Seth Greenberg says his player comparison for Cameron Boozer is Paolo Banchero: “To me, body type, skill set, physicality, feel, IQ, competitive spirit, it says Paolo Banchero.”
Guys, take this with a grain of salt. It is ESPN basketball analysis, after all.
We’re talking about the guy who wouldn’t give Steph Curry a spot on his college basketball team, despite his father being one of the best players in school history (yes I did attend said school while this moron was the coach, why do you ask?).
What does his father being a good player have to do with whether or not Steph made the team? Should UNC have taken Michael Jordan’s sons just because of who he is?
Nothing but obviously based on Steph’s college career alone the eval was …. Poor to say the least
There was only a couple college coaches that got it right. Like literally 2 or 3 out of about 400
Steph WANTED to go to VaTech. The context matters here. His dad was a great NBA player there, they messed up more than the other 400 schools
I think a good majority of d1 players would like to go to Virginia Tech
Fuck Virginia Tech
Is nepotism good then?
When it’s Steph Curry and basketball yea
You must be young because until year 3 or 4 of his NBA career, the question “Monta or Steph” was a fair one.
Steph Curry was a dominant college player too. Single-handedly got Davidson national recognition. Yes, he should’ve gotten him
not the best take because one of the main reasons monta vs steph was a debate was because of steph’s ankles not because steph’s talent was in question
Only because of Curry’s early injury issues. Anyone watching GS early on in his career could see he had star potential if he stayed healthy.
For example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDBaDqrWBEI
Yes but Monta Ella Havitall
And we’re talking about College where Steph carried a mid major to an elite eight
I’m in my 40s. It’s VaTech. Not Duke or UNC. There are so many players on each team that are meaningless, it makes too much sense to add the child, who’s not bad, to the team. Just the connection and donations itself
And I’m in my 40s and live in SF. Monta vs Steph is a fine NBA argument at that time. We aren’t talking about that. We are talking about a freshman at VaTech. I can’t stress VaTech enough.
Is it bad if it also happens to be objectively the best possible decision?
My point is that’s with hindsight. In the moment, it wouldn’t have been a slam dunk decision
Not really. He led his conference in scoring his freshman season. Obviously he was excellent at the time (rather than only in hindsight), even if Greenberg chose not to see it.
When their dad was a legit NBA player (the pedigree matters cause it can translate) and you are middling VaTech, you make a bench spot for him
The comments above and below you are right, and it’s not like Virginia Tech was some basketball powerhouse that they couldn’t have thrown Steph on the bench. It could’ve been a program changing recruitment and instead is the biggest non-recruitment for a school probably of all time. What other top 15 all time NBA player can you say wanted to go to a school and was refused, and that school’s program wasn’t even that good
He was offered a walk on spot… He turned it down.
Fair enough. Needed the scholarship
I mean using the last roster spot on a former NBA players son isn’t the worst strategy ever
Man, Virginia Tech wasn’t exactly playing for much at the time. They hadn’t made the tournament in 10 years when Steph started college. There’s no reason not to let him on the team.
THANK YOU
This is a silly question. Legacies get in on their family name all the time especially when they are good. It’s not like Steph wasn’t a top hs prospect and we aren’t talking about Duke.
It means you get more intel about the character of a recruit. These people should have known Steph because of who his father was. Just like Vlade should have taken Luka. He knew everyone on his inner circle on a first name basis.
Unc most definitely flirted with the idea of a roster spot for Jeffery Jordan.
That is actually insane that VT wasn’t willing to take a flyer on Dell’s son now that I think about it. I mean I know he wasnt exactly a big name recruit coming out of Charlotte Christian but like you said Dell is a legend at VT. How the fuck did this happen?
Just because he’s compared to Paolo doesn’t mean he will pan out similarly.
They actually are very similar players.
Thats all i gotta know
I had no idea why a Limited Fake Stanley Tucci is on my feed
I saw the headline and wondered why Seth Green was giving basketball takes now.
It’s not even an insult. People are legitimately dumb.
how unfortunate
You’re not wrong but crazy how in ~6 months that has become such a negative
People have been saying it for many years. You just get less rope the longer it’s been, and the staunch defenders fade away.
Daily reminder:
Paolo Banchero has never had a season with…
He has good counting numbers tho 🙄
The funny/bad part is that Banchero’s pure box score stats aren’t even that impressive.
He’s averaging 21/8/5 on 45/30/76 splits with a 1.7 assist to turnover ratio
Year 4 stats per 36 min:
Paolo: 22/9/5 on 47/30/76 Aaron Gordon: 19/9/3 on 43/34/70 Magic are not bad drafters but no superstar wanting to go to Orlando hurts them.
As is often the case here, people have overcorrected on Paolo. Yeah, his development has stalled the last couple seasons and that needs to be addressed, but he’s not a bum.
He’s absolutely a bum for a max contract player
This is the way we have to judge players, especially in the apron era. Current Paolo is an excellent player yet \(50m per is insane. Bane at \)40m per isn’t much better. I love Herro, but Miami’s FO would be dumb to give him the money he’ll be looking for.
Belichick ran the NFL for 20 years because he understood value.
lol let’s gloss by that he happened to have a QB who was married to the worlds richest supermodel & due to that, was willing to take insane discounts
Even if that wasn’t a fucking stupid take (don’t worry, it is) the Pats were three rings in by the time Brady got with Gisele.
And that was because of Bills shrewd management or because his starting QB was on a 6th round rookie contract?
he let a ton of guys walk instead of paying them and a bunch of them went on to do nothing on other teams. he was very good at getting value for a long time
Except paying Tom Brady what he was worth
he’s getting paid £15m this season. Judge him against his contract next season.
He’s getting paid in pounds? No wonder.
They just need to convert his checks to freedom money to fix that
broke: get paid in dollars woke: get paid in crypto enlightened: get paid in pound sterling, possibly using the Carolingian system of crowns, florins and threepence
Hahahahaha oops
He’s been stagnating for 4 years straight and has hardly improved since his rookie year.
But sure let’s wait another season for some reason
He already signed the extension, so it is fair to look at past performance to say his production didn’t warrant offering the max extension.
It’s sad because players like Banchero and Beal are obviously better than a player like Naz Reid, but Reid will be remembered much better because of his contract.
Players like Banchero, Beal, and Lavine are seen as toxic assets due to their contracts and current CBA.
They’re good at the wrong things. They’re more talented but they lack dimension.
This is a problem created by having a max salary. If agents actually had to negotiate what their player’s value actually is rather than having a ready made number they can point to and demand I don’t think any of those guys would have received the types of contracts that they did.
I hope after this huge contract ends Lavine goes ring chasing on a smaller deal. I have a hunch he can be beneficial in the right situation for a serious team, and I would be interested to see if I’m right while he still has some gas in the tank. Would be a bummer imo if he ended his career with all of one playoff appearance to show for it.
Everyone gets a max contract. The teams have to pay someone. Look around the NBA and see who is making the max. He is on par with a lot of them.
I don’t get what you’re saying
Because there’s other bad contracts in the league it doesn’t matter if Paolo also is on one? You get that makes no sense right
Paolo is the Trae Young of forwards
I feel likes he’s a larger DeRozan
These 2 disses are hilarious.
One of my favorites is 6’10” for no reason.
When I watch him all I see is a Tobias Harris ¯\(ツ)/¯
Ironically Tobias is doing much better in Detroit than when he was at Philly. Sixers fans want to fire him into the sun after every game.
He’s Brad Beal II. The Magic are barely .500 with Paulo, Suggs and Franz. He’s a max player who can’t move the needle.
The three of them have barely played together. If they’re all healthy this season, there’s no way they’re a .500 team.
I think you need to keep in mind that the echo chamber of common opinions on this sub isn’t representative of how the rest of the nba world views things. I don’t think Paolo is seen as a huge negative in nba circles.
I’d say the analytical people were on Paolo long before this sub was. It was a common take here around less then a year ago that Paolo was a superstar who was better than Chet, Cade, etc
So you’re right there’s an echo chamber but all the data points in one direction and it’s not good
The people who take advanced stats seriously have been seeing this coming for awhile tbh
it’s also a weird comparison because Boozer does none of his work from the mid range
Is there a team in the NBA with a scheme that can reasonably maximize him? He feels a bit dated as a player style IMO. You can say injuries hampered him because yeah, I think it was last season that he started off nearly unstoppable until he was hurt, but I don’t watch him enough to know what went wrong.
At the start of the season I kept saying Paolo wasn’t good enough to be a number one guy and I would get down voted to oblivion. It’s insane how the Reddit consensus has flipped on him since October.
Cam Boozer is the far superior prospect to Paolo fwiw. Boozer is like if Paolo used his skills and size to play basketball in the most optimal way possible.
No no no, I think I like taking contested mid range Jumpers at 6-10.
Damn it why are you guys watching Magic games. I thought it was only us Magic fans
Well, the rest of the games are blowout tank games lol.
What, you expect me to watch the Bulls?
I think this might be a bit of recency bias, no? Boozer is certainly the better college player but I don’t think Boozer is a “far superior prospect” to Paolo if we are looking just at pre-draft hype.
Coming in to the league, Paolo was bigger, stronger, faster, and could jump higher than boozer. He was lauded as a Zion/Lebron level finisher who had a better shot than Zion coming into the league (obviously not quite as dominant at the rim but still). His failure to develop over the last few seasons shouldn’t be retroactively applied to his status as a prospect.
Tools are nice but BBIQ is nicer.
That’s what everyone says until the tools aren’t enough to make use of the BBIQ
This is also why I disagree when people say about a player:“He is smart and a good player, he will play long after his athleticism is gone”. If you are not athletic to begin with and lose more of it, you can’t stay on the court. You need a baseline athletic ability to even guard someone or you are getting exposed.
You need both but I’d rather have a player with good tools and elite BBIQ than elite tools and good BBIQ.
I don’t think this is accurate. Coming out of HS he was viewed as a potentially truly “generational” (overused term but yk what I mean) prospect, and then his season at Duke was a bit of a disappointment. It was a 3 man race between him, Jabari and Chet, who were all interesting but clearly flawed prospects. Paolo’s lack of feel and athletic pop were both questions coming into the draft.
I think the top 3 guys this year would all comfortably be projected over Paolo if they were in the same class.
I agree on Dybantsa and Peterson. Boozer doesn’t have the measurements that jump out at you as “number 1 pick” though, at least in my opinion. In weak classes (like the risacher class), I think he’s a safe #1 but in normal drafts players with the athletic upside (like paolo) almost always get the edge over more polished but less athletic prospects. This actually is kind of reflected by the fact that paolo was selected over Chet, who had a more polished game at Gonzaga.
Now this is a good way to explain a comp. I’ve thought he is Paolo-like. I don’t know if the handle is like that, but that may just be a matter of time.
I really like Banchero, but yeah, this comp makes more sense if Paolo operated off-ball more, opted for smarter shots and also shot a healthier percentage from deep.
Cam plays very team-oriented ball and I see him as a super high level #2, whereas Paolo right now feels like he’s only really usable as a #1…except he’s just not efficient enough to be worth making that #1.
To be fair, there was a post a while back trying to find the closest comparison to LeBron. Paolo’s body type was apparently really close.
Not at all, Boozer is way more efficient, better shooter, better shot selection on way better scoring
People forget but the signs were there with Paolo, he wasn’t even efficient in fucking college with those tools, 55% TS in college
I think that 2022 draft shows just how difficult it can be to pick the right player in a draft without a clear number 1. From what I recall of the pre-draft buzz, teams were choosing between Banchero, who had apparent upside and amazing size/strength but questionable efficiency, Chet who was an great defensive prospect who could shoot with injury concerns and Jabari Smith Jr, who was a tantalising combination of size and shooting … but could he do more that?
In the end of course Chet is the best player of the 3 but you can see how teams (notably the Magic) got lured in by what Paolo might be, given that Chet looks like a number 2 option, which was probably something teams were considering on draft night. hey, you never know, Paolo might still work out, but right now a lot of those pre draft concerns are being borne out.
And Jabari? He’s probably exactly on track for the projection of his “floor” as a prospect. Which isn’t bad at all, but not number 1 material.
Chet might be the best player of the 3, but im pretty sure if he had gone number one he would be getting a bunch of flak just like Paolo.
People tend to forget that coaching is also a thing.
A lot of this is true but also just comes down to what each team was looking for.
Orlando was looking for a #1 guy. I think Chet has been better but you need to orient your team around his strengths and weaknesses. If they had to do it again and pick between those three guys, I think the magic still go Paolo again. He could still improve in the offseason and come back better, plus they need a coaching change. I’ve always said that I think Chet and JDub are better players, but Paolo also isn’t as far off as people act like now. Changes in shot diet, coaching to streamline his decision making, and adjustments on offense to put him in a position where he’s attacking the rim more can take him from below average effeciency to above average.
OKC would always take Chet. Presti has always been a defense first guy and Chet always had the highest defensive upside. They were willing to orient the team around Chet to make the best use of his skillset.
Houston had the third pick but I wouldn’t have been surprised if they took Jabari #1. I agree that he’s exactly at his floor and I think the floor for both Chet and Paolo is a lot lower. There’s a chance that Chet just didn’t translate to the NBA at all and as much hate as Paolo gets, he’s still higher than his floor due to his finishing at the rim and getting to the line at a high rate. If you are Houston and you have Green and Sengun as your main pieces, it makes sense to grab a guy that can compliment alpi defensively and doesn’t take possessions away from Green.
Houston would have definitely gotten Paolo if they had first, in fact the Magic played a smokescreen that they were picking Jabari first up until like a few days before the draft and then the script flipped. Rockets fans were convinced we were getting Paolo, it was the Chris Bosh party all over again.
To date I’m still wondering what the Magic were trying to smokescreen for, they had the first pick. Maybe trying to pull a Fultz/Tatum reversal like 2017 to get extra assets, except they realized Houston would be happy with Paolo or Jabari and weren’t gonna split with extra assets.
yeah I think it is exactly that last thing you said
chet with injury concerns
this was mostly a casual fan narrative. the concerns over his body were how much weight he could add with his narrow frame and if he could add weight without impacting his mobility. he had basically no injury history coming in to the NBA
its deceiving cause paolo has good size and moves really well, but then you look at his stats and realize he’s pretty bad. If Boozer moves like paolo, thats a compliment, but yeah I’d hope he’s more efficient
There’s over 100 points difference in true shooting between their respective freshman seasons. Boozer has a better rebounding percentage, way better assist rate…he just seems way more efficient and productive across the board.
Yeah, little Boozer knows when to pass and dish it back out for a better look
I can see it with my eyes alone
He’s a great outlet passer from what I’ve seen too. Probably the best comp for him is Kevin Love with sprinkles of Horford.
Not to mention it’s a whole different skill set. Am I crazy to think that? Cam Boozer is technical, Paolo is athletic. Cam doesn’t mind getting down on the post and being physical at all. Paolo would rather be out on the arc. Cam is looking for that contact. Paolo is looking for that foul. Paolo a shot maker. I’ve never seen a Cam jump shot, but he can hit open shots.
This is no knock to Paolo. It’s just an all around bad take for me.
i dont know how to describe it but Cam feels like if D Wade traded his size in for speed. he uses a combination of his natural gifts and his skillset/footwork to get himself in the paint by any means necessary, even when he starts at the FT line. anything further than just outside of the restricted area is a shot he does not want and he works hard and uses his skills for those efficient touches. and as youve said, physicality.
Couldn’t the comparison be more the Idea of Paolo rather than the reality of Paolo?
He reminds me of Detroit Blake Griffin
Yes, perfect comp. Solid athlete, but not excessively explosive or great on the perimeter. Also a tweener guy that can’t play center all game even if it’s his best position for spacing/chemistry. Boozer will be a good player, but idk if he’s a number 1 option on any great or very good team
Detroit Blake was Elite, perfect modern 4
that can shoot with upside and a better defender
That’s a fantastic comparison, imo. Kudos.
Does Seth Greenberg watch college basketball? Paolo and Cam play nothing alike. Boozer is more like a mix between Horford and Detroit Blake
Paolo is more athletic and fluid at his size (he’s more a perimeter player) however Boozer has better footwork, IQ, shot selection, and is a better set shooter. Outside of similar size, strength and passing ability they aren’t similar
Horford is a good comp. They are from different eras but the physical and mental and competitive similarities are all there.
The gap defensively is pretty significant. With Boozer obviously being way more advanced offensively.
Fair comparison but is nobody else seeing a good bit of young Kevin Love to his game?
I’ve seen the Kevin Love comp a lot on the draft sub
He reminds me of a more athletic Carlos Boozer, can’t put the finger on why
I checked the other day and was surprised to see Carlos wasn’t drafted until the second round. Didn’t remember him as like a top 5 pick but based on his college and NBA career I guess assumed he was higher.
He looks more athletic than bulls Carlos but less athletic than Utah Carlos
oof
Cue Roblox sound effect!
OOF
First two Boozer plays they show are double dribble and travel. With those in the bag he’s NBA ready
Greenberg passed on Steph Curry, any time he offers an opinion about a college player that should crawl across the screen. He’s not a good talent evaluator.
Paulo is like Tobias Harris but takes more shots and makes less threes, sad times
IQ??? Is Greenberg high as fuck? Like I can see the body type and physicality comparison but Boozer is a much better shooter, rebounder, defender, and plays with feel. He doesn’t shot chuck like Banchero and is one of the most efficient college players I’ve ever watched
Answer: Carlos Boozer 😂
Kinda crazy how fast this sub turns on young players…
Honestly Cam Boozer reminds me of a higher iq and better shooting Bagley. Right now he doesn’t make or take any difficult shots on offense. He bullies his way to the rim and finishes really well there. He’s bigger than everyone in college, but I don’t know if that will continue in the nba. He’s pretty small for a big and I haven’t seen enough versatility in his offense to make me think he’ll be a sure fire star.
Not saying he should be the pick if we land the #1 pick (Dybantsa and Peterson probably have higher ceilings), but he’d really be the perfect fit for us.
Peterson is almost living off HS tape at this point. He’s almost always injured or underperforming, he puts up like 2 assists a game too
He outplayed Dybantsa head to head. Even with sitting the second half
What? Nobody doubts his talent lol, it’s just the weird injuries that keep popping up
You got Sarr, George and idea of AD as theoretical starting frontcourt in next season, with idea of Trae on PG.
I would say Peterson should be much better for as part of starting 5.
AD isn’t getting an extension so his temporary presence shouldn’t be influencing the pick
Dybantsa and Peterson probably have higher ceilings
Strongly disagree with this, Cam Boozer is younger than both of them by half a year and is already the better player between the 3. He’s also the smartest of the bunch too. That alone gives him the a higher ceiling than what most people think of him. We see this play out time and time again, where highly skilled prospects who don’t have the otherworldly athleticism get overlooked, even though 2 of the best players in the league have dad bods.
can you tell me why because I don’t see it at all. I think Sarr as a long term 5 stunts a ton of his growth and limits his ceiling on both ends of the floor. Any big bodied lineups would absolutely destroy a Cam/Sarr front court. Sarr would have to spend twice the energy on defense covering for Cam’s lack of athleticism, and then offensively I think Sarr’s offense would tank as well given that he’d be spending more time in the paint and less out on the perimeter. And my God, think of the defense if Trae is here long term too.
I think Cam is a great talent and would be best suited for a team with a true big body/anchor 5. But for us, I think Trae is going to serve as our primary ball handler/initiator even beyond 2026-27. He and DP would be a looser fit but Dybantsa would fit like a glove.
To me, the most ideal situation going into next season would be a Trae-AJD-Riley-Sarr-AD starting 5 with a pretty nasty bench of Ky, Tre, Bub, Bilal, FA big (Hartenstein, Mo Wagner, Mitch Robinson, or Ayton).
Boozer’s comp should be a fairly unathletic, efficient scorer, and playmaker.
A better Hedo Turkoglu is possibly the best comp. Torkuglu at his best was an amazing player.
didn’t realize how wide this guys shoulders are goddamn. He’s gonna be the best player from this draft I can feel it
competitive spirit
So none? Damn why do that to the kid.
Damn so be can’t shoot and won’t be able to defend?
These guys said a good Comp for Cooper Flagg, was Detlef Schrempf. So just keep that in mind
I still like that comp - DS was a great player who was good at everything.
Averaged 17-8-4 for his career and was close to 50-40-80.
Unfortunately, we don’t have plus-minus for most of his career, but in his age-34 & 35 seasons, SEA was 13 points and then 12 points better with him on the court.
Absolutely not. He didn’t have Coop’s athleticism or handle. Didn’t do anything off the dribble. Coop already got a 50 ball. DS highest scoring game of his entire career was 36 points. Be serious man.
How insightful. Can someone photoshop Paolo in a Duke jersey?
Just bc theyre similar size and played for Duke doesnt make them similar players
Is he suggesting Magic and Paolo have him in the wrong role? Boozer is a connector/offensive hub who can finish efficiently. He’s not a ball-dominant creator like Paolo
I don’t care for ESPN
Was Paolo as efficient from three as Boozer is right now? Also how was his AST/TOV compared to boozer
Nah we don’t do that in media anymore. Talking with data is too much effort when you can just look at the body type and say he looks like this other player
They never really did it, but it’s especially glaring now when all you have to do is have two tabs of bball-ref open.
Boozer literally shoots >10% better from the FIELD than Paolo did in college and this is with Boozer having a significantly better 3p% while attempting more per game and I’m pretty sure the rest of his per-game stats are just better too.
But seriously, ten FUCKING percent better fg%.
nah, Tyler Hansborough said by the G.O.A.T Jet 55
DND
hows boozer gonna play defensively? hes getting bodied by bigger guys inside in college and im not sure if he can hang on the perimeter going forward
He’s not going to get bodied inside I don’t think, but he’s not providing any kind of rim protection. If he plays the 4 he’s going to have an impossible time defending unless it’s a two big lineup.
Haven’t watched much of Paolo besides highlights. Can a Duke or Magic fan chime in… how are his intangibles: IQ, feel, competitiveness
Cam has far superior IQ and motor on both ends
Nnnoooooooooooo!!!
-Boozer
Al Horford would be a much better comp
I know they need talking points but it’s getting tiring comparing everyone to everyone else, just let Cam be Cam.😔
He’s Paolo with way better 3 point shooting. I think that’s an important distinction that will allow him to be better in today’s NBA than Paolo.
Seth Greenberg should never be taken seriously.
oof an inefficient guy who’s team is better with him off the floor statistically?
This is oddly hilarious to me. When Paolo came out, I said I don’t see it. He’s capped. He thinks he’s Mello but he’s not. A week ago or so, I said Boozers has a low ceiling.
Worse than any slander I saw on the NBAdraft sub about Boozer lmao
Cameron Boozer is a modern version of his pops combined with a little Shane Battier.
Carlos was a little better on the block. Cameron is a better outside shooter.
Both also went to Duke - someone put me in ESPN
We did not tank correctly
Hope he shoots better.
Watched Boozer get bodied by Veesaar of North Carolina the other night…..I’m good on the hype
this isn’t the good comparison he’s thinking it was. Paolo has not lived up to the hype
Not his daddy is a disrespectful ass opening statement
Also he’s better, he’s more like a Minnesota Kevin Love than a Paolo.
Is he Carlos Boozers kid?
So he sucks! Got it!
Yall way to much on Paolo now for real you people act like Paolo is a fixed product as a player how was just 22 year of age 4 months ago, something is off with him and his team this year and now people are calling him all types of names on this subreddit. When from his rook season till last year he wasnt busting your teams ass getting your def in foul trouble all game long.
Let young players come into the league and find themself and grow
Lmaoooo
Still lost to the tar heels baybee
Does Boozer ever get called for those obvious double dribbles and travels?
He’s a much better shooter than Paolo, but the rest of his game is very similar. He’s more of a stretch 4 than he is a 4 trying to play the 3.
With the way Paolo has been playing these past few years, that’s not a good comp for anyone drafting him. What team wants to draft a 2nd option and pay him like a 1st option in 3 years.
Is DraftExpress going to come back or what are those guys doing now?
a guy who shoots 70% from 2 compared to paolo sonnnnnn
Why because they both played at Duke and are ugly as fuck? They are not similar at all
not a compliment
Your name sounds latino…only comp we have is another recent… Latino
Is “competive spirit like Paolo Banchero” a pun? Like dudes competive spirit is so enormous, he won’t adjust his game even if it is actively harming the team?
Modern Zach Randolph meets Jabari Parker
boozer is so much better than paolo lol
IQ like Paolo is an insult
They play nothing alike lol
Yeah let’s compare guys who play different positions
Terruble cump
poor Boozer
Is this a compliment or derogatory?