Eric Bledsoe or Trey Burke

[nikkoewan]

Smart will likely be taken in the top 3 so unless the team somehow lands ahead of Orlando, I don't see the point of comparing burke with smart.

Because I am secretly hoping that ORL falls in love with Burke and drafts him! hahaha

[HornetGuru]

Smart will likely be taken in the top 3 so unless the team somehow lands ahead of Orlando, I don't see the point of comparing burke with smart.

say we get lucky in the lottery and get the 2nd overall pick and smart and burke are on the board. Now do u see the point?

[Snarly]

say we get lucky in the lottery and get the 2nd overall pick and smart and burke are on the board. Now do u see the point?

Nope. Because, there will be no comparison if that was the case.

[HornetGuru]

Nope. Because, there will be no comparison if that was the case.

Can u explain?

[Snarly]

Can u explain?

Like you said earlier in a couple of your posts. BPA. Burke wouldn't be BPA at 2.

[HornetGuru]

Like you said earlier in a couple of your posts. BPA. Burke wouldn't be BPA at 2.

Ok fair enough, let me ask u this, regardless of pick and burke and smart are both on the board and u have to take one, who would u take?

[Snarly]

I have no preference. I'm not wowed by any prospect in this draft. I'll be happy with anyone outside of Zeller and Bennett in the top 8.

[ItsPaulyP]

I'm not wowed by any prospect in this draft.

Agreed. No one jumps out at all.

[nikkoewan]

I learned how to play defense at the age of 12. Now, I had a truly great basketball coach who was a legend in the Biddy basketball circuit. I picked up a lot of the same principles that Monty preaches to his guys as a child, so I know that fully grown men can do it. It's about desire and selflessness. Defense won't show up in the box score, and you certainly won't get praised for it by the media. People don't want to improve their defense because they are working on their offense all the time.

I would say Burke certainly has the quickness, speed, and wingspan to improve as a defender (which he really isn't a bad defender at all). Mostly, he wants to win, and he is rumored to be very coachable, so I would expect him to take in everything Monty can give him (just like Rivers did).

Moreover, if offense were as easy to develop as you say it is, then why aren't most of the players in the league good offensive players? Why don't most/all guards shoot 40% from 3 if it's so easy to develop a shot? I'm pretty firm in my stance that defense is easier to develop than offense.

If you're pretty firm on your stance, then no point in arguing.

[MeSoHornets504]

Ok fair enough, let me ask u this, regardless of pick and burke and smart are both on the board and u have to take one, who would u take?

Smart, for me. I'm a big believer in players with high defensive floors, though. Smart is already going to enter the league as a slightly above-average defender, at the very least. With Smart, I know I'm getting a good defender who already has the size to get to the rim and finish. With Burke there are still a lot more question marks, granted he may answer them in the coming months with the draft process. I think Smart has a higher ceiling, as well. They are clearly the best 2 guards in this class though in my opinion. I have a hard time being sold on Mclemore.

[HornetGuru]

I have no preference. I'm not wowed by any prospect in this draft. I'll be happy with anyone outside of Zeller and Bennett in the top 8.

Ok well regardless of ur preference who do u think is the better player? U said burke will be gone in the top 3 so u obviously value him highly.

[HornetGuru]

Smart, for me. I'm a big believer in players with high defensive floors, though. Smart is already going to enter the league as a slightly above-average defender, at the very least. With Smart, I know I'm getting a good defender who already has the size to get to the rim and finish. With Burke there are still a lot more question marks, granted he may answer them in the coming months with the draft process. I think Smart has a higher ceiling, as well. They are clearly the best 2 guards in this class though in my opinion. I have a hard time being sold on Mclemore.

good points

[Snarly]

Ok well regardless of ur preference who do u think is the better player? U said burke will be gone in the top 3 so u obviously value him highly.

Never said that. They're different players. I see no point in comparing them. The only difference I see is the ceiling. Smart isn't even guaranteed to be a PG at the next level. For all we know, he could be a SG that handles the ball alot.

[HornetGuru]

Never said that. They're different players. I see no point in comparing them. The only difference I see is the ceiling. Smart isn't even guaranteed to be a PG at the next level. For all we know, he could be a SG that handles the ball alot.

I know they are different players, that is obvious, i want ur opinion of which do u think is better

[Snarly]

I know they are different players, that is obvious, i want ur opinion of which do u think is better

Burke is clearly the better player today.

[HornetGuru]

Burke is clearly the better player today.

who do u think will be the better player 4 years down the road

[Inner_GI]

How can you say Burke is the better player when he hasn't played an NBA game yet? That's just silly.

[BallSoHard]

I like smart better as a prospect and Burke as a pg if that makes sense. Also it shouldn't be BPA, it should be bTA

[da ThRONe]

I disagree with this one. I think alot of people will. Defense requires an acute understanding of space, angles, rotation and couple of other innate attributes like quickness, speed, wingspan, etc...

A lot of things about offense boils down to individual repetition -- especially shooting. Most especially shooting.

Defense is 75% about effort. Carmelo has looked like a lock down defender at times in this league.

[da ThRONe]

Hmm only situation "BPA" doesn't apply (IMO) is if you think they are equals. Rarely does that happen (well, for me, anyway). Otherwise, you always go BPA.

If you have your "X" player of the future why draft the same position and/or skillset? That's some David Kahn type logic. If two prospects are close to me that is close enough to a tie. Think if two prospects are close both will have people in the front office that leans toward either prospect(much like we are with Smart and Burke right now). How can you develop two really good young players who want to do the same thing?

You should never forget fit is important in the league. Unless a guys becomes a superstar the system he's in greatly affects whether he reaches his true potential.

[UNO Gracias]

The pre draft workouts should be great. Between these two, Bazz, McLemore, Noel and Len. Fun times ahead.

[BallSoHard]

Defense is 75% about effort. Carmelo has looked like a lock down defender at times in this league.

Then why is Vasquez such a terrible defender? I think it's a lot less about effort than people say. I think it has a lot to do with athleticism length and fundamentals. Really, I think being a great defender has more to do with measurables than a great offensive player.
Look at the great defenders in the league today:
Dwight Howard- Pulses with athleticism. 7'4.5" Wingspan. 6'9" tall
Joshn Smith- one of the best athletes in the league.
LeBron- Nuff said; 7' Wingspan GREAT Athlete
Tony Allen- Good athlete , 6'9" Wingspace for a 6'4" player.
Larry Sanders-7'6" Wingspan,
Anthony Davis-7'5.5" Wingspan
Pippen- 7'2" Wingspan(wow)


I guess what i'm saying in all this, is i think effort is a big piece to defense in getting back and getting to your rotations, but the elite defenders give much much more than just effort.

[da ThRONe]

Then why is Vasquez such a terrible defender? I think it's a lot less about effort than people say. I think it has a lot to do with athleticism length and fundamentals. Really, I think being a great defender has more to do with measurables than a great offensive player.
Look at the great defenders in the league today:
Dwight Howard- Pulses with athleticism. 7'4.5" Wingspan. 6'9" tall
Joshn Smith- one of the best athletes in the league.
LeBron- Nuff said; 7' Wingspan GREAT Athlete
Tony Allen- Good athlete , 6'9" Wingspace for a 6'4" player.
Larry Sanders-7'6" Wingspan,
Anthony Davis-7'5.5" Wingspan
Pippen- 7'2" Wingspan(wow)


I guess what i'm saying in all this, is i think effort is a big piece to defense in getting back and getting to your rotations, but the elite defenders give much much more than just effort.

I wasn't trying to negate the importance of physical ability. However I could rattle off a list of players that are great athletes that are also long, but are horrendous defenders. Those guys on your list are there because they aren't just physically gift they're commit to that end of the court. LeBron may be your prime example, but he was a suspect defender early on in his career. It wasn't until guys like him, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, and other went to the Olympics did those guys come back committed to defense.

So to answer your question GV is bad because he's slow. He is quite possibly the slowest lead guard in the NBA. Of course being physically inept at a skill will make you poor at said skill.

[NOLa.]

say we get lucky in the lottery and get the 2nd overall pick and smart and burke are on the board. Now do u see the point?

Take Smart, it's the smart thing to do.

(I probably lost support by using a pun.)

[BallSoHard]

Then why is Vasquez such a terrible defender? I think it's a lot less about effort than people say. I think it has a lot to do with athleticism length and fundamentals. Really, I think being a great defender has more to do with measurables than a great offensive player.
Look at the great defenders in the league today:
Dwight Howard- Pulses with athleticism. 7'4.5" Wingspan. 6'9" tall
Joshn Smith- one of the best athletes in the league.
LeBron- Nuff said; 7' Wingspan GREAT Athlete
Tony Allen- Good athlete , 6'9" Wingspace for a 6'4" player.
Larry Sanders-7'6" Wingspan,
Anthony Davis-7'5.5" Wingspan
Pippen- 7'2" Wingspan(wow)


I guess what i'm saying in all this, is i think effort is a big piece to defense in getting back and getting to your rotations, but the elite defenders give much much more than just effort.

I wasn't trying to negate the importance of physical ability. However I could rattle of a list of players that are great athletes that are also long, but are horrendous defenders. Those guys on your list are there because they aren't just physically gift they're commit to that end of the court. LeBron may be your prime example, but he was a suspect defender early on in his career. It wasn't until guys like him, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, and other went to the Olympics did those guys come back committed to defense.

So to answer your question GV is bad because he's slow. He is quite possibly the slowest lead guard in the NBA. Of course being physically inept at a skill will make you poor at said skill.

I'm only arguing that it's almost as much about effort as it is meaureables which I think we're saying the same thing. I agree with defense being 75% effort for players with measureables for sure.