For the Hessians. Good old Baron Von Lendeborg.

Who do you think took that photo?

The Lendeborg baby. He didn’t even try that hard to hide it.

He’s is to r/nba what Perry Ellis was to r/collegebasketball.

True Fact: Perry Ellis founded Lawrence Kansas while on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Hi Papa

The Remington Steele to your Flexington

Very admirable

Pretty sure manute bol too

The point was that being a 24 year old rookie doesn’t preclude someone from having a long, productive career. Not saying Yaxel will be anywhere close to a HoFer or all-time great, but he can have a solid 10-15 year NBA career and no one will care about his age as a rookie.

It is the opposite. He was drafted in the 1987 class with the Spurs knowing he would not be available until he finished his Navy service.

Drafted in 1987, Rookie year was 1989

Yaxel didn’t have good grades & only played 1 year of HS basketball.

Robinson’s breakout year was his junior year because of his strong tournament performance. His 1st 2 years he was not really considered a NBA prospect.

I think even that is underselling it

He played 11 games in Highschool, as a Sr.

Never played AAU

His first year of JUCO was covid, only played 14 games

He then played 64 games across the next two years

72 games the following 2 years at UAB

40 games at Michigan

The guys rise has been incredible, and it will be fascinating to see (if he can sustain) how arriving so late to big minutes/number of games will impact his longevity.

Pascal also started super late, and has been holding up really well

“I asked AI” 😔🫩

Need to see Kuminga do it a bit longer though, he had a very similar start in the first 10 games of last season and was DNP-coach’s decision by game 14

Warriors know Kuminga was good and can do both ends, they are building him to be the jimmy butler. The problem with him was consistency, focus, and following teams gameplay.

He has to finally do what the warriors were asking him to do. Sometimes it takes going elsewhere for that message to stick

Google: Introduction phase in people

I can’t wait for the conflict stage.

Yea he’s been pretty good this season, esp on defense. He’s buying into his role. No hate for the kumbucket, I just love Yax bc I drafted him for my fantasy team and he’s been a league winner

cuz hes hitting threes, i dont see a career 33% shooter maintaining 45% for the season

Yeah but Yaxel has highkey been hooping

Kuminga repeatedly missed key plays. He had plenty of opportunity but he just cannot play in Steve kerrs motion offense. Incredibly gifted absolutely but even Tatum looked bad playing in Kerr’s system. You either fit or you don’t

We’ve not really successfully developed any rookie. Yaxel cam in ready so don’t think we can even take the credit on that.

Way to stay on topic

!remindme when Luka drops 50 on you bums and sons rudy ass again.

Kessler’s averaging more ppg and kuminga’s shooting like 180% from 3 and is gonna regress lol

Give it 10 games

Came into the league past his prime.

That was the lamest ROTY race in history. It was also the first full NBA season I was watching locked-in so I was surprised how ass rookies are. And then the next year was a goated ROTY race.

Pres?

He’s definitely not. If you listen to Kerr talk about him he considers him to be a project still.

This isn’t even his final form

Everyone on the team seems to think he’s gonna get much better, which is exciting - probably because he still has comparatively little actual basketball experience

brunson was drafted at 21 bd yax at 23

Not bout age but bout college length. Brunson did three years and fell to the second round. Joakim Noah went from bein a top 3 pick to lower end lottery just cause he stayed back a year

23

Yeah, that’s the big difference about Yaxel. He started so crazy late (just 11 games in HS, no AAU) and improved significantly every single year, so teams were confident enough to assume he hadn’t hit his ceiling.

I really wish if the Pacer’s didn’t do the Zubac trade they could have gotten him at 5

I get what you’re saying, but I think where a player is drafted and the situation he’s drafted into matter quite a bit. Historically, roughly 70% of players drafted 11–15 never become NBA starters. Kuminga was picked 7th largely because of his age, athleticism, and theoretical ceiling. He’s underachieved, but expecting him to become a high-level starter was always a gamble.

The bigger issue is the economics of developing these guys. You draft a 19-year-old project, spend 3–4 years developing him while he’s contributing very little to winning, and suddenly he’s 22–23 and you’re negotiating a $60–100M extension based on potential he still hasn’t realized. You’re essentially paying for that potential twice. Look at Wiggins, Poole, Barrett, Hunter, Keldon Johnson, etc.

Compare that to someone like Lendeborg. He’s 24, and Golden State can have him on a rookie-scale deal through his late 20s. Even if he never improves, if he’s a productive rotation player for those four years, that’s a great outcome. And when it’s time for his next contract, you have a much more honest evaluation of what you’re paying for.

For the 15 or so true superstars in the league, sure, swing for the fences. But for everyone else, you’re ultimately paying for productive NBA minutes, not their developmental journey. Having Mavericks Tyson Chandler is a hell of a lot more valuable than having Baby Bulls Tyson Chandler.

And this is where Golden State really screwed up with Wiseman. They were a win-now team giving meaningful minutes to a 19-year-old who wasn’t ready to contribute to winning basketball. They didn’t need to develop a future star. They needed players who could help Steph win championships.

Obviously rebuilding teams have different incentives. For years, the Process-era strategy made some sense. Play a bunch of 19-year-olds, lose 65 games, and practically guarantee yourself a top pick. But the flattened lottery odds have significantly reduced the incentive to be historically terrible. Combine that with the new CBA and apron restrictions, and I think the value of NBA-ready rotation players on cheap rookie contracts is only going to increase. Unless you’re legitimately swinging for a franchise player, there’s a pretty good argument for drafting someone who can actually help you win basketball games now.

Well I’m not talking the athletic specimens like coop or dybantsa who obv will be good

Yeah, it’s funny using a guy who spent 6 years in college to be relevant for the vast majority of scenarios

21 = three years. Most picks lower than that

21 is not young for a NBA draft pick

“he would have left for the NBA years ago”

Years ago he was at a JUCO, and even 1.5 years ago he was at UAB. Last summer is the only legitimate shot he had at the NBA, and projected as a high 2nd round pick

“He made 8 figures”

He made \(5m for 1 season at Michigan. And im sure he wasn't make much at UAB. Interestingly he turned down an extra \)2-3m from Kentucky, since he wanted to be on a winning team.

You think Arizona Western and UAB were paying him 8 figures to turn down the draft? You have no idea what you’re talking about

NIL money is nice, but it’s nothing compared to NBA salary. The quicker you get into the NBA, the quicker you can sign your first max extension which is where the money is.