"G-League defenders blah blah", but man there's some seriously nice self-creation moves there in that highlight film. Absolutely perfect use of his developmental time in the G-League to just work on being a first option down there. Should hopefully help him translate well to being a good offensive player with the big league club.
Stockton 23/24 thread
- Thread starter iowamcnabb
- Start date
I watched a handful of Stockton games on my DVR over the last couple weeks and they're actually a pretty fun team to watch. We've got our rookies and a bunch of vets so they rarely play unwatchable basketball.
Slawson is their Draymond Green lite. They run the offense through him a decent amount. He's a bull in a china shop with the ball sometimes but he always fills out the box score. Good and bad. He needs some seasoning but he's got some promise. He's also not afraid to mix it up and get in the face of the opponent either. Plays with a chip on his shoulder for sure.
Colby Jones is pretty inconsistent. He'll go from the best player on the floor for a couple games to playing like G League fodder the next. Needs to dial in his shot and tighten up his ball handling. He has a tenacity for rebounds and getting steals. He's definitely ahead of Slawson but not quite an NBA player yet.
Mason Jones is interesting. Big body for a SG and an absolute sniper from the outside. He thinks he's a better passer than he is and his AST/TO ratio has always shown it. Was teammates with Isaiah Joe in college and I think he could fulfill the same type of off the bench shooting role if given the chance.
Stanley Johnson looks good. His shot looks much improved and his straight line drive and midrange game looks solid. Could just be because he's playing against less skilled/experienced players but I feel like he would be a better option than Kessler/Duarte.
Nowell is shooting like a madman and his percentages would probably be better if he wasn't the guy they pass the ball to with 5 seconds left on the shot clock in order to create something out of nothing. He had similar shooting percentages in a previous G League stint that didn't translate to the NBA but he's dynamite on offense in Stockton. Could also be a Kessler/Duarte upgrade but he's definitely more offense than defense.
Lamb is in the same boat. Good all around player and consistent. I feel like he's still as good as a lot of NBA players.
Skal still kinda looks like Skal. Can take it to G League opponents but is never really dominant and you can just tell that the stuff he's doing wouldn't translate effectively to the NBA on a night to night basis. He's kind of a tweener like Bagley with more defense and less offense.
Slawson is their Draymond Green lite. They run the offense through him a decent amount. He's a bull in a china shop with the ball sometimes but he always fills out the box score. Good and bad. He needs some seasoning but he's got some promise. He's also not afraid to mix it up and get in the face of the opponent either. Plays with a chip on his shoulder for sure.
Colby Jones is pretty inconsistent. He'll go from the best player on the floor for a couple games to playing like G League fodder the next. Needs to dial in his shot and tighten up his ball handling. He has a tenacity for rebounds and getting steals. He's definitely ahead of Slawson but not quite an NBA player yet.
Mason Jones is interesting. Big body for a SG and an absolute sniper from the outside. He thinks he's a better passer than he is and his AST/TO ratio has always shown it. Was teammates with Isaiah Joe in college and I think he could fulfill the same type of off the bench shooting role if given the chance.
Stanley Johnson looks good. His shot looks much improved and his straight line drive and midrange game looks solid. Could just be because he's playing against less skilled/experienced players but I feel like he would be a better option than Kessler/Duarte.
Nowell is shooting like a madman and his percentages would probably be better if he wasn't the guy they pass the ball to with 5 seconds left on the shot clock in order to create something out of nothing. He had similar shooting percentages in a previous G League stint that didn't translate to the NBA but he's dynamite on offense in Stockton. Could also be a Kessler/Duarte upgrade but he's definitely more offense than defense.
Lamb is in the same boat. Good all around player and consistent. I feel like he's still as good as a lot of NBA players.
Skal still kinda looks like Skal. Can take it to G League opponents but is never really dominant and you can just tell that the stuff he's doing wouldn't translate effectively to the NBA on a night to night basis. He's kind of a tweener like Bagley with more defense and less offense.
Thanks for this! I keep intending to watch some games but never really get around to it. I wish NBA teams in general made use of the G-League development pipeline more. It's clear that we have some big holes to fill on the Sacramento roster and it sure seems like every GM in the league is setting the price too high for their players, requiring multiple first round picks for decent veterans now. Considering the notable lack of wing defenders on the main squad, I can't help looking at guys like Johnson and Slawson and wondering when/if they'll get a 15 day tryout,
And I don't think any of that has to do with the GM of the G-League teams, who are most likely all about day to day operations.
Everyone loves to crap on the nepo-baby but I hope that should anything ever happen to Vivek or he decides to just pass along operations to his kids, we get a Jeanie Buss and not a Jody Allen. If she didn't like doing the dirty work I don't want her running the team. But getting a PhD is honorable if it's not just a way to keep fooling around on daddy's dime (in my field it is common to work through your PhD not go full time which she appears to be doing).
I dunno, I never took over the family business but I spent a lot more summers polishing brass in the bars than I did in the office. So I liked the strategy with putting her in Stockton. oh well.
Everyone loves to crap on the nepo-baby but I hope that should anything ever happen to Vivek or he decides to just pass along operations to his kids, we get a Jeanie Buss and not a Jody Allen. If she didn't like doing the dirty work I don't want her running the team. But getting a PhD is honorable if it's not just a way to keep fooling around on daddy's dime (in my field it is common to work through your PhD not go full time which she appears to be doing).
I dunno, I never took over the family business but I spent a lot more summers polishing brass in the bars than I did in the office. So I liked the strategy with putting her in Stockton. oh well.
