Josh Okogie to hire agent and stay in NBA Draft

ATL1

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brandon_cox said:
Latest ESPN evaluation. They have him climbing in the first round:

Josh Okogie | SG | Age: 19.7 | Georgia Tech

  • Strengths
    • Outstanding combination of age and physical tools. Powerful athlete in space. Plays above the rim. Excellent in transition. Stud frame with a proportionate upper and lower body. Younger than a handful of freshmen projected in the top 10.

    • Has the physical profile to guard at least three positions in the modern NBA. Motor dips a little more than you'd expect given his reputation as a "defender" (partially due to offensive responsibility at Georgia Tech) but he's tough overall; 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per 40 minutes. Covers ground on closeouts. Wingspan a major factor on the defensive end. Has shown a willingness to embrace the role of defender in the past. Rebounds his position. Has made tremendous strides since we first evaluated him at the 2015 Nike Global Challenge.

    • Improved standstill shooter who made 38 percent of his 3s and 82.1 percent of his free throws; 93rd percentile on 62 catch-and-shoot jumpers. Was tasked with the role of primary shot-creator on an underwhelming Georgia Tech team, which played a big part in his inefficiencies offensively.
Improvement areas

  • Extremely rigid ball handler. Shouldn't be tasked with shot-creation duties in the half court. Struggles to change speeds and directions. Feel for the game is still a work in progress. Unable to execute simple passes. Partially a function of developed bad habits given his role in college but settles for low-percentage shots in the half court. Head down to the rim. Career 119 assists to 134 turnovers.

  • Still has questions to answer as a shooter, especially off the dribble. Shoots a set shot on the move. Doesn't get much lift. Needs time and space.

  • Not the finisher his tools suggest. Career 45.4 percent from 2 on 768 attempts. Shot 43.2 percent from 2 as a sophomore. Shot 44.6 percent at the rim in the half court and 0-for-10 on floaters.
Projected role: 3-and-D wing

http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...spects-comps-projections-strengths-weaknesses
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So much of his weakness can he can overcome with hard work. His physical tools are off the charts. If he goes to the right team he could really flourish in the league.
 
LargeFO

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ATL1 said:
So much of his weakness can he can overcome with hard work. His physical tools are off the charts. If he goes to the right team he could really flourish in the league.
Click to expand...

I think he’ll be one of those guys who’s solid for 12-15 years. You’ll look up and be like, man he’s still playing and a solid contributor.
 
ATL1

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This guy thinks Okogie is a draft steal and a top 15 talent. I tend to agree cause I’m not seeing a vast number of players that he isn’t either just as talented or more.

“But in terms of NBA upside, Okogie shines as the superior talent. He is the best 3 + D wing prospect in the draft, and is worth a lottery selection. I expect Okogie to rise up draft boards as he outshines higher rated prospects such as Tyus Battle, Khyri Thomas, and Aaron Holiday throughout the draft process.”

https://deanondraft.com/tag/josh-okogie/
 
ChasonBaller

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I saw just saw he was compared to Kent Bazemore. I kind of see it. About the same height, both have huge wingspans and rely on effort to be successful. As much as he drives me crazy with his bad dribbling and awful lay-up attempts, he cashed in on a $70 million dollar contract from hustle, defense, and hitting(sometimes) the open 3. & I truly think Okogie is capable of being this type of 3 and D guy.
 
kg01

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ChasonBaller said:
I saw just saw he was compared to Kent Bazemore. I kind of see it. About the same height, both have huge wingspans and rely on effort to be successful. As much as he drives me crazy with his bad dribbling and awful lay-up attempts, he cashed in on a $70 million dollar contract from hustle, defense, and hitting(sometimes) the open 3. & I truly think Okogie is capable of being this type of 3 and D guy.
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True. Plus Oko is like 12 years younger than Bazemore was when he entered the league.

Unfortunately for Hawks fans, the development culture may/may not still be in place. I'm not enamored with CLP's staff choices. In fact, I hate all but 2 of his guys so far. So I'm rooting for Okog to end up in SAS.
 

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This is an interesting article from Sporting News on what types of players could be more valuable or less valuable based on NBA trends and gives a couple of examples of how it could affect a handful of players come draft night. FWIW, they have Okogie #22 on their prospect board (not their draft board)

http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/new...bamba-zhaire-smith/1mfvyadnfa5wa1muta9jfehh6j

This is also an interesting one about a couple of players that could spark shakeups of draft boards. Okogie is mentioned in the article.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles...ns-for-prospects-poised-to-shake-up-1st-round
 
ATL1

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kg01 said:
True. Plus Oko is like 12 years younger than Bazemore was when he entered the league.

Unfortunately for Hawks fans, the development culture may/may not still be in place. I'm not enamored with CLP's staff choices. In fact, I hate all but 2 of his guys so far. So I'm rooting for Okog to end up in SAS.
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Care to elaborate?

“Unfortunately for Hawks fans, the development culture may/may not still be in place. I'm not enamored with CLP's staff choices.“
 
ChasonBaller

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kg01 said:
True. Plus Oko is like 12 years younger than Bazemore was when he entered the league.

Unfortunately for Hawks fans, the development culture may/may not still be in place. I'm not enamored with CLP's staff choices. In fact, I hate all but 2 of his guys so far. So I'm rooting for Okog to end up in SAS.
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I'm just afraid he goes at 27 and it's RJ Hunter for me all over again.

I don't know much about the new assistants besides Chris Jent because he is a carry over and then Melvin Hunt. Though, from all the videos I have seen so far, it's been Coach Pierce doing everything.
 
kg01

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ATL1 said:
Care to elaborate?
Click to expand...

ChasonBaller said:
I don't know much about the new assistants besides Chris Jent because he is a carry over and then Melvin Hunt. Though, from all the videos I have seen so far, it's been Coach Pierce doing everything.
Click to expand...

Don't mind me (much). Just being a typical 'woe is me' fan.

I'd hoped CLP would bring in an experienced asst to help. Since he didn't, I'm expecting some in-game x's and o's growing pains.

Hunt imho is a mediocre, lifetime asst coach. I was really soured on him after the fiasco in DEN where the players mutinied against Brian Shaw and Hunt emerged as the HC. Way to have your HC's back, Melvin. Imo, there's a reason he's been bouncing around so long.

CLP hired a former teammate from Santa Clara who'd been a developmental guy in PHX. Well, the one thing I know about the Suns is they're chock full of lotto picks who never developed. Only saving grace there is the guy hasn't been there long so hopefully he didn't contribute much.

Jent has a good rep so I'm hoping he's as good as advertised.

Hiring a Babcock just smells like bad karma.
 
ATL1

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kg01 said:
Don't mind me (much). Just being a typical 'woe is me' fan.

I'd hoped CLP would bring in an experienced asst to help. Since he didn't, I'm expecting some in-game x's and o's growing pains.

Hunt imho is a mediocre, lifetime asst coach. I was really soured on him after the fiasco in DEN where the players mutinied against Brian Shaw and Hunt emerged as the HC. Way to have your HC's back, Melvin. Imo, there's a reason he's been bouncing around so long.

CLP hired a former teammate from Santa Clara who'd been a developmental guy in PHX. Well, the one thing I know about the Suns is they're chock full of lotto picks who never developed. Only saving grace there is the guy hasn't been there long so hopefully he didn't contribute much.

Jent has a good rep so I'm hoping he's as good as advertised.

Hiring a Babcock just smells like bad karma.
Click to expand...

Josh Jackson & Booker were there while he was there. I think they both are developing fine.

I don’t know much about any of them to be overly critical. Most were with him in Cleveland. So take the 60 plus Cleveland staff minus Mike Brown.
 
kg01

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ATL1 said:
Josh Jackson & Booker were there while he was there. I think they both are developing fine.

I don’t know much about any of them to be overly critical. Most were with him in Cleveland. So take the 60 plus Cleveland staff minus Mike Brown.
Click to expand...

Booker isn't developing anything other than a penchant for shooting when he wants and sitting out games ... for some reason and losing at a spectacular rate. He's well on his way to being his generation's Carmelo Anthony except Anthony actually won games before going to NYK.

Jackson hasn't been there long enough to assess. Tell me about Len, Criss and Bender.
 
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There is enough noise out about Josh that it makes me think some teams are playing games. Let's say the Sixers think the Hawks want Josh at #30. They tell the CBS guys that they are leaning toward taking him at #26, trying to force the Hawks into revising their plan and taking him at #19. That pushes another SG guard closer to #26. The Hawks might be saying they want Josh at #30 to throw chaos into the system and tempt the Sixers into trading up to get the SG they really want at #19 or higher.
 
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