Nikola Pekovic available...

[Eddie20]

He is basically an older version of Kanter. Kanter has more upside, but neither are cornerstone players for the franchise.

Him and Kanter aren't alike except for them being big, white, and foreign born. Pekovic is slow and struggles to defend on the perimeter and in P&R due to his below average mobility. Kanter issues defensively have always been a result of understanding defensive concepts, not a lack of athleticism.

Kanter has really good upside. He's only 22 years old and many are of the opinion that his overall development has been partially stunted by playing alongside Favors, as they don't compliment each other well.

[Celtics4ever]

I'm guessing everyone is holding out for this elusive 300-lbs 7-footer with 40in vertical who can bang with Dwight, take guys off the dribble, and make jump shots and free throws. It seems any other solution is considered "hamstringing" the team

Your guessing wrong in my case.   A 26 inch no step vertical is average for a guy on the street, it is low for an NBA player.   I would wager most guys on this board have never played sports at a higher level and had their vertical measured because they seem to have no concept of what is good or bad.  NBA no step should be over 28 inch for a minimal.   Over 32" no step is where you start getting guys who can jump.   A no step 40 inch vertical would be insanely high. 

Most of the jumps you take down low or in the post are one step or no step.  Given his standing reach and his vertical one would expect him to be able to reach a max height of 11' 3.5".which is average to below average as Dwight as a rookie got 11'9".  Our own James Young can get 11 ' despite being 5" shorter.  A guy said he is pretty athletic, he is not.   Also look how slowly he settles into his jump, looks like he is moving in syrup.

No need to be a wiseass about it.

  Sorry, I have low tolerance for comments that are false, like saying he is athletic.

I have no problem getting him as he might be better than some of our options now, I just would not send a lot of assets for him.  I would be hard pressed to send a first rounder for him.   Maybe Ainge sees if he is bought out.   I would offer a second rounder  for him.  He has not shown one bit of desire to play D.  I know he lacks some of the physical tools to be a rim blocker but at least throw that body around some.

[Eddie20]

I'm guessing everyone is holding out for this elusive 300-lbs 7-footer with 40in vertical who can bang with Dwight, take guys off the dribble, and make jump shots and free throws. It seems any other solution is considered "hamstringing" the team

Your guessing wrong in my case.   A 26 inch no step vertical is average for a guy on the street, it is low for an NBA player.   I would wager most guys on this board have never played sports at a higher level and had their vertical measured because they seem to have no concept of what is good or bad.  NBA no step should be over 28 inch for a minimal.   Over 32" no step is where you start getting guys who can jump.   A no step 40 inch vertical would be insanely high. 

Most of the jumps you take down low or in the post are one step or no step.  Given his standing reach and his vertical one would expect him to be able to reach a max height of 11' 3.5".which is average to below average as Dwight as a rookie got 11'9".  Our own James Young can get 11 ' despite being 5" shorter.  A guy said he is pretty athletic, he is not.   Also look how slowly he settles into his jump, looks like he is moving in syrup.

No need to be a wiseass about it.

  Sorry, I have low tolerance for comments that are false, like saying he is athletic.

I have no problem getting him as he might be better than some of our options now, I just would not send a lot of assets for him.  I would be hard pressed to send a first rounder for him.   Maybe Ainge sees if he is bought out.   I would offer a second rounder  for him.  He has not shown one bit of desire to play D.  I know he lacks some of the physical tools to be a rim blocker but at least throw that body around some.

You do realize that no-step and max vert measurements are impacted heavily by 1 foot jumpers and 2 foot jumpers, right? Kanter is a 1 foot jumper, which is why you probably didn't have much to say for his 32.5 max vert. You also fail to mention the disparity between bigs and other positions in terms of the measurement.

Compare Kanter with some other athletic bigs-

No-Step/Max

Kanter 26.0/32.5
Jordan 26.0/30.5
Griffin 32.0/35.5
Howard 30.5/35.5
Whiteside 27.0/31.5
Drummond 31.5/33.5
Cousins 23.5/27.5
Gobert 25.0/29.0


Are you beginning to realize how your opinion is misguided? Which isn't shocking since you've openly stated time and again on your dislike for international players.

[LooseCannon]

According to draft express, some 26" and under no-step verticals:
Lucas Nogeira 17.6
Smush Parker 21.0
Ersan Ilyasova 22.0
Kyle Singler 23.0
Chris Kamen 23.5
Jason Kapono 23.5
Demarcus Cousins 23.5
Grevis Vasquez 24.5
Kelly Olynyk 24.5
Greg Monroe 25.0
Rudy Gobert 25.0
Kyle Korver 25.5
Larry Sanders 25.5
Taj Gibson 25.5
Kawhi Leonard 25.5
Chandler Parsons 25.5
John Henson 25.5
Kevin Durant 26.0
DeAndre Jordan 26.0

Eyeballing it, the median no-step vertical in their database seems to be around 28".  If you went with max vert instead of no-step vert, Miles Plumlee is the only center they list as breaking 40".  Cody Zeller has the highest no-step vertical among centers with 35.5.

Looking online, the average vertical for a 20-something male seems to be in the 18-20 inch range.

[PickNRoll]

Kanter is nuts.  I've watched nearly every Jazz game this year.  He's playing 27 mins per game and he's had every opportunity to shine.  He plays some with Favors, some with Gobert, some with Booker.  He refused to travel with the team because "they haven't invested in his development".  I guess he wants Jimmy Butler minutes.   

To quote his agent, "He's one of the most dominant players of his generation. If he wasn't, they wouldn't have selected him with number 3 pick."   

[kraidstar]

pekovic is already 29 years old, has only a .451 FG%, and averages .4 blocks per game. i don't like his numbers at all for a $12M per year guy. and the eye test tells me what stats he does have are mostly empty, he's been on the wolves for a while and hasn't helped them win at all.
i'd rather take a shot on kanter, as he's much younger and is a bit quicker. not high on either guy, though, hard to see them being part of an eventual championship team.

[BornReady]

Why is minny trading him away
Can't they use him as a PF with Gorgui Dieng
or maybe they want to be more run and gun in the future

He's not a good fit for the Cs he's a veteran with a lack of rim protecting abilities
Plus he is only good owith post scoring and rebounding

He is best suited for a team looking to become a playoff team e.g. Nets, Sacramento

[BornReady]

Kanter is nuts.  I've watched nearly every Jazz game this year.  He's playing 27 mins per game and he's had every opportunity to shine.  He plays some with Favors, some with Gobert, some with Booker.  He refused to travel with the team because "they haven't invested in his development".  I guess he wants Jimmy Butler minutes.   

To quote his agent, "He's one of the most dominant players of his generation. If he wasn't, they wouldn't have selected him with number 3 pick."   

Lol define dominant

[PhoSita]

I like Pek a lot.  I think he's going to be a steal for some playoff-caliber team that picks him up for a discounted rate.  He'd look good in San Antonio, for example.

Don't think he makes sense for the Celtics, at all.