[moximusParticipant]

Say if Will Barton reaches his absolute full potential, what do you think his ceiling might be?

I love his energy and work ethic, His style of play actually reminds me of young Sprewell, hopefully he can improve his J.

[SiggyParticipant]

Not very good. Maybe Chris Douglas-Roberts. I don’t see him being long for this league unless he completely changes his approach. He’s reckless and his bball IQ is really poor. He looked particularly bad in summer league, shooting more shots than he scored points while being a TO machine. He was constantly forcing the issue. He’s pretty clueless as far as trying to get his within the flow of the game. Barton’s got the bad combination of not being a good shooter, while being a bad shot taker… but likes to shoot A LOT. On top of that, he’s a slasher who doesn’t finish well because he’s painfully thin. He’s also almost as bad defensively as he is offensively. His lack of IQ and poor body strength extends to that end as well.

[TRC1991Participant]

Great rundown of Barton’s weaknesses but you failed to mention any of his strengths which are outstanding energy, hustle, and a knack for rebounding, plus he averaged 13, 6 and 3 on 44% shooting in the last month of the season

[SiggyParticipant]

He can rebound well for a wing, but there is a difference b/t playing hard and smart and playing hard and recklessly. Barton is the latter. He’s liable to hustle for a defensive board but it’s the same wide eyed exuberance that leads to him trying to go coast to coast, 1 on 3 and throwing up some wild, no-hope shot. I don’t think his strengths are enough to overcome his weaknesses. That’s why I didn’t mention them. He’s like a less skilled Jordan Crawford. It’s like dude, you’re playing hard but you’re hurting the team out there.
He started and played toward the end of the season out of necessity. Either that or the Blazers made a conscious effort to tank. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Barton getting extended minutes resulted in the Blazers playing their worst stretch of basketball of the season, losing every single game in the month of April.
Per 48 the Blazers were 11 points better with him off the floor. He had a negative Win Share, a negative Offensive Win Share, one of the worst offensive players in the entire league in terms of PPP (bottom 4%) and according to adjusted +/- was the 7th worst player in the entire league (4th worst if you’re using non-boxscore RAPM). Even for a reserve rookie, those are some eye popping bad stats. If he played as many minutes as Austin Rivers, it would’ve been debatable who was worse.
Also, just to reiterate, he looked terrible in Summer League and he had a pretty bad stint in the D-League too. He’s pretty much been terrible at every setting since turning pro.

[SiggyParticipant]

He can rebound well for a wing, but there is a difference b/t playing hard and smart and playing hard and recklessly. Barton is the latter. He’s liable to hustle for a defensive board but it’s the same wide eyed exuberance that leads to him trying to go coast to coast, 1 on 3 and throwing up some wild, no-hope shot. I don’t think his strengths are enough to overcome his weaknesses. That’s why I didn’t mention them. He’s like a less skilled Jordan Crawford. It’s like dude, you’re playing hard but you’re hurting the team out there.
He started and played toward the end of the season out of necessity. Either that or the Blazers made a conscious effort to tank. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Barton getting extended minutes resulted in the Blazers playing their worst stretch of basketball of the season, losing every single game in the month of April.
Per 48 the Blazers were 11 points better with him off the floor. He had a negative Win Share, a negative Offensive Win Share, one of the worst offensive players in the entire league in terms of PPP (bottom 4%) and according to adjusted +/- was the 7th worst player in the entire league (4th worst if you’re using non-boxscore RAPM). Even for a reserve rookie, those are some eye popping bad stats. If he played as many minutes as Austin Rivers, it would’ve been debatable who was worse.
Also, just to reiterate, he looked terrible in Summer League and he had a pretty bad stint in the D-League too. He’s pretty much been terrible at every setting since turning pro.

[TRC1991Participant]

Great rundown of Barton’s weaknesses but you failed to mention any of his strengths which are outstanding energy, hustle, and a knack for rebounding, plus he averaged 13, 6 and 3 on 44% shooting in the last month of the season

[SiggyParticipant]

Not very good. Maybe Chris Douglas-Roberts. I don’t see him being long for this league unless he completely changes his approach. He’s reckless and his bball IQ is really poor. He looked particularly bad in summer league, shooting more shots than he scored points while being a TO machine. He was constantly forcing the issue. He’s pretty clueless as far as trying to get his within the flow of the game. Barton’s got the bad combination of not being a good shooter, while being a bad shot taker… but likes to shoot A LOT. On top of that, he’s a slasher who doesn’t finish well because he’s painfully thin. He’s also almost as bad defensively as he is offensively. His lack of IQ and poor body strength extends to that end as well.

[JordanC20Participant]

I see him still being a scrub or out of the league in a few years.

[JordanC20Participant]

I see him still being a scrub or out of the league in a few years.

[Taylor Gang MikeParticipant]

To tell you the truth.. If he had a good jumpshot he could be Jamal Crawford. He’s a talented offensive player and he reminds me of Craw with his flashiness and talent.. He needs to hit the Weight room and improve defensively

[agentoaktreeParticipant]

See where you are going but a jumper will not give him the best handle in the game

[agentoaktreeParticipant]

See where you are going but a jumper will not give him the best handle in the game

[Taylor Gang MikeParticipant]

To tell you the truth.. If he had a good jumpshot he could be Jamal Crawford. He’s a talented offensive player and he reminds me of Craw with his flashiness and talent.. He needs to hit the Weight room and improve defensively

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

I like his energy and high motor. He really likes to slash so that is good, but he needs to improve his shot. I can see some Spree in him but he needs to refine his game. There is a lot of Latrell Sprewell’s game there, but there is a wide gap between being that kind of guy and someone who might get sent back down to the D League.

I am a fan of Will Barton and I think this will be a make or break year for him. If he keeps developing and shows a lot of improvement then I think he will be a key guy off the bench. If not, he could fall out of the rotation and be lucky to be an end of the bench guy.

In terms of development and upside he reminds me of Tony Wroten somewhat. Both guys are wiry, athletic, and flashy. Each one has potential but they are both pretty raw and undisciplined. They can shoot better and cut down on turnovers. Each guy had a rocky first year but rookie years are pretty tough for most guys. With these guys I don’t think they will ever be the most efficient, or prototypes for their positions, so if you play them you have to take the good with the bad. Both guys should be rotation guys, but I can see either one or both shuttling back and forth between the NBA and Europe.

[Memphis MadnessParticipant]

I like his energy and high motor. He really likes to slash so that is good, but he needs to improve his shot. I can see some Spree in him but he needs to refine his game. There is a lot of Latrell Sprewell’s game there, but there is a wide gap between being that kind of guy and someone who might get sent back down to the D League.

I am a fan of Will Barton and I think this will be a make or break year for him. If he keeps developing and shows a lot of improvement then I think he will be a key guy off the bench. If not, he could fall out of the rotation and be lucky to be an end of the bench guy.

In terms of development and upside he reminds me of Tony Wroten somewhat. Both guys are wiry, athletic, and flashy. Each one has potential but they are both pretty raw and undisciplined. They can shoot better and cut down on turnovers. Each guy had a rocky first year but rookie years are pretty tough for most guys. With these guys I don’t think they will ever be the most efficient, or prototypes for their positions, so if you play them you have to take the good with the bad. Both guys should be rotation guys, but I can see either one or both shuttling back and forth between the NBA and Europe.

[Author]

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