Siakam just isn’t a comp for Diawara, though. Siakam was much more of a rebounder/finisher/post scorer.

I don’t know where you get that idea about Siakam as a rookie…. maybe extrapolating backward from today, but Siakam absolutely sucked offensively as a rookie. Not an opinion, completely demonstratable.

First scored he 9.6 points /36 whic is abysmal. For comparison that would rank 17 on this year’s Knicks, just ahead of Ariel Hukporti.

Secondly, he shot 60.0% from 0-3 feet which is just as abysmal. For comparison, that would rank also 17th on this year’s knicks just ahead of Kevin McCullar.

Thirdly, for a guy you called a “finisher/post SCORER” he had a tiny free throw attempt rate which would put him 12th on this year’s Knicks (between Clarkson and Alvarado for a 6-8 power forward.)

Fourthly his OBPM was a dismal -3.0 which would tie him for 14th on this year’s Knicks 7/10s of a point ahead of that offensive juggernaut Ariel Hukporti!

But he is also very good at certain other things for a guy his age, maybe better than Siakam was at that age. He has strong finishing ability with both hands. He handles the ball very well. He seems to see the floor well He is good at getting into a defensive stance and using his wingspan at the point of attack.

No one knows for sure where his ceiling is, but his floor seems to be “NBA rotation player.” I think these next 3 months will really help him, and Mike Brown is surely gonna try to find out where that ceiling is.

On that notr, one of the most fun things about going into this next year with a glorious championship under our belts is that we know what we have in Mike Brown. There are no longer any questions about “can he be the coach of a championship team?” Or whether he’s a good fit for this team. Or “If only Leon had hired X…” buyer’s remorse. For me, it takes a bit of the edge off of the roster side of things.

pt, I agree that Siakam is not a great comp beyond the similar measurables.

You are correct, but probably not for the reasons you might think. You folks need to compare apples to apples.

If you compare Siakim vs Diawara in their rookie season (Siakim with 1100 minutes of WAC college ball at 22 and Diawara’s 20 yr old season with some play in France) Diawara was significantly better:

Diawara Siakim

Mins 634 858

TS% .550 .523

3pt% 36.9% on 130 shots 14.7% on 7 shots

BPM -1.7 -2.4

Pt/36 14.0 9.6

ft% 75% 66.8%

ast/36 3.0 0.7

Diawara in his 20 year old season held up quite well to Siakim’s 22 year old season.

That is awesome!

the 21-year-old has oodles of potential in front of him.

“He looks like someone who played point guard growing up,” Boylan said. “His passing, his vision, his IQ, those are things of somebody who has probably played the position a long time.

“And then he probably hit a growth spurt. And that’s kind of allowed him to potentially play multiple positions. I think the NBA is trending toward having as many point guards on the floor at one time . . . it gives you flexibility and you can play alongside to play next to another ballhandler. I think he’ll get opportunities as the primary and secondary guy. And it’s going to be excited to see where he’s best-suited to play. He’s going to be really versatile and adaptable player.”

De Larrea is only a few weeks removed from winning the Spanish League title over FC Barcelona. De Larrea’s Valencia team has become a powerhouse with him running the point guard position, among other things.

His versatility is going to be critical to his success in the NBA. He was the No. 25 overall draft pick (by the New York Knicks) and quickly became a Maverick with a draft-night trade.

“Summer league can be really difficult for taller guards because you get these athletic pressure guards that try to get under you and he’s a guy who’s kind of wise beyond his years,” he said of De Larrea.”He showed the alley-oop pass and he’s got some things you just can’t teach. He handled the pick-and-roll and did a great job of handling some pressure. He’s so poised”