Lauri Markkanen

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Laurie may be a 1 trick pony, but hes as elite as can be at that 1 trick. Hes a 7 foot shootah. Thats rare.

All else can be groomed and taught. No different than Bender, whos awful at everything. Or Chriss, who at least has athletic upside. You guys are so patient for them to learn, but not Laurie, whos already way ahead of both?

In 5 years, whos the better player: Bender or Laurie?

Easily Laurie. Then take Laurie.

Again, he is Ryan Anderson / Channing Frye. That is his ceiling. That is what a 1 trick pony is.

No way you take that at 4.
 

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Again, he is Ryan Anderson / Channing Frye. That is his ceiling. That is what a 1 trick pony is.

No way you take that at 4.

When you have Booker as your core star and then Bledsoe as your #2 star (The Kyrie role), taking a steady 16 ppg guy wins you championships.

Youre always looking for stars, but when there are none at #4, you settle for the best complimentary piece to what you already have.

Laurie isnt a star. But he will help us win ALOT of games. That should be the goal. His floor is probably 14 ppg and then once in a while he'll go off for 25+
 

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Laurie may be a 1 trick pony, but hes as elite as can be at that 1 trick. Hes a 7 foot shootah. Thats rare.

All else can be groomed and taught. No different than Bender, whos awful at everything. Or Chriss, who at least has athletic upside. You guys are so patient for them to learn, but not Laurie, whos already way ahead of both?

In 5 years, whos the better player: Bender or Laurie?

Easily Laurie. Then take Laurie.

7 foot shooters aren't that rare in today's NBA, those are there typically get the midlevel exception in free agency and end up being journeymen. They're not #4 picks in good drafts. There is a reason no mock drafts or rumors have him going above the 10 spots.

What says that Lauri will be better in 5 years? Scouting reports on both players indicate that Bender has a much higher ceiling. Those were compiled by profession scouts, not just someone making a guess on a message board.

Also if he's as great as you claim, what will he need to do for you to start spelling his name right?
 

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7 foot shooters aren't that rare in today's NBA

They are rare on the Phx Suns roster.

What says that Lauri will be better in 5 years? Scouting reports on both players indicate that Bender has a much higher ceiling. Those were compiled by profession scouts, not just someone making a guess on a message board.

they said that about Len too.

Laurie (I can spell it however I want son) is an elite shooter. Bender isnt even a good shooter.

Thats how I know. Because right now Laurie is 10 miles ahead of Bender. In 5 years, he might only be 3 miles ahead....but he'll still be 3 miles ahead.
 

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There is no way he has been compared to Arvydas Sabonis. Or if he has, that person never watched Sabonis play.

Sabonis outweighed him by 70 pounds. Sabonis was a post player who could shoot the three and was very good defensively despite being a dinosaur when he finally came to the NBA. Sabonis was a strong rebounder and a good shot blocker.

It should be pretty easy to find. In fact, I believe it was posted or linked to this forum several months ago although I have no idea regarding the credibility of the author or the hosted site. I don't really get the comparison either but I felt the same way about the Ryan Anderson comparison.

EDIT: Okay, it looks like I was the one that mentioned it in the first place here but the original source is Kyle Wagner at 538dotCom, here is a small excerpt:

Markkanen is a 7-foot freshman center out of Finland who lacks a true comparison in the modern game because I’ll be struck down by the Almighty if I invoke Arvydas Sabonis.
 
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SirStefan32

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There is no way he has been compared to Arvydas Sabonis. Or if he has, that person never watched Sabonis play.

Sabonis outweighed him by 70 pounds. Sabonis was a post player who could shoot the three and was very good defensively despite being a dinosaur when he finally came to the NBA. Sabonis was a strong rebounder and a good shot blocker.


Yeah, people really need to watch pre-injury Sabonis before making comparisons. He was a monster who could overpower anyone, shoot over anyone, and could move incredibly well for someone that size. He was also an outstanding passer, good rebounder, and had an extremely high basketball IQ.
 

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Not that rare. We've had that guy #8, forgot his name, and that other chucker forward that came from the Nets. Granted he was not 7 feet but I'd rather have a seven footer with Bender's game than one who only does one thing well. Bender shot well until he was hurt, and he chucked too many. He's better than his numbers.

Give me a wing player with a great shot and decent defence and passing though. We do need shooters but in my opinion we should look at other aspects as well at #4. Better to improve wing play or the point guard position, with an extra focus on defence and energy. We have Chriss at PF. Can Lauri defend on the perimeter? Can he defend DeAndre Jordan & co?

Don't get me wrong they should work him out if they like him. I'm not opposed to taking him if they love him, but I think there are better players at #4 who also fills a need.
 

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When you have Booker as your core star and then Bledsoe as your #2 star (The Kyrie role), taking a steady 16 ppg guy wins you championships.

Youre always looking for stars, but when there are none at #4, you settle for the best complimentary piece to what you already have.

Laurie isnt a star. But he will help us win ALOT of games. That should be the goal. His floor is probably 14 ppg and then once in a while he'll go off for 25+

He isn't averaging 16 points in the NBA. He is Ryan Anderson with 10-12 a game with like 5 rebounds.
 

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Only 28 players in the NBA averaged 16 points. Love is the only thing remotely resembling a stretch 4 that did that.

1 dimensional shooting big men don't get the ball enough to average that kind of point total. Only 7 of the top 40 scorers in the NBA were power forwards and centers and all of those 7 have good inside game.
 

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He isn't averaging 16 points in the NBA. He is Ryan Anderson with 10-12 a game with like 5 rebounds.

Ryan anderson is a 42% shooter, 38% from the 3. LM is 49%, 42% from the 3.

It translates. Look at the stats, LM is easily a 16PPG guy. Its only 5-8 baskets. A guy shooting ~45% cant sink 5-8? Of course he can.

Thats why LM is so valuable as a shooter. The #1 problem guys have transitioning from college to Pros is size. Guys are bigger, stronger, faster. But as a shooter, the rim doesnt change. LM is still going to shoot the lights out in the NBA, as he did in college, since hes not a rim attacker.
 

AsUpRoDiGy

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Ryan anderson is a 42% shooter, 38% from the 3. LM is 49%, 42% from the 3.

It translates. Look at the stats, LM is easily a 16PPG guy. Its only 5-8 baskets. A guy shooting ~45% cant sink 5-8? Of course he can.

Thats why LM is so valuable as a shooter. The #1 problem guys have transitioning from college to Pros is size. Guys are bigger, stronger, faster. But as a shooter, the rim doesnt change. LM is still going to shoot the lights out in the NBA, as he did in college, since hes not a rim attacker.
I'll bet you your boy Lauri(e) isn't any better than Frye at the next level. If he averages more than 10 ppg throughout his career I'd be astonished.
 

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Ryan anderson is a 42% shooter, 38% from the 3. LM is 49%, 42% from the 3.

It translates. Look at the stats, LM is easily a 16PPG guy. Its only 5-8 baskets. A guy shooting ~45% cant sink 5-8? Of course he can.

Thats why LM is so valuable as a shooter. The #1 problem guys have transitioning from college to Pros is size. Guys are bigger, stronger, faster. But as a shooter, the rim doesnt change. LM is still going to shoot the lights out in the NBA, as he did in college, since hes not a rim attacker.


You are correct that something translates....

Ryan Anderson played in the Pac 12 and shot 49% from the field and 41% from 3 in college. He averaged 21.1 points per game.
 

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Only 28 players in the NBA averaged 16 points. Love is the only thing remotely resembling a stretch 4 that did that.

Fifty-four players averaged over 16 points per game... the bottom of the list is Tobias Harris at 16.1. There were a few others besides Love who resembled a stretch 4. Milsap, Porzingas, Brook Lopez, Karl-Anthony Towns
 

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You are correct that something translates....

Ryan Anderson played in the Pac 12 and shot 49% from the field and 41% from 3 in college. He averaged 21.1 points per game.

Hes also 6'10 and LM is 7ft. That extra size matters. Not many 7 footers can shoot it like that. Dirk is one.
 

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Fifty-four players averaged over 16 points per game... the bottom of the list is Tobias Harris at 16.1. There were a few others besides Love who resembled a stretch 4. Milsap, Porzingas, Brook Lopez, Karl-Anthony Towns

Hmm...I went to ESPN and went by top scorers. Towns Porzingas, Lopez, and Milsap all have interior game.

I legit can only think of Frye and Anderson that are as 1 dimensional as Markannen. He is sinking like a rock in this draft because of it.
 

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Hes also 6'10 and LM is 7ft. That extra size matters. Not many 7 footers can shoot it like that. Dirk is one.
Dirk is (was) a multi-dimensional scorer. He could score off the dribble, in mid-range and long range. He could manufacture his own shot. LM does not nearly have the offensive versatility of Dirk. I like LM, but he is not a star type player.
 

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Dirk is (was) a multi-dimensional scorer. He could score off the dribble, in mid-range and long range. He could manufacture his own shot. LM does not nearly have the offensive versatility of Dirk. I like LM, but he is not a star type player.

I didnt say he was Dirk. Dirk is a 25 ppg guy because he can score in many ways. LM isnt. Because LM only has an outside shot.

However, in 98% of these buzzer beater games, an outside shot is what wins it. Shooters, especially 7ft shooters, are rare.

Its something we dont have. We have raw rim attackers in Chriss. We have good young PGs. We need a C, but sorry, none are available. So a big, 7ft lights out shootin wing would be a nice chess piece.
 

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I didnt say he was Dirk. Dirk is a 25 ppg guy because he can score in many ways. LM isnt. Because LM only has an outside shot.

However, in 98% of these buzzer beater games, an outside shot is what wins it. Shooters, especially 7ft shooters, are rare.

Its something we dont have. We have raw rim attackers in Chriss. We have good young PGs. We need a C, but sorry, none are available. So a big, 7ft lights out shootin wing would be a nice chess piece.

Yes. I agree. Nice chess piece. But not with the 4th pick.
 

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You can hope that McDonough has magic to get another pick.

On Ford's new big board after surveying all the GMs Markkanen ranks 10th, right behind Zach Collins. They compare him to Olynyk. I believe Ntilikina goes before him though
 

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Hmm...I went to ESPN and went by top scorers. Towns Porzingas, Lopez, and Milsap all have interior game.

I legit can only think of Frye and Anderson that are as 1 dimensional as Markannen. He is sinking like a rock in this draft because of it.

He simply isn't one dimensional, I don't know where that is coming from. The drop for Lauri has come primarily for two reasons; concerns over his less than ideal length (hence the Olynyk comp) and the fact he went from shooting almost 50% from 3 early in the season to shooting something like mid 30's the last 6 weeks. It's not any different than what I've been saying IMO.

If you think Lauri is the player we saw earlier in the season, he projects as a very special NBA player. If you think we saw the real Markkanen the last 6 weeks, he's barely lottery worthy and probably should go in the mid-teens.

Fortunately for those of you that think he's just a big white stiff, I really doubt he's on our draft radar. My guess, we'll hear very little in rumors or reports about Tatum until the moment we draft him.
 

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LM is not just a one dimensional shooter if you watch his tape. He's quite agile for his size. He likes to go left on drives and when he attacks close outs. Olynyk is not nearly the shooter LM is. I don't really understand the comparison.
 

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LM is not just a one dimensional shooter if you watch his tape. He's quite agile for his size. He likes to go left on drives and when he attacks close outs. Olynyk is not nearly the shooter LM is. I don't really understand the comparison.

It's that he's gonna be serviceable role player nothing more
 

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