NBA Draft Reactions – Pick No. 7, The New Orleans Pelicans Select Jeremiah Fears!
the New Orleans Pelicans have selected Jeremiah Fears out of Oklahoma with the number seven overall pick Fears is someone who I loved watching this past year I think he had the best handles in this entire class Did everything created every shot set his teammates up all at the age of barely 18 Like he was supposed to be a senior in high school reclass and it worked out for him Just a a phenomenal career arc so far for Fears and I I think he’s going to keep soaring higher I get some of the concerns with him Uh I think he is still growing which bodess favorably He measured well at the combine Uh he’s a little bit on the slider side but that’s something that I think can be attributed to the youthfulness and can be fixed But Dion what do you make of this pick what do you think it does for uh what it means for the Pelicans i think it’s interesting Um I guess I think it’s interesting They just traded for Jordan Pool which is why I find it so interesting I’m not sure I get the pick Um because like I said they just traded for Jordan Pool Like I I mean this respectfully to Jeremiah Fierce I think he’s gonna be a great player How far off Jordan Pool is he gonna be
like are you saying like the median outcome of his career like not the best case not the worst case would be a Jordan Pool type player
Like are we sure he’s going to be better than Jordan P in the NBA like are we 100% sure he’s going to substantially at that be better than Jordan P like how much different of a career arc are they gonna have
yeah that’s a really good question I would not say I’m 100% confident he’s going to be better than P I think he has a higher upside I agree I I think a lot of that ties into the youth but like to me when you watch this kid get into the lane the burst the handles is like truly a thing of beauty That honestly makes it so much more confounding that he didn’t finish at the rim well really at all He was really poor around the basket this past season He did make up for it because he got to the free throw line a ton But yeah I I think in terms of getting past his man breaking his m his defender down off the bounce that is going to come right away for him I think maybe I shouldn’t say right away I exaggerate sometimes when it comes to projecting these guys but that is the sell on him But it is needing to hit the weight room getting on an NBA weightlifting nutrition program to get to where he needs to be to deal with physicality and athleticism at the basket Uh and as much as I love Jordan Pool at Michigan would you ever say that was something that characterized him coming out or even his best days on the Warriors I don’t know if I was ever like “Oh Jordan P has elite burst Jordan Pool is really good.” I think he does
H I mean you watched him a lot more than I did in Golden State so maybe I’m sleeping on Jordan Pool
I think his first step’s as good as anybody’s I I think Jeremiah Fierce’s ceiling is way higher than Jordan Pool Don’t get me wrong but like I also at one point thought Jordan Pool’s ceiling was higher than what Jordan Pool’s done to be fair So ju just because I feel that way doesn’t mean it’s actually going to turn out that way I think Jordan Pool is a fair median for um um for Jeremiah Fears And I don’t mean that as a site I think Jordan P’s a fringe all-star who is on a max contract at the moment Like that’s a great career arc Is he on his third team in four years sure Uh but like you know he’s an NBA champion with a max deal Like what more could you really ask for if you’re an NBA player so I think it’s a I I don’t mean it as a slight I just think it’s an interesting fit because you have Dejante Murray you have Jordan P you have and now you have Jeremiah Fierce Where does he fit in with that are the Pelicans trying to win or are they trying to put the ball in Jeremiah Fierce hand to let him learn because he’s trying to play point guard That is the hardest position in my opinion in sports to learn at a professional level on the fly I think you need to allow your point guards to play and make mistakes but I’m looking at it where is he going to get the play
yeah they really do have a ton of guards and even someone like Herb Jones I know he was hurt this past year but likes the ball in his hands and that’s sort of been the sell on him as well Um
Zion too right like what is Zion if the ball isn’t in Zion’s hands
yeah that’s a really good point Yeah this is uh as you hash this out this is why I need the balance you bring Dion I really do It helps helps me see like on the court where it does where it might not make the most sense because Jeremiah fears with some of that youthfulness I think you probably want to take advantage of that and like get these reps in early while he is still young And if he struggles you still have that crutch of saying like “Hey he’s supposed to be a freshman in college this year.” you know like that that youthfulness isn’t going to last forever And I would like to take advantage of that and see what he can become But with as many guys who want the ball in their hands on this team might not happen Might not happen how he would envision it Might not happen how his camp would envision it Maybe not even how the organization is viewing it with taking them at the number seven pick
I have to assume they still owe like they have to owe the Hawks some picks for De Jante right like there’s no way that they’re clear that Dejante deal too
right
i don’t know that to be a fact I don’t have it in front of me I apologize Everybody says I need to do more research I wasn’t thinking I was going to have to discuss the Jante Murray trades when I was doing all my research But my thought process on it is like if they do O picks that signals you have to win now And I think unfortunately that means a lot not a lot of Jeremiah fears next year if that’s the case
Yep Well said Hope it works out for him would love to see him get a crack at handling a lot of shot creation responsibilities Just a lot of mouths to feed right now
The Sleepers react to the New Orleans Pelicans selecting Jeremiah Fears at number 7!
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