This is fun. Much better than comparing the Thompson twins or Grady Dick & Cason Wallace.
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Fasho. Thatās what Iām trying to remind myself. Same with when the Panthers traded up, I wanted Bryce but would have been happy with the other two also and was just happy to be there.
I firmly want Scoot, but our team is about to get a lot better regardless. And tbh, outside the travesty that was the 2021 class, I have no reason not to trust Mitch. Heās the best drafter weāve ever had.
Where he arguably should have been found, was the treatment room. He was injured, think it was his groin, but still went out there risking reputation (itās clearly cost him some) and further injury. He has shown clutch performances (ref. game after the shooting, when all eyes were on him and everything was on the line) before.
He clearly isnāt on the level Durant was coming out of college, few have been or will be, but that is the style of player youāre looking at. Durantās 6ā11" and Millerās 6ā9" ā¦ now this is a very unrefined way of looking at things, but hey ā¦ I think you can throttle back all the components of Durantās skill set by the same proportion, and you get Miller. The roughest of rough guides.
I think Millerās well worth his position as #3 on a generic big board, and not far off Scoot at all.
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Scoot Henderson on 2023 NBA Draft Lottery & relatā¦: Scoot Henderson on 2023 NBA Draft Lottery & relationship with Steph Curry | NBA Today - YouTube
I was thinking about this also. I truly want BPA, the player that will become the biggest star. I value that over fit. Obviously thereās no way to know how that will play out but if Miller becomes the peak of what he could be vs Scoot becoming the peak of what he could be then Miller is more valuable long term to me.
Nothing I say about Scoot is to be considered a knock because I love everything Iāve seen and heard from him so far both on and off the court and Iāll be thrilled to have him. But if he reaches his peak comparisons (Westbrook, D. Rose, Morant), itās all players that a lot of people cringe about their games not having a very long shelf life when the athleticism wears down and they canāt shoot. If Miller reaches his peak comparisons heās a player whoās game ages well and fills a role that is so difficult to fill yet is critical to great success.
Anyway, I digress but my original point here was that I donāt know for sure if Miller or Scoot have the abilities in them to overcome some of the limitations we currently perceive about them but I do believe Mitch has a good eye for talent and an āitā factor so Iām confident with the intel that he can gather from thorough scouting and up close observation that heāll make a good choice between the two as far as if they have āitā.
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Yāall I LOVE scoot Hendersonās interviews. Heās mature and has a grown ass manās mindset. Thatās the kind of person I want on the roster.
Guys, the pick n roll sets we could run with Melo, Scoot, and Mark Williams would be deadly. And have a secondary screener such as mark Williams who can set a second screen and then roll off of it toward the bucketā¦
Picture it: a Melo/scoot PnR with Mark Williams as a secondary screener. You can have mark set a double screen/ down screen and give Scoot the option to hit Melo for the catch and shoot 3, or hit Mark when he rolls towards the basket. OR the defender could sell out on either guy OR mark sets a down screen and Scoot has a clear lane to the basket.
And the best part is that Scoot and Melo could play either role as the ball handler in this set.
LORDY. So so many options. People are wayyyy too hung up on the fit between Melo and Scoot.
Look at how well he plays the PnR. Mid range pullup, physical attack at the rim, and can finish.
Pairing Melo, Scoot, and Mark Williams in PnR sets would be absurd yāall. Scoot is the pick and itās not even close.
This is a very good point. 2 sorta rebuttals:
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This franchise has never had a player that is must see TV in that mold. It is so badly needed. Even if it is a 6 yr shooting star. I desperately need those 6 years
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Watch his dunks on the highlight videos. His finishes are more about his 6ā9" arms than jumping ability. Unlike say d. Rose, he is much more of a 6ā7" dunker than a 6ā2" dunker. I think he is going to have a better shot at longevity.
Good points as well. When I have looked at his highlights I have noticed this. Doesnāt seem like huge hops but just how he extends his arms. I couldnāt quite put my finger on it but youāve captured what I was seeing/thinking pretty well.
Iām already working on the nicknames.
Scootelo?
Scootball?
LaScoot?
Scootelo has the lead.
And last thing. Yeah, I get it, Brandon Miller has been cleared from the murder and gun charge issue. It sounds like through looking into it and interviewing Miller, teams have actually had good things to say about his maturity (per reports, of course). But it still carries a stigma and some concern moving forwardā¦
But still. From a PR standpoint:
Is Mitch REALLY going to take on BOTH Brandon millerās gun stuff AND Miles Bridgesā felony DV charges??
No way.
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Interesting point. If Miller is the choice, maybe Bridges becomes expendable. And with Hayward expiring at the end of the year, could Oubre be resigned. So, you end up replacing Bridges and Hayward with Miller and Oubre. Not saying thatās what I would do, but that could be an option now.
Teams started to sag off of Scoot. In the NBA that will get worse. I want a guy who can shoot the lights out and is big.
Both would be good additions but you got to bet on Millerās shooting. We could have a 6ā7 and 6ā8 back court!
Come on man we are talking about winning not morals. Terrible to say but true!
I think scootās 3p% is a little overblown. Going immediately to the pro 3 from high school 3 point line from one year to the next is a big jump. The mechanics of his shot looks fine. His mid look great from all over.
Anyone know his 3p% in high school?
You know who everyone gave a hard time for his 3 point shooting and mechanics?
Lamelo ball
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For the life of me, I canāt find his high school 3p%
The consensus around the league seems to be that teams flat out donāt care. Seems like thereās certainly enough circumstantial evidence to write it off as a wrong place at the wrong time situation. Really, I think the whole saga almost looks worse for Alabama basketball than it does Brandon Miller. How does he not catch a single suspension? Either way thatās a different talk for a different day. I just donāt think thereās enough to sway Mitch or any GM from taking Miller if they like him enough.
Again, Iām firmly in the Scoot camp but I obviously understand the argument for Miller. Especially if you take positional value into the equation. Letās say Scootās high end outcomes are Westbrook/Rose and Millerās are Tatum/PG. Youre likely taking the latter every single time and truthfully weāve been searching 30+ years for a player like that.
This is obviously an oversimplification of the scenario, and as I previously said I trust Scoot to reach his ceiling more than I do Miller. But if they take Miller I get it.
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Thatās what I had said, but the caveat I added was that other teams donāt have a domestic violence felon on their roster as well. Whether or not other teams care about Brandonās involvement with the murder or not, itās not a good look publicly to have him on a roster coupled with bridges.
Food for thought
Givony says everyone around the league expects it to be Miller
Donāt know who that is, but good for him.