Kills me to say this but D'Angelo Russell's ceiling is low.

[ClipperRevival]

I'm sure some of you noticed that I was yapping about how great he was going to be prior to summer league. But you have to keep in mind that my evaluation of him was based purely on Youtube videos. I had never seen him live. And after seeing him live for the first time in summer league, I realized how heavy his feet were. That's something the Youtube videos don't show because they don't show him moving around the court doing the normal things, like change directions, plant and explode, slide laterally, etc. They only show his good points. If you had given me 10 minutes to evaluate this guy live, I would've seen this. But the Youtube videos hid this.

So here is a somewhat quick breakdown of his positives/negatives and overview:

Positives: Great court vision and passer. He really sees the floor better than most people and is able to anticipate the action at times. He does have a good feel for the game. His shot also looks right. I still think he has a chance to be a very good 3 point shooter. Also has good size/length.

Negatives: : Heavy feet. This guy has very heavy feet. It's like he's dragging his feet every time he moves. That's a huge no-no in basketball. The guy has no initial quickness and no suddenness to his step. And that impacts almost everything you do in basketball. He'll never be able to consistently break down set defenders on iso because of this. He is a complete liability on P&R defense because his heavy feet makes it hard for him to fight through picks. He is always switching because of this.

Overview: It pains me to say this but his ceiling is limited. His heavy feet and lack of any suddenness really limits his ceiling. His ceiling is a great passing PG who can get his teammates involved with possibly a great outside shot but that's about it. He'll never be a dominant, iso scorer who can break down set defenders and carry an offense. Again, it pains me to say this as a Laker fan but this is the truth. I hope I am completely wrong and someone can bump this in the future and say I was an idiot but it's not hard to see. His heavy feet limits his ceiling. It's that simple. This is the highest level and you might get away with heavy feet in any other league but not he NBA.

[T_L_P]

Lakers drafted b2b busts.

[ClipperRevival]

It still baffles me how the Laker organization didn't see his heavy feet after several workouts. I just can't comprehend it actually. Having quickness and light feet is essential for a PG.

And on the flip side, Okafor had two traits that you can't teach for a big and that is light feet and touch. Not to mention his solid feel for the game and post game.

Yes, Okafor has a much higher ceiling. I can see him possibly approaching 20/10 as a rookie.

[Millslapped]

So do you think Okafor would have been the better choice? Not mocking or anything, being serious.

[ClipperRevival]

Russell really needs his outside shooting to be on point for him to be above a Ricky Rubio type player. That's what can help him at least get to a higher tier. And I think he can.

[ClipperRevival]

So do you think Okafor would have been the better choice? Not mocking or anything, being serious.

Absolutely. Okafor has extremely light feet for a big along with great touch. Also add in refined post game, feel for the game, huge hands and knows how to use his big booty in the post to shield guy. He's set up to be a career 20/10 guy.

[Millslapped]

I'm curious if the Lakers thought Russel was the best player available or were thinking that Okafor+Randle couldn't work defensively. (I don't think Russel will bust but Randle is a bust imo)
IMO you have to take BPA

[ClipperRevival]

I'm curious if the Lakers thought Russel was the best player available or were thinking that Okafor+Randle couldn't work defensively. (I don't think Russel will bust but Randle is a bust imo)
IMO you have to take BPA

They took Russell as the BAP.

I am actually higher on Randle than Russell because at least Randle has rare athleticism for a guy his size. He has much lighter feet than Russell if you can believe that. He is also more sudden, quicker and explosive than Russell. So the raw talent is there. It's just a matter of putting it together. But Randle's shot looks terrible. It looks like he's throwing it at the rim instead of shooting it. But the guy is ox strong and can move guys.

[Millslapped]

Randle isn't a good defender and his athleticism isn't enough to curtail that. He reminds me of Terrence Jones a lot actually, except with worse finishing at the rim and worse defense.

[sd3035]

His ceiling is basically the floor

[Braincells]

You're basing this off a preseason game where almost everyone had tired legs from Byron's archaic practices. Preseason games are almost as meaningless as summer league games, and any opinion on those should be filed in the waste basket.

Like with any rookie, the sample size is simply not big enough. I'd give him 2 years max before coming to a reasonable conclusion on him, as he's only 19 and still has ways to go.

My analysis should not matter much at this point, but from the limited minutes he played last game, I thought he was decent in terms of his passing, spacing, court awareness. His defense on Trey Burke was decent as well. He clearly has the length and speed to disrupt players, and that will go a long way when paired with Clarkson. Unlike Okafor, he clearly has the ability to make his teammates better.

If I were a Laker fan, I'd be more concerned about Randle.

[ClipperRevival]

Randle isn't a good defender and his athleticism isn't enough to curtail that. He reminds me of Terrence Jones a lot actually, except with worse finishing at the rim and worse defense.

Randle has rare athleticism for a guy his size and strength. His lower body fluidity is very elite. He has quick feet, good acceleration, is agile and explosive. His problem at this point is all skills related. Bad bball iq, terrible looking shot, going at one speed at all times, etc.

The raw talent is there for Randle and he's willing to learn.

[ClipperRevival]

You're basing this off a preseason game where almost everyone had tired legs from Byron's archaic practices. Preseason games are almost as meaningless as summer league games, and any opinion on those should be filed in the waste basket.

Like with any rookie, the sample size is simply not big enough. I'd give him 2 years max before coming to a reasonable conclusion on him, as he's only 19 and still has ways to go.

My analysis should not matter much at this point, but from the limited minutes he played last game, I thought he was decent in terms of his passing, spacing, court awareness. His defense on Trey Burke was decent as well. He clearly has the length and speed to disrupt players, and that will go a long way when paired with Clarkson. Unlike Okafor, he clearly has the ability to make his teammates better.

If I were a Laker fan, I'd be more concerned about Randle.

Heavy feet can be evaluated in a few minutes. And after a couple of games, it's absolutely set in stone whether a player has heavy feet or not. That's different from evaluating skills that might take time to develop. Raw athleticism is easy to gauge right away.

[StephHamann]

Yes, Okafor has a much higher ceiling. I can see him possibly approaching 20/10 as a rookie.

[dubeta]

So is the basement you live in