2024-25 Prospecting MEGA hype thread.

[ninjacookies]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Always difficult to tell whether you're being serious or not

Let's keep it that way.

I ain't trynna get sniped by some Evan Mathis disciple with a mop top.

Originally Posted by Imnottheonly

I kind of like

Jaden Ivey- If and its a massive IF the Pistons can figure out how to fit Cade and Jaden together the talent is there. I don't think he's ever going to be a superstar but his Prizm Silvers can easily be had for less than $10 so there is a lot of upside there.

[jcardstore]

Jaden Ivey is a guy I'm hopeful for because he's on my dynasty team but I'm just not sure what his role is.

He's clearly not a PG. He's a little small to be a combo guard. He doesn't check any of my boxes and he regressed YoY. We'll see next season but he's not a guy I'd be buying

[jcardstore]

Another guy that I'm keeping an eye on (haven't bought any cards yet) is Deni Avdija.

He really impressed me last season. He's a little outside of the range where I normally think there's an opportunity card wise

- Big Wing
- Measurable performance improvements each season
- Solid ball handler / playmaker
- Good defensive floor

[ninjacookies]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Jaden Ivey is a guy I'm hopeful for because he's on my dynasty team but I'm just not sure what his role is.

He's clearly not a PG. He's a little small to be a combo guard. He doesn't check any of my boxes and he regressed YoY. We'll see next season but he's not a guy I'd be buying

Regressed because Detroit still has zero identity or how to carry out proper roster construction. So while most of his numbers have remained constant, his assist numbers have fallen off a cliff because Cade returned and Ivey was stuck splitting 1/2 duties with should-be-gleague'er Trevor Noah.

Part of the reason why I'd never invest monetary funds into prospecting anyone stranded on 8 Mile. It's virtually impossible to assess individual talent because the system is so mired in toxicity.

I do think Ivey could be a really solid starting piece somewhere else. But, as all NBA exports outta the D, by then it'll probably be too late.

[Imnottheonly]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Jaden Ivey is a guy I'm hopeful for because he's on my dynasty team but I'm just not sure what his role is.

He's clearly not a PG. He's a little small to be a combo guard. He doesn't check any of my boxes and he regressed YoY. We'll see next season but he's not a guy I'd be buying

Ivey represents a bit of unique situation as he has the advantage of price memory/prospect memory. When he had the nice little stretch of games in late January/early February where he had like four 20 point games and a 37 point game in a 5-6 game stretch his Silvers bounced like 25%-30% for a week or two.

I wouldn't be buying him for the long haul but do I think there is likelihood for some selling opportunities because he's a former top 5 pick whose usage hopefully can't get worse (I'd like to believe in the 2nd year that Monty Williams figures a few things out). I think its reasonable to think that there might be some occasional selling points during next year, I'm not buying anything big but cheap Silvers or numbered Prizm I'll take a shot. I also live in Michigan so local demand always crops up when players are doing well...could have some bias.

[jcardstore]

I don't normally buy rookies going into year 2 but here are some guys who I will be watching film of this summer. This list now is just based on guys I've watched or noted throughout the year, no real film study yet.

GG Jackson - Came out of nowhere. Super versatile defender, showed some interesting scoring punch off the dribble. I don't know how much playmaking juice there is. Not buying anything yet but let's see what the tape looks like

Leonard Miller - Really intriguing player. Great size at 6'10+, really smooth and efficient offensively. Good shooter. The BBIQ and just experience is a huge question mark that I'll be watching for. Didn't even start playing basketball until a few years ago.

Scoot Henderson - He's the type of player I can't stand. Small, inefficient, volume scoring guard, who has no obvious elite talent. Had a truly terrible rookie year. I think he might be a buy on that alone. He's gonna get as many shots as he wants and we all know the hobby doesn't care if you're actually a winning basketball player or not.

there are some others who are interesting but I don't have much to say about now

Taylor Hendricks
Keyonte George

[jcardstore]

So I've just finished the film on Tari Eason. Here's my PC so far. I'll do a high level about what I liked and didn't like from a basketball perspective, and then what I think his hobby outlook is.



Pros:

• good body control
• great - elite level defense
• high IQ player (attacks mismatches, takes quality shots, good awareness on both ends, moves well without the ball, reads the ball well on passing lanes and rebounds)
• subtle but I noticed that his catch and shoot form got better throughout the year. It was pretty ugly to start the season but smoothed out quite a bit before his injury.

Cons:

• little to no shot creation ability
• no signs of being a playmaker
• Rockets forward depth

Basketball outlook: Guys like this stick around the NBA for a long time, even if the offensive game never fully develops. He's a super high IQ player with a floor as an elite defensive wing who can run the floor and hit a set shot. He reminds me of a better version of a young Jeff Green

Hobby outlook: Based on the Rockets roster and Tari's undeveloped offensive game, I don't really see much upside this season. I'm buying selectively during this offseason and will be closely watching how the Rockets use him to start the season.

If he's going to be starting, and taking more of an offensive load, I'm going to be buying early and often. I think that if he's getting 28-30 MPG & increases his offensive load he's got maybe 2x upside on the premium stuff.

I do track offensive load as a stat, it's not just eye test.

[oldgoldy97]

I thought I read GG was the top ranked player coming out of HS?

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

I thought I read GG was the top ranked player coming out of HS?

I don't pay any attention to highschool players but he was 16th on the ESPN top100.

[yiguiri2002]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

So I've just finished the film on Tari Eason. Here's my PC so far. I'll do a high level about what I liked and didn't like from a basketball perspective, and then what I think his hobby outlook is.



Pros:

• good body control
• great - elite level defense
• high IQ player (attacks mismatches, takes quality shots, good awareness on both ends, moves well without the ball, reads the ball well on passing lanes and rebounds)
• subtle but I noticed that his catch and shoot form got better throughout the year. It was pretty ugly to start the season but smoothed out quite a bit before his injury.

Cons:

• little to no shot creation ability
• no signs of being a playmaker
• Rockets forward depth

Basketball outlook: Guys like this stick around the NBA for a long time, even if the offensive game never fully develops. He's a super high IQ player with a floor as an elite defensive wing who can run the floor and hit a set shot. He reminds me of a better version of a young Jeff Green

Hobby outlook: Based on the Rockets roster and Tari's undeveloped offensive game, I don't really see much upside this season. I'm buying selectively during this offseason and will be closely watching how the Rockets use him to start the season.

If he's going to be starting, and taking more of an offensive load, I'm going to be buying early and often. I think that if he's getting 28-30 MPG & increases his offensive load he's got maybe 2x upside on the premium stuff.

I do track offensive load as a stat, it's not just eye test.

The scary part is that, you can be 100% right and Udoka might see it too but it'll take too long for him to explode.

Even if they move from Jalen next season, they'll still have FVV and Brooks taking minutes and shots. If we are looking past that, even if he becomes their #2 guy (passing Thompson and Whitmore), that'll be in what, 2 years?

That's the thing that scares me about prospecting guys like him and TM3. There are other variables in play that makes it harder to hit. I like Deni as a buy, he's one trade away from being the third best player on a contender and those get a slight bump.

Also, best/only player from a country have a decent floor IMO

[oldgoldy97]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

I don't pay any attention to highschool players but he was 16th on the ESPN top100.

I think I read it on the back of a card.

[oldgoldy97]

It’s on the back of his Bowman U.

[Giroux]

Originally Posted by oldgoldy97

I think I read it on the back of a card.

It says he was #1 for 2023 but reclassified for 2022 where he was #6

https://247sports.com/season/2022-ba...oup=HighSchool

[jcardstore]

Originally Posted by yiguiri2002

The scary part is that, you can be 100% right and Udoka might see it too but it'll take too long for him to explode.

Even if they move from Jalen next season, they'll still have FVV and Brooks taking minutes and shots. If we are looking past that, even if he becomes their #2 guy (passing Thompson and Whitmore), that'll be in what, 2 years?

That's the thing that scares me about prospecting guys like him and TM3. There are other variables in play that makes it harder to hit. I like Deni as a buy, he's one trade away from being the third best player on a contender and those get a slight bump.

Yea, I feel a little different about Murphy with BI almost certainly getting traded but you're spot on. The Rockets particularly have so much forward depth it's really difficult seeing him get consistent time.

The one thing going for him is the defensive floor, so he's going to be in the rotation regardless, especially with Ime.

Also, best/only player from a country have a decent floor IMO

This is a super interesting take that makes a lot of sense. I've never considered it before.

[SteveIsLegend]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

I don't normally buy rookies going into year 2 but here are some guys who I will be watching film of this summer. This list now is just based on guys I've watched or noted throughout the year, no real film study yet.

GG Jackson - Came out of nowhere. Super versatile defender, showed some interesting scoring punch off the dribble. I don't know how much playmaking juice there is. Not buying anything yet but let's see what the tape looks like

Leonard Miller - Really intriguing player. Great size at 6'10+, really smooth and efficient offensively. Good shooter. The BBIQ and just experience is a huge question mark that I'll be watching for. Didn't even start playing basketball until a few years ago.

Scoot Henderson - He's the type of player I can't stand. Small, inefficient, volume scoring guard, who has no obvious elite talent. Had a truly terrible rookie year. I think he might be a buy on that alone. He's gonna get as many shots as he wants and we all know the hobby doesn't care if you're actually a winning basketball player or not.

there are some others who are interesting but I don't have much to say about now

Taylor Hendricks
Keyonte George

I like Leonard Miller solely on the hype he had going into the draft, as most places projected him going in the mid to late 20's. G-League numbers look solid and his ability to be a creator/facilitator are intriguing. If Minnesota doesn't re-sign Anderson (seems likely with their cap issues), either Miller, or Minott could fill those minutes, but Miller's game more closely resembles Slo-Mo's. Other people must see this because some of his sales have been fairly strong lately in my opinion.

[yiguiri2002]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

This is a super interesting take that makes a lot of sense. I've never considered it before.

It's hard to hit on those but I've noticed that even with a small following, their floor is always a little higher that for a regular rotation player.

I think Deni is a good buy partly because of that, his floor should remain relatively high even if he doesn't take an extra step.

[ninjacookies]

Never given much look into Tari. But upon first inspection, I like his game.

Reminds me of a groupon Jimmy Buckets if I squint my eyes really hard like I'm staring directly into a solar eclipse.

But yeah....as Y mentioned, it's going to be hard to crack substantial PT unless they deal Dillon or the punchable faced Thompson twin. Though he could very easily supplant CWitt on the depth chart. I have no idea what the coaching staff wants to do with him.

Realistically, there's several M. Bridges/Can Thomas level talents bubbling throughout the league that just need the right fit to display their talents.

[boxbuster7]

I think Houstons too crowded

Green, Sengun, Smith, Thompson,

not exactly sure where Eason would fit in

[kipgen]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

I don't normally buy rookies going into year 2 but here are some guys who I will be watching film of this summer. This list now is just based on guys I've watched or noted throughout the year, no real film study yet.

GG Jackson - Came out of nowhere. Super versatile defender, showed some interesting scoring punch off the dribble. I don't know how much playmaking juice there is. Not buying anything yet but let's see what the tape looks like

Leonard Miller - Really intriguing player. Great size at 6'10+, really smooth and efficient offensively. Good shooter. The BBIQ and just experience is a huge question mark that I'll be watching for. Didn't even start playing basketball until a few years ago.

Scoot Henderson - He's the type of player I can't stand. Small, inefficient, volume scoring guard, who has no obvious elite talent. Had a truly terrible rookie year. I think he might be a buy on that alone. He's gonna get as many shots as he wants and we all know the hobby doesn't care if you're actually a winning basketball player or not.

there are some others who are interesting but I don't have much to say about now

Taylor Hendricks
Keyonte George

I'm a huge GG Jackson fan

One thing to keep in mind on his cards though is that there's already a little bit of a premium priced in-- his silver prizms usually go for ~$30, which is expensive compared to a fair few of the other players mentioned in the thread

[yiguiri2002]

Originally Posted by kipgen

I'm a huge GG Jackson fan

One thing to keep in mind on his cards though is that there's already a little bit of a premium priced in-- his silver prizms usually go for ~$30, which is expensive compared to a fair few of the other players mentioned in the thread

So you can get four of Bane's silvers for each GG one, despite a shorter print run and the fact that GG's best short term outcome is replacing Bane in the Grizzlies hierarchy.

Yeah, sometimes I don't get this hobby.

[jcardstore]

Does Scottie Barnes count as a prospect?

Easily All-NBA next season. He’s the undisputed alpha on the Raptors and there’s only upside. Hobby wise, I’ll be buying a ton of his stuff this off season. I think he’s a great buy right now

[kipgen]

Originally Posted by yiguiri2002

So you can get four of Bane's silvers for each GG one, despite a shorter print run and the fact that GG's best short term outcome is replacing Bane in the Grizzlies hierarchy.

Yeah, sometimes I don't get this hobby.

I think it's all about people trying to predict the ceiling of a player

The perception of Bane is that he's a good, not great player and that by now we pretty much know what his ceiling is

Whereas with GG, the ceiling isn't known yet. He could burn out and do nothing, be a mid-tier player, or a giant star and his cards go to the moon. So the key phrase there I think is "short term", since a possible long term outcome is that he becomes a star.

Does Scottie Barnes count as a prospect?

Easily All-NBA next season. He’s the undisputed alpha on the Raptors and there’s only upside. Hobby wise, I’ll be buying a ton of his stuff this off season. I think he’s a great buy right now

I think Scottie is a good long term play. He showed a lot early on and he's clearly a good player. The downside is the Raptors are going into a tank and who knows how long it'll last. The ideal scenario is that they build a team around Scottie where he gets to thrive and win a championship. As far as his current price point, I definitely like him more than a lot of the players going for a similar amount.

[ninjacookies]

Originally Posted by jcardstore

Scoot Henderson - He's the type of player I can't stand. Small, inefficient, volume scoring guard, who has no obvious elite talent. Had a truly terrible rookie year. I think he might be a buy on that alone. He's gonna get as many shots as he wants and we all know the hobby doesn't care if you're actually a winning basketball player or not.

The overly optimistic forecast is Temu Westbrook.

Obviously the common investor isn't overly concerned with efficiency numbers when it comes to guys in their first 3 years.

I feel his current slumped pricing could justify the gamble simply because his usage should be sky high on such a terrible roster so the potential for gaudy peripheral #'s is there.

Once Obama gets dealt it's full send.

[yiguiri2002]

Originally Posted by ninjacookies

The overly optimistic forecast is Temu Westbrook.

Obviously the common investor isn't overly concerned with efficiency numbers when it comes to guys in their first 3 years.

I feel his current slumped pricing could justify the gamble simply because his usage should be sky high on such a terrible roster so the potential for gaudy peripheral #'s is there.

Once Obama gets dealt it's full send.

If 32 year old Malcolm Brogdon is the reason you can fully unlock your potential, you are not that guy from the start.

[ninjacookies]

Originally Posted by yiguiri2002

If 32 year old Malcolm Brogdon is the reason you can fully unlock your potential, you are not that guy from the start.

Any more Poot FUD and we're scrappin.'

This wounded Sekou ego don't play.