(05-19-2023, 03:50 PM)Chicagojk Wrote: He is an elite shooter. I feel pretty confident in that. The question is he willing to get dirty and grind and earn and win minutes. He needs to forget that he was the second coming just a few years ago. That is over now. Could he become a very good player? Sure, but it is going to take him to eat humble pie and really grind the next few years. I did like seeing him smile and interact with the other combine members.
I'm out on Bates. At one point I thought he might make a good buy low option. But I'm not even buying low at this point. If he is a UFA okay but otherwise I don't waste draft capital or developmental time on him.
I watched him every possession at NBA combine. He does nothing to impact the game besides shoot. He basically camped out at the arc, calling for the ball which his teammates rarely passed to him. I think his upside on the Mavs would be basically Bertans with more ball handling or a floor spacing bench PF with no defense or rebounding.
He doesn't know how to move with out the ball or play off the ball. On the defensive end he would do nothing to help the Mavs and gets bullied often due to his slight frame. He lacks athleticism as seen by his verticle which limits his potential on the defensive end.
Furthermore, I didnt see him help once defensively by sinking down and use his length to contest any shots by his man on potential kickouts. He put in little to zero effort in playing defense or to attempting to rebound.
Moreover, I don't think his teammates like him. If you notice their body language around him they just mostly ignored that he was even there. There seems to be some attitude issues there.
All together I'm out.