Originally Posted by
Pelicanidae
I was very excited after drafting Hayes as well. I had him as a top 3 centre prospect in this draft (second overall, after Brandon Clarke), and the one with the biggest long term upside (Clarke is much older than Hayes as a rookie, and doesn't have the physical gifts in terms of height, length, and fluidity).
I don't think comparing Hayes to Jokic is a great idea overall. I see where you're coming from: yeah, Hayes is FAR more athletic, fluid, and faster than Jokic is. But by the same metric, Jokic's IQ and passing feel is likely better than Hayes' will ever be: Jokic may be the best 7 foot passer in league history. So it's like, yeah, Hayes completely dwarfs Jokic in these categories, but these are categories that Jokic doesn't even try to compete in. I get that you only used Jokic as an example because of that clip you had seen, I just think we have to be careful in comparison.
I agree that Hayes has an all-NBA ceiling. Whether he reaches it or not is a completely different matter, and that depends on how his body takes the weight, whether he can solidify that jumper as a regular tool, whether his defensively versatility truly plays out, and whether his fundamentals as a rebounder improve. Most of that is just training and work ethic: if he gets in the gym, is coachable, and works hard, he'll do it.
The Tyson Chandler comparisons he got at draft night were kinda cringe tho. Come on Billups, get yourself together.