NBA Draft: adding perspective to Kristaps Porzingis workout hype
All NBA-level talents can be impressive in open gyms at least to some extent, and observing a guy shooting with no defenders is a poor judgement of how well he will adjust to NBA-level defenses. It is a good sign he is impressive, but there are people reading far too deeply into it:
Porzingis was VERY impressive in workout. A scout called him the best player in the draft "He's better than Karl Towns," said the scout.
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) June 12, 2015
Honestly think if Porzingis or Hezonja played in college this year, they would both be in conversation for No.1 or No.2 in this draft.
— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) June 10, 2015
We could speculate if Porzingis had played in a major conference domestically he would have been a monster. The eye test dictates he would have been at least very good. Yet, we do not know what he can do against the best athletes in the world, and the NCAA products we see are much safer selections in many senses. They at least have greater exposure to American audiences and schedules and training regimens more similar to the NBA.
To be fair, Porzingis has played in the ACB league in Spain. He is a pro-level talent with skills that are readily observable in actual game play.
But in some senses, he is still an unknown. What we see in videos are highlights from his play, the glazing on what may be a mediocre doughnut underneath.
He shows all the polish of a great prospect, but the casual fan can consistently comment, “What makes this guy different than Darko Milicic?”
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