(05-13-2026, 07:59 PM)hakeemfaan Wrote: He will be around 6'4" in shoes. I don't see any issues with his measurement. I don't see elite athleticism as a must for a PG either. Elite athletes and PGs are a relatively newer phenomenon and even there truly elite athletes playing PG like Westbrook are rare. Kyrie , Steph are not considered great defensively and it's their offensive skill more than raw athleticism that sets them apart. Even Westbrook for all his athletic prowess, was never a great defensive player.
If you go slightly back, there are tons of PGs who were not great athletes, but knew how to take care of the ball and run a team.
The questions surrounding Philon are going to be wrt his shooting ability and if his 2nd year jump is a indicator of true potential or an aberration. If it's the former, he could well turn out to be one of the best guards in this class. Elite athlete or not.
To be clear, I was not stating that you need elite athleticism to be point guard. The conversation was specifically about his defense and my primary point was that it is very hard to be a plus NBA defender when you are that slight of build. He weighed 176 lbs which is less than Trae Young. That means he is going to get pushed around and obliterated on screens. Physically there are things that can help mitigate a slight frame like elite length (his height and wingspan are perfectly fine for a PG but not elite by NBA standards) or athleticism. His defense as a freshman was good at the college level when it was the primary thing he focused on, but in his sophomore year when he was a bigger part of the offense the defense cratered. If you are drafting him anywhere near 9, you are doing it for the offense he demonstrated as a sophomore and I think its asking a lot to expect him to provide his sophomore offense along with his freshman defense, especially when I am skeptical that defense will translate to the NBA due to his size.