Payton Pritchard drafted #26 overall

bigq

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Eddie House with better range. Hope he can continue to build on what was a very good rookie season.
 

benhogan

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True but PP did it in games that count against NBA players. There's more reason to hope on his upside.
Plus PP's shooting form looks much tighter than Carsens'

Shooting over 41% on ~ 4 att/gms was very solid.

I expect Ime (w/his familiarity) to have larger plans in regards to PP than most expect around here
 

Jimbodandy

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Plus PP's shooting form looks much tighter than Carsens'

Shooting over 41% on ~ 4 att/gms was very solid.

I expect Ime (w/his familiarity) to have larger plans in regards to PP than most expect around here
I think that you're right. Imo a lot of how PP is used will depend on the remaining roster pieces too. Having a guy like Fournier around would help, or frankly anyone else who can attract attention and facilitate. Same with Al, assuming he isn't moved. Worst case would be PP sharing the floor with guys like Semi and Grant and having no fucking space to operate. Tl;dr; PP is a different guy if others have gravity, and CIU likely knows that.
 

benhogan

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Wouldn't we think that Brad Stevens is more familiar with PP after coaching him for a year than Udoka is?
Brad got him for a shortened season, with no SL, barely any pre-season, a handful of practices, based on film.

sure Brad's input will also be huge after a season w/ him (and the rest of the roster)

I expect Payton's PT to increase 20% this season, maybe that's in line with the board.
 

the moops

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Brad got him for a shortened season, with no SL, barely any pre-season, a handful of practices, based on film.

sure Brad's input will also be huge after a season w/ him (and the rest of the roster)

I expect Payton's PT to increase 20% this season, maybe that's in line with the board.
I just don't see how Udoka knowing him because they both are from Oregon is going to matter in terms of playing time. He will play more if they sign no other point guard regardless of any past relationships
 

benhogan

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I just don't see how Udoka knowing him because they both are from Oregon is going to matter in terms of playing time. He will play more if they sign no other point guard regardless of any past relationships
He's known PP for the better part of a decade, maybe you're right and Ime has zero bias towards him.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Eddie House with better range. Hope he can continue to build on what was a very good rookie season.
House was cut by 6 teams before landing in the ideal situation as a catch-and-shoot guy playing off KG and Pierce. Pritchard just cringed reading this lol.
 

bigq

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House was cut by 6 teams before landing in the ideal situation as a catch-and-shoot guy playing off KG and Pierce. Pritchard just cringed reading this lol.
I should have been more specific and said the Celtics version of House which were his age 29-31 seasons. PP is mature well beyond his age. ;)
 

HomeRunBaker

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I should have been more specific and said the Celtics version of House which were his age 29-31 seasons. PP is mature well beyond his age. ;)
House would have been much more effective if the 3-point line was moved in 1.8 inches. He has to be the All-Time leader in 2’s made with toe on the line.
 

bigq

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House would have been much more effective if the 3-point line was moved in 1.8 inches. He has to be the All-Time leader in 2’s made with toe on the line.
Instant offense. Plus I loved this play. If I recall correctly Doc's comment was something to the effect of "I didn't think he was athletic enough to pull it off." Gorman and Tommy's call of the play was glorious.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kWQO6yx4b0
 

TripleOT

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The vet PG they bring in, if they can’t land a Lonzo or Brogdon, might be a Wanamaker type third PG. They have talked about making Romeo into a 1. They have Smart, who certainly could be a decent starting PG on a team with two star wings, especially if he tweaked his shot selection and body composition a bit. They have Pritchard, who has unlimited range, already shot over 40% from three as a rookie, has a great handle, and a solid feel for the game.

There s an opinion on this board that he can’t be an effective PG in the league, and I will be more than happy to point out in a season or two how wrong that opinion was. He doesn’t have the size and driving ability to be a good PG when playing with offensive slugs that are almost no threat, like a large part of the rotation his rookie year, but play him with the Jays, Fournier, and AL, all plus shooters from three, and he should do just fine.
 

Imbricus

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There's an opinion on this board that he can’t be an effective PG in the league, and I will be more than happy to point out in a season or two how wrong that opinion was.
Agree 100% with this. He was usually used as a #2 this season, but I think he's a natural point guard (hard to believe he'd win the Cousy award if he wasn't a guy who could run an offense). This was a good article that will buttress that point of view. For instance, his being a #2 was maybe more situational:
When looking at Pritchard’s rookie year, the first thing to stand out is how often he played at the two, with 54% of his total minutes coming at that position. Last season’s guard rotation consisted of Kemba Walker, Jeff Teague, Marcus Smart, and Pritchard, so, understandably, the rookie frequently found himself playing alongside one of his veteran counterparts.
Also:
Yet, one of Pritchard’s greatest assets is his ball-handling skills and willingness to run at defenses, so by using him prominently as a floor spacer, you’re actually hindering his impact on that game. Here’s where the encouraging part comes into play: despite operating as an off-ball guard for a large portion of the season, Pritchard still ended the year averaging five drives per game.
When driving, the Oregon product dished the ball 52% of the time and ended the year with an 11% assist rate via his driving efforts. With a usage rate of just 16.6%, the fact that Pritchard managed to sustain five ventures into the tall trees is an encouraging sign.
Yeah, there are questions about his defense. But he's not weak, and sometimes he does a good job at blocking off driving lanes (he does get caught off balance too often by quick guards who drive past him).
 

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Agree 100% with this. He was usually used as a #2 this season, but I think he's a natural point guard (hard to believe he'd win the Cousy award if he wasn't a guy who could run an offense).
Pritchard can run an offense in certain spots....probably fewer than Smart, but we will never enter the year with Smart as the starting PG as it’s awful use of his energy which is best used defensively. We saw PP struggle as the season wore on once teams got a line on what he could and could not do with the ball. It seems pretty clear cut what his strengths are offensively as well as his weaknesses.
 
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TripleOT

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Pritchard can run an offense in certain spots....probably fewer than Smart, but we will never enter the year with Smart as the starting PG as it’s awful use of his energy which is best used defensively. We saw PP struggle as the season wore on once teams got a line on what he could and could not do with the ball. It seems pretty clear cut what his strengths are offensively as well as his weaknesses.
Trying to run an offense with Grant, Semi, Romeo, etc would be difficult for any rookie PG. Of course the PG is going to struggle when the defense is lagging off inconsistent and/or bad shooters, choking driving lanes. Kemba also struggled with the reserves when he tried to do anything besides bomb away from three.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Trying to run an offense with Grant, Semi, Romeo, etc would be difficult for any rookie PG. Of course the PG is going to struggle when the defense is lagging off inconsistent and/or bad shooters, choking driving lanes. Kemba also struggled with the reserves when he tried to do anything besides bomb away from three.
That’s an issue with most second units during the regular season. Pritchard was pulled early and often against poor matchups due to his physical disadvantages against starting 1’s as well.
 

Cellar-Door

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Trying to run an offense with Grant, Semi, Romeo, etc would be difficult for any rookie PG. Of course the PG is going to struggle when the defense is lagging off inconsistent and/or bad shooters, choking driving lanes. Kemba also struggled with the reserves when he tried to do anything besides bomb away from three.
PP couldn't run the offense with Brown and Tatum out there either, and Kemba for all his faults was often brought back into games because he ran the offense. It's also why a 2 way guy in Waters got significant minutes in games where Kemba was out. PP may have had exacerbated struggles because of mediocre teammates, but much of it is that he's not good at running offense at this point, and the driving stuff is not at all about the lane being clogged, he doesn't have the explosiveness to beat most guys in the league off the dribble, or the strength.

PP had some real talents... running offense and getting to the rim aren't high on the list. If he makes it into an impact player it will most likely be as a Seth Curry type.
 

sezwho

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PP couldn't run the offense with Brown and Tatum out there either, and Kemba for all his faults was often brought back into games because he ran the offense. It's also why a 2 way guy in Waters got significant minutes in games where Kemba was out. PP may have had exacerbated struggles because of mediocre teammates, but much of it is that he's not good at running offense at this point, and the driving stuff is not at all about the lane being clogged, he doesn't have the explosiveness to beat most guys in the league off the dribble, or the strength.

PP had some real talents... running offense and getting to the rim aren't high on the list. If he makes it into an impact player it will most likely be as a Seth Curry type.
Im not sure if there’s a countering conventional wisdom here, but it seems like running an offense, for a career PG willing to put in the time and with some basic court vision, would be one of the most acquirable skills for a young player.
 

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Im not sure if there’s a countering conventional wisdom here, but it seems like running an offense, for a career PG willing to put in the time and with some basic court vision, would be one of the most acquirable skills for a young player.
I disagree with this. You need certain physical skills to be able to get to your spot with the dribble to deliver the ball against NBA-level defenders trying to prevent you from getting to that spot and delivering the ball. Cellar-Door is spot on here.
 

Cellar-Door

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Im not sure if there’s a countering conventional wisdom here, but it seems like running an offense, for a career PG willing to put in the time and with some basic court vision, would be one of the most acquirable skills for a young player.
I think you can get better without a doubt, but I think certain things are very difficult. As HRB notes, getting separation on drives that forces rotation is partly physical. Also though... some guys just see things others don't, PP is definitely not one of those guys. Running an offense is different from understanding the offense. Everyone improves at that over time, and I think PP will be more of a combo guard in 2-3 years, for example he'll be a better passer than Seth Curry, but probably not as good as Smart still. I think PP has real potential value, I just think in order to get the best out of him you really don't want him on ball, you want him getting space catching the ball then shooting, and maybe being the secondary ballhandler in bench units.
He has DEEP range, and he looks like he'll be a top shooter, and if we're playing decent sized decent defenders as the primary ballhandler he can be hidden on D. He's a nice piece to have, but he doesn't really take the place of having another guy beyond Smart (if Smart is even here) to run the offense.
 

sezwho

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Interesting, thanks to those who took time to reply. It seems I’m significantly underestimating pure athleticism/handle as requirement to initiate the offense, at least for those without preternatural vision…which PP hasn’t demonstrated.
 

slamminsammya

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Interesting, thanks to those who took time to reply. It seems I’m significantly underestimating pure athleticism/handle as requirement to initiate the offense, at least for those without preternatural vision…which PP hasn’t demonstrated.
Yea, if you watched you could definitely notice as the second half came on no one was respecting his drive since he had no elevation or quickness to get an angle for a shot that was threatening. He had to be leading the league in drives that got aborted and ended with him pivoting to look for a pass to the perimeter.

That's something that he could theoretically develop, if he could get a good floater or figure out angles to get by guys but if it were easy everyone would do it.
 

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Yea, if you watched you could definitely notice as the second half came on no one was respecting his drive since he had no elevation or quickness to get an angle for a shot that was threatening. He had to be leading the league in drives that got aborted and ended with him pivoting to look for a pass to the perimeter.

That's something that he could theoretically develop, if he could get a good floater or figure out angles to get by guys but if it were easy everyone would do it.
He should definitely improve on the ability to keep a guy on his hip and ward off challenges when he gets stronger. Unfortunately it won't likely happen next year. It's more than a "one offseason" project. I expect his strength to be a little better this year though.

Not sure that there is much he can do to improve his burst at finishing, but he should marginally improve that over time too.
 

HomeRunBaker

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He should definitely improve on the ability to keep a guy on his hip and ward off challenges when he gets stronger. Unfortunately it won't likely happen next year. It's more than a "one offseason" project. I expect his strength to be a little better this year though.

Not sure that there is much he can do to improve his burst at finishing, but he should marginally improve that over time too.
While many rookies enter the league lacking in strength, which is an enormous area of upside for many players, I never once felt that Pritchard’s lack of strength was an issue.
 

Jimbodandy

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While many rookies enter the league lacking in strength, which is an enormous area of upside for many players, I never once felt that Pritchard’s lack of strength was an issue.
I didn't think so either until one game when Jordan Clarkson bully balled him to the rim in back to back possessions. After that, it seemed that small 1s and 2s were pushing him around on offense and defense, nevermind when wings were switched onto him on D (which happens to most 1s).
 

Eddie Jurak

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PP couldn't run the offense with Brown and Tatum out there either, and Kemba for all his faults was often brought back into games because he ran the offense. It's also why a 2 way guy in Waters got significant minutes in games where Kemba was out. PP may have had exacerbated struggles because of mediocre teammates, but much of it is that he's not good at running offense at this point, and the driving stuff is not at all about the lane being clogged, he doesn't have the explosiveness to beat most guys in the league off the dribble, or the strength.

PP had some real talents... running offense and getting to the rim aren't high on the list. If he makes it into an impact player it will most likely be as a Seth Curry type.
I've always thought that the NBA position with thr steepest learning curve is PG. Among NBA PGs who ultimately have at least decent careers, most weren't't good as rookies. The few who managed to be positive contributors as rookies usually go on to much better things.

So I think it is too early to write off PP as PG completely.

That said, your Seth Curry comparison seems spot on.

it might be that PP is really never a true PG but he can sort of fake it because the Celtics end up running an offense that is less dependent on PG distribution than a typical NBA team because of players like Tatum, Horford, Williams, Fournier if he's back, etc.
 

pjheff

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it might be that PP is really never a true PG but he can sort of fake it because the Celtics end up running an offense that is less dependent on PG distribution than a typical NBA team because of players like Tatum, Horford, Williams, Fournier if he's back, etc.
You might recall that Stevens first defined four positions — ballhandlers, wings, swings, and bigs — before revising to eliminate swings leaving just ballhandlers, wings, and bigs. But as we move toward positionless basketball, and ballhandling duties are assumed by your wings and bigs, I wonder if the term “ballhandler” might need to be redefined or even replaced. Instead of traditional PGs who initiate the halfcourt offense and run sets, these “smalls” are sought for their switchable defense (Smart, and maybe Langford) as well as their floorspacing/shotmaking (Pritchard, and in theory Edwards).
 

SteveF

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I view Pritchard as more of a defensive issue. He's the size of a 1 that can't guard 1s. He's bad getting over screens. He can't keep small guards in front of him. He's not great at defending in trail position. Maybe he improves at some of that. Maybe some of that is just a consequence of his physical limitations.

Obviously the fact he can't get to the rim and finish is unhelpful, but it's not like he can't attack a closeout or score at the rim off an advantage gained by the work of the more talented players. He's not limited like Semi. He's just... semi-limited.
 

Cesar Crespo

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PP is a shooter off the bench who may turn into a decent back up PG. As is, he's a 20 minute rotation player. If he can play PG, it's probably closer to 25. His defense will probably limit him from being a starter on a contending team but stranger things happen.

PP is going to be a role player and all role players have some flaws in their game.

He probably has 1 (2 at most) summer of more than incremental improvement left, this being his age 23 summer. Most players are what they are by 25, they just smooth out the edges. Tatum has a summer, possibly two left. Brown may have 1. If he were anyone other than Jaylen Brown I'd say he's a finished product (especially since he's injured this offseason) but he's super athletic and clearly driven.

He's a valuable player on his contract and could end up as one of the 8 rotational players this year. We should get 3 more solid years of production from him on his rookie deal. Preferably, the C's don't go into the year with PP as the back up PG and one of the 8 rotational players. Even in the 9 or 10 spot, he'd be getting close to 20 minutes a game when you factor in injuries, blowouts etc.

I think PP may have more trade value than we think too. Partly because he is really cheap for the next 3 years and he can clearly shoot. He's not a project with a year or two left on his rookie deal.
 

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PP did shoot 64% at the rim his rookie season, although didn’t get there too often. Only he figures out how to probe to the basket, and through the paint, with his dribble still live, like Steve Nash, he will be decent at getting to the rim. In his second year, he should have a better idea what he can and can’t do off the bounce. Almost all smallish PGs get hunted on defense. PP showed scrappiness and should be better defensively in year two.

I’m looking forward to seeing him in summer league. It wasn’t easy on rookies this past season, with no summer league and a compact schedule which made practicing difficult. PG, of course, would be the position most impacted by these two things for a rookie.

Pritchard is going to have to show that he can play PG, because a small combo guard is always going to be problematic defensively. We saw what can happen to smallish SGs in the playoffs, when Curry got destroyed by Huerter
 

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I thought he was a very different players after his injury. When he first flashed for us I thought he was going to the rim a lot and doing a lot off the dribble. When he came back from injury he seemed far more tentative and focused more on shooting deep 3s. Some of that may have been Kemba coming back but I hope he can show a little more of the player he was early last season where he was much much more aggressive
 

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I thought he was a very different players after his injury. When he first flashed for us I thought he was going to the rim a lot and doing a lot off the dribble. When he came back from injury he seemed far more tentative and focused more on shooting deep 3s. Some of that may have been Kemba coming back but I hope he can show a little more of the player he was early last season where he was much much more aggressive
I saw it as the defenses now had tape on him. Once they saw he could not gain separation to be a threat with his jumper off the dribble or be shifty off the dribble they adjusted how to keep him in front of them.
 

teddykgb

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I saw it as the defenses now had tape on him. Once they saw he could not gain separation to be a threat with his jumper off the dribble or be shifty off the dribble they adjusted how to keep him in front of them.
Entirely possible. I would have expected he’d go through a really barren period where he tried and failed and I don’t remember that happening but it may have or he may have just not forced it. Something to keep an eye on for next year IMO
 

HomeRunBaker

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Entirely possible. I would have expected he’d go through a really barren period where he tried and failed and I don’t remember that happening but it may have or he may have just not forced it. Something to keep an eye on for next year IMO
He’s too smart a player to continue forcing what isn’t there. Instead he changed his game toward the end of the season to be primarily a deep 3-point shooter. If you guys recall he went through a stretch around the middle of the year where he was the king of the up-fake prior to beginning to stretch out his range due to the defenses closing out on him better.

In his first 28 games (Dec-Feb), 52% of Pritchard’s FGA were 3-pointers.
Over his final 38 games (April-May), that jumped jumped to over 64% as he adjusted to the defensive adjustments.
 

TripleOT

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PG offense is mostly initiated off pick/roll. Even the quickest PGs use picks to get to the hoop. They didn’t give PP a lot of p/r opportunities, and in some that they did, he built up some nice rapport with TL.

With his deep shooting ability, PP could be pretty good if given the opportunity with more p/r action. He is going to need a better floater, and needs to me more efficient on short jumpers (which is the case with almost every young player)
 

Imbricus

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Still a lot of pessimism about Pritchard out there, and strangely on this board too, where people seem to view him through inverse green goggles. People here tend to be more down on him than in the sports media at large, which surprises me, as usually the situation is the reverse.

I think he was sent to summer league with the message, "Show us you can be a point guard." He had 9 assists last game, and 12 the one before that. People who said last year he couldn't be a point guard -- doesn't have the vision, can't pass, can't penetrate, whatever -- seemed to overlook that (1) he made some really smart passes last year (2) he tended to defer to the big dogs, and would pass to Marcus and Kemba and let them run the offense (3) he would make one pass to someone like Tatum and never see the ball again for the rest of the possession.

That's not the best use of your point guard. Summer league right now, you can see how he's better used, where he gets a lot more touches -- he passes to a guy who takes a few dribbles, sees he's stuck, and sends it back to Pritchard, who drives and kicks it out, or passes to the other side, or whatever. I've still got some concerns about his ability to finish inside and his defense. But still, I think that's he's a better defender than he's given credit for. He's not weak and he's been good about staying in front of people; in the first game he bottled up Atlanta's Sharife, who was giving other players fits.

I know, it's only summer league, but he and Nesmith have looked really good.
 

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Still a lot of pessimism about Pritchard out there, and strangely on this board too, where people seem to view him through inverse green goggles. People here tend to be more down on him than in the sports media at large, which surprises me, as usually the situation is the reverse.

I think he was sent to summer league with the message, "Show us you can be a point guard." He had 9 assists last game, and 12 the one before that. People who said last year he couldn't be a point guard -- doesn't have the vision, can't pass, can't penetrate, whatever -- seemed to overlook that (1) he made some really smart passes last year (2) he tended to defer to the big dogs, and would pass to Marcus and Kemba and let them run the offense (3) he would make one pass to someone like Tatum and never see the ball again for the rest of the possession.

That's not the best use of your point guard. Summer league right now, you can see how he's better used, where he gets a lot more touches -- he passes to a guy who takes a few dribbles, sees he's stuck, and sends it back to Pritchard, who drives and kicks it out, or passes to the other side, or whatever. I've still got some concerns about his ability to finish inside and his defense. But still, I think that's he's a better defender than he's given credit for. He's not weak and he's been good about staying in front of people; in the first game he bottled up Atlanta's Sharife, who was giving other players fits.

I know, it's only summer league, but he and Nesmith have looked really good.
I didn't see game 3 yet, but PP seems stronger than last year fwiw. SSS and all, but he doesn't seem as easily shed by guards as he was last year. I'd have expected him to work on that in the offseason and early eyeball results seem to match.
 

tbrown_01923

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Still a lot of pessimism about Pritchard out there, and strangely on this board too, where people seem to view him through inverse green goggles. People here tend to be more down on him than in the sports media at large, which surprises me, as usually the situation is the reverse.
The question with PP is whether he can initiate the offense efficiently against longer faster NBA guys. Sure the performance in summer league is great - but we don't know how he would have stacked up against them last year or what he would have looked like in g-league, so there is no baseline of PP against talent that is between NCAA and NBA. I don't think people believe he will get his pocket picked, but to what I see it is defenders beating him to spots and cutting off angles.

Last year he seemed like he was more able to get to spots and into paint before the knee injury. Now we don't know if the injury impacted that ability or the league cought up to him. It might be that he requires 100% of his potential athleticism to be effective (prior to knee) and anything short of that creates problems getting to his spots. Maybe he is better at getting to spots? Maybe he understands his role as different this year?

The shot is real. He is scrappy. He has handles. He is [at least] very likely a rotational piece for years. The question is can he perform like he has in summer league against the varsity... Folks also look at this from a roster construction point of view, we should not count on young folks to be core to what we are building for this year - get more certainty in their play.

Disclaimer: my green lenses see's potential NBA players in edwards, grant; I think romeo can be a rotation piece, but maybe souring on him as. aball handler (thought I saw more with him in the past with the ball - but he looks terrible handling in summer league); and I see nesmith as a potential 6th man type (taller, smarter JR Smith type). I like PP too - but he needs to show in the league.
 

ManicCompression

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I don't mind Payton Pritchard in the abstract, but on a team with Kemba Walker, Carsen Edwards, Jeff Teague, and Tremont Waters, he seemed a little superfluous. To have five guards last year who were barely six feet and not incredibly athletic was a massive roster construction failure. This year, with bigger guys like Dunn and Schroder and Richardson, he's better fit and has a much more focused role.

I'm trying to think of comps and none are popping out at me. If he could be Ish Smith with a better jump shot, that's a valuable NBA player to have on your bench. Not a ton of upside, but valuable nonetheless.
 

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He's not wrong, but coming from him it sounds like sour grapes.
I actually think it's both sour grapes and he's wrong. If you're analyzing draft prospects once you get outside the top 15 or so you should be looking for rotation players, because that's what teams usually are, and honestly, missing floor because you get obsessed with guys who have like a 1.5% chance of being starters is bad evaluation.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I actually think it's both sour grapes and he's wrong. If you're analyzing draft prospects once you get outside the top 15 or so you should be looking for rotation players, because that's what teams usually are, and honestly, missing floor because you get obsessed with guys who have like a 1.5% chance of being starters is bad evaluation.
And if you miss out on PP, are you hurting badly?

Missing out on players like PP just isn't that big a deal.

But yes, that is what you should be looking for. That's not the same thing though.
 

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Melrose, MA
Is it pessimistic to believe that he'll have a spot in an NBA rotation from his very good shooting alone, but that he needs to show a lot at the defensive end and in running an NBA offense, and he needs to do it against NBA competition, before we start to think of him as more than a (good) role player?