OT: Porzingis Available?

[champs99and04]

Somewhat tangentially, Booker doesn't do much for the case that Cal can't develop players.

(He does, however, contribute to the thinking that he isn't the greatest coach - in hindsight, I'm more appalled that he almost lost to that Notre Dame team than I am that he lost to Wisconsin. Either way, if Towns and Booker turn out to be this generation's Kobe and Shaq, good luck explaining that one).

 

[CardiacAndre7]

Dude, he plays for the Knicks. Booker is awesome but there are only a few players I would trade a unicorn for.

I'm a Knicks fan but for Kristaps sake I'm kind of hoping he will be traded.

Agreed, he probably isn't playing to his full potential on the Knicks and that offense. Either way, asking for Booker and the 4th pick for KP is laughable by the Knicks.

 

[superjohn]

Somewhat tangentially, Booker doesn't do much for the case that Cal can't develop players.

(He does, however, contribute to the thinking that he isn't the greatest coach - in hindsight, I'm more appalled that he almost lost to that Notre Dame team than I am that he lost to Wisconsin. Either way, if Towns and Booker turn out to be this generation's Kobe and Shaq, good luck explaining that one).

Not sure how much Calipari developed Booker in that one season he had him coming off the bench.

 

[KemBuckets21]

Serious question for Knick fans and anybody else: what is it exactly that Phil Jackson has done as GM that has made him so deplorable? Because I very well could be ignorant as somebody who does not pay as much attention to the NBA as others, but from afar he inherited a pretty bleak situation that was going to take at least a few years to dig out of. He's only really had one prime draft pick so far and he nailed it.
From the reaction of this news around the league, it's as if people think the Knicks are just going to give him away and I wonder if there could be some PTSD at play here from past regimes.

Signing D. Rose and Noah to awful contracts when they were no longer worth the money they demanded, especially considering their injury history. Minimizing Melo's value on the trade market when Phil is clearly trying to push him out, and the very mention of Porzingis' name in trade discussions.

 

[FartMan69]

Signing D. Rose and Noah to awful contracts when they were no longer worth the money they demanded, especially considering their injury history. Minimizing Melo's value on the trade market when Phil is clearly trying to push him out, and the very mention of Porzingis' name in trade discussions.

To be fair he hasn't given Rose that awful contract....yet just wait. Noah is unforgivable though.

 

[champs99and04]

Not sure how much Calipari developed Booker in that one season he had him coming off the bench.

Come on. So he doesn't get your stamp of approval because he left after one year instead of three? That's kind of counter-intuitive, no?

Just look at what he did with that '15 class:

Karl Towns - #5 RSCI, #1 pick in 2015 draft and on pace to be one of the best players of his generation

Trey Lyles - #12 RSCI, #12 pick in 2015 draft coming off a disappointing sophomore season in the NBA after a promising rookie campaign

Tyler Ulis - # 18 RSCI, #34 pick in 2016 NBA draft who averaged 18 and 9 in his final nine games this season with Phoenix

Devin Booker - # 23 RSCI, #13 pick in 2015 draft and appears on his way to being an all-star wing

The guy is either really good at developing these prospects or really good at identifying them. It's never been as simple as hand-picking the highest ranked players and placing them on a red carpet to the NBA - the data suggests that more often than not these guys out-perform their peers and that's why they continue to choose Kentucky.

 

[superjohn]

Come on. So he doesn't get your stamp of approval because he left after one year instead of three? That's kind of counter-intuitive, no?

Just look at what he did with that '15 class:

Karl Towns - #5 RSCI, #1 pick in 2015 draft and on pace to be one of the best players of his generation

Trey Lyles - #12 RSCI, #12 pick in 2015 draft coming off a disappointing sophomore season in the NBA after a promising rookie campaign

Tyler Ulis - # 18 RSCI, #34 pick in 2016 NBA draft who averaged 18 and 9 in his final nine games this season with Phoenix

Devin Booker - # 23 RSCI, #13 pick in 2015 draft and appears on his way to being an all-star wing

The guy is either really good at developing these prospects or really good at identifying them. It's never been as simple as hand-picking the highest ranked players and placing them on a red carpet to the NBA - the data suggests that more often than not these guys out-perform their peers and that's why they continue to choose Kentucky.

Calipari hand picks the best players every single year. Towns, Davis, Cousins, Wall, Randle, Noel, Jones, Kidd-Gilchrist, Knight, Murray, Harrison twins, Skal, Fox, Monk, and Bam would all be straight from high school to the NBA without the rule. Calipari basically does a good job of babysitting unbelievably talented kids for 8 months.

 

[KemBuckets21]

To be fair he hasn't given Rose that awful contract....yet just wait. Noah is unforgivable though.

Fair. I almost forgot these blemishes Phil insists on an implementing an antiquated offense in a league that thrives off three point shooting and pick and rolls and he's made some some bad coach signings and firing woodson wasn't great either. Personally, I think Woodson was more capable and deserving of the job than or Fish.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Come on. So he doesn't get your stamp of approval because he left after one year instead of three? That's kind of counter-intuitive, no?

Just look at what he did with that '15 class:

Karl Towns - #5 RSCI, #1 pick in 2015 draft and on pace to be one of the best players of his generation

Trey Lyles - #12 RSCI, #12 pick in 2015 draft coming off a disappointing sophomore season in the NBA after a promising rookie campaign

Tyler Ulis - # 18 RSCI, #34 pick in 2016 NBA draft who averaged 18 and 9 in his final nine games this season with Phoenix

Devin Booker - # 23 RSCI, #13 pick in 2015 draft and appears on his way to being an all-star wing

The guy is either really good at developing these prospects or really good at identifying them. It's never been as simple as hand-picking the highest ranked players and placing them on a red carpet to the NBA - the data suggests that more often than not these guys out-perform their peers and that's why they continue to choose Kentucky.

LMAOOOOOOO

Yeah KAT owes Cal for getting him in the league. No way he'd be a lottery pick out of high school if he didn't have to attend a year of college. I'm sure Willy Cauley-Stein loves having had to have gone to college and to have played for Cal.

I take a step out of the Cesspool for a quick breath of air and I encounter this crap

 

[champs99and04]

LMAOOOOOOO

Yeah KAT owes Cal for getting him in the league. No way he'd be a lottery pick out of high school if he didn't have to attend a year of college. I'm sure Willy Cauley-Stein loves having had to have gone to college and to have played for Cal.

I take a step out of the Cesspool for a quick breath of air and I encounter this crap

Because that's totally what I said.

It's easy to play the role of lowest common denominator with the "Anthony Davis would have been great anywhere," but that's really just a fruitless straw man that indicates that you're not willing to entertain an objective discussion.

In reality, plucking top five high school talents out of the air and landing them in the lottery is not so straightforward. In any given year there are plenty of misses. Some of them are Cal's, others aren't, but the reality is that many of these guys are only being thought of as sure-fire studs in hindsight.

 

[UConn990411]

I know it's fun hating Calipari on here, but he actually does a solid job developing his non-elite prospects. I know it's impossible for some of you to acknowledge that, but it doesn't make that statement false.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Because that's totally what I said.

It's easy to play the role of lowest common denominator with the "Anthony Davis would have been great anywhere," but that's really just a fruitless straw man that indicates that you're not willing to entertain an objective discussion.

In reality, plucking top five high school talents out of the air and landing them in the lottery is not so straightforward. In any given year there are plenty of misses. Some of them are Cal's, others aren't, but the reality is that many of these guys are only being thought of as sure-fire studs in hindsight.

So Lorenzo Romar gets how much credit for developing Fultz in to the #1 overall pick? How much credit for "identifying" Fultz as a future NBA lottery pick (just like every other human with a brain could achieve)?

How about Rick Barnes and KD? JC and Andre?

 

[champs99and04]

So Lorenzo Romar gets how much credit for developing Fultz in to the #1 overall pick? How much credit for "identifying" Fultz as a future NBA lottery pick (just like every other human with a brain could achieve)?

How about Rick Barnes and KD? JC and Andre?

It's always going to impossible to gauge how much credit a coach deserves for a specific player, which is why I think you need to do a quantitative analysis of the situation over time. I don't have the time to do that and I'm sure neither do you, but the studies I've seen suggest Cal grades out fairly well.

I have no question Calhoun and a lot of other coaches could take the guys Cal has had and produce similar results. But there have been plenty - Pitino, Roy Williams, Self - who are in the Hall of Fame and have not done so.

 

[Huskyforlife]

It's always going to impossible to gauge how much credit a coach deserves for a specific player, which is why I think you need to do a quantitative analysis of the situation over time. I don't have the time to do that and I'm sure neither do you, but the studies I've seen suggest Cal grades out fairly well.

I have no question Calhoun and a lot of other coaches could take the guys Cal has had and produce similar results. But there have been plenty - Pitino, Roy Williams, Self - who are in the Hall of Fame and have not done so.

Calhoun would have 5 more championships with cals players.

 

[NielsisGood]

Calhoun would have 5 more championships with cals players.

Maybe, but kids didn't really shine that often in their first year under Calhoun. Part of that was probably by design, Calhoun wanted kids he could teach and help turn into men. It'd be like getting a puppy vs a 5 year old dog.

 

[Rocktheworld]

Maybe, but kids didn't really shine that often in their first year under Calhoun. Part of that was probably by design, Calhoun wanted kids he could teach and help turn into men. It'd be like getting a puppy vs a 5 year old dog.

You mean like...

actually developing and shaping them?

 

[NielsisGood]

You mean like...

actually developing and shaping them?

You seem angry even when you're agreeing with someone.