The NBA is about to start again, perhaps, but not all teams have been invited to the Orlando bubble. So where does it leave them and their fans? Well, asking about the project, of course! We are not getting much new information about the prospects themselves, so a lot of analyst mockery isn’t really changing, because they can only predict based on what they have seen. Journalists, however, are getting information from league sources about what front offices might think, so the time is ripe to hit us with new information and, with it, new fake drafts. And then you have the weakness of people who wear both hats, and there may not be a better example of this in the NBA media than Sam Vecenie of The Athletic, who released his sixth draft of this cycle on Tuesday. And while the same draft is behind a paywall (check if you are a subscriber or have the app), we are here only for a relevant tidbit:
Atletico
Vecenie’s approach to drawing simulation is quite unique. He has many ties to the league and talks about it freely, but he is also a relentless analyst who uses his big scoreboard and his possible breakups to make plans for the teams as much as the information he has received. Sometimes, especially so far from the actual draft and before testing / training and all that, it means that his choices may be wildly out, but he gives his readers a great sense of what the teams are thinking and what makes sense to them , and here’s where this choice comes from.
Here’s what he says about Cole (I won’t publish his words in full, just a few notes):
Unsurprisingly, he has given his game this season, Anthony is an extremely divisive perspective on which teams have a wide range of opinions. Some people consider him a legitimate lottery talent because of his toughness on the field, his ability to achieve separation and his ability to shoot … Other evaluators see him in a much lesser light. They worry that he is a 6-foot shooting guard who is not an elite shooter and who wants to dominate the ball a little beyond what his skill would allow.
It’s not all that surprising, given Anthony’s season at Chapel Hill. We have seen all the flashes of a simply incredible talent, the relentless endurance and the grit that is not usually seen in a freshman among the top 5, but we have also seen some repulsive tendencies, the inability to sometimes involve the companions of team (not helped by a team that refused to be involved) and less explosive than had been marked. What NBA evaluators think of him depends practically on what excuses, of which there are many, are willing to buy: how much of his efficiency fights were on him compared to a team that, frankly, had it disappointed with almost every possibility he done give them (except Garrison Brooks)? How much did the meniscus injury affect its lateral agility and its vertical explosiveness? How will it be with better distance and teammates who can score easy opportunities? Was the low throw free throw an anomaly or cause for legitimate concern? All of these are Anthony’s legitimate questions as a prospect that could begin to get answered in training and combine settings, after some time away from a damn college season. For now, though, it responds in one way to a borderline elite perspective that can begin in the NBA for years and responds the other way to, as Vecenie says, practically from Austin Rivers.
So why pelicans? Here’s Vecenie on where she fits the team, and I think it’s a statement that explains her appeal pretty much wherever she goes:
Well, pelicans are relatively willing in the positional spectrum … Having said that, I think starting to develop another bucket in the defense zone would be helpful in case Jrue Holiday decides to leave the franchise next season. I don’t really see Lonzo Ball as a half-scale initiator and creator, but rather a fantastic transition player who is better off playing as a director and secondary passer in the midfield. This could really fit perfectly with Anthony’s skillset.
Last year’s Heels were one of the worst transition teams we saw in Chapel Hill, partly due to the fact that Anthony himself was not taking the break as we would like and partly because of his teammates who were not running with him and forced him to face one on one harder than he is ideal. Fortunately, the transition in the NBA is almost all in stone thanks to the talent level of its players. Some squads and point guards are better in the transition race compared to others, and Lonzo Ball is among the best thanks to his fantastic advantage, but they all do it extremely efficiently. Anthony’s best spot is probably playing next to a large distributor, such as Ball or someone in the mold of Nicolas Batum or even Jimmy Butler, next to whom he can take responsibility for the passage and start the offense in the midfield, creating space and moving the his teammates around. As the NBA resumes all its operations, perhaps it is the type of team that we will see more closely with Anthony.
