Workout 8: Manny Bates, Sincere Carry, Kendric Davis, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Adama Sanogo & Julian Strawther
It's a busy weekend at the Hive. #HornetsDraft | #LetsFly pic.twitter.com/0rkebGiuMA
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) June 4, 2023
by lawlyfawx
4 Comments
‘Sincere Carry’ is a name of all time.
Adama!!!! I just want him to stick on a roster so bad, dude is a workhorse and absolute unit down low. Give it to me!
OMax screams Kupchak pick.
1. OMax Prosper
6’8″ toolsy wing. His shot isn’t particularly trustworthy, he thinks he’s a little bit better at handling than he actually is (though, crucially, he doesn’t show it on the court), he’s a poor passer, and there are limitations to both his team defense and on-ball defense — the team defense because he neither plays mistake free nor takes appropriate risks, and the on-ball defense because he has major balance issues, in part because he tends to place his lead plant foot inside his body when sliding. While there’s a lot of bad here, there’s also a very real chance that, assuming he cleans up the balance issues and becomes the best 1 on 1 wing stopper in this class who is an acceptable shooter with a very small amount of ability to put the ball on the floor. Basically, it’s the argument from yesterday with Leaky Black but with a better player (though note that Leaky has at least few positive traits on OMax). While there are rumors of his stock jumping into the first round, I think that would be a rather significant mistake. By the time we get to 42, this class falls off rather severely so I can’t outright eliminate it, but even that would be a bit rich for my tastes. Personally I’d price his services at a two-way off of a later 2nd than we currently possess, but we would almost certainly never have a shot at him for that.
2. Julian Strawther
You can get a guy 1″ shorter but otherwise universally better than Strawther undrafted in literally every draft. Dane Goodwin, Landers Nolley, D’moi Hodge, and Andrew Funk are 4 such guys in this draft. Strawther is nothing but a shooter, except he shoots from his chin (which is an upgrade from his old form where he shot from his chest) and only managed 40% in a single season of playing in one of the most efficient offenses in NCAA history.. He can’t really put the ball on the floor, he’s not notable as an off-ball mover, and he’s an outright bad defender. Much like Prosper, his stock is in the early 2nd, potentially late 1st, but unlike Prosper, there is simply no justifiable reason for actually taking him. UDFA two-way, fine — there’s better options but he’s a reasonable shooting bet — but any serious investment should be right out.
3. Kendric Davis
Davis is a fairly complete player, who has scored efficiently for college largely on the basis of being able to get to the line at an elite level while also knocking shots down at an efficient rate from the field when not subject to the Memphis offensive tax. He’s a good to great passer, and, with the obvious giant asterisk, a goodish defender. The giant asterisk in the room, of course, is that he’s listed 5’11” and that feels generous. The thresholds for 5’11” guys are just so, so much higher than for players of normal heights, and Davis simply doesn’t clear them. He’s also a UDFA two-way type.
4. Adama Sanogo
Sanogo is a 6’7″ below the rim C. The most positive review of his defense by a serious scout that I’ve seen is that “he exists” (which, to be fair, is a compliment — basically he was saying that Sanogo uses his big body to take up space, which is Sanogo’s one skill on that end). My review of his defense would be far less kind. Offensively, Sanogo has good below the rim touch, but that only goes so far in the NBA when you can’t also go above the rim. He’s not much of a passer, he’s far to reliant on his post game that he’s not good enough to use at the NBA level, and overall, he just doesn’t work in the league. In fact, it’s unclear if he actually worked at the collegiate level or was just surrounded by so much talent that UConn won his minutes anyway — after all, his on-off net rating was an astoundingly bad -10.9. Now, let’s very quickly address the shot, because some people have advocated for him based on that: Sanogo is a career 35.8% 3 point shooter who had never made one in game prior to this season, made less than 20 total in his “good year”, and only attempted the most absolutely wide open of 3’s this year en route to a mediocre 36.5%. Sanogo’s shot might be an argument for his capacity for improvement, but it is not one for his current skill. Overall, I guess the college production alone is enough to set him apart for an E10, but like I barely even see the value in that.
5. Manny Bates
The offense is basically all dunker’s spot stuff, and the defense is basically all immobile shot blocking. There’s a little bit of passing there on offense, and he is springier than most immobile shot blockers, but overall he’s basically this year’s equivalent of Kur Kuath. Cool addition for the G League, but unless he really pops off that’s it.
6. Sincere Carry
Bog standard midmajor 6’1″ guard. Mostly put up numbers because the ball was constantly in his hands, but he was pretty inefficient and didn’t really do anything exceptionally to make up for it. He’s a weak G League roster option at best.