ESPN Draft update 3/27

[br801]

Good for Battle. If he gets a first-round grade I'm with everyone else and he's got to go -- especially as a guy who's logged a bunch of minutes in college and is 21. The time is now to cash in. If he doesn't get that grade and is low second, then I think it's more of a question. But it sounds like it's good news for him on that front.

My question is this: Am I the only one who's a bit surprised to see whispers of the first round? I have consistently been wrong on these guys in terms of draft position, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised that I'm wrong, but with his spotty jumper, limited range and occasional struggles getting by his defender, I'm a little surprised he's quite as highly thought of.

No, he measures out well as an NBA 2, should be able to defend at the next level, and his free throw shooting suggests he has the potential to improve his range and consistency as a shooter.

 

[reedny]

I hear ya. He’s hard for me to get a read on him partly because the offense was donkey doo-doo and there wasn’t a lot of spacing. Plus he had the green light to do whatever.

They might really scrutinize that hitch/herky-jerk motion in those workouts especially if he is struggling shooting. As far as off the bounce goes those 3-on-3 scrimmages they do at the various workouts will be big. That’s when Dion really started to surge. I remember Chad Ford commenting from one of those sites saying that Waiters was destroying everyone in those 3-on-3s. We’ll see how Battle does. He’s a bright and well-spoken kid so that stuff will be fine.

Wouldn't surprise me if they feel he'll be better at the next level .. with the style of play and the spacing. He's also solidly built and can play through contact. He'll be able to answer the rest at the combine ... defending at the next level, creating against NBA talent, his range, etc.

 

[Shark58]

I really hope he goes in the 1st

 

[billsin01]

No, he measures out well as an NBA 2, should be able to defend at the next level, and his free throw shooting suggests he has the potential to improve his range and consistency as a shooter.

Yeah, I would assume you're right. It's just that I don't really remember battle making many threes that I would say were even close to NBA range (I remember one late against either ASU or TCU, i think, but not many). Meanwhile, if you look at just qualified shooting guards (guys listed as shooting guards and on pace to make at least 82 threes this season) in the NBA, there are 30 that shoot at least 37% from three. There are only five who shoot less than 34% (interesting Demar Derozan and Donovan Mitchell are two and they're excellent players, obviously).

My point is only that Battle would not only have to improve his percentage but he'd have to improve his range pretty significantly to fit into that group. They could be looking at him as a different type of player, obviously, so there's that.

But I'm just surprised to see him with that grade. I actually hope he gets that grade, gets drafted and does well -- so don't get me wrong. Just didn't think I'd see that kind of ranking.

 

[br801]

Yeah, I would assume you're right. It's just that I don't really remember battle making many threes that I would say were even close to NBA range (I remember one late against either ASU or TCU, i think, but not many). Meanwhile, if you look at just qualified shooting guards (guys listed as shooting guards and on pace to make at least 82 threes this season) in the NBA, there are 30 that shoot at least 37% from three. There are only five who shoot less than 34% (interesting Demar Derozan and Donovan Mitchell are two and they're excellent players, obviously).

My point is only that Battle would not only have to improve his percentage but he'd have to improve his range pretty significantly to fit into that group. They could be looking at him as a different type of player, obviously, so there's that.

But I'm just surprised to see him with that grade. I actually hope he gets that grade, gets drafted and does well -- so don't get me wrong. Just didn't think I'd see that kind of ranking.

I'm not sure he'll ever be a great 3-point shooter at the next level, but I think he can do enough other things that he won't have to be more than average and just pose a threat from out there. He was miscast as a volume 3-point shooter this season out of necessity and likely won't be asked to fill that role again.

 

[Cusefan0307]

Apparently whatever scout Brent Axe talks to said they are both th second round to undrafted types this year.

 

[kingtidge]

No doubt in my mind he’s the most ready player we’ve had in years. His talents were cast under the shadow of an incredibly limited team that he led to the tournament regardless. Top 20 talent.

Still holding out hope we might see one year with him and Bazley together... But I know that hope is little more than wishful thinking...

 

[billsin01]

I'm not sure he'll ever be a great 3-point shooter at the next level, but I think he can do enough other things that he won't have to be more than average and just pose a threat from out there. He was miscast as a volume 3-point shooter this season out of necessity and likely won't be asked to fill that role again.

Agreed — just that average is probably at least close to mid-30s. Regardless, love be the kids and hope he carves our a nice niche.

 

[br801]

Agreed — just that average is probably at least close to mid-30s. Regardless, love be the kids and hope he carves our a nice niche.

I think he can get there on limited volume. While it was a shorter shot, Battle did shoot around 37% from deep as a freshman when he wasn't being focused on by defenses.

Edit:
Just looked it up (36.6%) and was surprised that he actually attempted almost 5 threes per game as a freshman, and almost as many per 40 minutes as he attempted this season.

 

[Knicks411]

I almost wonder if the hitch in his shot will help him somewhat, you can see teams thinking they can fix that and improve his jumper that easily

 

[Arangeman]

I really hope he goes in the 1st

He will