I think that's fair. It's also fair, IMO, to say that while Cam comes with more of a risk than either Zion or R.J., he also has many of the tools and physical intangibles that make scouts drool. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was a mid-teens scoring guy for a long time in the NBA. Unfortunately, 10 and 20 years ago we got to see guys like him work those kinks out in college....that's no longer the case.
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I think that's fair. It's also fair, IMO, to say that while Cam comes with more of a risk than either Zion or R.J., he also has many of the tools and physical intangibles that make scouts drool. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was a mid-teens scoring guy for a long time in the NBA. Unfortunately, 10 and 20 years ago we got to see guys like him work those kinks out in college....that's no longer the case.
No doubt about it. There is usually a couple guys each draft where you pretty much know at worst you’re going to get a pretty decent player that will have a long career and make a couple All star appearances but by in large, it’s a crapshoot.
Zion is probably the "safest" draft pick since Anthony Davis, I think that's pretty clear. But you're exactly right, every draft, even the top guys carry some risk. Remember when Wiggins and Jabari were supposed to be hall of famers? Top 2 picks, and neither guy will ever sniff an all-star team.
I also wouldn't rule out RJ being the best player in this draft, it kind of bugs me that everyone already slots him at 3 well behind Zion and Morant.
As far as Cam goes...I see him as the ultimate role of the dice. Compare him to a guy like Deandre Hunter (who most analysts have ahead of Cam at the moment), Hunter seems super safe. Probably a starter, but not a high ceiling on him. He does everything "good," but not great at anything.
Either the light bulb is gonna turn on for Cam or it isn't. He carries A TON of risk, but his reward/upside is much higher than again an example Deandre Hunters IMO. Cam is gonna either be a multi-year all-star or a sad story of a guy who could never catch up to his body and never learned how to play with intensity.
IMO, if you’re picking later in the lottery, you aren’t doing your due diligence by drafting a guy who is a perpetual role player. You pick between 5-14, you have to take a gamble. A franchise that puts up losing seasons doesn’t need yet another “solid player.” They need a superstar and all of the so called sure things are typically gone by those picks.
For instance, the Nuggets pulled a genius move drafting Michael Porter, Jr. They knew they were a losing team with playoff possibilities. They built things well and drafted a possible superstar in Porter if he ever gets healthy. That’s a calculated gamble.
A poor gamble in the mid-lottery was Jan Vesely over known commodities like Kemba Walker and Kawhii Leonard (I won’t even include Klay, because not many scouts saw the potential he brought. He was strictly 3 and D).
The lottery consistently makes or breaks GM’s. It’s crazy.
For instance, the Nuggets pulled a genius move drafting Michael Porter, Jr. They knew they were a losing team with playoff possibilities. They built things well and drafted a possible superstar in Porter if he ever gets healthy. That’s a calculated gamble.
A poor gamble in the mid-lottery was Jan Vesely over known commodities like Kemba Walker and Kawhii Leonard (I won’t even include Klay, because not many scouts saw the potential he brought. He was strictly 3 and D).
The lottery consistently makes or breaks GM’s. It’s crazy.
Chronicle on Cam: (pretty critical take)
https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/05/cam-reddish-nba-draft-flags-duke-mens-basketball
OFC
https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2019/05/cam-reddish-nba-draft-flags-duke-mens-basketball
OFC
I’m bullish on Cam. I think once he grows more comfortable, which he should in the NBA, he is going to be a very good player. He played a completely different role than he ever has and essentially was the role of a spot up shooter. Didn’t suit his game and that’s unfortunate. He was inconsistent as we’ve all discussed but i think as he continues to get older and settles into his role he will excel. He’s raw but has a good head in his shoulders. I’m rooting for him.
IMO - Cam Reddish and Jayson Tatum are glaringly similar offensively. We just saw them represented differently at Duke because Tatum played a more alpha role in the offense which allowed him to blossom himself better/earlier. They both did average about 12fga per game but Tatum created for himself. Cam has that same ability but he deferred it a lot. Tatum missed the first handful of games and really if you look at his 3pt% it was consistently ugly in Dec/Jan, but he ended up pulling it together mostly for Feb/March. He never really solidified the inconsistency, but it improved. Our offense never gave Cam what it gave Jayson, in terms of pure freedom.
Cam is going to blossom in the NBA and I think it’ll happen quickly, especially if my Tatum comparison is right. I mean Tatum’s 3% at Duke was only around 34% that’s slightly higher than Cam’s..... Look at Jayson in the NBA, he’s a young star and NBA career 3 is around 41%.
Cam is going to blossom in the NBA and I think it’ll happen quickly, especially if my Tatum comparison is right. I mean Tatum’s 3% at Duke was only around 34% that’s slightly higher than Cam’s..... Look at Jayson in the NBA, he’s a young star and NBA career 3 is around 41%.
Both Cam and Tatum could have easily averaged 18-20 for duke but both had other guys that were doing a ton of scoring. I like the comparison.
They’re so dang similar on offense. For sure could of both went for 20+ had they been the undisputed alpha on each team. The differential in team offense style really makes the difference. I think if we were to put Cam in Tatum’s shoes a few years ago he would have had nearly the same season as him.
Nassir Little made comment of the fact that in high school you just run dudes over and have it your way, while in college you can’t really just do that. I think that was ultimately the issue this year... Nobody (freshmen) really bought into the offense K envisioned and instead treated things like they had previously. I think RJ and Cam both would have had a better campaign this year if they would of had the leadership to display that.
Kind of lost me here. I’m not sure how much of a better campaign RJ could have had. His numbers speak for themselves as do his accolades. Cam for sure, for the reasons we’ve mentioned. I don’t think it was an issue of not buying into the offense, either. Buying in was never an issue with this team. For Cam, again, i just think you’re asking a young kid to play a completely different role than he ever has, and while that can be said for many top Hs kids, this was much different. His skill set and what he excelled at was put on the back burner and asked to be a spot up shooter. Essentially be the Klay Thompson on this team. He had never done that.
Little is correct, attended AAU tourney this past weekend and coaches advice was "make a play". Game is tied with min to go and no set is called just "take him". Don't even ask about defense, no slides or help chatter.
RJ reaped a lot of criticism surrounding the idea that he was trying to do too much. That criticism is related to the thought that K gave RJ too much power/control over the offense. I don’t personally think that, but there’s a good chunk of people that do.
During tournament we played a combination of 2 childhood games, statue and hot potato. There were multiple possessions where we had nothing and RJ was forced into ISO and the defense 110% knew it. That takes a toll on efficiency. As great as he was he did have some awful games at the expense of that style. My best guess would be that K didn’t intend for the half-court offense to work like that, at least not majority of the time. That’s why i said it seemed like they didn’t buy in, I should probably say the team as a whole didn’t buy in.
I don’t think the players or coaching staff are at fault, it’s just the unfortunate reality of having a team purely lead by freshmen. You’ve probably seen me say it before, but that’s why I believe Jack’s injury hurt us more than anyone seemed to notice. He didn’t have the numbers, he just had the voice.
I like your comparison to the Klay role, it’s pretty accurate but Klay (like Tatum) was/is surrounded by veterans which makes the ultimate difference IMO.
Hear so many so stories of these AAU and TRAVEL TEAMS merely collecting talent and doing VERY LITTLE COACHING as you denoted. I think thats something ANY COLLEGIATE COACH has to worry about AND/OR EMPHASIZE MORE TEACHING when these phenoms get to the collegiate level. Good case in point perhaps is Cam who had always been the man on such teams, and the adjustment was made tougher as a 3rd wheel, and was stated previously expected to accept different role as "spot-up shooter."I know K gets a lot of heat here for not developing a bench, HOWEVER think of the time that goes into MOLDING that FIRST FIVE and plugging guys into various roles!
Guys thats just a peanut gallery opinion from a longtime Duke fan. However as a longtime distributor in the sports apparel/uniform business (20 years) you hear all kinds of stories. The parents are the chronic complainers of what they routinely call "Money Ball." OFC
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The Klay reference is exactly like you said, it was the role he was asked to play, but the problem was he had never played that role.
Also, childhood, hot potato and statue? Hahaha that might be a first.
Cam will be a good pro. He just needs the right team. Saw some drafts have him going to the Hawks, which would honestly be the best situation for him. Young promising stars in Trae Young and John Collins. SG and SF virtually wide open. Grant Hill is in the mix of chairmen. Vince Carter is there. Good overall mix.
I'm rooting for him to go to the Hawks as well. (If the Lakers don't take him at 4, that would be my favorite) No pressure in Atlanta for a couple years while they stay young and continue to build. And in about 3-4 years, the Hawks could very well be contenders, they are doing things the right way.
I have a dry sense of humor sometimes lmao... Just implying that we passed it around the key and didn’t move much.
They are similar except Tatum's shots went in the basket.
The freshman Tatum was stronger than the freshman Reddish and thus had better ability to play through contact and finish at the rim. Reddish could get to the rim. But it was too easy to knock him off balance and/or strip him of the ball.
I think Tatum was “allowed” to showcase his slashing abilities more than Cam. I won’t argue that Cam is a better slasher than Tatum but in cases where he wasn’t out of control (off foul) he finished pretty nicely at the rim against contact.
How often did he succeed at the rim? Cam had his chances.
I can recall plenty of contested rim attacks that worked in his favor. Like I said, I’m not trying to argue that he’s directly on par with Tatum in that regard. Tatum was stronger and possessed better body control, but I think if Cam had the comfortability to play his game like Tatum did then the difference wouldn’t be as large as suggested.
Cam had all the opportunity in the world. There’s no blame to be placed on anyone’s shoulders but his. I just don’t think he ever really felt comfortable or got himself into a rhythm the way he should have.
I think Tatum is a better player in most aspects. Probably not defensively. Better rebounder and shooter IMO. They definitely had different roles so that could have played into what I saw also.
Cam made 50% of his field goals at the rim, which is pretty abysmal, especially for someone of his size and athleticism.
Still, I think if he finds the right spot in the NBA, he's going to do well. I expect he'll be starting in 2-3 years.
Will you share the link of where you found this stat? I just wanna see everyone’s %’s
It's buried in the middle of this article.
https://fansided.com/2019/05/10/nassir-little-cam-reddish-really-star-upside/
You can go back to some of Cams high school videos and see where the hype comes from. He just never got into his groove being the 3rd wheel. He played some of his best ball when Zion was hurt. I really believe that when Cam gets his time to shine at the next level, we all will be wondering where that game was at when he was in Durham.
Do you expect Cam will be the #1 or #2 option on his NBA team in the near future? I would think learning to be the #3 option might have been good training for Cam as far as where his pro prospects lie. I mean, don't get me wrong... I'd love it if he became an All Star and was his NBA team's #1 option. But I'll be fairly surprised if that happens, especially any time in the next four years.
It's all up to Cam from here on out. Cam will be as good as he allows himself to be. He has all the tools. Stay in the gym and weight room young fella. I'll be pulling for him.
I hope he does reach his full potential at the next level. I felt like he pressed to much trying to impress and trying to keep his draft stock high. I think the media may have had a lot to do with it. They started singing Zions praise right off the bat, and deservedly so, and when it was not Zion it was RJ so in his eyes he probably felt the pressure of having to perform so the media would mention his name as well in a positive light and not a negative all the time. IMO he has a more overall game than Zion or RJ,I feel like we just didn't get to see the whole package, but I could be wrong, I have been more than one time.
I have a feeling Cam will be a great pro, which will be both exciting and a little depressing.
Cam was the 3rd scoring option but he was the fourth option to touch the ball. He rarely had the ball in his hands but to shoot spot up jumpers. The thing that hurt him most is that Zion and RJ were guys that could create. To go along with Tre being a true point guard. So, we would look at Cam to touch the ball 4th on a given possession. Tre would bring it up and either get it to RJ or Zion and then we go from there. That's why he pressed so much when he did get it. Hopefully he goes to Atlanta. He may be the 3rd scoring option there but he would be able to be to initiate some offense. Kind of like how CJ and Dame takes turns. Trae Young and John Collins may get higher usage but the good thing is John Collins can only really score when someone set him up. That's perfect because Cam will be able to handle the ball and initiate some things. That wasn't his role for Duke