I watched him quite a lot because I was a big fan of his coming into college. I was excited to see him play finally this season. MPJ has massive holes in his game and there’s approximately a 0% chance that Washington makes that trade even if the money worked. His shooting percentages look good but he had a very small amount of attempts (43% from 3 on under 3 attempts per game). MPJ’s TS% is 0.1 percent better than Zion’s was this season and TS% isn’t kind to big men without range especially if you’re bad at FTs.
He has been a frustrating player to watch because his defense has by and large been atrocious so teams just very easily hunt him. He also benefits greatly from having Jokic and Murray as options above him. If you put him on Washington I’d bet that his shooting will get worse as his usage goes up.
he doesn’t have very good vision or playmaking ability. He has a fairly weak handle. He doesn’t get to the line and had a historically low FT rate (15%) for someone with a pretty heft usage rate. Shooting is really the only thing he’s good at but shot selection is pretty bad. I know he’s still technically a rookie but he has a TON to work on before he gets anywhere near Beal’s level. With all this said, he still has a very high ceiling if he stays healthy and can improve his reads and play making.
I just think LeVert is currently a more complete overall player. Let’s not forget LeVert dropped 51 this season on Boston so he can score too.
it will be interesting to see the moves teams make this offseason though for sure. I bet Beal is on the move but not sure who realistically gets him. It would make sense for the Nets to go after him and continue to go all in on KD and Kyrie. LeVert Dinwiddie and Allen plus picks for Beal is a pretty tempting offer if I’m Washington.
I don’t disagree about the holes. I just think most of them can be filled. The most important one is his handle other than the D. And I’m confident that is the easiest to fix and the D is the second easiest. Evidence of that being Jamal Murray who was hunted exactly like this last season. Or Barton who used to be bad on D but is now a positive. Or Jokic who everyone was convinced was a dumpster fire on D. The reality is that the vast majority of young players suck at D. And our coaching staff is really good at helping a player figure out their strengths and how to utilize him. And Porter’s main problem on D is being a half second late in his decision making more than anything else.
Don’t know about the FT side but there have been glimpses that indicate he will be a good foul drawer eventually. I’d add that when we drafted him I presumed he was a 3, but his touch is so absurd that he has proven really good at getting easy buckets around the rim. And it’s his touch, more that his shot that I find tantalizing. Because you can’t teach touch. But you can teach players new moves and ways to utilize that touch. Especially when somebody is so instinctual as a cutter and 6’10”.
My big concerns with Porter mostly boil down to BBIQ (but not his “feel” for the game if that makes sense), ego and lack of playmaking. But even with the later of those three, he has shown some nifty passes this year that cause me to remind myself that he’s mostly only played HS ball— where he was coached by his dad and probably had absolutely no limits on his shot selection. All this by the way, is why Malone has had such a short leash with him. Because more than winning this year, the goal was to improve his defensive IQ and set good habits.
As to Lavert, I’ve seen games where he looks like an absolute killer including one where he torched the Nuggets. But I’ve also seen more than a couple where he looks like a high usage, low efficiency chucker. Which is backed up by his FG% and TS%. Though to be fair to him, his EFG% has been pretty good. There is also the fact that he is 25 despite only having been in the league for only 3 seasons. He’s Jokic’s age, one year younger than Beal.
I definitely think the smart move for the Nets is to sell high on Lavert both because of injury concerns and that I’m not sure he can coexist with KD and especially Irving. But if the return on Beal is Lavert + Allen I would be very upset if I were a Wiz fan.
The potential trade I’m fascinated by is Miles Turner for the #2 pick in a draft that lacks top end talent. I don’t want the Warriors to be good again but it’s a deal that makes sense in theory for both sides. I’m also curious to see if the Suns go after Van Fleet who would be a very interesting fit for them and to see what the Bucks do.
But yeah, Sixers seem most likely to pull of a blockbuster
