I’d be ok with Majerle 2.0
If he became Pat Connaughton, I’d be shocked. Pat never created a bucket off the dribble, strictly catch and shoot 3s or a dunk.
Max Strus gets closer, he’s athletic, can shoot, and starts for the 2nd place team in the east. But Knecht seems like you can give him the ball to create and get a bucket, Strus doesn’t have that in him.
I went back to an old school comp. High level shooting, accuracy from distance, can dunk on you if he gets an angle. Same height, similar build. Can put it on the floor.
Can you see the vision? (Ok, Chef beat me to the comp while I was typing. Thunder Dalt maybe?)
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Thanks to all for providing context. College ball is just about unwatchable for me these days so I can’t speak intelligently about most of these prospects. The ability to go off the dribble with Pat C. athleticism would be ideal, but I like the Thunder Dan comp. If we could get that in what is viewed as a weak draft I’d definitely be pretty happy.
that 39 pt highlight reminds me so much of klay thompson that in this draft, i may just take him just in case. i mean the hornets have only missed out on the last 10 decent sg’s in the league from klay, mitchell, etc etc that at some point they have to get it right.
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You can say the same about klay Thompson. I’m not saying Knecht is going to be klay, but with Melo handling the ball we need to surround him with knockdown shooters. I don’t care if Knecht doesn’t have slippery moves or handles like Paul George.
Knecht can move well without the ball. He’s a hard worker because of his basketball background, has nifty moves, and has a pure shooters stroke.
Dan Majerle would be crazy elite in current NBA.
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Don’t know much about Knecht, even though I’m a TN fan. All I see are highlights. Every time I try to watch them, they shoot like me in the driveway, so I don’t watch much. Knecht seems to be more of basketball player than athlete. But, I’m good with that (see Kai Jones).
I haven’t dug in on Knecht yet or seen much of his game. But I’m curious what are you guys’ thoughts on Reed Sheppard. Neither of them would typically be my ideal choice in the lottery and would honestly scare me to death to take but I’m trying to open my mind to the idea. Just thinking maybe in a draft like this it is ok to go with the higher floor / lower ceiling type player that will likely fill a need.
I saw most of this game where Sheppard literally took over (including hitting the game winner with like .5 seconds left). The kid is shooting nearly 52% from 3 this deep into the season so a pretty good sample size. Averaging 2.7 steals a game and nearly one block per game at his size. I had heard how he has a weird knack for blocking almost one three point attempt per game and sure enough he got one during this game.
To put it another way, I think skill is now more valuable than raw athleticism, so it may be possible to see a guy like Sheppard as higher ceiling than we might have 10-15 years ago.
But, yes, I’m fine with a guy who clearly fits the plan and can make us better than going for another questionable guy that if all things go perfect might be the better player. We got the stud in Brandon. We now need guys that will make him and the rest of the team better.
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Sheppard is growing on me.
I agree with everything you wrote, but there’s a key component you didn’t … and that’s D. If we’re using a high value asset (top 10 pick in this case) then I need to be getting a two-way player at SG. Knecht is a good, savvy player with high level shooting and, as you mentioned, off-ball movement.
I like him as a prospect, but don’t see him as offering good value for a mid top 10 pick and don’t like the fit between LaMelo & Miller. But hey, we all like different flavours of ice-cream.
FWIW, Knecht & Filipowski are two players I really like, but in the 10 to 14 range. I see both as 7th/8th men in the long run, offering very useful skill sets.
Reed Sheppard reminds me of jimmer
I can see Reed Sheppard working on this team, pre Mann and Micic, very much in the Terry role. He’d be the point of attack defender, can space the floor for LaMelo and run the second unit from point.
As with Filipowski and Knecht, I don’t see him as good value in our projected range, but I’d take him in the latter part of the lottery.
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Sheppard plays both ends, still wouldn’t want to draft him top 5 but he is a much better shooter than Jimmer.
I’ve definitely mentioned his defense in this thread a few times. I don’t feel like scrolling back to find it. You’ll have to take my word on it.
I know, I get it. He’s never going to contend for all NBA defensive first team. He’s a meh-average defender. But in this draft, I just don’t think we’re going to find a perfect guy who checks all the boxes. There aren’t any Millers in this draft. I just really want to see a serious knockdown shooter Melo can pass to. He can move well without the ball, get open, quick release. He’s not rail thin and is physically ready. Remember, Brandon Miller’s knock was his inability to dribble drive or blow by defenders. Knecht has 10 pounds on college klay thompson also.
Compare his write up to Klay’s. It’s eerily similar. No one out of college thought much about Klay’s lateral athleticism or defense:
“While Thompson shows potential to contribute on the offensive end at the next level, his defensive ability leaves much to be desired, both in terms of fundamentals and athleticism. He is neither a particularly explosive nor fluid athlete and his below average lateral quickness severely limits him on defense”
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Risacher from France is an interesting prospect. He has an absolute pure shot and good length
He’s been the player from this draft class whose interested me the most key word interested, not a big fan of any of these players for the high pick we’ll have
There’s talk that he’s grown closer to 6ft 10 now, which makes him even more interesting. He’s right up there on just about every draft board. A floor spacer who defends and can move the ball well at anything close to 6’10" is pretty much the modern archetype. The only negative I’ve come across is questions related to how much he really wants ‘it’ … which is concerning. I personally think he’s more in the Miller mould, where he’s a team first guy, and it can, therefore, seem as though he’s not trying to take over offensively rather than he doesn’t have the fight in him.
No way he’s Jimmer! He can play the point! Jimmer was just a short SG!
If you watch college basketball you are probably right. I watched the highlight video and he very much reminded me of jimmer. But that is the extent of my scouting