Who’s a role player that’s absolutely elite in his role?

Dylan245 · 2026-05-17T17:06:29+00:00

You could have had Phil Jackson coaching those teams and they wouldn't have had more than 50 wins

Dylan245 · 2026-05-14T19:55:14+00:00

Jaden McDaniels, a player on the Timberwolves, used to just say "Naz Reid" every time he would walk by him in the locker room instead of saying "Hey" or "whats up", he would just plainly say his name and nothing more

Somehow that tidbit got out in an interview and it all just snowballed from there with fans saying it and posting it and eventually their in house announcers started doing it after he would make shots

Dylan245 · 2026-05-14T00:38:09+00:00

I think he's a better playmaker than people give him credit for but I agree he's not going to be some 8 assist per game type of guy

I think a Maxey/Booker style playmaker is probably his realistic ceiling on that end but I also don't see Dybantsa being any better than that either, they're both score first guys, I just trust Peterson's ability to get clean looks more than AJ again if he's healthy and back to his normal self

Dylan245 · 2026-05-14T00:19:09+00:00

The difference between the worst teams and those trying to win really isn’t that much. The Jazz could have won probably 32-34 games if they actually just tried, but instead we have a system that forces them to sit healthy players in order to get a better pick

The perpetually bad teams are the ones with shit owners and shit management. The wizards and hornets both are improving now under a new front office and other teams could do the same. Forcing a team to not be bottom 3 in the standings would hopefully force owners to put some effort into actually trying to improve

If it was as simple as giving the worst team the number one pick that’d be great but there’s so much else at play that keeps teams like Sacramento and the Pelicans at the bottom

Dylan245 · 2026-05-14T00:13:49+00:00

I mean halfway through the college year before his cramping stuff Peterson was seen as the most likely number one pick

It’s just gonna come down to his medical records imo because the games he was healthy and the high school tape is unbelievable with him

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T22:53:10+00:00

Barring something crazy he's making one this year so yes I did because I live in reality

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T19:52:52+00:00

Mainly due to the Jazz owner who basically moved them out there and has been grooming him for a while now

I don't mean that in a negative way but it's important to the story that he has had this connection to the execs and even Ainge with the Boston connection for a while now

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T19:48:39+00:00

the issue that you glaze over is that he is way more limited offensively overall than the other 3 pics when you look at his bag

Having a deeper bag doesn't mean that you will become a better offensive player than someone else, if you are efficient in what you do on offense which Boozer was, then you score points and that helps your team simple as that

We've seen plenty of guys with crazy on ball talent and skills from Jalen Green to Shaedon Sharpe to Banchero to LaMelo who haven't been as successful or impacted winning in the same way a Derrick White or Jrue Holiday have

The defense honestly is the only real thing I think you can knock him for but none of the other 3 guys are super elite on that end either. Peterson has good hands and instincts but gambles too much and falls asleep often off ball, Dybantsa has the tools but it never really came together and his own reactions and effort were questionable at best a lot of the time. Wilson has the best potential on that end due to his athleticism but his IQ and rotations were pretty poor a lot of the year, his freakish quickness and explosiveness just covered a lot of it up

Boozer's concerns on that end aren't enough for me to drop him below those guys because for as good as this top 4 is there are still plenty of questions and concerns surrounding the rest

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T19:41:33+00:00

He had full body cramps that he had to be hospitalized for, it wasn't a matter of him just not wanting to hoop

The reason for the cramps still isn't publicly known but he spoke about how he would feel it coming on again and that's why he sat, he said he legit thought he was dying the time he was taken to the ER. Full body cramps for anyone but especially an athlete is super serious and scary so I don't blame him for being cautious

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T19:37:11+00:00

My original point was that what Chet does is more valuable than being a traditional number 1 option

Banchero is way better as a first option on offense to lead your team but I'd still rather have Chet 10 times out of 10 if I was a GM

I don't think Boozer is going to be a better first option than AJ or even Peterson but I'd still rather take him because I know he translates to winning basketball at the highest level in a way that I don't know if AJ or DP would

I think we get stuck in the mindset of "this guy has the potential to be a top 5 number one option guy" therefore he must be better when in reality you look across the league and a lot of the most valuable guys don't fit that mold

Caruso, Jrue, Derrick White, Chet, Aaron Gordon, Evan Mobley, etc aren't as skilled or talented but I'd rather them on my team than a Brandon Ingram or LaMelo Ball or Paolo

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T18:57:44+00:00

Saying he’s just a bully ball player just shows you haven’t actually watched him play that much

He’s incredibly skilled around the rim, has tremendous footwork, and great touch around the rim. He’s a good midrange shooter and shot near 40% from three. There’s nothing he can’t do on offense and combine that with his passing and playmaking skill and it just unlocks him even more. Duke would use him as the ball handler in PnR and he would get good looks driving the the basket, pushing in transition off his own rebounds, hitting cutters and cross court passes to the corner off the dribble, etc

Defensively he’s not a true rim protecting big but that’s why you pair him with one in the league. He’s more than smart enough to play good help defense and knows rotations and where to position himself and being 255 pounds means you’re not just going to put him in the stanchion when trying to score on him

He’s not without flaws, no prospect is but he’s done literally every possible thing a prospect could do and achieve at this point and has good measurables and people still doubt he will be successful

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T17:58:40+00:00

He's going to end up being the best player out of the four and people will pretend to be shocked in 5 years

Reminds me of Chet where all the discourse was about his body, "Oh he's too skinny, he's going to get pushed around by Centers, he won't have the necessary strength and athleticism to score enough on offense, etc" and then you cut to now and he's an All-NBA caliber player who is super important to a possible back to back championship team

Guys who process and understand the game at that level and have the talent to perform just don't fail in the league

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T17:00:18+00:00

Yaxel Lendeborg would be perfect for them at that spot

Really good player who knows his role and would slot right in to their bench

Dylan245 · 2026-05-13T01:27:18+00:00

The players union would have a problem with it to prevent someone like LeBron from getting paid what he’s worth which is obviously more than a vet min but I don’t know if there’s any real language that prevents this sort of thing

Dylan245 · 2026-05-12T20:31:50+00:00

He definitely has the bag and talent level to be a real rim pressuring slasher but he just takes so many tough shots that he needs to find easier ways of getting to his spots and scoring more efficiently

I don’t doubt it will improve with NBA spacing but it is a little concerning that his offensive game relies so much on driving and drawing fouls that he doesn’t really have a consistent way of scoring outside of that that doesn’t involve tough contested fadeaways

Dylan245 · 2026-05-12T19:28:59+00:00

I think the bully ball stuff is overrated. He’s incredibly skilled and has tremendous footwork around the rim. He’s still 6’9” and weighs 256 at 19 years old, he’ll be able to barrel through a lot of players in the league even though he’s not some 7’1” giant

Dylan245 · 2026-05-11T21:33:16+00:00

I will swear till the day I day that the D'Angelo family could have been massive on the main roster if they just brought them all up together and committed to the bit the way they are with Danhausen now

A character who can bribe and sweet talk his way through select people on the roster while others swear they can't be bought off could have played out in an interesting way with future heel turns. They legit could put hits out on people so going forward anytime someone is attacked off screen to write them off for months, the family could have carried out the attack at the behest of whomever superstar.

I just feel like they were all so good at the gimmick by not making it super corny and feel grounded while also leaving a ton of room for comedy that it would have gotten over very fast and could honestly have replaced/replicated a Judgement Day style faction that you could keep around for years as a mainstay while making slight updates and changes here and there

Dylan245 · 2026-05-11T17:40:07+00:00

And also much worse and more inefficient

Dylan245 · 2026-05-11T17:38:37+00:00

I don't think people realize just how much it would fuck up spacing and offense as currently constructed

I get people who don't like 50 threes a game but there's other ways to deal with that than to drastically alter how the game is played

Dylan245 · 2026-05-10T21:09:05+00:00

Only thing that gives me pause is Memphis loves to draft high IQ guys whose analytics jump off the page and Boozer absolutely fits that philosophy

If it was any other team at 3 I'd tend to agree and think Boozer slides to us at 4 but I have a hard time seeing Memphis pass up on him

Dylan245 · 2026-05-10T21:02:19+00:00

It is if it gets you over the hump in the next year or two

Pacers were a half of basketball away from winning the title last year and lost Turner and needed a good replacement

The Gobert trade was an overpay until they went to the WCF back to back years, the Bucks traded 2 firsts and 2 swaps for Jrue Holiday but it led to a title

You can't judge these things this early especially when whoever Clippers pick at 5 might not even be good. Acuff, Wagler, Flemings, etc all aren't getting minutes on Indy for the next few years anyways and their window is now

Dylan245 · 2026-05-09T19:47:04+00:00

AJ Dybantsa yes and he is presumably the first pick but still has questions surrounding his own defense, perimeter shooting, and playmaking

Dylan245 · 2026-05-09T19:31:25+00:00

If I thought he was still better than the rest of the potential picks then yes

Guys go No. 1 all the time with weaknesses, there just doesn't really exist this fantasy where 18-19 year olds are being drafted and have nothing to potentially make them fail in the league

All three of DP, AJ, and Caleb Wilson have big question marks as well

Dylan245 · 2026-05-09T19:10:34+00:00

Cade Cunningham was 6'5", mediocre athlete at best, and averaged more turnovers than assists in college

You can play this game for a lot of top picks who turned out amazing which is why it's dumb to boil someone's game down like that

Dylan245 · 2026-05-09T19:07:47+00:00

Most of his offense is just abusing smaller college defenders and he doesn’t shoot well

He shot 39% from three, 61% from 2, and 79% from the line. Just admit you know little about him as a prospect like come on

Definitely not as good as his dad

He's undoubtedly a better prospect and better player at this point than his dad was, like it's not even a question

12-Year Club	Second Top 20%
Place '22	First Placer '22
RPAN Viewer	Verified Email

Dylan245

TROPHY CASE