Fultz vs Ball... Traditional Talent vs Unicorn Talent

[CelticGuardian]

Man, Lonzo didn't look like no #1 pick against D'Aaron Fox. I felt he got kinda schooled in that match. No hate on ya'll boy cuz I love the skillset, I think is what keeps him in the convo. But I'm telling ya'll Fultz is not a D'Angelo Russell type chucker, he's bout to go straight at Ball. I wonder if they'll end up putting someone else on Markelle. He's got more size than Fox, and his handle is probably just as good.

[The Oracle]

Take Ball because Fultz isn't even the best player at Washington.

[Boris Badenov]

Take Ball because Fultz isn't even the best player at Washington.

Mmmhmhm.

[vjcsmoke]

If Fultz can play the 2 and his athleticism is on par with Wade, I'd say you just draft him and then 1 of Smart, Rozier, Bradley then become expendable.

[LilRip]

I don't watch college hoops but if I were DA and I planned on keeping the pick, I'd go for unicorn talent. This team is deep with super solid players sopping up a lot of productive minutes. A steady player is not going to push you over the top and just bogs down your rotation (again, barring a trade). A unicorn talent can either take time to develop, in which case it's fine because our team is so deep anyway, or he can explode on the scene, in which case, that'll have the potential to push us over the top. 

[Celtics4ever]

I would like to see how guys do in the NCAAs where games really matter before we annoint these guys.   This will be pretty soon.

[TrueFan]

It has to be Ball. He has the potential to be a once in a generation type of player.

[OldSchoolDude]

I would like to see how guys do in the NCAAs where games really matter before we annoint these guys.   This will be pretty soon.

Fultz, like Simmons before him will not be playing in the final four tournament.  You can watch him in the NIT, but that's going to be it. UCLA has a really good chance to win it all and should be a lock for at least the elite eight.  Using March madness to judge talent, is how great players slide and mediocre players rise.  Does anyone really believe that Frank Kaminski was/is worth 4 number one picks now?

[csfansince60s]

Man, Lonzo didn't look like no #1 pick against D'Aaron Fox. I felt he got kinda schooled in that match........

You're not the only one who feels this way (see draftexpress and the breakdown of Ball vs Fox), but I disagree with any notion that Fox dominated Ball in that game.

Ball had a rough first 10 minutes to that game, but then more than righted the ship.  Ball, through his leadership and elite court awarenesss, makes players around him better, and did that in that game.

Compare these highlights to that draftexpress vid:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU90eU2EejI


Fox has yet to show that he can raise teammates games and Fultz hasn't shown that he can do that yet, either.

In the Kentucky game, these were their stats:

Fox  20 pts 2 rb 9 asst 1 steal 0 block 2 TOs

Ball   14 pts 6rb 7 asst 1 steal 1 block 6 TOs (he averages 2.3 TO)

Fox's 20 points came on 8/20 shooting, not too efficient.
Balls 14 points came on 5-12 shooting.

Again, after the first 10 minutes in a very hostile Rupp arena, Ball outplayed Fox.

Fox may be the better athlete, and I think superior to Fultz and Ball in that regard, but both of them are better basketball players than Fox right now.

I'll take the winner/leader, Ball, right now over Fox and Fultz.

[MattyIce]

has anyone heard that Ball may likely waiting for his brother(who supposedly is better) to come play with him for a year in college? 

[knuckleballer]

has anyone heard that Ball may likely waiting for his brother(who supposedly is better) to come play with him for a year in college?

He has a brother, LiAngelo, that will be at UCLA next year.  He's not rated nearly as high as Lonzo despite scoring a ton of points in high school this year.  There's a third brother, LaMelo, who is ranked 16th by Rivals in his sophomore class.  I'm pretty sure I heard that Lonzo is going pro after this season.

[csfansince60s]

has anyone heard that Ball may likely waiting for his brother(who supposedly is better) to come play with him for a year in college?

Ball's stock can't get much higher than it is now.

The only way it can go is down. (see Marcus Smart et al., Sully, )

No way he doesn't come out this year. None.

[Jvalin]

Does anybody know what's the deal with the knee pad he is wearing in every game?

There is this tweet from 2015 as well

Knee hurt so much can't sleep😑

https://twitter.com/zo2_/status/634648290793881600

[Jvalin]

double post

[The Oracle]

Take Ball because Fultz isn't even the best player at Washington.

Take Ball because Fultz isn't even the best player at Washington.

Mmmhmhm.

Kelsey Plum is a beast.  In reality Fultz is the best player in the draft and I wouldn't think twice about taking him over Ball.