Somebody explain to me why Harrison Barnes is a better prospect than Jeremy Lamb

[Burnsbros23]

Kemba was an ELITE player and Jeremy played off Kemba. Jeremy is clearly better as a second option than a 1st option.

Comparing Barnes handle to Stanley's? C'mon now thats ridiculous. Barnes has a nice one dribble pull up he isnt great at attacking the rim but neither is Jeremy. I think ridiculous expectations were on Barnes so people view him as a disappointment. Both of these guys could be great second and third best players on a team but to me neither is going to be a superstar.

 

[caw]

To answer the initial question. Given that the two players have very similar games (positives and negatives), Barnes is a bulkier player and has a very good no-step vertical. Other than that, I view them as similar prospects.

 

[champs99and04]

Kemba was an ELITE player and Jeremy played off Kemba. Jeremy is clearly better as a second option than a 1st option.

Comparing Barnes handle to Stanley's? C'mon now thats ridiculous. Barnes has a nice one dribble pull up he isnt great at attacking the rim but neither is Jeremy. I think ridiculous expectations were on Barnes so people view him as a disappointment. Both of these guys could be great second and third best players on a team but to me neither is going to be a superstar.

I agree - both are unlikely to become #1 options in the NBA. The premise of my original thread is based on the fact that Lamb has proven to be more successful as a second option than Barnes, at least in their brief careers. The ability to defer, and score efficiently within the offense is a skill, and Lamb has proven to be one of the best at that.

I've heard Barnes to Cleveland at #4, and I just don't think it makes any sense. Barnes had a nice college career, I just didn't see anything to warrant him being a top five pick. If I'm Cleveland, I'm picking either Kidd-Gilchrist, Beal, or Drummond at #4, depending on who's left. However, Lamb would also be a good option, while Barnes would not be. Kyrie Irving is the face of the franchise, and if you bring in Lamb to play off the ball, he'll thrive as a second option because he has an advanced understanding of the subtilities of the game - playing the passing lanes, cutting off the ball, using screens, creating space off the ball, etc. Lamb hasn't proven to be a better athlete than Barnes, but he has proven to have a higher basketball IQ. Barnes has showed us that he's a mediocre one on one player and not much more.

I'll go with the guy who shot 56% during an eleven game winning streak in March last year, you can go with the guy who shot 3 of 16 against Ohio in the sweet 16 this year. I like my chances.

 

[Burnsbros23]

Totally understandable. I think Barnes is probably the safer pick. The other thing is him and Kyrie Irving are best friends. I think him and Jeremy are very comparable prospects guess it just depends on need. I'll take Jeremy over MKG I have worries about him.

You wanna talk about crazy? In Chad Ford mock drafts he has Austin Rivers going over Jeremy that to me is insane.

 

[champs99and04]

Totally understandable. I think Barnes is probably the safer pick. The other thing is him and Kyrie Irving are best friends. I think him and Jeremy are very comparable prospects guess it just depends on need. I'll take Jeremy over MKG I have worries about him.

You wanna talk about crazy? In Chad Ford mock drafts he has Austin Rivers going over Jeremy that to me is insane.

Would you mind posting Chad Ford's top 15? Most of the articles on ESPN require a subscription to Insider.

It seems with Sullinger likely to take a hit, that bodes well for Lamb. MKG I think will be a good pro - he's one of thsoe guys that was put on planet earth for the sole purpose of playing basketball. He'll likely be stronger than 90% of his counterparts, so I think he could make a living in the NBA posting up and scoring in transition. His scoring numbers at Kentucky don't blow you away, but you get the feeling he could have put in more if UK wasn't so loaded. It seemed like 80% of the time Kidd-Gilchrist attacked the rim something good happened.

The skill will come in time. He has the athleticism to be really good in the NBA (not to notch athleticism, but good athleticism) and the intangibles to be great. Time will tell.

 

[RuffRuff]

Did not say he has a better "handle" - said he is able to create offense a bit more of a dribble move. Neither of these guys is going to be expected to handle the ball. Do people here really think they are smarter than professionals who are paid to do this and have been doing it for a very long time?

Basically what Chris Smith said.

 

[Walker11]

Did not say he has a better "handle" - said he is able to create offense a bit more of a dribble move. Neither of these guys is going to be expected to handle the ball. Do people here really think they are smarter than professionals who are paid to do this and have been doing it for a very long time?

Basically what Chris Smith said.

You are right about that. Lamb has a much better handle than Barnes but Barnes can create slightly better off the dribble because he can shoot very well off one bounce off the step back.

 

[Burnsbros23]

He has Rivers going 10 to the hornets and Lamb going 11th to the Blazers. Sullinger all the way down at 20th and Perry Jones all they way down an 19th.

 

[aceboon]

He has Rivers going 10 to the hornets and Lamb going 11th to the Blazers. Sullinger all the way down at 20th and Perry Jones all they way down an 19th.

Jones all the way to 19th is crazy but its not surprising to see Sullinger that low, he got flagged at the draft camps for a back issue, plus supposedly one of his legs is longer than the other(see, Oden). He could be looking at a DeJuan Blair type of situation on draft night.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Jones all the way to 19th is crazy but its not surprising to see Sullinger that low, he got flagged at the draft camps for a back issue, plus supposedly one of his legs is longer than the other(see, Oden). He could be looking at a DeJuan Blair type of situation on draft night.

This draft looks very thin to me. I'm not even sold on Davis, he looks about like Marus Camby, with a less well developed offensive game. I don't think his frame will allow him to put on enough weight to really bang down low, and I don't think he can play outside. I think we may look back in 5 years and be surprised at who the best players from this class are. T-Rob is the most certain to be at least starter quality.

As for Lamb and Barnes, neither looks to be much more than a role player in my view. If either can really pick up his D he can earn some minutes. If not, 6th man scoring off the bench.

 

[caw]

This draft looks very thin to me. I'm not even sold on Davis, he looks about like Marus Camby, with a less well developed offensive game. I don't think his frame will allow him to put on enough weight to really bang down low, and I don't think he can play outside. I think we may look back in 5 years and be surprised at who the best players from this class are. T-Rob is the most certain to be at least starter quality.

As for Lamb and Barnes, neither looks to be much more than a role player in my view. If either can really pick up his D he can earn some minutes. If not, 6th man scoring off the bench.

I agree, it looks thin on [guaranteed] stars. It is a very deep draft though. Lots of 5th-9th man type role-players in this draft. A few of those have the potential to be stars. Most just have fatal flaws that would need to be worked out. Great draft to be in the late teens/early twenties and/or have multiple picks if you have a team with defined roles and veteran players.