[Lotto StudParticipant]

We all know at this point, he’s a projected 2nd-rounder, but how high can he actually be selected if he looks good in workouts oppossed to the time he tested the waters previously?

[whiteflashParticipant]

 He really turned it on at times this year, and you never want anyone to fail (well, maybe Lavar Ball), but he’s a ball dominant, high volume shooter with limited athleticism and feel for the game. Coming out of high school I said he’s Daniel Gibson with a crossover, and I stand by that. If he can learn to defend pg’s and play within himself/find the right system, he could carve out a nice career off the bench.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

Newman was never designed to step foot in college. He was very explosive in high school, but once he got to Kansas, think he settled more for being just a shooter after going through the motions.

Personally, I believe that college hurts some guys just as much as it’s supposed to help their game develop. Let’s use Lou Williams for an example similar to Newman. Williams was never a point guard prospect at his size, and if he played at Georgia, he would’ve had to show that he could play the 1 heading into the draft process. He just happened to luck up from the prep to pros jump, something that may have been beneficial to Newman as well.

[whiteflashParticipant]

 He struggled at Mississippi St. Then had a 50/50 run at Kansas. You really think he’s gonna do better going straight to the league? That’s crazy.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

 I never said he will do better or worse. I just said his game was never designed for collegiate play.

[whiteflashParticipant]

 What does that even mean? He didn’t "settle" for being just a shooter. If he was capable of more, he would’ve done more. Like I wrote, Daniel Gibson with a crossover. 

[kobyzParticipant]

 so ben gordon?

[ChewyParticipant]

 Newman is Dion Waiters minus 2 inches and some ball handeling. 

[Kwame33Participant]

.

[JoeWolf1]

Guys, he played with one of the most ball dominant players in college basketball last season in Devonte Graham.Devonte played 39 minutes a game and ran practically everything in the half court. I feel the ball dominant criticism is something more from his past than his present.

Newman was a secondary ball handler who got a ton of his shots as a spot up shooter. What he did create for himself a lot of the times was in transition and getting to the hoop.

[CoachWyersParticipant]

 I just don’t see him getting drafted or being a useful NBA guy.  I think he is more of a GLeague or overseas player.  He is an undersized scorer that is going to struggle to score at the NBA level.

[Lotto StudParticipant]

 Damned if he did; damned if he didn’t.

[RUDEBOY-Participant]

 Just saw that Duval of Duke is signing with an agent. Seems like he had no choice with that Jones kid coming in, who might’ve started ahead of him. 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 That’s crazy to me. He doesn’t do anything at the NBA level. Some of these kids need a reality check. 

[ChewyParticipant]

 I’d rather have Frank Jackson than Duval. Sure Duval is more athletic, but Jackson’s isn’t unathletic in his own right. Frank had a better feel at the pg position, could score in the paint like Duval and was a better shooter.

I know he has a lot of hype, but I see Duval being the next Marquis Teague. Duval can have a long and good career in the NBA. He’s young and will grow, but he might now be a decent player until his second contract. I don;t want to waste a 1st rd pick on that.

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 You know man, I don’t think Duval is more athletic than Jackson. Duval was hyped as a super athlete coming into college, but I saw a kid with fairly average bounce and burst for his position. He’s got a huge wingspan though, so it gives the illusion of athleticism. Jackson was getting dunks in traffic and in the halfcourt set, Duval really couldn’t.

Jackson reminds me of a slightly less explosive Jerryd Bayless. Duval is Rondo without the passing or defensive instincts. He’s gonna have to kill in workouts to even make the 2nd round.

 

[ChewyParticipant]

 "Rondo without the passing or defensive instincts" ouch lol, is that even a basketball player at that point?! Those are THE two skills (could throw in ball handling) that make Rondo who he is.

I like the Jackson/Bayless comp. I’m a huge fan of Jackson so long as his recovery goes well and he can get back to 100% physically.

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 Haha, in a way. Duval is about as raw as it gets, and that’s not really what teams look for in a young pg. 

What’s up with Jackson? Know he had an injury before the season, but haven’t heard anything else. Think he can be a microwave scorer off the bench.

 

[ChewyParticipant]

 He has surgery on his foot and the Pelicans shut him down for the season. Good move I think. Pels don’t need him right now, but they can really use him the next 3-10 years, so they are playing it safe with his recovery.

All the articles talk about him focusing on lifting weights and spot up shooting to avoid reagrivating his foot injury.

 

[IlladelphParticipant]

 Basically, Malik Newman couldn’t dominate at Miss St.  He didn’t dominate at Kansas.  And he a 6’2" combo guard.  Hmmm…  Doesn’t exactly scream NBA talent.  

I watched Newman’s recruitment in HS as he had a ridiculous amount of hype around him.  For a good while he was a lock for Kentucky, and then at the 11th hour he decided to be a big fish in the Miss St pond.  The problem was, his teammate and good friend Quindary Weatherspoon who was a 3 or 4 star player, outplayed him the whole season!  He just wasn’t as good as he was billed to be.  And then at the end of that season he and his father blamed the coach for not utilizing his talents correctly…  So, he transfers to Kansas which I thought was a good move.  Red shirt year, get better.  Pull a Ben McLemore and get drafted in the first round, mission accomplished.  But sadly, he was really underwhelming in his year at Kansas.  Sure he had a great tournament run.  That might help him move up a bit.  But I don’t really see how over 3 years and 2 schools, and all of the opportunity he had, he demonstrated that he is an NBA player.  Especially for a guard you have to be elite to get the NBA ticket.  Could he be a role player on someone’s team?  I don’t think so.  He doesn’t do any one thing tremendously well.  Maybe he was just over-rated in HS?  At one point he was ranked #1 in his class if I recall.  

 

[ChewyParticipant]

 He had a REALLY BAD regular season for KU this year. Something clicked for him during B12 and NCAA tournaments, but he is not an NBA player.

He will have a long and successful European career since he can shoot and can finish at the rim over there.

I don’t blame him for going. His stock may be at an all time high, but just because it is a good move doesn’t mean he is ready.

 

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 I wrote on the City League Hoops YouTube page after his sr year that Newman was gonna struggle in college and got absolutely hammered. The guy who runs the site straight up told me "You don’t know basketball", haha. I’m not relishing in someone’s lack of success, I just saw a kid who wasn’t overly athletic who had to dominate the ball and take a ton of shots to be effective. Doing that against skinny HS kids is is one thing, doing it against D1 players is something else entirely. There are way more HS hero’s that don’t "make it" than do. If Newman ever sees an NBA floor, that’s a success.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

 Don’t really love the guards in this year’s draft although I am holding out hope for Collin Sexton. Too much hype for Trae and now even Mikal Bridges. I think you go Ayton and Bamba and probably another big (Jaren Jackson Jr.) at the top of the draft. Then Donte Inferno somewhere closer to the top (love his game). Doncic somewhere between 5 and 10 (reminds me of Carmelo Anthony with more passing and ball handling). 

Bagley doesn’t do much for me. A short-armed athletic 4 who isn’t actually super-duper athletic. And we are closer to the end of small ball than the beginning. Moneyball version of Bagley: Robert Williams III.

I think we are shifting to an era of power guards and centers with versatility on defense favored over versatility on defense. Death lineups for DEFENSE. Maybe you start your rim running/rim protecting bigs and bring your stretch shooting bigs off the bench. Starting all-around combo/tweener/utility/low usage forwards at the 4 might be the way to go.

 

[TRC1991Participant]

Trevon Duval is not more athletic than Frank Jackson.

Malik Newman is a future 10+ ppg scorer off the bench for someone at the next level 

 

 

[Jr. ROXASParticipant]

He’s a less aggressive-driving Austin Rivers.

[kobyzParticipant]

 So Ben Gordon?

[JoeWolf1]

So, Newman does two things that can be looked at from an NBA front office.

He’s a good long ranger shooter, who proved he could be a spacer with Devonte Graham providing the vast majority of the ball handling for KU. A past criticism was that he needed the ball in his hands to thrive, but he was great at running the sidelines on the break and knocking down the corner three when Svi, Vick, or Graham was leading the break. He can absolutely do that in the NBA.

Secondly, he was an awesome defensive rebounder at the college level. The NBA spacing right now will let him do that if he still goes for the ball like he did in college. Guards don’t box each other out anymore away from the hoop, so if Newman wants to continue to be a defensive rebounding ball hawk, that opportunity is there for him. Why is this important? Because he’s really good at pushing the ball in transition, and this is another he can do to help an NBA team.

He’s not a jump off the page guy at anything else, but I feel at Kansas he did a good job of improving weaker parts of his game. Good ball handler, Better defender, good straight line driver (really good in college, but this will be less effective in the pros) and improved his shot selection.

I’d roll the dice on him with a mid-late 2nd round pick, and like most 2nd rounders, I think team fit will decide whether he sticks around or not. I think in a face paced system, he could do a really good job as a 2nd unit guard. It might take a year with a two way contract to get him there, but there’s something to him.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

I like Newman.  I also like Donte Inferno.  My favorite 2 perimeter guys in the draft — other than maybe Collin Sexton.

Upside for Donte: Jerry West-ish type?

Upside for Malik Newman: Looks like Oscar Robertson or something…

Ironically, to me, the best two guys in the draft also look like guys from the 1960’s.

Ayton screams Wilt to me. Bamba has some Bill Russell stuff.  Robert Williams III could be the next Gus Johnson — you never know.

Luka looks like Carmelo Anthony with his size, body type, and mediocre athleticism/explosion.  Looks a bit pouty, too.  To be sure, he is a better passer, ball handler, leader, floor general, and intangibles guy than Carmelo Anthony is.  But, Melo ain’t doing much these days.  Carmelo is a FIBA GOAT but nothing more than a mediocre All Star back here in the states. 

Mikal Bridges: more one-dimensional than a unicron. Closer to Ron Harper as an upside than MJ.

Not sure there is a small forward in this draft I love.  I will probably like some mid-major 6’8 small forward who averaged 7 and 5 last season as a senior…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 You just compared two decent (at best) college players with two of the most iconic players in basketball history…. That was a joke, right?

[kobyzParticipant]

 you just killing me, goat poster!!!

[cominup7Participant]

 The league has phased out of volume scoring undersized guards…of course all it takes is one team to like him to get drafted, but I always thought his best option was to become a fulltime, scoring PG.

 He’s smaller than I even thought and he hasn’t really grown since HS, his best option would’ve been to stay at MS State and show that he could run the point. If he could’ve made that transition he would be much more attractive as an explosive lead guard a la Lou Will

[kobyzParticipant]

reminds me soo much of him… 

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