Ranking the 2019 Rookie Class Today, Top 5

[dasiegel]

This class ended up being pretty loaded or at least looks headed that way.

Who are your top 5 today?

1. Ja Morant- I still see Zion being the best player but so far your can't ague with success. When I look at the Memphis roster they look like they should be worse than Detroit. Ja makes a big difference.

2. Zion- I see this kid as a future MVP if he can stay healthy. He's that talented and can affect the game on both ends as well as playmaking.

3. Tyler Herro- Hard to not have him 3 here with the playoff success and the stat stuffing along with a amazing 3ball.

4. DeAndre Hunter- I think ATL's improvement has as much to do with Hunter as Trae/Collins/free agents. Plays both sides of the ball, scoring much better than I expected.

5. RJ Barrett- Homer pick here, but I think he has the "it" factor to make the top 5. He's athletic but not super athletic. He has an ok shot, but had a stretch recently that was abysmal. His FT% is poor. And yet, he always affects the games as much as anyone on NYK and has us about .500. After Julius Randle, Barrett is the main guy and he always does the little things on top of giving you 17 and 7 while struggling.

Honorary mentions: Brandon Clarke, Kobe White, Rui Hachimura and a few guys might be here if I did this same list in 12 months.

[Akphillips86]

Originally Posted by dasiegel

This class ended up being pretty loaded or at least looks headed that way.

Who are your top 5 today?

1. Ja Morant- I still see Zion being the best player but so far your can't ague with success. When I look at the Memphis roster they look like they should be worse than Detroit. Ja makes a big difference.

2. Zion- I see this kid as a future MVP if he can stay healthy. He's that talented and can affect the game on both ends as well as playmaking.

3. Tyler Herro- Hard to not have him 3 here with the playoff success and the stat stuffing along with a amazing 3ball.

4. DeAndre Hunter- I think ATL's improvement has as much to do with Hunter as Trae/Collins/free agents. Plays both sides of the ball, scoring much better than I expected.

5. RJ Barrett- Homer pick here, but I think he has the "it" factor to make the top 5. He's athletic but not super athletic. He has an ok shot, but had a stretch recently that was abysmal. His FT% is poor. And yet, he always affects the games as much as anyone on NYK and has us about .500. After Julius Randle, Barrett is the main guy and he always does the little things on top of giving you 17 and 7 while struggling.

Honorary mentions: Brandon Clarke, Kobe White, Rui Hachimura and a few guys might be here if I did this same list in 12 months.

Love the inclusion of Hunter on this list. When it’s all said and done, I think he will actually climb to a solid 3 in this class. His game is solid.


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[Chryghst]

The halo effect is so real. Memphis went 5-4 without Morant, and yet he’s given credit for their success. He’s an electric player, no doubt, but Jenkins, Brooks, Anderson & co. deserve credit for Memphis’ standing so far this season, not Ja.

I would add Cameron and Keldon Johnson to your list, probably putting them ahead of RJ. I’ve been really impressed with Hunter this year. Garland, Bailey and Dort probably round out the list of contributors.

[Grizzkid12]

Originally Posted by Akphillips86

Love the inclusion of Hunter on this list. When it’s all said and done, I think he will actually climb to a solid 3 in this class. His game is solid.


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Good list and love the Hunter inclusion as well. He's looked phenomenal so far this year. Showing lots of poise for a 2nd year player.

I'd probably take Coby White over RJ, and could potentially see Herro falling out of the top 5 in the future if one of the guys just outside the top 5 creep in, but otherwise solid list for sure

[Matt24]

Originally Posted by Chryghst

The halo effect is so real. Memphis went 5-4 without Morant, and yet he’s given credit for their success.

They beat Charlotte, Cleveland, Minnesota, and Brooklyn(sort of twice) without Durant/Irving in games Morant missed... not like they beat any team with a pulse

[PKIPP]

Zion
Ja
Herro


Will edit later and add my last two. I gotta look up how some of these dudes are doing this year.


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[kyleuk21]

Rj absolutely does not belong here. At least not yet.

[rippev]

Solid list, but I’d probably put Keldon Johnson over RJ at 5th.

[YayNJ]

1 - Ja Morant
2 - Tyler Herro
3 - Rui Hachimura
4 - Zion Williamson
5 - Coby White

mentions :

RJ Barrett
Brandon Clarke
Darius Garland
De'Andre Hunter

[CardmanDan]

I agree Keldon is #5 over RJ all day

[KhalDrogo]

1. Zion
2. Hunter
3. Ja

[DiamondDonovan]

Top 5 (in no particular order) - Zion, Ja, Herro, Hunter, and Keldon Johnson

The 2nd tier includes: Coby White, RJ Barrett, PJ Washington, Darius Garland, Rui

Garland would have been in the Top 5 if he didn't get injured. Was really hitting his groove and playing well.

[Wade Mulroy]

I think Cameron Johnson is definitely someone that is outside the top 5, but has the potential to break out. Won't be the top dog for the Suns anytime soon, but could play a big role on a good team.

[PacklineD]

Man I LOVE seeing the DeAndre Hunter love starting to get thrown around here.

Id bet my truck hes only going to get better and better. There’s still plenty of meat on the bone in his game. He’s improved his handle immensely since turning pro and I expect his ability to create his own shot and his playmaking to continue to steadily improve.

Best part about him though is his humility. Just a super easy dude to like, respect, and pull for.

Great kid with an A+ work ethic and A+ intangibles.

[brothertona]

De'Andre Hunter is having the year everyone assumed that Cam Reddish would have this year. He looks like a true difference maker on both sides of the ball. With the way that Collins and Capela have looked - defensive rating of 97.6 when both are on the court, and De'Andre Hunter's ascent the Hawks have looked passable at times on defense. They still need a SG so one of Bogdan, Huerter, and Cam just needs to take the next step but they're close - Trae just needs to keep working off of others and not try to be the Trae show everytime.

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by brothertona

De'Andre Hunter is having the year everyone assumed that Cam Reddish would have this year.

Except the people who know the two beyond just their name.

Hunter would have had a lot more recognition after college had he played at a program with more offensive emphasis. He will be an elite two-way player if Trae shares the ball.

[Wade Mulroy]

Originally Posted by brothertona

De'Andre Hunter is having the year everyone assumed that Cam Reddish would have this year. He looks like a true difference maker on both sides of the ball. With the way that Collins and Capela have looked - defensive rating of 97.6 when both are on the court, and De'Andre Hunter's ascent the Hawks have looked passable at times on defense. They still need a SG so one of Bogdan, Huerter, and Cam just needs to take the next step but they're close - Trae just needs to keep working off of others and not try to be the Trae show everytime.

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Except the people who know the two beyond just their name.

Hunter would have had a lot more recognition after college had he played at a program with more offensive emphasis. He will be an elite two-way player if Trae shares the ball.

Dude has haunted me in the 2019-20 products I've opened... Tried to move some Prizm rookies and parallels at the end of last season and couldn't get any interest. Happy to have been able to keep my unintentional PC of him

[GoNYGoNYGo]

I agree with RJ being included - he has taken his game to a new level this year. He is playing much better defense and the biggest thing after last year was that he needed to up his FT% and its raised 13% this year and he is hitting around 75% of his FT's. The kid puts in work when needed which leads me to believe he will work on his 3 and up that percentage too. He doesn't need to be a great 3 point shooter he just needs to be dependable. He has had some AWFUL games this year but when hes on he is very good.

He had a 4 game stretch recently against Utah, OKC, Denver, and Charlotte where he was a combined 20-66 from the floor and 1-16 from 3. That was obviously a terrible a stretch and I know you can't just ignore that but under the assumption that he makes the steps he needs to eliminate stretches like that in the future. Outside of those 4 games he's averaging 19 pts, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists as a 20 year old.

[gowizards0]

deandre hunter is also 3 years older than everybody else on the list

[Zacy87]

PJ Washington gets no love at all and it's pretty surprising. I also think Coby White is insanely overrated. I don't think people actually watch him play, they just look at the odd box score and assume he's doing well. He turns the ball over a ton and completely disappears at times on offense. In his last 4 games, he has a 0 point, 9 point and 10 point outing with a total of 28 FGA

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by gowizards0

deandre hunter is also 3 years older than everybody else on the list

Bit of an exaggeration.

[colbycolbycolby]

1- Ja
2- Zion
3- Coby
4- Herro
5- Rui

[gowizards0]

Originally Posted by KhalDrogo

Bit of an exaggeration.

2.5 years better?

[KhalDrogo]

Originally Posted by gowizards0

2.5 years better?

Hunter: 23y 1m
Morant: 21y 5m
Zion: 20y 6m
RJB: 20y 7m
Herro: 21y 0m (bday tomorrow)
Clarke: 24y 4m
White: 20y 11m
Rui: 22y 11m

The age argument is stupid anyway. Same thing that pushed Brogdon to a second rounder. The Wolves got the young Kris Dunn. You think they wish they had that back?

[Ericc5Bears]

No way people are seriously putting Rui over Keldon/RJ/Coby lol