Grantland: Who is Kristaps Porzingis?

[Jameerthefear]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nkX7tv7ZYg

[Eric Cartman]

Not buying the hype.

Hope the Knicks draft him and f*ck themselves over.

[HylianNightmare]

I hope the magic steer clear

[Ca$H]

Towns, Okafor, Russell, Mudiay, Winslow, and WCS should all go before him. After that I wouldn't blame a GM for rolling the dice.

[Fallen Angel]

Give this kid a year's worth of NBA strength building and he'll become one of the most versatile pick and roll big men in the league.

He can pick and pop and pick and roll to the basket for a lob. How many big men can pop and shoot the ball efficiently while being able to role to the basket for an elite reach dunk?

He's a shot blocker on the opposite side of the floor, not a Anthony Davis/Nerlens Noel level but he still will alter shots with his size and athleticism alone.

He's one of those players that can make a shot from everywhere on the floor, he just needs a playmaker to feed him the ball.

[Pushxx]

Give this kid a year's worth of NBA strength building and he'll become one of the most versatile pick and roll big men in the league.

He can pick and pop and pick and roll to the basket for a lob. How many big men can pop and shoot the ball efficiently while being able to role to the basket for an elite reach dunk?

He's a shot blocker on the opposite side of the floor, not a Anthony Davis/Nerlens Noel level but he still will alter shots with his size and athleticism alone.

He's one of those players that can make a shot from everywhere on the floor, he just needs a playmaker to feed him the ball.

He's a safe pick for sure.

[Haymaker]

He could be a great energy guy off the bench, and eventually work his way into a starting lineup. But he's no franchise player, definitely. Not even close.

[Lexington Steel]

Lol @ teams taking ANY chance on a raw Euro prospect...much less teams in the lottery.

Dude will not amount not to jack shit in the NBA, or in life, like half you losers on this board.

The next Jan Vesley. With that said, I hope the Magic take him.

[Rake2204]

It's really tough to get a feel for Porzingis for regular folk like me. I haven't seen any of his full game footage - just clips. I've read Draft Express and thus heard about his shooting potential but supposedly mediocre awareness (and everything in between).

But beyond that, how can we draw a legitimate conclusion on a guy whose biggest asset may be his potential? He appears to be nice and well spoken (and perhaps intelligent), but does that mean he will fare well? Not necessarily.

I don't see a ton of reason to place him amongst the likes of Darko Milicic, Jan Vesely, and Nikoloz Tskitishvili, but at this point, what makes him not those guys from what we can tell, or at least, our perception of those guys pre-draft?

[Springsteen]

Next Bargnani.

[Jameerthefear]

He's a safe pick for sure.
he's definitely not a safe pick imo

[Pushxx]

he's definitely not a safe pick imo

I know everyone says he's too weak and raw, but almost no fluid 7 footers who can shoot have been busts...ever.

He's only 19, too. I think he's a solid pick.

[Johnny Jones]

A bust

[Fallen Angel]

Other than than his race and strength nobody can find a major flaw in him.

[Rake2204]

I know everyone says he's too weak and raw, but almost no fluid 7 footers who can shoot have been busts...ever.

He's only 19, too. I think he's a solid pick.I'd say Nikoloz Tskitishvili may register as a seven-footer who supposedly had range that busted pretty hard. Of course, that depends if one looks at his NBA stats and says "He shot horribly so he obviously didn't have range." Coming into the 2002 Draft, the word on Nikoloz was that he had range and he'd be able to shoot over anyone.


Strengths: Offensively there isn’t much Tskitishvili can’t do he is a versatile scorer capable of shooting from the outside or slashing in the lane ... Has great size for his position at 6-11 there isn’t many small forwards he won’t be able to shoot over ...

Prefers to set-up his offense by receiving the ball out on the perimeter where he is a threat to penetrate or shoot from 18 ft out ... Due to his long arms he has shown the ability to be a adequate shot-blocker thanks to his long arms and decent leaping ability ...

Runs the floor extremely well and is blessed with great agility ... Has excellent court vision and shows some above average passing skills ... Handles the ball very well for a player his size and is decently quick when doing a move off the dribble ... Owns great touch around the basket when getting the ball down low ...

Tskitishvili is a competent rebounder thanks to his solid leaping ability and positioning when under the boards ... Plays well when under pressure due to his confidence and competitiveness ... Has loads of potential something which will drive his stock come draft day ... Solid free throw shooter ... Unlike many young players his age his is blessed with a great sense of the game that simply can’t be taught ...http://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=747

[dgaras]

Lol @ teams taking ANY chance on a raw Euro prospect...much less teams in the lottery.

Dude will not amount not to jack shit in the NBA, or in life, like half you losers on this board.

The next Jan Vesley. With that said, I hope the Magic take him.


hes gonna be good. bump this up in 2 years

[Fallen Angel]

Where did people get the assumption that KP is raw? He's skilled with his jumpshot, post fadeaways, and ability to use his athleticism and size to his advantage on both sides of the ball. His main flaw is his lanky body, which can be fixed with a year's worth of NBA strength training.

That's why I hate ISH, too many clueless idiots that comment in everything that don't know jack shit about anything that doesn't involve Lebron or Kobe.

[veilside23]

really intrigued by this kid... should be interesting... if he drops i think that cats should take him. don't know any update about vonleh.

[Jameerthefear]

Where did people get the assumption that KP is raw? He's skilled with his jumpshot, post fadeaways, and ability to use his athleticism and size to his advantage on both sides of the ball. His main flaw is his lanky body, which can be fixed with a year's worth of NBA strength training.

That's why I hate ISH, too many clueless idiots that comment in everything that don't know jack shit about anything that doesn't involve Lebron or Kobe.
ur so dumb

[ralph_i_el]

Lol @ teams taking ANY chance on a raw Euro prospect...much less teams in the lottery.

Dude will not amount not to jack shit in the NBA, or in life, like half you losers on this board.

The next Jan Vesley. With that said, I hope the Magic take him.
:facepalm Jan Vesely couldn't shoot a lick.

but you know that, because you're just an alt and a troll

[SpanishACB]

ur so dumb

so out of all the posts in this thread you had to quote the only useful one?

talk about forum cancer

[outbreak]

He's nothing like vesely. He's 7"1 and isn't just an occasional 3 pt threat he can already live off spot up shooting until he bulks up. There's a big risk with how he gets pushed out on rebounds and post defence but if he pans out hes got star potential, his athleticism is what makes his skill set and future so interesting, he isn'ta big slow euro who can shoot he can run the floor, dunk and has the speed to alter shots

[Jameerthefear]

so out of all the posts in this thread you had to quote the only useful one?

talk about forum cancer
I'll pm you my address right now and we can ****ing settle this or you can shut the **** up and never reply to me again. Which will it be?

[Jameerthefear]

He's nothing like vesely. He's 7"1 and isn't just an occasional 3 pt threat he can already live off spot up shooting until he bulks up. There's a big risk with how he gets pushed out on rebounds and post defence but if he pans out hes got star potential
next bargnani
i don't want anything to do with him
Hezonja>>>

[chocolatethunder]

I'd say Nikoloz Tskitishvili may register as a seven-footer who supposedly had range that busted pretty hard. Of course, that depends if one looks at his NBA stats and says "He shot horribly so he obviously didn't have range." Coming into the 2002 Draft, the word on Nikoloz was that he had range and he'd be able to shoot over anyone.

http://www.thedraftreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=747
There was a bunch of bullshit surrounding him before the draft and D'Antoni was responsible for much of it. So there's a backstory there that you're not telling. He was a huge bust for sure but he was hyped by Dantoni and that's the reason he was chosen where he was chosen. So all of the fawning over him was based on bullshit. Now Darko, he actually had workouts and could shoot and he crushed his workouts. Darko was never about talent it was about his brain. Skita just sucked. I guess in the end they both sucked but ther was an actual reason to think Darko would be good.

[oarabbus]

I know everyone says he's too weak and raw, but almost no fluid 7 footers who can shoot have been busts...ever.

He's only 19, too. I think he's a solid pick.


Bargnani though

[Fallen Angel]

Bargnani though
9 seasons in the league
Started over 70% of his games
Peak season of 20 PPG
Career of 15 PPG

He's an average NBA player, people pegging him as a star overrated him.

[outbreak]

next bargnani
i don't want anything to do with him
Hezonja>>>
Weren't the knocks on bargnani that he couldn't finish, had one hand and couldn't play in the paint at all? Kristaps can already do those things. I remember people questioning if Bargnani could play power forward or centre because of his lack on in the paint skills but Porzingis already has those things he just needs to get stronger.

I'm not sure who I want Orlando to take yet, some days I think Porzingis because we need a star and he could become one, other days I think Mario because if we could get a defensive power forward Mario would be ready to contribute on offence right away.

[Shade8780]

I'll pm you my address right now and we can ****ing settle this or you can shut the **** up and never reply to me again. Which will it be?
Jam feisty :applause:

[ArbitraryWater]

Kristaps > Spanoulis

[FKAri]

I'll pm you my address right now and we can ****ing settle this or you can shut the **** up and never reply to me again. Which will it be?

How bout you PM it to me and I'll take care of it for him? I wonder how much traffic this forum will lose with you and your alts gone.

[hawksdogsbraves]

Only thing I took away from that video was surprise at how good his english is. Latvian kid who has played in Spain the past couple years and he's completely fluent in English? Good stuff.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Most overrated prospect this year.

[Fallen Angel]

Most overrated prospect this year.
Great analysis, will read again. No really.

[NBAplayoffs2001]

Great analysis, will read again. No really.

I've read about him and watched his highlights. I do not like how he has a huge ceiling but a very low floor. Huge boom/bust prospect.

[Clyde]

How bout you PM it to me and I'll take care of it for him? I wonder how much traffic this forum will lose with you and your alts gone.

I can't really see what see saying as I've learnt long ago to put him on the ignore list.

The sooner more people do that, the sooner he'll go away.

[Jameerthefear]

I can't really see what see saying as I've learnt long ago to put him on the ignore list.

The sooner more people do that, the sooner he'll go away.
Nice bullshit. You can still see quotes from people you put on the IL

[Fallen Angel]

I've read about him and watched his highlights. I do not like how he has a huge ceiling but a very low floor. Huge boom/bust prospect.
Tell me why a player that can shoot with distance, play above the rim, has a touch around the rim, and can block shots has an EXTREMELY low floor, I'll wait. No really, I will.

[Clyde]

One time Milwaukee traded a college star for some Lanky Euro Kid.......

[outbreak]

Tell me why a player that can shoot with distance, play above the rim, has a touch around the rim, and can block shots has an EXTREMELY low floor, I'll wait. No really, I will.

His floor is a stretch four who can't defend NBA power forwards and can't post up NBA power forwards. I suppose that's useful in situations but it's not the same as someone like Winslow or even Cauley Stein's floor where you are getting someone who's offence may never be elite (or good in Willy's case) but they still have a solidly defined role they can fill.

That being said I think a lot of Kristap's short commings aren't a lack of skill in those areas but a lack of strength and size which should be an easy thing to at least partly fix in the NBA, it may just take a couple of seasons. I hope wherever he lands understands this and doesn't put him in the dog house when he doesn't immediately play like a star.

[smoovegittar]

The odds are against him. I would not be happy if NY came to this.

I have a distrust of European players as well. Shit changes over here quickly.

[smoovegittar]

I can't really see what see saying as I've learnt long ago to put him on the ignore list.

The sooner more people do that, the sooner he'll go away.


He WAS on my ignore list, but I've learned that he does know the game even tho he trolls constantly. I think he's bi-polar, but's it's alright.

[Take Your Lumps]

Sacramento will drink the kool-aid.

[LosBulls]

I know everyone says he's too weak and raw, but almost no fluid 7 footers who can shoot have been busts...ever.

He's only 19, too. I think he's a solid pick.
:biggums:

Bargnani?

But anyways, a lot of people say hes weak and he wouldn't be able to keep up with the physicality in the NBA but they said the same thing about Dirk and most recently, the Rockets pick Donatas Motiejunas.

Donatas has been playing really well this past season so I wouldn't count Porzingis out, he might actually be a steal because he's going to drop, we just don't know how far.

It's high risk, high reward for this guy.

[SugarHill]

way too skinny

[Clyde]

way too skinny

So was anthony davis

[NBAplayoffs2001]

So was anthony davis

Did he has 6'8'' munchkins at 220 back him down and take him to town in the post? Happens way too often for Porzingis.

[outbreak]

Did he has 6'8'' munchkins at 220 back him down and take him to town in the post? Happens way too often for Porzingis.
Porzingis gets backed down by grown men not 6"8 munchkins

[Nastradamus]

Hezonja is the next (taller) Harden though.

[Clyde]

Did he has 6'8'' munchkins at 220 back him down and take him to town in the post? Happens way too often for Porzingis.

My point was people get bigger....especially when you're a pro athlete with trainers, nutritionists and stregnth coaches.

Slight build is a very fixable problem