NBA - 22 and under: Your starting 5?

[tige19]

Some good young talent at the moment really taking strides in the league, probably some of the best young guys we have seen in a while. There are a few I'm really excited about, and a few that are probably flying under the radar a little bit.

If you were to select your best starting 5, 22 and under, who would they be and why?

PG - Tony Wroten 17.9 ppg 6 apg 3 rpg - This guy is tough, can get to the basket and is a great scorer, a little in the MCW shadow but for how long? Can play 1 or 2 but I think he is a natural scoring point.

SG - Andrew Wiggins 12.4 ppg 1 apg 4 rpg - 2 way shooting guard who hustles and plays great defense and is now starting to develop his offensive game. Looking better by the day

SF - Tobias Harris 18.7 ppg 1.7 apg 8 rpg - How good is he? Harris can now shoot the ball which was one of his big knocks, in fact he has brilliant mid range game and bangs them from beyond the ark. A best on the boards to, an all star in waiting.

PF - Anthony Davis 25 ppg 10.7 rpg 3 bpg - The heir to Lebrons throne, simply put the best overall basketballer in the league imo. The guy plays D better than Dwight, scores like a seasoned Tim Duncan and is one of the best rebounders in the game. A freak.

C - Andre Drummond 11 ppg 11 rpg 1.7 bpg - I love this guys work rate, he smashes the boards and protects the rim and is developing his offensive game. I don't think he will be a star but I suspect he will have an Al Horford type of career, maybe better if he can get out of Detroit.

 

[PHX]

Tony Wroten has no interest being on such a list. On any other team he'd be exposed as a deficient basketball player.

Burke, Olapido and even Schroder would all be performing the same or better in the situation he's in at Philly..

And there's a bloke called Kyrie Irving you may want to check out.

I'd also currently have Valanciunas ahead of this years version of Drummond.

Bradley Beal ahead of Wiggins too.

 

[tige19]

Tony Wroten has no interest being on such a list. On any other team he'd be exposed as a deficient basketball player.

Burke, Olapido and even Schroder would all be performing the same or better in the situation he's in at Philly..

And there's a bloke called Kyrie Irving you may want to check out.

I'd also currently have Valanciunas ahead of this years version of Drummond.

Bradley Beal ahead of Wiggins too.

I thought Irving was 23! 23 early next year, but yep certainly ahead of Wroten. I like Wroten man, I think he has the tools to be an all star and is only 21. He's a strong kid to.

 

[tige19]

Tony Wroten has no interest being on such a list. On any other team he'd be exposed as a deficient basketball player.

Burke, Olapido and even Schroder would all be performing the same or better in the situation he's in at Philly..

And there's a bloke called Kyrie Irving you may want to check out.

I'd also currently have Valanciunas ahead of this years version of Drummond.

Bradley Beal ahead of Wiggins too.

Beal looked better last year IMO, obviously injury has set him back but I don't feel his ceiling is anywhere near Wiggins.

 

[PHX]

I thought Irving was 23! 23 early next year, but yep certainly ahead of Wroten. I like Wroten man, I think he has the tools to be an all star and is only 21. He's a strong kid to.

We're definitely not going to agree then! I think he's a careless chucker and turnover machine destined to be a journeyman bench player.

Beal looked better last year IMO, obviously injury has set him back but I don't feel his ceiling is anywhere near Wiggins.

I think you're being harsh on Beal but I do agree Wiggins ceiling is higher. Right now I'm taking Beal, taking in future potential I'd be right on the fence.

 

[smashh]

list of players below
I'd go with

PG Kyrie
SG Beal
SF Harris
PF Davis
C Jonas

Thought about throwing in one of the many 3's and moving Jonas out, but thought JV deserves a spot. Would take Drummond over JV but the whole stain that is Detroit atm has put me off including him

http://www.basketball-reference.com...tat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=ws

 

[tige19]

list of players below
I'd go with

PG Kyrie
SG Beal
SF Harris
PF Davis
C Jonas

Thought about throwing in one of the many 3's and moving Jonas out, but thought JV deserves a spot. Would take Drummond over JV but the whole stain that is Detroit atm has put me off including him

http://www.basketball-reference.com...tat=&c5comp=gt&c6mult=1.0&c6stat=&order_by=ws

The SG position is a funny one for the kids, there's a few that could take the mantle as premier 2 in the league. The more I watch Oladipo and compare him to Westbrooks first few seasons the more I'm seeing the similarities, I really like the way Oladipo attacks the basket and with his shooting getting better he could be putting up 20-5-5 numbers within the next 12 months.

I love Beals confidence in taking shots, the guy is a cream when feeling it, his catch and shoots are instant, so quick. I just don't know if his ceiling is that of Wiggins, I also doubt it's above Oladipos as well. He needs to work contesting more balls and often get's lost when his opponents are cutting or in pick and rolls.

 

[He_Beast]

You sure about Anthony Davis?

 

[fidstar]

Anthony Davis
4 other players.

 

[TN25]

PG: Kyrie Irving- 20.8 PPG, 5.1 APG, 3.8 RPG
SG: Andrew Wiggins- 12.4 PPG, 1.4 APG, 3.9 RPG,
SF: Jabari Parker- 12.5 PPG, 1.7 APG, 5.7 RPG
PF: Anthony Davis- 25.1 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 1.7 APG
C: Andre Drummond- 11.3 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 1.7 BPG

 

[Theseventhhamster]

Irving
Wiggins
Jabari
Giannis
Davis

 

[Damon_3388]

I've decided to make a full roster of genuine "under 22s" for this year (guys born on or after July 1, 1992), all of whom could still be in college based on age:

C - Andre Drummond (College Junior)
PF - Anthony Davis (College Senior)
SF - Tobias Harris (College Senior)
SG - Bradley Beal (College Junior)
PG - Tony Wroten (College Senior)
-----
C - Cody Zeller (College Senior)
PF - Bismack Biyombo (College Senior)
SF - Jabari Parker (College Sophmore)
SG - K.J. McDaniels (College Senior)
PG - Trey Burke (College Senior)
C - Steven Adams (College Junior)
PF - Nerlens Noel (College Junior)
SF - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (College Junior)
SG - Evan Fournier (College Senior)
PG - Elfrid Payton (College Junior)

Ridiculous depth in this age group at the small forward position, with Giannis Antetokounmpo (College Sophmore), Maurice Harkless (College Senior) and Otto Porter (College Senior).

Andrew Wiggins (College Sophmore) obviously looks like a good prospect, as does Shabazz Muhammad (College Senior), but it's still unclear whether they project as shooting guards or small forwards long-term. They've also got a bit of small sample size theatre about them (Wiggins having played just 21 games, and Muhammad having played just one minute more in the NBA than Wiggins, despite having an extra season in the league) so I just left them aside for now.

Want to see more from Anthony Bennett (College Senior) too before considering him for a power forward spot. It's entirely possible that he won't beat out the three I mentioned long-term anyway.

We've obviously seen nothing from Joel Embiid (College Junior) so far too, so that's why I left him out.

If you don't class Cody Zeller as a "real" centre, because of his lack of length and the time he's spent as a power forward in tandem with Al Jefferson this season, you could trade him out for Alex Len (College Senior) in the above squad.

A ton of talent in the age group directly above, too (July 1, 1991 - June 30, 1992), most of whom technically qualify for this thread, but I chose to leave them out to get a better look at the younger guys.

 

[TN25]

I've decided to make a full roster of genuine "under 22s" for this year (guys born on or after July 1, 1992), all of whom could still be in college based on age:

C - Andre Drummond (College Junior)
PF - Anthony Davis (College Senior)
SF - Tobias Harris (College Senior)
SG - Bradley Beal (College Junior)
PG - Tony Wroten (College Senior)
-----
C - Cody Zeller (College Senior)
PF - Bismack Biyombo (College Senior)
SF - Jabari Parker (College Sophmore)
SG - K.J. McDaniels (College Senior)
PG - Trey Burke (College Senior)
C - Steven Adams (College Junior)
PF - Nerlens Noel (College Junior)
SF - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (College Junior)
SG - Evan Fournier (College Senior)
PG - Elfrid Payton (College Junior)

Ridiculous depth in this age group at the small forward position, with Giannis Antetokounmpo (College Sophmore), Maurice Harkless (College Senior), Otto Porter (College Senior) and Andrew Wiggins (College Sophmore).

A ton of talent in the age group directly above, too (July 1, 1991 - June 30, 1992), most of whom technically qualify for this thread, but I chose to leave them out to get a better look at the younger guys.

What about Tim Hardaway Jr?

 

[Damon_3388]

What about Tim Hardaway Jr?

Born March 16, 1992 (one week before Kyrie Irving). Didn't fit my criteria.

 

[Theseventhhamster]

15 man squad without Giannis. Do you even NBA?

 

[Damon_3388]

15 man squad without Giannis. Do you even NBA?

I wasn't as much basing it on what they could do, but moreso on what they have done so far. The other small forwards I mentioned have arguably done more in the NBA than he has. Giannis still isn't even a full-time starter. A lot of his appeal is still largely wrapped up in his potential and his versatility. In saying "done more", you could possibly swap him out for Parker, but Parker is the guy starting ahead of him most nights, so there's pros and cons to both.

It'd be good if Giannis could get on a squad where he's the clear #1 small forward, and just play 30-35 minutes per night, so we can really get a consistent look at what he can do.

 

[TN25]

Born March 16, 1992 (one week before Kyrie Irving). Didn't fit my criteria.

Would he make it if he fit your criteria?

 

[Theseventhhamster]

He's a better player right now than nearly everyone on your squad including Parker who he starts next to where he takes the harder defensive assignment.

 

[peternorth]

C: davis
F:
F: greek guy
G:
G: irving

the rest

 

[Damon_3388]

Would he make it if he fit your criteria?

Yeah, he'd be in ahead of either McDaniels or Fournier.

He's around the mark with Alec Burks, Jeremy Lamb, Victor Oladipo and Dion Waiters in that 1991/1992 age group too.

He's a better player right now than nearly everyone on your squad including Parker who he starts next to where he takes the harder defensive assignment.

Better player right now that the other small forwards on the squad, or better than everyone else on the squad I named? If it's the latter, you're being foolish.

 

[Theseventhhamster]

Better player right now that the other small forwards on the squad, or better than everyone else on the squad I named? If it's the latter, you're being foolish.

He's better than nearly everyone you've named which isn't that big a deal given that most of them at this stage aren't very good.

 

[tige19]

So much hype around Giannis, who I love as he's Greek but I haven't seen anything other than very very raw talent. Sometimes these really talented, raw guys never come on like we think.

The potential is there with Giannis but how the hell can anyone rate him above Tobias Harris? Harris has KD potential (ok maybe not totally KD but his development has been huge). Harris is big and strong now after a few years and can guard the 3 and 4 slot and has turned into a solid inside / out threat, plus he's an absolute scragger on the boards.

 

[Theseventhhamster]

So much hype around Giannis, who I love as he's Greek but I haven't seen anything other than very very raw talent. Sometimes these really talented, raw guys never come on like we think.

The potential is there with Giannis but how the hell can anyone rate him above Tobias Harris? Harris has KD potential (ok maybe not totally KD but his development has been huge). Harris is big and strong now after a few years and can guard the 3 and 4 slot and has turned into a solid inside / out threat, plus he's an absolute scragger on the boards.

You'll see it soon enough. I really missed Tobes until we got parker, I hope he goes on and keeps improving. Other than the God stuff he's an extremely likable kid.