2022 NBA Draft: #37 Jaden Hardy (6' 3", 6' 9" WS) to DAL | two 2nds to SAC

[Mavs2021]

A few thoughts on Liddell from me:

1) I have indeed been pushing him as a "small ball center" candidate. When I use that language I am NOT suggesting him in that role full-time. I classify him as a wing as well. I can imagine him in the long run splitting time between those, similar to Draymond Green.

2) He is undersized as a center (hence the nomenclature of "small ball center"). But I do not think Liddell is undersized as a wing at all. He has NBA ready strength and athleticism (ELITE). That alone makes him immediately play "bigger" than he is. If you have length and no strength it often doesn't matter because you get bumped into a position where you can no longer use your length as an advantage. Liddell will not be "displaced" easily and therefore plays "bigger" than he is.


3) I think Liddell is the perfect candidate for a team wanting to play an "all switching" defense. In that scenario who the "center" is doesn't even matter. Liddell in my opinion fits perfectly into that and is very capable of defending 1-5 (though yes he will be undersized against many 5s, but in an "all switching" defense you are already accepting that fate).

Well said. Liddell would function as a match-up SF/PF/C hybrid. You want to punish a stiff big, he can drag him all over the floor on offense and on defense he takes advantage of the #1 NBA rule "bigger dude was mean to me". Body up, handcheck and then flop, when the big guys tries to go through you.

Not sure he has the footspeed and awareness to guard PG/SG or even smaller SF, but bigger SF to C for a 10-15 minute stint should be possible.

If you want to play big by committee Liddell, Koloko and Kleber offer everything you need. Obviously whether the rookies will get there is a different question, but on paper that is exactly the kind of three-headed monster you want in the modern NBA.

It´s the fault of the old MBT that we do not have this steady stream of Pooles, Kumingas, Moodys and Wisemans coming through and they might take two years to develop, but you got to start at some point. Luka will enter his prime in 3-4 years, so it´s the perfect time to load up on young prospects that can develop on the same timeline and not waste rosterspots on guys like Burke, Boban, Pinson, Powell, Brown. It´s also not enough to have just one every year. Realistically you want two picks every year on average, so that in a two year window (four picks), you find one player. 25% seems a fair strike rate.