NYRaider Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 Is it time that we have a discussion about Cade Cunningham as a prospect? He has been labeled as the sure fire #1 prospect/#1 pick in the draft but I'm starting to have some concerns. Obviously there are a lot of things to like about him, he's 6'8", very skilled creating off the bounce, flashes as a playmaker, and has shot the ball a lot better from deep than I expected he would. But on the other side, he's currently averaging 3.7 APG (4.0 TOPG) when he's touted as a PG, he's only shooting 54% at the rim, and he's only shooting 28% on 2 point shots outside of the paint. I think he'll be a very good NBA player because of his size, feel for the game, and potential as a playmaker. But I'm just not sure he's a franchise changing talent like he has been hyped up to be after getting to watch him play more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpulse Posted February 18, 2021 Share Posted February 18, 2021 1 hour ago, NYRaider said: he's only shooting 28% on 2 point shots outside of the paint. this doesnt concern me all that much. A lot of guys have to refine their mid range after coming to the NBA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted February 18, 2021 Author Share Posted February 18, 2021 10 minutes ago, Deadpulse said: this doesnt concern me all that much. A lot of guys have to refine their mid range after coming to the NBA My concern is that he lacks a degree of explosiveness to consistently beat guys off the bounce and finish around the rim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, NYRaider said: Is it time that we have a discussion about Cade Cunningham as a prospect? He has been labeled as the sure fire #1 prospect/#1 pick in the draft but I'm starting to have some concerns. Obviously there are a lot of things to like about him, he's 6'8", very skilled creating off the bounce, flashes as a playmaker, and has shot the ball a lot better from deep than I expected he would. But on the other side, he's currently averaging 3.7 APG (4.0 TOPG) when he's touted as a PG, he's only shooting 54% at the rim, and he's only shooting 28% on 2 point shots outside of the paint. I think he'll be a very good NBA player because of his size, feel for the game, and potential as a playmaker. But I'm just not sure he's a franchise changing talent like he has been hyped up to be after getting to watch him play more. Evan Mobley is the best player in this class. My early top 5 (and it's a clear cut top 5 btw) would probably look like... 1. Evan Mobley | C | USC 2. Cade Cunningham | G | Oklahoma State 3. Jonathan Kuminga | GF | G League Ignite 4. Jalen Suggs | PG | Gonzaga 5. Jalen Green | SG | G League Ignite Reason why I'm not bumping Cunningham for Kuminga is because Kuminga has shooting issues himself. Cunningham's also hitting a high percentage from 3 so that's more important than his mid-range shooting. TBH Mobley and Suggs have been the most impressive of the 5 prospects for me. I just can't put Suggs ahead of Kuminga because of JK's potential. Edited February 19, 2021 by beekay414 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candyman93 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Jalen Johnson seems like a kid that would bail at the first sign of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supersuavesky Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 Because he left Duke? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seminoles1 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Supersuavesky said: Because he left Duke? Not his first time bailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OkeyDoke21 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 7 hours ago, candyman93 said: Jalen Johnson seems like a kid that would bail at the first sign of trouble. *is *bails Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekay414 Posted February 19, 2021 Share Posted February 19, 2021 6 hours ago, seminoles1 said: Not his first time bailing. Yep. He played for 3 different HS's in 3 years. Went from Sun Prairie as a sophomore, to Nicolet as a junior, to IMG Academy as a senior and back to Nicolet the same year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 On 2/18/2021 at 4:19 PM, beekay414 said: Evan Mobley is the best player in this class. My early top 5 (and it's a clear cut top 5 btw) would probably look like... I just can't put Suggs ahead of Kuminga because of JK's potential. Yeah, Mobley definitely has everything you look for in a modern big. I still like Kuminga as the #1 player in the class though. He definitely needs to improve as a shooter but when I've seen him play his jumper doesn't look broken and I think he'll eventually develop into at least an average 3 point shooter. Another thing that gives me hope is seeing guys like Kawhi Leonard (41 3PM at a 25% clip in 70 games at SDSU) and Pascal Siakam (3 3PM at a 17% clip in 68 games at NMSU) develop as shooters in the league. At 6'8" 220 with his 7'2" wingspan and elite athleticism I think he has a chance to develop into one of the premier players in the league. He has flashed as a playmaker so far in the G-League and also has the tools to be a plus defender that can switch 1-4. The only question mark, as you said, is his 3 point shooting. But I think his upside is high enough to take a chance that he'll improve after we've seen guys like Kawhi, Siakam, and Jaylen Brown do the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 On 2/19/2021 at 1:42 AM, candyman93 said: Jalen Johnson seems like a kid that would bail at the first sign of trouble. It's also pretty interesting that Duke has played way better without him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candyman93 Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 29 minutes ago, NYRaider said: It's also pretty interesting that Duke has played way better without him. Just an observation, but who holds people accountable on that team? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 2 minutes ago, candyman93 said: Just an observation, but who holds people accountable on that team? Typically Duke has had an upperclassman guy or two in their rotation on teams that have won. This year we have a pretty young team and the ball moved much better when Johnson wasn't on the court. We're 5-8 in the 13 games Johnson played in and 4-0 in games without him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyDez Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 This seems like the type of draft where there’s 3-4 guys that would be great #2 picks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYRaider Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 11 minutes ago, DirtyDez said: This seems like the type of draft where there’s 3-4 guys that would be great #2 picks. I think Mobley, Kuminga, Cunningham, Suggs, and Green all would've easily been the best prospect in last years class. Very early but if I had to rank the top 10 prospects in the class. 1. Jonathan Kuminga | F | G-League Ignite 2. Evan Mobley | C | USC 3. Cade Cunningham | CG | Oklahoma State 4. Jalen Suggs | PG | Gonzaga 5. Jalen Green | CG | G-League Ignite 6. Scottie Barnes | F | Florida State 7. Keon Johnson | SG | Tennessee 8. Moses Moody | SG | Arkansas 9. Ziaire Williams | F | Stanford 10. Jaden Springer | SG | Tennessee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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