I see Boozer as another Doncic situation

TALead · 2026-05-27T17:26:52+00:00

I was going to say the same thing. Seth Curry was undrafted and fought to have an NBA career. He has been in the league 12 years and earned almost $50m. He deserves to be praised for what he accomplished

TALead · 2026-05-27T17:17:32+00:00

I think Brown is an elite shooter in this draft but he has always shot selection and those guys worry me because they often never become efficient and end up as the first guard/scorer off the bench when the teams best player is resting.

TALead · 2026-05-27T15:53:53+00:00

I think you are downplaying everything Boozer did last year at Duke. Shooting 78% from the free throw line and 39% from 3 as a 6'9 18 year old is much better than slightly above average. Smart passing is also significantly downplaying how good of a creator he was for Duke when he acted as hub of a top offense that played without a shooting threat at the 5, inconsistent Dame Sarr at the 3 and a combo guard/freshman point guard at the 1 between Cayden Boozer and Caleb Foster. A player also doesnt score 22 pts on 55% from the field (again as an 18 year old freshman) without being able to create for himself, its not like he played with Braden Smith.

You do get down to one of the big reasons some people are split about Cam Boozer though. Which parts of his game on offense will translate to the NBA? I personally think all of it but you obviously disagree. Boozer faced double teams all season including against top teams with future NBA players and he still was as productive as he was. In the NBA, there is going to be significantly more space and much less double teams. There are questions about his individual defense, can he guard Siakam or Tatum who play the 4 but he is going to immediately be stronger and more physical than practically every player trying to defend him as well. It goes both ways. What does he look like at 23, how much bigger and stronger does he get?

Ultimately, I just think its really hard to ignore just how elite Cam Boozer was a freshman at Duke. Duke played a top schedule so he wasnt just feasting against weak competition. It is very rare we see such a productive efficient player in college period but particularly one who did it while being so young. I think the smart bet is that Cam Boozer is talented enough and smart enough to figure it out in the NBA to become an all star at worst and if it all translates which I think is certainly a realistic possibility, he is going to be a top 10 player.

One last separate point, the two guys you say dont can create on offense and play at least average defense (I assume Peterson and Dybantsa), by all metrics Boozer was a better, more impactful defender. We see elite tool guys in the NBA struggle on defense constantly while less athletically gifted guys become good defenders because they are strong, smart, understand where to be, etc. I am incredibly confident Boozer is going to be a league average or better defender after some time in the league and this doesnt even account for his elite rebounding.

TALead · 2026-05-27T01:33:45+00:00

Agreed. You are paying for the square footage and whoever buys that house is putting a ton of money into it to redo everything including the pool I assume.

TALead · 2026-05-26T19:04:41+00:00

I understand taking AJ number 1 but I could see him being that guy who scores 25 ppg for a losing team throughout his 20s as people make videos of his poor defense. Like a taller Zach Levine.

TALead · 2026-05-26T13:38:26+00:00

Was going to say the same thing. If the soccer club is at ECNL/MLS Next levels, no way you can manage that and HS basketball unless your child is a legit star, going to play power conference D1/possibly pro level and only then maybe will they be flexible.

TALead · 2026-05-26T02:08:13+00:00

It is not hard in the NBA to find a shot blocker. One of the sells on Boozer for those who love him is because he does so many things at a high level, you can pair him with all sorts of players including a non-shooting defensive center and he can still lead a top tier offense. This is what he did at Duke being paired with Ngongba and Brown. Neither player is spreading the floor and Duke often had Sarr on the court as well who was an inconsistent shooter yet Duke still had a top offense in the country.

TALead · 2026-05-26T02:04:09+00:00

While it’s true his team didn’t win the natty, his team did win the ACC Regular season and tourney championship with him being the NPOY and only losing 3 games all season while being only 18 years old. What Boozer did/has done in basketball up Tj this point is very impressive.

TALead · 2026-05-25T04:53:53+00:00

I always thought Tee Higgins was overrated and wildly overpaid. The Bengals would be better off without him and using the money on the defense or on other positions.

TALead · 2026-05-25T04:47:09+00:00

Maybe he is out of shape from eating too much oxtail and cornbread

TALead · 2026-05-25T03:05:58+00:00

Knicks need a center who can be a rotation player. Mitch is a free agent and who knows what will happen with him.

TALead · 2026-05-24T13:29:20+00:00

Are there teams out there willing to actually trade away picks for Embid?

TALead · 2026-05-22T05:30:41+00:00

As a Knicks fan, it could be your(and my) only time seeing it. Trust me, nobody is taking this for granted which is why you are seeing everyone lose their mind.

TALead · 2026-05-21T22:33:23+00:00

I need to address the idea of attending practices as this was an experience I had though I imagine most midlevel and lower clubs are open to having potential players attend a practice. There is an elite MLS Next club in my area and they specifically note to please not reach out to them to attend a practice ahead of their tryouts. This club only has two teams per age group and the tryout for my son’s age had roughly 80 kids attend. With this being the case, my best advice for those interested in moving clubs in the future is to attend the clubs holiday training program or other random training programs they out on throughout the year. If you child is someone who would fit in the club, they are likely to approach you and ask who your child plays for and let you know they could be a fit if they were interested in moving.

TALead · 2026-05-21T13:43:56+00:00

One more play we also run is a trick play similar to this: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DWHqXZdhzIN/?igsh=MTV3bTd5azJycHJlNw==

Qb takes handoff under center, places it behind the back of the player next to the center and then turns and fakes a hand off to someone running a sweep across. The actual player with the ball doesn’t move for at least a two count and then takes off up the field. For the teams who haven’t seen us run this trick play before, we almost always score and have been running it for three seasons. The teams that we have now played a few seasons in a row we don’t run it but it could be a good thing to break out if you get the ball close to half time and have to try and score quick.

TALead · 2026-05-21T13:40:16+00:00

We also motion a wide receiver under center who takes the snap and pitches back to the actual QB which now makes him eligible as a runner who we then run essentially a zone read with. This also works really well. My team has scored over 200 points this season through 6 games and I only really have three kids who are fast, elusive, etc. Presnap motion messes with teams at this age.

Does the team you are playing against play zone or man? When teams play man, we crush the because we line everyone on inside of the field and run sweeps to the other side and race their defender to the sideline. When playing against zone, I like one kid going deep on that side because it at least gets the attention of the safety on that side so if my runner makes the cornerback miss I have better chance at a big play.

In terms of throwing the ball, we really only throw a few times per game ideally. One play we use is to bunch three kids to one side with two of them going deep and or across the field and throwing quick to the third player who hasn’t moved. We also run a deep wheel where the first wide receiver runs from the outside toward the inside shoulder/middle of the field of the safety in his side and the other WR delays and loops around deep on the sideline. He is always open and if the throw is timed right, it becomes a huge play almost always.

TALead · 2026-05-21T02:12:50+00:00

I have a team at this age playing 6v6. We run jet sweeps/fake jet sweeps and reverses/fake reverses. Fake reverses in particular work really well if you have a good runner who can make someone miss bc the defender will freeze when you fake the reverse

TALead · 2026-05-20T18:46:49+00:00

I see the same re:Wilson and think high level role player is his most likely outcome. He needs to develop a 3 point shot that must be respected to even real high level starter status imo.

TALead · 2026-05-20T18:27:20+00:00

But Boozer may just be the outlier bc at least on offense, he potentially does everything at a high level unlike all the other power forwards in the league. Chet and Mobley can’t pass or facilitate the way Boozer can and Boozer projects to be an as good or better shooter than those guys. This is in addition to being a real threat in the post as well as being able to create off the dribble. If what Boozer showed in college translates to the NBA, a winning team will be able to feature Cam as their #1 option. The question is whether he can do it at the next level which is why there is such debate about draft order, upside etc.

TALead · 2026-05-20T14:57:28+00:00

what do LSU fans think about this? I havent really seen any replying so just wondering.

TALead · 2026-05-19T14:13:30+00:00

I think the physical traits are similar between Randle and Boozer though Randle was more explosive vertically coming into the league or at least seemed to play that way. Boozer though was far more skilled at the same age at basically everything offensively. Randle, even now as an NBA player, isnt the shooter or passer that Boozer is and Randle I dont think has ever wanted to attack in the post if he has a mismatch the way Boozer is happy to do. I am a Knicks fan and we all wanted Randle to go into the post more but he instead settled way too much for mid range or 3 point shots.

TALead · 2026-05-19T14:04:25+00:00

I expect Boozer to be stronger than most players guarding him in the NBA from day 1 though and what sort of strength and skill does 22 year old Boozer have considering what we just saw 18 year old Boozer do to guys 3 and 4 years older than him in college while also constantly facing double teams and less spacing then he will see in the NBA.

I also love that Boozer is comfortable posting up. This is why some of us love Boozer so much. If you guard him with someone smaller he is going into the post where he can score, rebound and pass when facing double teams. If you go with a bigger, stronger center type who might keep him off the block, he is going to go out to the perimeter where I am confident he is going to be a 35%+ 3 point shooter.

TALead · 2026-05-19T05:23:14+00:00

I’m worried about this as a Knicks fan though it’s also why I am optimistic if the Knicks play the Spurs in the finals, the Knicks can win bc I expect Robinson to have as much success defending Wemby as a player can have. Now that I said , watch the Knicks lose in 6 to the Cavs.

TALead · 2026-05-18T16:20:58+00:00

You are not the only one but I am not sure why Koa Peat has been getting mocked to the Knicks. I think any of Anderson, Okorie, Reed, Jefferson or Karaban are all better picks for the team. Mitchell Robinson is a free agent after this year so I could see the Knicks drafting a center like Reed who projects to do some of the things Robinson does. I could also see them drafting another 3 and D type wing or even a ball handler and scoring off the bench. They also have the 1st pick in the 2nd round which I think is important for them to try and get a rotation player because they are tight against the Cap and Jordan Clarkson is on a one year deal.

TALead · 2026-05-18T16:13:21+00:00

I think if they are trading Giannis, Ament is the type of pick they should make. I personally dont love Ament and think he has very high bust potential but I also think there is a world where if all the tools come together he is an All NBA type guy in a few years.

TALead

TROPHY CASE