Few Things Are Better Than Anonymous NBA Scout Takes

One of my favorite parts of each NBA season is when we get a look at what the guys on the inside really think about the upcoming season. First it was the GM Survey and the other day Sports Illustrated put out a very interesting piece where anonymous scouts gave their thoughts on all 30 teams. It’s a great read that I suggest you take time out of your Friday and skim over what guys who are in the know may think about your favorite team. I’m going to pick a few that stood out to me and I’ll just warn you know some of the quotes are rather long. Oh well.

Boston Celtics

They have to figure out if Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward benefit the offense in the right way or not. Kyrie is a selfish player, that’s just who he is. He’s more scorer than point guard—not that there’s anything wrong with it. There’s something awesome about having a guy who can go for 50 any night. But with him and Hayward and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier, will they be able to share the ball??.?.?.?. People don’t have film on this whole team. With Hayward coming back, Brad’s going to have a lot of options that teams aren’t aware of and haven’t seen?.?.?.? They have so many different lineups that they can use. The ideal starting lineup is like 2K. Do you start Tatum and Brown? Do you do small ball like the Warriors with Marcus Morris as the five? If we’re talking Golden State, that’s as good a five-man lineup as any to combat the Warriors. That’s a good matchup. They have wings to match up with Steph, Klay and KD?.?.?. I just wonder, will Kyrie be able to run the offense the way Brad wants them to run it and will everyone get their touches? It’s not a bad problem to have, but it was a problem in Cleveland. It’s just who Kyrie is. He’s so confident, he’s so dominant, he’s so alpha?.?.?. Tatum, as good a year as he had, he was almost underrated. He had a phenomenal year. He has size, he’s skilled, can shoot it, play multiple positions and defend. I think he’s really gonna blossom?.?.?. Brown, he came in as sort of a put-your-head-down penetrator, but his game has developed nicely. You’re seeing him become a more complete player. He’s always gonna be a defense-first type guy. He’s versatile with high-end physical tools and he’s smart. Last season his offense took a major jump from his rookie year. He’s so young, and all these Boston guys have a lot of upside left to fulfill. Rozier, you saw him take advantage of the opportunity in the playoffs down the stretch when Kyrie went out. It became very clear that there wasn’t much of a drop off. When you look back at his rookie year he was barely playing, when he got in he wasn’t necessarily making an impact—but fast forward two years and he’s playing at an extremely high level in his first consistent minutes, in the playoffs. There were questions about positionally what he was, if he was more of a combo. He’s still a scorer at heart, but you’re seeing that he’s a point guard now and rarely turns the ball over.

Ahhh the old “there’s only one ball!” mentality. While I love it, it’s rather predictable. Calling Kyrie a selfish player was a nice touch, this scout isn’t mad at all. In fact he’s laughing about the whole situation I’m sure. There isn’t really too much I have a problem with here, I mean it’s a pretty positive evaluation, the guy is just clearly not a Kyrie fan.

My guess…this comes from either CLE/PHI.

Orlando Magic

First of all, Jonathan Isaac is going to have to give them 70–75 games. It was kind of a lost year for him. The hope is he and Mohamed Bamba can show significant improvement by next summer.?.?.?.?They’re going to be where they are until Isaac and Bamba become the players they think they can be. Both of those guys need to get a little meaner. Watching them in pick-and-roll in Summer League, that could be incredible with their length and size. If they do reach their potential, it’ll be unreal.?.?.?.?Bamba could be like Clint Capela with more offensive upside, rolling and making jump shots. With his wingspan and athleticism, once he gets stronger, those are elite-level tools. He should bring the rim protection they’ve really lacked through the years. Now it’s about getting him reps.?.?.?.?If those guys develop quickly, Nikola Vucevic and Evan Fournier are young enough to where you can keep them around and build.?.?.?.?Vucevic is a really good offensive player, but his limitations on defense hurt his total impact. I mean, if he were in say, San Antonio, he’d be very, very good. He could be a trade deadline piece for them…When stuff runs through him and Fournier, that’s the IQ element of their team. Fournier can put it on the floor and shoot it, has some toughness, defends and he’s still only 25. He could fit on any team.?.?.?.?Maybe they find a point guard in the draft next year. Somehow they need to fill that spot long-term. D.J. Augustin and Jerian Grant are just placeholders.?.?.?.?Aaron Gordon has found his niche using his matchup advantage at power forward. It translates better. Look at how Shawn Marion worked out for the Suns. He’s a high-energy guy, high flyer, guards all those positions, he’s improving as a shooter, they invested and he’s only 22 years old. The fact they gave up Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis [to the Thunder in 2016] still hurts, and it goes to show sometimes you have to stick with it and believe in your guys.

Agree here for the most part too. I cannot wait to see what a frontcourt of Isaac/Bamba looks like. Also interesting that this scout talked about Vucevic as a potential trade piece this February. If Bamba shows to be legit and deserving of more minutes, they almost have to trade Vucevic since he’s a pending UFA, and he could definitely bring in some interesting pieces as this team continues to rebuild. I wouldn’t go as far as comparing Aaron Gordon to Shawn Marion, they are wildly different players in my opinion, but I agree he does work better in his current role as a SF/stretch PF hybrid.

Charlotte Hornets

They’re stuck with all these bad contracts, that’s the biggest problem here. They had a good year in 2016, made the playoffs and then felt like they had to bring guys back. Kemba Walker is the fifth- or sixth-highest-paid player on the team. To me, they’re just kind of stuck.?.?.?.?With Tony Parker coming in and [former Spurs assistant] James Borrego taking over as coach, maybe the hope is they bring a little bit of the San Antonio culture with them.?.?.?.?At the very end of last season, Malik Monk showed what he can be for them. [Former coach] Steve Clifford didn’t really give him much of a chance—maybe he wasn’t really ready for it. What happens with his development will be key for their future. If he can be a Lou Williams-ish type scorer, if you see some positive signs from Miles Bridges, to me those are the key things this season. I think ultimately they’ll have to use Kemba as a trade piece and go young and rebuild that way.?.?.?.?Nic Batum is getting older, and his game kind of blends in and is complementary. If you’re depending on him for 15, 20 points, I mean, he’s good on a lot of levels but he’s a No. 3 guy getting paid like a No. 2 or No. 1 guy.?.?.?.?Bridges was a solid pick: some athleticism, versatility, can play both forward spots. As his shooting improves he could be the type of guy everyone is looking for these days.?.?.?.?Injuries zapped Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s ability to be an elite, athletic defender, and his offense has never really grown. He’s more of an undersized four playing on the wing, which highlights his deficiencies. He’s a reluctant shooter and defenses can sit back in the paint and wait. It seems like he’s going to be phased out.?.?.?.?They’re in no man’s land, and I don’t think that roster is good enough to get them to the eighth seed. They’re in pretty bad shape.

Woof, that hurts. Go ahead and try and find the lie though, I’m not seeing it.

Sacramento Kings

They have a ton of young guys who are redundant. I worry that they don’t have the veteran leadership and roster balance they need. Aside from Zach Randolph, their bigs, wings and guards are all like a farm team.?.?.?.?De’Aaron Fox’s speed plays. The health and durability weren’t there where you want them to be. His lack of shooting comes into play. I think his ceiling is still high but his floor has dropped. There’s bust potential.?.?.?.?Buddy Hield’s ceiling has come down fast. He’s shown that he’s a specialist rather than a potential star. He can shoot and fill it up, get hot for stretches, do a little off the dribble, but he’s streaky and a role player going forward. I can see him being a sixth man, offensive firepower type if he was playing for a good team.?.?.?.?I thought Bogdan Bogdanovic was their best player last year. He’s tough, he’s got good feel, he knows how to play and score naturally.?.?.?.?I would have taken Trae Young and Luka Don?i? over Marvin Bagley III. The draft hasn’t been kind to them and that’s why they are where they are. They’ve gambled on a lot of high-risk, high-reward guys and come up mostly empty. [But] Bagley has a real chance to win Rookie of the Year. He can put up numbers on a losing team.?.?.?.?Their depth chart is a mess. They might have five centers on the roster. Why??.?.?.?Willie Cauley-Stein looks like a career back-up. He can be productive in stretches and has had every opportunity to emerge as a starting center, but he hasn’t done it.?.?.?.?This will be one of the worst defensive teams in the league. None of their best core guys are really plus defenders.?.?.?.?Circle these guys as a trade team. They can take on a bad contract or someone else’s mistake and offer some young guys in return. They searched for Rudy Gay and Buddy Hield in the past and I think they’ll try to do that again. They tried to sign Zach LaVine too. I could see them chasing an Andrew Wiggins or a Blake Griffin in a trade.?.?.?.?I’m a big fan of Harry Giles. A successful season for them is getting an answer on Fox, Giles staying healthy and becoming a starter, and then Bagley looking like a foundation piece. I think all of those things could happen and they still finish last in the division and win fewer than 30 games.

How dare this scout question the decisions of Vlade Divac. Is this person suggesting that the Kings have no idea what they are doing? What on earth could give them that impression? I mean every sentence is a body blow. Hates the roster, hated the draft, and a brutal season projection. Sure everything that was said has some truth to it, but it’s fun to believe in the Baby Kings. I say ignore this take if I’m SAC and just keep chugging along. It’s bound to work out sooner or later.

New York Knicks

Their season needs to be about establishing an identity and a culture. Can every get on the same page? It feels like [president] Steve Miller, [GM] Scott Perry and [coach] David Fizdale are providing a uniform front.?.?.?. Fizdale’s identity has always been toughness. Kristaps Porzingis has shown to be tough, but he’ll be out the first few months of the season. Will they be tough without him? It starts with Kevin Knox. Everyone was buzzing about his Summer League. He had way more freedom, was a way better shooter than in college. At Kentucky he looked like a stretch four, in Vegas he looked like a three. The expectations are unreal now, and he’s not a tough mother.?.?.?.? Frank Ntilikina is certainly not a bust, but he’s not where you want him to be. They took him over Dennis Smith and Donovan Mitchell. Will he play off the ball moving forward, or do you try and develop him into a point guard??.?.?. They did a good job in free agency in finding guys who want to be there. Tim Hardaway—he’s a microwave. Just a gifted scorer, that’s what he is. He comes in and will fill it up. He can create, he’s quick, athletic and skilled. He does it at a high level and just looks smooth out there. You know you can bring him in and he’s going to create for you.?.?.?. Trey Burke was a redemption story. He flamed out in Utah and to his credit was willing to go back to the G League. A lot of guys in his situation might have just gone overseas, but he stuck with it, had a great year in Westchester and got rewarded for it. He’s a score-first guard but did a nice job creating for others as well. I’m really curious to see him this year because in those late-season games, you see some strange things. The true test is going to come at the start of this year, and he’s gonna have a major role for them.

Little harsh on Fankie Ntilikina if you ask me. Not where you want him to be? He’s 20 years old, where exactly did people expect him to be? I felt like that wasn’t totally fair. Is it the best that they are going to heavily rely on Trey Burke, not really, but I agree with the statement that their overall goal is to establish an identity. Granted that identity is going to change once they get Durant, but that’s better expectations than saying this team needs to make the playoffs.

So these were just a handful of takes that stood out, again I suggest you read the entire piece if I didn’t include your favorite team. These scouts are always brutally honest since it’s anonymous which I personally enjoy, because so much of what you read nowadays is calculated bullshit. I wish there was a way it could get leaked who said what, but I think you can get an idea on some of them which team the scout was from.

Now we wait and see just how accurate these scouts were once the games kick back up again next week. Can’t wait.