Next up is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who I believe I’ve ranked higher than anyone else at The Stepien. Statistically, Shai is a very well-rounded player, but there are several weaknesses that make him a sort of “atypical” player when it comes to successful archetypes in today’s NBA. It’s the same criticisms he has gotten since high school, when people doubted his ability to be a starting caliber player at the high major level in college. I was the only one that ranked Gilgeous-Alexander in my top 25 in the preseason and many questioned that ranking since his game didn’t fit in within the range of skills and physical talents that are expected from one-and-done guards. Shai is painfully skinny, not an especially explosive or quick twitch athlete, and lacks range on his pull-up jumper. Yet, to this point, he has been remarkably productive and successful at every level he has played at, from EYBL to HS to becoming Kentucky’s best player by the end of his freshman season in college. Gilgeous-Alexander seems to fall within another category of prospect that’s been generally undervalued in recent drafts — the versatile wing type with a questionable jump shot that doesn’t fit into the check box mold of draft scouting and evaluation. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ben Simmons are on the higher end of this spectrum, but they are both much taller and more athletic than Shai and it would be foolish for me to compare them at this stage. However, when you start moving a little lower on this spectrum of guys that “don’t fit in a box but just know how to play basketball” you get to players like Kyle Anderson, David Nwaba or even Josh Richardson. Richardson shot 18-80 (22.5 percent) on 3-pointers as a freshman and sophomore in college combined. He was a defensive role player, was too skinny, and wasn’t athletic or skilled enough for the NBA. Even after his breakout campaign as a senior, many mock drafts had him going undrafted. However, during his rookie season with the Heat, he quickly showed that he belongs in the league and has continued to improve and outplay his draft spot since then. Clearly, guys who play hard and most importantly, have high level feel and natural understanding of the game, find a spot in the league one way or another. Richardson may have had some outlier improvements over the course of his career, but Gilgeous-Alexander is a much better player than Richardson was at the same age and more talented overall. So yes, if we were creating him in NBA 2k, Gilgeous-Alexander would have some serious weaknesses and poorly rated attributes. The NBA isn’t a video game though, and at the end of the day these guys have to play five-on-five basketball. As cliche as it may sound, vertical leap testing, maximum bench press or 3-point shooting in an empty gym doesn’t help your team win games. As long as we are drafting these guys to play basketball, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is pretty clearly a top 10 prospect in this draft.

azrider wrote:I'm taking a good long, hard look at Knox at 10. Kid's got some upside and improved throughout the year.

joe table wrote:Correct, you are a homer

Brantt wrote:Maybe I'm being a homer, but I have a hard time seeing a better fit for Lebron than the Sixers. Especially given what's happened in the first 2 games of the Cavs-Boston series.