The Trail Blazers Are Looking Like GENIUSES…

The Trail Blazers Are Looking Like GENIUSES…

So, a fresh new week has arrived. And here on this channel, that means one thing and one thing only. Every week, I post an episode of this series we do called Your Take, Not Mine, where I turn to you, the viewers, to give me your hottest NBA takes of the week based on what’s going on at the time, and I then choose my favorite submissions and discuss them in a video. This week, the NBA Summer League has been rounding into form, and we’ve seen a lot of incredibly entertaining games featuring the new rookie class, so we definitely have plenty to discuss. In order to submit your takes, I make a community post on either the day of or the day before the video similar to the one that you see on your screen now. So, if you want a chance to be featured in a future episode, be sure to stay on the lookout for that. Before we start, though, it turns out a good amount of you watching right now aren’t even subscribed to the channel. So, if you enjoy the content, consider hitting the subscribe button, as not only does this help out a ton, but it also very much appreciated. Now, with that being said, let’s begin. The first take we’ll be discussing today comes to us from Sebastian and he says that Yang Hansen is going to surprise a lot of people this season and finished top five in the Rookie of the Year voting. The Hansen selection was probably the biggest surprise of all of Draft Night, being mostly viewed as a flyer worth taking a swing on in the second round by most draft analysts and experts. But the Trailblazers took him with the 16th pick in the middle of the first round because they clearly saw something in him that nobody else did. Sure, it’s easy to say that the pick was a reach, but if you want a player, you might as well reach on them and not risk them being off the board later on. Hansen has been playing professionally in China over the last couple of seasons. So, he hasn’t gotten nearly as much screen time on American televisions as other prospects, which also probably contributed to him flying under the radar for most of the pre-draft process. But now that things have played out the way that they have, and we have the power of hindsight, this pick looks better and better for Portland with each passing day. It’s hard to understand exactly how skilled Hansen already is as a seven-footer until you watch him play live within the flow of a game. The biggest knock on him has always been that he’s a bit slowfooted and concerns about his defense are there in today’s NBA, but I think there’s a big misconception regarding the kind of weaknesses that hold players back. Yes, it is true. You won’t survive in the NBA if you’re a heavy set, slow big man who relies on back to the basket postcoring as your bread and butter. That play style is definitely dead and gone. But you can absolutely survive a lack of quickness if you have a strong face up game, show nice touch on your jumper, display advanced passing talent as a big man, and can be disciplined on defense to use your length to your advantage to make up for your lack of speed. Nicolic and Alpine Shenun are two prime examples of that being the case and Hansen is checking a whole lot of those boxes already. Young Hansen has looked great in summer league action, dishing out some incredible dimes reminiscent of Nicola Joic. He’s taking it to the basket and finishing strong around the rim. He’s operating masterfully in the high post and he’s even had a few impressive blocks that show he’s not a liability on the defensive end. Portland just got rid of DeAndre Aton, so Donovan Klingan and Hansen will likely be the team’s center rotation this year. And even if he doesn’t finish in the top five of the rookie of the year voting this season, like the original take states, I’m still absolutely on board the Yang Hansen hype train and believe he can be a highly impactful player in the NBA. The next take we’ll be discussing today comes to us from Joshua and he says that VJ Edgecomb will be the best player from this year’s draft class. Summer League is the first chance we all get to see the freshly drafted rookies suited up with their new teams. And even though we should all understand that everything that happens in summer league needs to be taken with a grain of salt, it’s still incredibly exciting to see guys play well against professional competition. I want to make it very clear that zero definitive takeaways should come as a result of summer league. But what we can do is analyze what parts of a players game should be able to translate to the next level and which parts ultimately prove to be meaningless. The truth is that almost none of the guys playing in summer league will have the same kind of usage in the NBA that they have in summer league. And struggling in one kind of role doesn’t mean they’re going to struggle in the role that they’ll be in during the regular season. and vice versa for those dominating. Now, not necessarily guaranteed to dominate the next level in a different role, too. Now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way, I am definitely excited about how good VJ Edgecomb looked in his summer league debut. Edgecomb came out with a bang, dropping 28 points against the Utah Jazz to open up summer league season, and the ways he was getting buckets far exceeded the expectations of what most thought he was capable of coming out of Baylor. Edgecomb is a much more competent shot creator than many gave him credit for. And honestly, if you go back and watch him play with the Bahamas in Olympic qualifiers, you see that assertion backed up. He just didn’t get the chance to showcase it as often in Baylor’s system. He’s an aggressive driver who soarses above the rim for powerful finishes. His pull-up jumper in the mid-range is pretty reliable. He makes the right reads on the ball and off the ball, he stays active on the glass and as a cutter, generating more opportunities for himself. Then on defense, Edgecomb is everywhere and has all of the tools to be a future member of the alldefense team with a bit more development. After all of the debate about whether or not he was worth the number three pick in the draft, he immediately quieted those doubts and the 76ers seem to have found another gem through the draft to add to their back court. Now, all of that may be true, but the original take we’re discussing here is still probably an overreaction. Cooper Flag was the number one pick this year for a reason, and I’m not going to let one offshooting night in Flag’s summer league debut change my mind about that, especially when Flag came out and dropped 31 points in his very next outing. I firmly believe that there could be several future all-stars coming from this draft class and VJ can definitely be one of them, but that’s as far as I’m willing to go at this point in time. And finally, the last take we’ll be discussing today comes to us from Benjamin, and he says that Yan Baron J will be a top three player in this draft class. The time for summer league hot takes is definitely in full force right now, but honestly, I kind of love it. I have no problem with people getting a little too excited about the young guys on their teams, even if it may be a bit unrealistic, and this take is a perfect example of that. Top three may be a bit of a stretch, but Baron Jay looks unbelievably good in his summer league outing so far, and I’m a firm believer in his talent long term. I had him going in the lottery of my final mock draft this year for a reason, because I definitely agree he has lottery talent. Baron Jay is a 6’11 French center who moves gracefully around the court and swats anything that comes near him. He just tied the all-time summer league record for blocks in a game when he finished with seven blocks against the Pelicans. And his timing, discipline, length, and rotational skills are well beyond his years. Offensively, he’s an explosive athlete who should thrive in pick and roll play. He crashes the glass hard and he has the skill set to make an impact from day one. Albeit, he’s definitely very raw on the offensive end and will probably need patience in his development early on. Luckily, the Timberwolves won’t need to play him big minutes right away because both Rudy Goar and Nas Reed are locked into the front court minutes for the time being. But low-key drafting Baron Jay could prove to be the Timberwolves getting ahead start on their post Rudy Gobear life. Goar still has two years left and a player option on his contract, but it’s no secret his name has come up in trade rumors on quite quite a few occasions. So if they wanted to offload him, Yoan Baron Jay could genuinely be competent as a replacement for holding down the interior of the defense. Having also paid Nas Reed a big contract this summer indicates that Gobear could be even more expendable in the near future. But for the time being, the Timberwolves are planning their future out in a very smart fashion, and Baron Jay is a big part of that. Of course, I am of the opinion that this is a very strong draft class. So, I’m not sure I can stand on the original opinion proclaimed, but I definitely think he’ll end up better than the 17th best player, which is the spot that he was drafted at. And with that being said, that’s all I have for you today. Make sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel, and comment down below what you think about the takes discussed. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you all next time.

Your Take, Not Mine is a series where I turn to the viewers to submit their NBA hot takes and I then select my favorite submissions to discuss in a video! Yang Hansen, VJ Edgecombe and more discussed

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