Cooper Draft Talk (4/2/21 Update: Enters Draft)

[tigeraddikt 1,598]

13 hours ago, Randman5000 said:

Isn't his dad his agent? SMH. He'll be fine but definitely going to have to put the work in. A year in college could have helped his draft for sure. Pearl also needs to lay off the hype, I hope he's shooting straight behind closed doors. Good luck and work in ATL

Yeah. I feel embarrassed for him. Maybe I shouldn't. But dang he had some stinky info on his draft stock. There's a video on youtube showing him and his crew at the moment the Hawks announced their pick. He was dressed like lotto money, even Bruce was there to support his "1st Round Guy." Just sucks. But I'm sure he'll work hard and do the best he can. As an Auburn fan, I feel gypped that we just saw him for half  a throwaway season.

[AuburnArch13 185]

5 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Trae Young is honestly the best player in all of basketball for Sharife to learn from, so there is a positive there. If he can raise his stock to be their lead second unit floor general, there's some fantastic options for both shooting and PnR lob threats. 

 

But I'd be lying if I didn't feel a mixture of disappointment and sorrow at a certain point in that process. Maybe some of it was selfish (dude would be leading a championship winner if he came back), but 80% of it is...a guy that has a skill as insane as his passing shouldn't be closer to being undrafted than being a lottery player. I also believe a huge part of his slo-mo shot and poor lift was just trying to adjust to shooting on a college level whilst being thrown into the deep side of the pool. Now why you declare knowing that you are closer to a second round guy even per mocks...I mean I don't know. 

Just very, very disappointing, but he did go to an incredibly ideal spot and I wish him the best 

Yeah, it’s a shame he dropped as far as he did but I think that the landing spot could make it a blessing in disguise as you point out. Not only would he potentially be learning behind Trae, but would also be in a system that is de-facto tailored to his game by virtue of the roster being built around Traes similar skill set.  Will be interesting to see how he competes in the summer league relative to Skylar Mays.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,653]

3 hours ago, AuburnNTexas said:

Both Cooper and Thor took calculated risks in going into the draft. The NIL didn't exist when they originally went into the draft we still don't know how well it will help the young people. It could be all over the place. Thor with his athleticism and size will be fine maybe staying in school another year on a strength and conditioning program would have moved him ip but he also could have gotten injured. Thor will get a contract as they always need players like him and he will get better every year. Cooper has some unique skills and also has some issues size and possibly a weak outside shot.  Size would not have changed if he came back another year. Worse case for Cooper is he will play G-League and make some money.  As for his outside shot I have heard the reason it was bad at Auburn is he was not in game shape but the way he moved belied that. He can work on his shot in G-League or in mail league if in camp he shows his shot is really improved. He is a great facilitator I think he will get a contract.

Yeah he’s definitely going to be on their GLeague, if not end of rotation. Hawks had options that would’ve made more sense with their current roster construction, they’re gambling that the future version of him will at least be able to emulate things that Trae does. He becomes a rookie deal (cheap) worse version of that guy, and can be the backup PG. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,653]

1 hour ago, AuburnArch13 said:

Yeah, it’s a shame he dropped as far as he did but I think that the landing spot could make it a blessing in disguise as you point out. Not only would he potentially be learning behind Trae, but would also be in a system that is de-facto tailored to his game by virtue of the roster being built around Traes similar skill set.  Will be interesting to see how he competes in the summer league relative to Skylar Mays.

Mays is a gamer, plus a guy that has some in game experience. He’s gonna have to earn everything, but I think the guy has always matched the challenge, and they’ll make each other better. I wouldn’t shocked if they sign some cheap ver min PG option out the gate, and look to promote one of those two into that role by the end of the season (development permitting)

[AuburnArch13 185]

2 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Mays is a gamer, plus a guy that has some in game experience. He’s gonna have to earn everything, but I think the guy has always matched the challenge, and they’ll make each other better. I wouldn’t shocked if they sign some cheap ver min PG option out the gate, and look to promote one of those two into that role by the end of the season (development permitting)

Agreed. With the recent trade it looks like it’ll be Delon Wright as the backup PG with Coop and Mays battling for that third spot, as Kris Dunn is now gone and I imagine it’s less likely we re-sign Lemon Pepper Lou at this point.

[GwillMac6 20,665]

16 hours ago, gravejd said:

Not a good draft night for either Thor or Coop. Both fell to the second round though i think most would say second round was expected. I know there was some chatter about them going higher but i always figured it was a long shot. Thor definitely would have benefitted from coming back....i don't know about Coop. Showing a jump shot during actual games in college would have helped him but coming back would have also exposed his poor defense even more. 
 

I'm on the fence about if the Hawks are as terrible landing spot as they seem on the surface. He has zero change to start there as long as Trae is healthy. They can't play at the same time and Coop is not going to replace Trae as a starter. But this could be a good chance for him to work on his game without needing to be the guy leading the teams offense. So maybe this is a blessing in disguise as he won't be pressed into action too early and get exposed. 

I think Thor went to the Pistons right?? I have no idea how he fits in that roster but its too bad we can't seem to land a player on any good teams.  

Coop was literally mocked in the first round in almost every mock draft. Thor was on a lot of them as well. So yes it is a huge shock that at least 1 of them did not pop in the first round.

Hawks are a really good team who just made the ECF WAAAAAY earlier than expected. They are way ahead of schedule and were not even close to full strength all of last season or in their playoff run. BUT I want our players on as bad of a team as possible so they get tons of playing time. Look at Okoro last year. Was on a terrible team but he led all rookies in minutes. That is what I want from our guys. To get as many opportunities as possible to play. 

Edited July 31, 2021 by GwillMac6

[GwillMac6 20,665]

6 hours ago, Dual-Threat Rigby said:

Yeah he’s definitely going to be on their GLeague, if not end of rotation. Hawks had options that would’ve made more sense with their current roster construction, they’re gambling that the future version of him will at least be able to emulate things that Trae does. He becomes a rookie deal (cheap) worse version of that guy, and can be the backup PG. 

He will absolutely be the permanent back up PG sooner rather than later and will be running the second unit for the Hawks eventually. Kris Dunn will most likely start the season as the Hawks backup PG but he is on the last year of his contract and there is no upside with him. He is not a floor general and is just known for his defense. He cannot shoot the 3 either. He played almost none all of last season and once he did come back he was a healthy scratch for almost every remaining regular season and playoff games and was benched in favor of a old Lou Williams. 

[GwillMac6 20,665]

3 hours ago, AuburnArch13 said:

Agreed. With the recent trade it looks like it’ll be Delon Wright as the backup PG with Coop and Mays battling for that third spot, as Kris Dunn is now gone and I imagine it’s less likely we re-sign Lemon Pepper Lou at this point.

I just saw what you were talking about. GREAT trade for the Hawks. HUUUUGE MASSSIIIVE upgrade from Kris Dunn who was such of a bust of a signing.  Delon Wright is a very capable backup PG. A really good one. Perfect backup for Coop to learn under his tutelage and emulate how to be a good professional backup PG and stick in the league for several years as a rotation player. Schlenk keeps on pushing all the right buttons for the Hawks.

[GwillMac6 20,665]

3 hours ago, AuburnArch13 said:

Agreed. With the recent trade it looks like it’ll be Delon Wright as the backup PG with Coop and Mays battling for that third spot, as Kris Dunn is now gone and I imagine it’s less likely we re-sign Lemon Pepper Lou at this point.

MAN you miss so much when you are flying all day!!!! lmao. OOPS!!! HELL YAH SCHLENK!!!! so happy the Hawks got Kris Dunn off the books. Hawks are all set to contend in the east again. And this time I bet if they are healthy get a lot better seed than fifth for next years playoffs. Tristan Thompson time on the Hawks is right up there with other legendary Hawks like Melo and Rasheed Wallace! lmao. Good looking out Arch!! You the fam and brodie now!! !WOOOO!!!

Edited July 31, 2021 by GwillMac6

[NoALtiger 3,849]

Gonna be hard to learn much from Trae when you on the GLeague squad as much as it’s looking right now for him. I mean it’s great that he got to have his NBA draft moment (even though it was 2nd rd), but it’s not like he’s guaranteed to play even a minute of NBA ball. Plenty of guys get drafted that for whatever reason literally have a zero nba career. I dunno, I’m happy for him if he’s happy, but I definitely have a feeling of what might have been had he stayed. With the ncaa deal and getting injured making him miss so many games and now this, I’m sure this wasn’t how he envisioned things. 

[alexava 6,973]

I’m Hell and Gone from an NBA draft analyst but I didn’t see Coop as an NBA PG. Not yet anyway. Would like to have seen him clean his game up and win Auburn a championship because he’s got the stuff for college. Still wish him success. 

[tigerman1186 537]

They made their decision, too much is made by where they were drafted and should they had gone or not...I'm sure if you were in their shoes, you would have gone to the pros...wish them the best...

[NoALtiger 3,849]

20 hours ago, tigerman1186 said:

They made their decision, too much is made by where they were drafted and should they had gone or not...I'm sure if you were in their shoes, you would have gone to the pros...wish them the best...

Ha opinions and discussion of things is literally the reason a message board exists and in the end I think of course everyone wishes them the best. 

[Rednilla 5,383]

Yeah, I still don't blame either one of them for going after just one year. Of course I would have loved to have seen what Bruce could have done with them for another year, and I think Thor probably would have moved up a good bit had he come back, but at the end of the day, it's their lives, and as long as they are able to make the team, I don't have a problem with it. 

And I'm going to have to start keeping up with the NBA now, because Auburn's putting too many players there not to pay attention.

Also, a note for Coop...from what everyone is saying, it sounds like he might be in an ideal situation all the way around. He gets to learn under a guy whose game is similar, and, while I don't disagree with the whole idea of our guys going to non-contenders so that they get a lot of playing time, I don't think it's bad to play quality backup minutes on a winner, especially if/when he takes over as the primary backup, because that can be critical to the team's success.

[atl-tiger 655]

Hawks just resigned Lemon Pepper Lou.. Coops gonna need to ball out in summer league. Starts Sunday in Vegas

[AuburnArch13 185]

1 hour ago, atl-tiger said:

Hawks just resigned Lemon Pepper Lou.. Coops gonna need to ball out in summer league. Starts Sunday in Vegas

Yeah, with Coop being on a two-way I imagine he spends most of the year in the G-League. He’s probably 5th on the PG depth chart at the moment, fighting for fourth this summer. But that’s probably not the worst thing for him. Let’s him have more actual game reps to work on his shot, and on learning to finish better in traffic against bigger guys. 

[AuburnArch13 185]

For anyone interested, Cooper should see his NBA debut today at 4EST / CST for the Hawks summer league squad. Believe it will be televised on NBATV and ESPN 3.

[toddc 13,194]

Oh no he didn’t!!!

[toddc 13,194]

 

[AuburnArch13 185]

Coop had some great passes throughout the game. Unfortunately the receivers of those passes weren’t always able to convert when they should have which will depress his stats a bit. He also had some head scratching turnovers and mental errors, particularly at the end of the game. All total he looked like a very gifted player that has only played 13 games above the high school level.

Hawks have 4 more summer games so will see how he improves, but I imagine he’ll spend most of not all season in the G-league. He needs the reps more than the Hawks need his contributions at this point.

And for any other Hox out there, Jalen Johnson looks like a real steal at 20.

[NoALtiger 3,849]

It’s a crime his one and done year was wasted on last season of all seasons. 

[Rednilla 5,383]

I saw the mention of his game being on about half an hour after it started, so I flipped over. He's definitely a liability on defense, but, to my uneducated eye, he didn't appear wholly outmatched on that side of the floor. He did get kinda careless with the ball a few times, but his court vision has not decreased at all. Here's hoping he's able to get the proper development quickly and is able to become a full time NBA player relatively soon.

[steeleagle 2,945]

15 hours ago, toddc said:

Oh no he didn’t!!!

Great no look pass....but he still can't play defense I noticed. lol....

[toddc 13,194]

33 minutes ago, steeleagle said:

Great no look pass....but he still can't play defense I noticed. lol....

Yeah I know but I have a narrative! 😝 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,653]

Dude was ******* wet today, wow. Could be a paradigm shifting summer league for him if this keeps up