Isaiah Collier is such a wild card. Dude is like a NFL RB playing PG. He undeniably can get into the paint and draw fouls at a rate that is special He's not just a blackhole flying to the rim, either. He flashes a lot of craft scoring in the paint and playmaking off his penetration--real PG and offensive engine stuff.
He also has warts on his profile and question marks that don't have clear answers, at all:
- His measurables are questionable--I bet he's shorter than 6'5 and he has a rumored 6'4 wingspan. Not great and really limits him mostly PG play. It will be interesting to see his actual measurables.
- He's extremely explosive on the ground--great acceleration--and has outstanding body control to find gaps to finish through the teeth of the defense, but he's kind of vertically challenged. He's mostly a below-the-rim player [hence him playing like a RB].
- He flashed a lot of exciting playmaking but also had a lot of sketchy turnovers. I'm OK to see that from a developing prospect as long as it comes with the real flashes. AND it's encouraging that he improved his A/TO numbers as the season went along.
- Building off of the above, I believe he has the strength, build, and mobility to be a positive defender, but his rumored short wingspan will cap some of his ability there.
Ultimately, I think getting to know the person behind the player will be critically important for front offices to buy into Collier's upside. That and some confidence that his shot can be improved and refined.
I'm def interested to learn more about Collier as the process goes on. His warts are concerning, but we wouldn't be able to talk about him as potentially being in Miami's range if they didn't exist.
