This offseason we are going to pin some discussion topics for a few days, first will be draft prospects

• Tristan Da Silva (SF Colorado)
• Zach Edey (C Purdue)
• Kyle Filipowski (PF/C Duke)

Let us know who else should be covered or if someone is too unlikely to be there when we pick

Most importantly, leave your thoughts on the prospect, these posts are meant to be places to discuss whatever you want related to the draft or the prospect!

Kyle Filipowski | 6'10.75" (w/o shoes) 230lbs | PF | age: 20.5

Stats in '24

16/8/3/1.5/1.1 on 51/35/67

Background:

• 5 star recruit

• ACC tourney MVP as a freshman

• He underwent hip surgery in April 2023, to repair malformed hip joints atop both legs

• Both of his brothers played Bball at Harvard

Strengths

• At 20.5 he's one of the youngest guys expected to go in the 1st round
• Face up game looks very advanced at times, the threat of his midrange and his jab step make him a tough cover
• Relentless in the mid post, plays with more strength here than you might expect
• Vision, 2.8 apg, willing passer who understands rotating a defense and finding guys with crafty pump fakes and passes
• Bball IQ, many examples but watch him exploit the zone defense's rotation to get his teammate an easy layup
• Crafty enough to handle/play on the perimeter/mid-range in the nba, but must improve his 3 ball in order to do so
• Tough minded player, will bully smaller player on switches
• Good repeatable mechanics on his shot

Weakness

• Athleticism, below the rim player, despite block numbers in college he's not a rim protector on the nba level
• Two foot leaper who needs to 'load up', Evan Mobley could get two shots at an offensive rebound before Kyle gets 1
• Lateral quickness, while not Zach Edey, Kyle does have major concerns with his ability to hold up to the PnR
• Tweener? He won't be able to physically hold up against Centers in the NBA, but can he keep up laterally with PFs? Might have no position on defense
• Length, Wingspan: 6'10.5" is shorter than height
• Not really a stretch 4 (1.1 three-pointers made per game, 67% ft)
• Rebounding, can be bullied off the block

Conclusion

Kyle has a very different offensive game from the other bigs on the roster, he's skilled both as a spacing and attacking power forward

He also is not quite consistent enough with his jumper to be a spacing PF yet

he has some cracks in his offensive game, but his vision and IQ help make up for them

his flashes can be jaw dropping, looks like Deni Avdija at times

whether he adds a legitimate 3 ball to his game or not will determine if we see his vision/mid-range post game…if defenders aren't worried about his jumper they can sag off of him and potentially shut him down

Even if he maxes out his defensive potential, I think the best case scenario for him is a max strus type of impact where he's not a plus defender but is also versatile enough to be a piece you can't hunt in the PnR off the floor

Ceiling: Tobias Harris/Deni Avdija

Likely: Wendell Carter Jr

Floor: Tyler Zeller

Thanks for reading! Please add your thoughts on Kyle or anything else to do with the draft in here