The Warriors like Florida State’s Devin Vassell enough to consider him with the No. 2 pick and he would be their likely target if they decide to trade down, writes Connor Letourneau of The San Francisco Chronicle. Multiple sources tell Letourneau that Golden State views Vassell as the best wing defender in the draft and a long-term replacement for Andre Iguodala.
Vassell is 6’7″ with a 7-foot wingspan and has the versatility to be an effective defender at four positions. Not only does he specialize in forcing turnovers, he’s also a reliable shooter, hitting 41.5% from 3-point range this season. Leonard Hamilton, Vassell’s college coach, compares him to Klay Thompson.
“I always tell people that he’s very similar to Thompson,” Hamilton said. “If you look at his shooting stats at Washington State, they’re similar to Devin’s. He’s long, lean, athletic.”
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Warriors assistant Mike Brown “made a strong impression” during his interview with the Clippers and has become “an emerging candidate” to be the team’s next head coach, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times.
- The Suns turned out to be the perfect opportunity for Monty Williams, who hadn’t been a head coach since 2014/15, notes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. Williams led the team to a 34-39 record, including a perfect 8-0 mark after the restart. “When I got the opportunity in Phoenix, it was a lot of things that went into it,” Williams said. “It wasn’t just a basketball fit for me. It was a fit for my family because I had moved them around from New Orleans to Oklahoma City, back to San Antonio and then we go to Philly and I’m going to move them again. So I was looking for a family fit. I needed, obviously for me, to pray about it and make sure I had the peace that I needed to take on another job because it requires a lot of energy, a ton of time and I had to have a peace about doing it again.”
- New associate head coach Alvin Gentry fits in perfectly with the Kings‘ up-tempo philosophy, writes Tracee Jay of NBA.com. Under Gentry, the Pelicans led the league in pace in 2017/18 and were second in 2018/19.
IMO
Okoro is more like Iguodala than Vassell
Clippers take Mike Brown，the man won 11 straight playoffs games in a row
When you win 11 in a row you are already in the nba finals
I like Okoro too. I got to see him a bunch being a fan of an SEC West team and he was hard to stop. I’m not a scout tho and honestly don’t have much basketball knowledge so I leave it to the experts lol
Warriors should draft Ball or Edwards
Then talk to Hawks or Knicks for Vassell or Okoro
Warriors can get one or two future Firsts to pack with Wiggins and reduce payroll
The Warriors do not give a rip about REDUCING payroll this coming season. Enough of that crazy talk.
Vassell is a nice fit with Warriors. But they would never use the 2nd pick. That’s just not true and dumb. Warriors like 3 n D guys. They’ve had a bunch and it’s their system. It’s always nuts how everyone can talk Warriors offense. But no one but me talks Warriors Defense.Their success is based on both. As any real contender knows they have to make stops. Fans are all about offense. When it’s only half the game. Vassell and Okoro figure to go 8-12. Knicks like both. Okoro fits Thibs style more. Okoro could be another Jimmy Butler to me. His offense still needs work.
Okoro is Iguodala
Vassell is Klay Thompson
Edwards is Wiggins?
True or false
Maybe
Absolutely not
Not even close
Good style/type comparisons, less so on backgrounds/profiles. Vassell is young and needs some more build, attitude & confidence to be the Klay most people think of.
From what I hear about vassal is that he’s very athletic and fluid. People don’t realize Klay Thompson is not really that athletic. Sure he’s a premier Defender and can move laterally and is very strong, but he’s a Ridgid player very straight up and down. You don’t see him flying on the wing 4 alley oops.
He does more than this currently, but you could say he’s a spot-up shooter. He’s a super three-and-d guy.. you could see him being one of those types as he gets older.
I think Nesmith would be a better comp to KT, in terms of what they were coming out in the draft. KT rose up the 2011 draft board to 10 or so, but was in the teens in most mock drafts. That’s why I think Nesmith doesn’t have top 5 potential and Vassell or Williams do. Then again, the same skill set (great length and jump shot) may be more valued today than it was in 2011. Kwahi fell all the way to 15 in that draft, which was also contrary to the mocks. That draft was an evaluators draft too (deep without rigidity).
That’s the thing— Fans look at Florida St highlights for an athletic Vassell, and find them in teammate Williams! Post below.
Vassell’s highlights would often come from gambling on defense, which for him, would not be such a gamble. But he comes from nowhere, while Klay is an NBA scion, and once had a rich kid’s college years ;)
Get used to it. There’s no consensus on the top players in this draft, and the talent pool is very deep. People who are basing their evaluations on prior mock drafts are in for a long month. Depending on the next month, either Vassell or his FSU teammate could go #2, or both could fall past #10. No consensus means no trade downs.
I agree that FSU Patrick Williams mock draft 15，could be. top 5 pick
What has hurt Vassell on the prospects lists (besides being a later bloomer) is that when scouts look at FSU they might like Patrick Williams more! Best approach to that problem for teams: evaluate PW higher. For GSW: connect a draft trade-down to their other needs & strengths. Predicted that awhile ago, partnering with Atlanta.
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On the battle of exCav HCs for the Clipper HC job… (!)…
Mike Brown may be advantaged by a resemblance to boss Ballmer! He is also a confident guy and would probably be a good influence on the embattled Paul George.
Of course Lue is more familiar there and likely already has a plan.
Also, FSU’s program the last couple of years didn’t lend itself to 1 player esp a young guy taking over, and then no NCAA T (when rotations tighten and matchups allow better evaluation). In the top 5, you kind of want to see more than many of these guys have shown. But someone has to go top 5.
If the coming college season was not in flux, Williams probably should have come back. But no way with the possibility it’s shortened, etc.
Champs get imitated, and I suspect the main offshoot of the Laker’s new title is still more respect for 3&D prospects— even though none of LJ, AD, DH, or Rondo are defined as such! The other players are all like 3&Ds, even nominal PG Caruso. No playoff weaklinks; no diaper dandies.
If the Warriors draft Vassell at #2, it will be a major failure. Not because he might not end up as a great pick, but because he is not worth that pick currently. I have not even seen him in the top 10 of most mock drafts. They should be able to trade down at least 6 spots, if not more, and still get Vassell and other assets. Overpicking him at 2 is just wasting that asset.
And yes, I am fully aware that mocks are just one person’s opinion, but there are hundreds out there and none of them think of Vassell higher than like pick 9. If you go into a store carrying a C-note and you value a $25 shirt more than a $100 shirt, are you still going to pay $100 for the $25 shirt? No, you are going to pay what others think it is worth and take the rest of your assets and buy an accessory or two.