Lecque had some nice PG moves in summer league, drive and dish, pass off on fast breaks, etc. I'm in no rush to label him SG/combo/PG before the season even starts. It would be cool if he earns playing time. For once there is competition to beat out, in Tyler Johnson, Ty Jerome, Jevon Carter, maybe Okobo. I pray for all of us that the player development group has been replaced.
Archie could jump way up there but he didn't have the twitchy jumping ability that Lecque has, that rare ability to get way up without loading up first. Gerald Green, Derrick Jones Jr and Marion are other Suns I can recall having it. I think he's already ahead of Archie in passing ability, or at least, passing willingness, same on defense. Only thing I know Archie could do well was penetrate into the lane, he was amazing at it, but, sadly for him, it was only the penetration part he was good at, once he got in the paint he was a disaster unless a ref gave him a call.
I really like that comp after watching him play in the SL. The limited film we had on the kid never showed the defensive part. He's far more tenacious on D then I would have imagined. Hopefully, like Fox, he works on his shot enough to not be an issue. Do you think if there was a redraft today any other teams would change their mind? (BTW, I call no fair on Luka Samanic. We briefly talked about him pre-draft. Dude looks WAAAAY more filled out in SL than on his prior film. That was my hugest concern and he already looks to have overcome it.)
I think Lecque would be drafted if there was a do over at least in the second round. The more I think about it I like the Fox comparison even more. Samanic was a heck of a draft pick. I'm not sure why he fell so far.
Of course he could wind up not having a Westbrook type career but potentially he could. Like Westbrook he can get to the rim and finish at will. His leaping ability makes him fearless in the paint. Remember, Westbrook didn’t look like an MVP caliber player at UCLA. The only reason he went so high in the draft is because he tested well and impressed during private workouts. No one knows how good any of these players will be, even Zion but we bank on their potential.
I think that’s a bit disingenuous in regards to why Westbrook was drafted where he was selected. If it was only about his measurables why did he get drafted high lottery and similar measurables had lecque going undrafted in a poor draft?
I would think it has something to do with the fact that Lecque played against high schoolers last year while Westbrook spent two years at UCLA and won the PAC-DPOY as a sophomore. So yes, it was more than measurables, although the measurables plus the resume were an influential combo.
I like the optimism here but getting excited about a guy purely based on athleticism is next to useless, especially with the Suns track record of player development. Hes not dominating summer league which means hes got light years to go to dominate an NBA game
The Suns track record of player development means absolutely nothing at this point. It is a completely new regime from GM down. It isn't Robert Sarver that develops players. We do not know that it will be better, but it is unlikely that it will be worse. It is a blank slate.
It wasn’t just about measurables, Westbrook had killer private workouts with teams that caused his stock to soar right before draft. Westbrook played two years at UCLA so he was more developed. As I mentioned, had Lecque went to NC State next year he could have arguably been the top PG in next year’s draft with competition from Hampton, Anthony and Mannion.
Sure that’s possible. But weren’t the guys you listed top 10-15 rated guys in the 2019 class and lecque somewhere in the late 30s?
I am really curious as to why teams didn't take a flyer on him in the 2nd round (especially late 2nd). I suspect it is a combination of being a pretty big unknown coming straight from high school. He also doesn't seem to have any elite skills to bank on as he is not a good shooter, not a great passer and mostly just a great athlete. Too many unknowns for a team to use a pick if there was someone else they felt was more likely to be a solid NBA player.
