had the wrong Maker. I googled Makur Maker age and came up with a pic of a kid who turns 21 in January but turns out that's Matur Maker who is from Sudan and plays in Australia, NOT Makur Maker brother of Thon. I didn't catch it so I screwed up, Draft Express says Makur is 18.

I guess Matur is more "mature" !

 

[GatorAZ]

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[1Sun]

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I maintain he needs to do this against real competition and/or elevate his team to wins against real competition and/or develop an elite skill (other than just being a flashy scorer and passer against mid-major opponents) for him rightfully to even be considered more than another pre-injury Isaiah Canaan. Just my opinion.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

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The kid shows great promise. Is super slithery, nice size at 6’3, has hops, can change speeds, looks like he is developing a strong handle and a more reliable jump shot, and has good vision for setting up others.

Of course his competition is questionable compared to other prospects, but I believe the same could’ve been said for guys like Damien lilliard (Weber state), Chris McCollum (Lehigh), steph (Davidson), Paul George (Fresno state), Millsap (Louisiana tech), Jeremy Lin (Harvard), Gordon Hayward (Butler), Kawhi (SDSU), Faried (Morehead st). Wouldn’t sleep on him just bc small school kid.