RebKell's Junkie Boards

[root_thing]

Well, if we're going to second guess, I wanted McCowan and I still think that would have been the best pick!

As for 2020, again I doubt Sabally will come out early because of her sister. So if you don't get Ionescu or Cox, then it's a big drop-off after that. I've always liked Mompremier going back to her Baylor days, but I don't see anything special about her as a WNBA prospect. Good athlete, but what's her pro-ready skill? I suppose Dangerfield could be a more athletic Leilani Mitchell. I'm just not thrilled about getting smaller on the perimeter when we're already a bit undersized. Besides, there are some half-decent PGs available later in the draft that we can get at #13. Kaila Charles has been mentioned, but NY doesn't need another wing player -- especially one who has no range on her shot. Alarie is intriguing, but at this point she's mostly a project. I guess all we can do is hope that someone like Joyner Holmes finally stops being an underachiever and performs to her potential. But even if she does, Holmes is likely a power forward, not a center.

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You can always do something else.

[NYSports56]

I would have been the happiest Liberty fan if they had drafted Collier. But that's with 90% hindsight. I don't follow the college game and I only watched the semi-final games of the Final 4. I was basically tuning in to watch the players RebKell had been talking about. As I recall, Collier did not have a great game, but I was very impressed by all the intangibles she displayed.

However, not everyone here was sold. A lot of stuff about her being a tweener: too small to play the 4, not the right offensive skills for a 3. There was doubt if she could score enough.

Every player had her strength and weaknesses, the way I read it. I thought the Liberty's greatest need was reliable perimeter shooting. Based on that, I thought that Durr was the right choice. I only watched the video of her best game, which even at the time I figured meant nothing: everyone looks amazing in their best game. I did look at Arike's stats and thought she would be a good choice, but it seemed to me that Durr was the RebKell choice amongst the shooters.

I really wish we had Collier; she's exactly the kind of player I like to root for. Until Kiah Stokes comes back, I'd go as far as saying she's my favorite player in the league (which is very strange: I have never had a favorite player who did not play for a New York team before). I think the Lynx are my 2nd WNBA team now. Always behind the Liberty, but give me Liberty or give me Lynx!

I'll give the Liberty a pass on Collier: this was the type of draft where there were a bunch of players rated equally. It seemed like it was a perfect draft to select a player at a position of need.

However, they don't get a pass on missing on Arike. They wanted a shooter? Right now, it sure does look like they chose the wrong one. Arike has her question marks still, but unless Asia was badly hampered by injury in the minutes she did play, she looks rather ordinary.

[LibFan25]

[Bob Lamm]

[LibFan25]

[NYSports56]

[NYSports56]

Good points about the possibility of Katie wasting rookie talent. Collier's got Cheryl Reeve whispering in her ear. Things could be different with Katie. But Napheesa is such a complete basketball player. I think she might be able to rise above the coach and increase her minutes just by her play. She wouldn't have been an All-Star this year, but by the end of the season, Katie would have figured it out, and we'd all be euphoric about our rookie.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

[J-Spoon]

I still think Durr is going to be really good.

I always thought Arike was going to be good I saw both her and Asia as the future all-stars from this class and even though Asia was my first choice i did consistently wonder if Ogunbowale was going to be the better of the two.

I was wrong about both Collier and McCowan they are both really good, Collier can play the SF on this level and McCowan can keep up with the pace enough to be a dominant Center and defensive force. I still will wait another season or two before declaring I was wrong about Durr, but picking McCowan or Collier would have been very good (if not better) alternative options.

2020 I am all in on Ionescu. I like Cox, Mompremier and Charles but if not #1 I would listen to trade offers for our pick. If we trade the pick it would have to be for a very good PG, SF or C ideally in the 24 to 27 year old range, or a decent PG, C or SF as part of a trade down.

For example I would consider something like;
#2/3 pick and Hartley for Deshields
#2/3 pick and Hartley for Diggins-Smith
#2/3 pick and Stokes for J. Jones
(I don't think Hartley or Stokes have enough value to trade on their own but could move the needle enough when combined with a high lottery pick to make the trade more viable.)
or trading down
#2/3 pick for Copper and Chicago's #7/8 pick
#2/3 pick for Cloud and Washington number #11/12 pick
#2/3 pick to LV for Plum and #9-11 pick
#2/3 pick to Dallas for Jefferson and #4 pick (maybe have to throw in our 2nd rounder or Harltey as well)

not saying do these trades just trying to guage realistic value
Also if Chennedy Carter comes out early it may change how I feel about trading the #2/3 pick Ionescu would be my first choice but if Carter is an option for NY as our future PG a t2 or 3 I would have to think long and hard about trading the pick. Carter/Durr/Nurse while not Ionescu/Durr/Nurse is still very intriguing as a perimeter on the offensive end to combine with Charles and ideally a large post free agent.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

I think Durr is going to be an all star. Not her fault that she got hurt or how she was utilized when healthy. Her finishing ability is better than I thought it would be..and I think it is going to be an enormously positive attribute in her future performance.

And as I noted earlier, the 47% from the field is key for me in terms of evaluating her future, especially since I think she's going to improve significantly as a long-range shooter. The only stat I was really prepared to look at in evaluating her future coming into the season was FG%, because I fully expected her to be under 40 for the season. So, looking at how she created her midrange shot in nearly unstoppable fashion while being reasonably efficient, she actually EXCEEDED my expectations in spite of moderate point totals. As much as I love Collier and like McCowan, moving forward, I think Durr's ceiling is extremely high.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Regarding Chennedy Carter, tremendous talent and wants the ball in crunch time. But how will she react to being a third or fourth option in an offense? I think back to the players who left the program while she was a part of it and wonder if a factor in that equation was that those players felt they weren't going to have a reasonable share of the offensive opportunities.

When I see Carter, I think Allen Iverson taking Sixers teams with mediocre offensive talent to the NBA finals before losing. It seemed like he functioned best in a structure where he was far and away the primary option. Chennedy Carter is very similar as a college player. I'm not sure she'd mix well with Durr or Nurse...never mind having Tina in the post clogging up penetration lanes that Carter will probably want available for herself. I just don't see that being a successful mix.

She's also only 5'7", where it's awfully hard to excel taking a disproportionate amount of shots in the W at that height. Granted that she is very uniquely talented but even at that talent level...you have to be willing to facilitate for others at that height.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Bob Lamm]

[NYSports56]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

I wouldn’t worry about the 3. She didn’t shoot it well her senior year at Louisville either...after shooting really well the year before. Even elite shooters have fluctuations in three point percentage, especially given that 34 games is a smaller sample size than that other sports. That part of her game will be ok. It makes the overall FG % that much more impressive.

Durr is also a smooth player in her movements. Which can make it appear that a player is trying less hard than they really are, but Durr runs the floor hard and works hard on D. She’s not great in any area besides scoring, but I foresee substantial improvements in her playmaking too. Maybe next year when presumably they’ll let her touch the ball more often.

That said, who’d have believed Collier would be shooting a higher 3 point percentage than Durr to this point?

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[Bob Lamm]

People can get too impatient with rookies. Asia Durr shot terribly in her first two preseason games and looked nervous. The tone of some comments here was great worry, based on an absurdly small and initial sample.

Perhaps in September 2020 and September 2021 there will be reason to say I was wrong. But I believe Durr will be just fine over time, including in shooting three-pointers.

[NYSports56]

[NYSports56]

[Bob Lamm]

[NYL_WNBA_FAN]

Asia Durr wasn’t put in a position to be great. You can’t be great if you aren’t an offensive option for extended stretches. That said, I believe the offensive adjustments after the all star break would have featured Durr with greater frequency, but her health hasn’t cooperated. I’d say what I often say when it comes to assessing players. You’ve gotta look at attributes as much as performance. Durr’s attributes project really well. She’s one of the best at creating her own shot and her finishing ability is up there with just about any guard. Those are huge attributes for a scorer. Assuming she stays healthy in the future, she’s going to be a big-time scorer. Of that I’m 100% certain. Her attributes are too good for her not to be.

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The poster formerly known as LibWNBAFan.

[root_thing]

I thought today was the Liberty's best chance to win another game. Now that they've lost, getting back into the 44.2% race is very realistic. They've got Washington twice, Connecticut once, and Phoenix once. Those should be easy losses. The last two games are against Indiana and Atlanta. If New York loses to the Fever, they will not only "catch" Indiana but also lose the season series. That gives NY the tankbreaker. Then, all we have to do is go down to Atlanta and let Katie unleash her usual coaching creativity.

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You can always do something else.

[Randy]

[Luuuc]

[root_thing]

[Bob Lamm]

[root_thing]

Walt Frazier put up 36 points and 19 assists in that game. I'm expecting Renee Montgomery to do something similar.

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You can always do something else.