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Pro Hoops Deacs - Jazz-Hawks - John Collins returns to Atlanta

I mean, he could solidify his status as a first rounder but he seemingly is doing that as we speak?

That is one scenario. Can’t argue against it.

Other scenarios include:
Injury
Disappointing season in a bigger role
No real change, just a year older

I’d love him to come back, and I’m sure he’s getting a much better picture of where he might be drafted and what he could improve on with another year… But seems like a risk.

I don’t feel really strongly that he must leave and it’s a no brainer… I would just probably leave.
 
Pro Hoops Deacs - LaRavia, Williams, and Walton Draft Talk

Hard to argue a guy should come back when he doesn’t know who many of his teammates will be.
 
Yeah, he could wind up being the only guy on the court.
 
Deni Avdija is the guy Jake's always reminded me of, but I concede that might be a facile comparison.
 
I do not, but I am watching a little of the playoffs because my son has some interest. Which guys should I keep an eye on who are like Jake?

Yeah I'm a Hawks fan but don't watch a ton of regular season games. Watch plenty of playoff basketball. But the Hawks feature a rim protector at the 5, a dunker/post guy at the 4, a shooter with length in Huerter and an elite athletic defender at SF in Hunter. 6th man Bogdon.

I guess I see Jake as a tweener for the Hunter/Bogdon roles. I don't think he quite has NBA shooting guard handles or range like Bogdon, and I don't think he's quite quick/athletic enough to hang with guys like Hunter. Don't get me wrong, in a couple years I'd expect him to develop enough game to be an effective SF. It just has seemed like traditionally those guys don't get drafted as early as he's going to be. Sadly I think he should jump at the chance and he likely will.

Curious to those who think he's no-brainer NBA ready and the kind of guy every team has - do you expect him to start next year if he gets drafted? Be a 6th man? Niang took like 5 years to get any real playing time. I don't think of that as a "leave early" profile.
 
On the negative side for Jake, he's not real strong, he's an okay rebounder for his position, a below average ball handler with average quickness for his position, and an average passer. He also fouls a lot.

Will any of these things improve with another year at Wake ? He could definitely benefit from some strength training, but he's already 22.5 years old.

I really don't see him as a guy likely to stick on a 15-man NBA roster, but someone who can certainly make some dough somewhere overseas if he wants to.

These are my OPINIONS.
 
On the negative side for Jake, he's not real strong, he's an okay rebounder for his position, a below average ball handler with average quickness for his position, and an average passer. He also fouls a lot.

Will any of these things improve with another year at Wake ? He could definitely benefit from some strength training, but he's already 22.5 years old.

I really don't see him as a guy likely to stick on a 15-man NBA roster, but someone who can certainly make some dough somewhere overseas if he wants to.

These are my OPINIONS.

I believe LaRavia is only 20. But I generally agree, not fully understanding a lot of the love he gets on this thread.
 
Born November 3, 1999 (Skip Prosser's birthday too, BTW). 4.5 months younger than Alondes Williams, who is also 22.

Hey, I like Jake a lot as a college player and I'm sure id he saw my above post for some reason he'd tape it to his mirror and use it as motivation. So really I'm just trying to get the most out of him as his online Life Coach.
 
Yeah I'm a Hawks fan but don't watch a ton of regular season games. Watch plenty of playoff basketball. But the Hawks feature a rim protector at the 5, a dunker/post guy at the 4, a shooter with length in Huerter and an elite athletic defender at SF in Hunter. 6th man Bogdon.

I guess I see Jake as a tweener for the Hunter/Bogdon roles. I don't think he quite has NBA shooting guard handles or range like Bogdon, and I don't think he's quite quick/athletic enough to hang with guys like Hunter. Don't get me wrong, in a couple years I'd expect him to develop enough game to be an effective SF. It just has seemed like traditionally those guys don't get drafted as early as he's going to be. Sadly I think he should jump at the chance and he likely will.

Curious to those who think he's no-brainer NBA ready and the kind of guy every team has - do you expect him to start next year if he gets drafted? Be a 6th man? Niang took like 5 years to get any real playing time. I don't think of that as a "leave early" profile.

even among avid nba fans you will see different takes, but imo this reads like a pretty typical take from someone who hasn’t really kept up with some of the recent trends.

right away, interesting you described the hawks has having a “dunker/post guy” at 4 — i assume you are referring to collins but i think that’s more of his college game whereas today he’s primarily a 3-point floor spacer (mostly stands in the corner) as well as someone who can be a roll guy, but also competently defend wings.

my litmus test (not everyone would agree and i’m not even sure it’s even a consensus opinion) is that almost all discussions of positions (being a sf vs an sg or pf) is almost entirely irrelevant. not sure the word tweener has been used in nba discussions in a decade. it used to be a problem, now it being a tweener is almost a requirement. nba teams pretty much always play four guys who can shoot and at least three guys who can switch onto any perimeter player.

laravia profiles well because 1/ he should be able to defend on the perimeter in the nba and 2/ he should be a solid outside shooter. the fact that he could be a good passer, off-ball player and be effective finishing and in transition is all gravy. i think his outside shot is a question mark as well as whether he would be a competent or plus perimeter defender. his ability to be “the man” or score a lot in important situations isn’t really germane to his nba prospects, imo.
 
Pro Hoops Deacs - LaRavia, Williams, and Walton Draft Talk

The article was from a Spurs fan site. The Spurs regularly played and started Keldon Johnson, a 6-5 SG in college, along with one C, one PG, and two wings. They’re looking for someone with LaRavia’s skill set.

If LaRavia measures out at 6-9/235 or so, teams may even think of him as a small ball stretch 4.

Biff, there’s a whole age controversy that’s been mentioned on the boards.
 
The article was from a Spurs fan site. The Spurs regularly played and started Keldon Johnson, a 6-5 SG in college, along with one C, one PG, and two wings. They’re looking for someone with LaRavia’s skill set.

If LaRavia measures out at 6-9/235 or so, teams may even think of him as a small ball stretch 4.

Biff, there’s a whole age controversy that’s been mentioned on the boards.

“stretch 4” is dead imo. there was actually a jj redick podcast discussion how it was such a short lived concept not too long ago. laravia can play switching defense enough to not get picked on and hit threes well enough to be guarded, which makes him a useful nba player (if both of those turn out to be true). plus he has some other upside skills that make him more interesting.
 
Sorry I meant stretch 5.
 
ah never thought about that but also an interesting path for him to have success. would probably need to bulk up a bit, but if he could credibly guard big guys he’d be a unique case who could be great in pick and roll defense kinda like al horford
 
Right. Thus why I said if he measures out at 6-9/235. That puts him around Al Horford’s size.
 
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