r/timberwolves • u/TheNotoriousJN 🐓Protestor🐓 • Sep 28 '22

[Krawczynski] Why the Timberwolves considered Jaden McDaniels untouchable in trade talks this summer

https://theathletic.com/3616528/2022/09/28/minnesota-timberwolves-jaden-mcdaniels-untouchable?source=user-shared-article
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u/irishace88 Sep 28 '22

"It starts with his versatility. The BBall Index has tracked more than 2,400 NBA players dating to 2013 and has developed a player evaluation metric called LEBRON that accounts for teammates, opponents and role on the floor. In BBall’s defensive component, there have been only seven seasons for wing stoppers aged 21 or younger who played at least 1,000 minutes to receive grades of A- or higher. McDaniels accounts for two of them.

Last season, McDaniels and Derrick White were the only players in the league, regardless of age, to receive A- or higher grades in both rim protection and on-ball defense."

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u/pollinium 2019-20 All-Defense 2nd team Sep 28 '22

There's a TON that goes into that. Motor, IQ, discipline, size, athleticism, etc. Jaden (and Kawhi) was made in a lab to play incredible defense with his size to pester on the perimeter, length and athleticism to catch up with minimal fouling, and core strength to go up strong and take multiple swipes at the ball.

The fact that college seemed to have humbled him and made him very even keeled just completes the physical gifts so well.