i thought sam hinkie knew basketball as well or even better than me. i was wrong.
embiid clearly had greater upside than anyone drafted after him, and a framework of athletic/basketball ability to fit in any situation if in good health. neither of these things are true of okafor. even if embiid's foot physically falls off, noel was a better nba player by march than okafor will ever be. nitwits like ashtray-face feinstein and kornheiser who think okafor is better than embiid or noel were never once independently struck by the thought that towns was a better prospect in december or even february; they got in line when the critical mass of consensus shifted. if the cavaliers had noel they may have won the title; if they had okafor he'd have been sitting between marion and haywood.
okafor has huge hands and shot 51% from the line. did shaq ever develop a jumper? shaq couldn't defend ballscreens either. however at 19 shaq played two feet above the rim, not under it like okafor.
jay bilas in a rare moment of accuracy described towns as a "perfect prospect", a rim protector capable of playing positionless basketball. okafor is the opposite of that. doesn't rebound at a high level, or project to block shots at all. he doesn't move his feet or change ends very well at all. he didn't even score that well in the post against opponents with nba size. he's obsolete, redundant and overrated even in his areas of strength.
he wasn't one of the five best players in this draft. nobody who saw each player in high school thought russell was better than mudiay, a true point guard in the old school sense with the new school body and athleticism of an outside receiver in the nfl. porzingis wasn't playing in some y league in riga, he was in the spanish league, scoring 12 & 5 on 54% shooting in 22 minutes a game. he blocks shots, has already expanded his faceup game beyond being a standstill 3 point shooter, and jumps over the backboard. winslow defends, beats his man off the dribble, and thrives in the open floor.
complete unmitigated disaster.
embiid clearly had greater upside than anyone drafted after him, and a framework of athletic/basketball ability to fit in any situation if in good health. neither of these things are true of okafor. even if embiid's foot physically falls off, noel was a better nba player by march than okafor will ever be. nitwits like ashtray-face feinstein and kornheiser who think okafor is better than embiid or noel were never once independently struck by the thought that towns was a better prospect in december or even february; they got in line when the critical mass of consensus shifted. if the cavaliers had noel they may have won the title; if they had okafor he'd have been sitting between marion and haywood.
okafor has huge hands and shot 51% from the line. did shaq ever develop a jumper? shaq couldn't defend ballscreens either. however at 19 shaq played two feet above the rim, not under it like okafor.
jay bilas in a rare moment of accuracy described towns as a "perfect prospect", a rim protector capable of playing positionless basketball. okafor is the opposite of that. doesn't rebound at a high level, or project to block shots at all. he doesn't move his feet or change ends very well at all. he didn't even score that well in the post against opponents with nba size. he's obsolete, redundant and overrated even in his areas of strength.
he wasn't one of the five best players in this draft. nobody who saw each player in high school thought russell was better than mudiay, a true point guard in the old school sense with the new school body and athleticism of an outside receiver in the nfl. porzingis wasn't playing in some y league in riga, he was in the spanish league, scoring 12 & 5 on 54% shooting in 22 minutes a game. he blocks shots, has already expanded his faceup game beyond being a standstill 3 point shooter, and jumps over the backboard. winslow defends, beats his man off the dribble, and thrives in the open floor.
complete unmitigated disaster.
