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He will play Serbian league too. So there is still some basketball left for him this season.

Mickey8 wrote:He will play Serbian league too. So there is still some basketball left for him this season.

good. He needs it imo in order to justify all the talk about him being near the top of the draft. I won't know how I really feel about him until I see him on the court with his NBA peers. Any chance this happens at the combine or will he still be playing like Coulibaly last year?

I don't know what was the situation with the player you named, I never followed him. I don't know what is the plan for Topic after the season ends. Maybe some private workouts or something. It will be interesting semi finals against Mega club that he was playing for half of the season. Topic vs Djurisic two NBA prospects.

Mickey8 wrote:I don't know what was the situation with the player you named, I never followed him. I don't know what is the plan for Topic after the season ends. Maybe some private workouts or something. It will be interesting semi finals against Mega club that he was playing for half of the season. Topic vs Djurisic two NBA prospects.

Coulibaly didn't attend the NBA combine because he was still playing overseas so we never got a chance to see him on the floor versus his NBA peers prior to the draft. No official measurements or anything. It didn't hurt his draft stock as he played well and it was a weaker class so he actually ended up rising steadily until draft night. I was wondering if that would likewise be the case with Topic because he might be still playing when the combine happens.

I don't think he would gain anything from playing at those scrimmages. The NBA scouts by now know everything about him and he will still play some ball before NBA Draft.

I don't think he would gain anything from playing at those scrimmages. If he's projected to be the lottery pick why risk it, if you have a bad day . The NBA scouts by now know everything about him and he will still play some ball before NBA Draft.

Topic gives Red Star much needed speed in the open court against MEGA team that likes to push the ball. Good to see that they wait for Topic to fully rehab. I also don't see why he would go to the combine. That really makes more sense for someone like Djurisic.

On a side note, in all my years of following basketball here in Europe I have never seen any roster construction remotely as bad as what both Red Star and Partizan pulled off this season.

Mickey8 wrote:I don't think he would gain anything from playing at those scrimmages. The NBA scouts by now know everything about him and he will still play some ball before NBA Draft.

well, if he came to the combine and actually measured well and dominated scrimmages he'd potentially put himself in position to go #1 depending on who got the pick. Of course, if he measures 6'4" and does poorly he'd potentially fall into the mid to late 1st. But no, NBA scouts DON'T know everything about him. They don't have his official measurements or testing numbers. Their front offices haven't interviewed him. They haven't seen him on the same floor going against his NBA peers. They know very little about Topic compared to all the other players actually if he fails to show up. I think the reason teams were comfortable taking Coulibaly is because it was a weaker draft where there was a talent drop off and because they scouted Wembanyama extensively they were more familiar with him. With how much time Topic has missed and the league he plays in I doubt scouts are anywhere near as familiar with him as they were Coulibaly.

Mickey8 wrote:I don't think he would gain anything from playing at those scrimmages. If he's projected to be the lottery pick why risk it, if you have a bad day . The NBA scouts by now know everything about him and he will still play some ball before NBA Draft.

Isn't the combine compulsory now? At least some aspects of it like measurements?

G R E Y wrote:

Mickey8 wrote:I don't think he would gain anything from playing at those scrimmages. If he's projected to be the lottery pick why risk it, if you have a bad day . The NBA scouts by now know everything about him and he will still play some ball before NBA Draft.

Isn't the combine compulsory now? At least some aspects of it like measurements?

I mean he might do those , he was measured at Basketball without borders year ago too. But I don't think he will play any actual games.

FarBeyondDriven wrote:

Mickey8 wrote:I don't think he would gain anything from playing at those scrimmages. The NBA scouts by now know everything about him and he will still play some ball before NBA Draft.

well, if he came to the combine and actually measured well and dominated scrimmages he'd potentially put himself in position to go #1 depending on who got the pick. Of course, if he measures 6'4" and does poorly he'd potentially fall into the mid to late 1st. But no, NBA scouts DON'T know everything about him. They don't have his official measurements or testing numbers. Their front offices haven't interviewed him. They haven't seen him on the same floor going against his NBA peers. They know very little about Topic compared to all the other players actually if he fails to show up. I think the reason teams were comfortable taking Coulibaly is because it was a weaker draft where there was a talent drop off and because they scouted Wembanyama extensively they were more familiar with him. With how much time Topic has missed and the league he plays in I doubt scouts are anywhere near as familiar with him as they were Coulibaly.

It was said by Draftexpress that he was measured 6"7 at Basketball Without Border last summer, even though I am bit skeptical about that. He might be 6"5 or 6"6 which is still good.

FarBeyondDriven wrote:

Mickey8 wrote:He will play Serbian league too. So there is still some basketball left for him this season.

good. He needs it imo in order to justify all the talk about him being near the top of the draft. I won't know how I really feel about him until I see him on the court with his NBA peers. Any chance this happens at the combine or will he still be playing like Coulibaly last year?

I don't get why he has to prove it compared to a guy like Sarr, who played less, had worse stats in a worse league than what Topic did this year.

Topic was better in the Fiba U18 tourney that what Sarr was in OTE as well playing vs players his own age.

JMAC3 wrote:

FarBeyondDriven wrote:

Mickey8 wrote:He will play Serbian league too. So there is still some basketball left for him this season.

good. He needs it imo in order to justify all the talk about him being near the top of the draft. I won't know how I really feel about him until I see him on the court with his NBA peers. Any chance this happens at the combine or will he still be playing like Coulibaly last year?

I don't get why he has to prove it compared to a guy like Sarr, who played less, had worse stats in a worse league than what Topic did this year.

Topic was better in the Fiba U18 tourney that what Sarr was in OTE as well playing vs players his own age.

Ya this. Topic has shown more than basically anyone in this draft. His issues are improving his 3 and whether or not he is a turnstyle or just meh on defense.

The kids offensive IQ and feel is head and shoulders above anyone else in the draft.

G R E Y wrote:

Mickey8 wrote:I don't think he would gain anything from playing at those scrimmages. If he's projected to be the lottery pick why risk it, if you have a bad day . The NBA scouts by now know everything about him and he will still play some ball before NBA Draft.

Isn't the combine compulsory now? At least some aspects of it like measurements?

As I understand it, the combine is compulsory attendance (for physical measurements and medicals, which will be shared with all 30 NBA teams), unless you are playing a ongoing league (ie a euro/asian league somewhere). If a prospect is playing somewhere, they still need to arrange a NBA approved set of measurements and medical which will be shared with all 30 teams.

Topic detractors. Are you just unconvinced he's going to be able to get to the rim in the NBA? Think the 3 pointer will stay bad?

RyugaFan wrote:Topic detractors. Are you just unconvinced he's going to be able to get to the rim in the NBA? Think the 3 pointer will stay bad?

Pretty much, the jumper is a massive question mark and I have doubts it'll ever be truly good even if it improves.
It might become serviceable like Giddey's has but that still means Topic is just a clone of Josh Giddey (Talking on court only), and I want better for my lead guard if I am a contender.
He's a below the rim athlete, he isn't getting to the rim against NBA defenders who sag him off because he has no jumper threat whatsoever.

RyugaFan wrote:Topic detractors. Are you just unconvinced he's going to be able to get to the rim in the NBA? Think the 3 pointer will stay bad?

He projects as a 36% three point shooter according to Tankathon formula.

Maybe he sucks as a shooter, but are there are any NBA shooters who shoot 88% from ft that struggle to shoot 3s? Especially at 18 yrs old. I think the shooting concern is massively overblown considering he is more than willing to take them at nearly 5 per game.

Compare that to Giddey shot 3.5 threes per game and 69% from FT

He also shot 40% from 3 in Serbian League last year at age 17. 21/52 from downtown and 42/49 from FT
https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/237851/nikola-topic

44% in 7 game tourney here 9/17 from three and 32/33 from FT
https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=JTB22&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=score

He's a far better scorer than Giddey. People think Giddey is just lacking a shot but he lacks an entire scoring game.

JMAC3 wrote:

RyugaFan wrote:Topic detractors. Are you just unconvinced he's going to be able to get to the rim in the NBA? Think the 3 pointer will stay bad?

He projects as a 36% three point shooter according to Tankathon formula.

Maybe he sucks as a shooter, but are there are any NBA shooters who shoot 88% from ft that struggle to shoot 3s? Especially at 18 yrs old. I think the shooting concern is massively overblown considering he is more than willing to take them at nearly 5 per game.

Compare that to Giddey shot 3.5 threes per game and 69% from FT

He also shot 40% from 3 in Serbian League last year at age 17. 21/52 from downtown and 42/49 from FT
https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/237851/nikola-topic

44% in 7 game tourney here 9/17 from three and 32/33 from FT
https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=JTB22&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=score

There aren't many, but there aren't many who were as bad as he's been at the first place, his career % is 30% which is already very bad, especially with those who shoot in any kind of volume that resembles the modern game.
Topic is already a pretty big outlier with how bad his shooting is, to the point you can't look at this FT% and just say "Oh he'll be fine".

OriAr wrote:

JMAC3 wrote:

RyugaFan wrote:Topic detractors. Are you just unconvinced he's going to be able to get to the rim in the NBA? Think the 3 pointer will stay bad?

He projects as a 36% three point shooter according to Tankathon formula.

Maybe he sucks as a shooter, but are there are any NBA shooters who shoot 88% from ft that struggle to shoot 3s? Especially at 18 yrs old. I think the shooting concern is massively overblown considering he is more than willing to take them at nearly 5 per game.

Compare that to Giddey shot 3.5 threes per game and 69% from FT

He also shot 40% from 3 in Serbian League last year at age 17. 21/52 from downtown and 42/49 from FT
https://www.proballers.com/basketball/player/237851/nikola-topic

44% in 7 game tourney here 9/17 from three and 32/33 from FT
https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/ngt/stats/expanded/?size=25&viewType=traditional&seasonCode=JTB22&statisticMode=perGame&seasonMode=Single&sortDirection=descending&statistic=score

There aren't many, but there aren't many who were as bad as he's been at the first place, his career % is 30% which is already very bad, especially with those who shoot in any kind of volume that resembles the modern game.
Topic is already a pretty big outlier with how bad his shooting is, to the point you can't look at this FT% and just say "Oh he'll be fine".

Yeah 30% isn't all that bad for a 17/18 yr old playing professionally. That is better than Buzelis and Holland and his FT% is far better.