Cam Boozer's 'safety' & 'massive upside' may make him NBA Draft's top prospect
Yahoo Sports senior NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor and NBA contributor Tom Haberstroh look ahead to this month's NBA Draft and why the Duke star may be the top talent in this year's class. Check out the full conversation on “The Kevin O’Connor Show” and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify , YouTube or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
My big board and mocks are gonna be updated next week.
I'll tell you what, Tom, I am very strongly considering just putting Boozer at number one on my board.
I had him at three at one point, and then I moved him up to two.
I am on the verge of moving Boozer to one on my board, and I just think there's a level of safety with him, but also still massive upside when you talk about a guy who's six foot nine, can handle the ball, can post up, can screen and roll, makes instant decisions as a passer, is an elite shooter, an elite rebounder, an elite finisher, always in the right position on defense.
Let's not overthink things here.
Like, how many times have you, have teams bet on higher upside, quote unquote, "higher upside" with the number one or number two pick and it ends up being, oh, the, the rock solid guy who ends up, ends up being the best player in the draft class 'cause it turns out he's better than rock solid.
And that's where I'm sort of feeling- It reminds me of Luka.
Yeah.
It reminds me of Luka.
That's a great comparison.
That's a great way to put it.
I had Luka one that year on my board.
Even I still can't believe Ayton and Bagley went ahead of Luka.
I still, I still can't believe the Hawks traded out of that pick for Trae Young.
Baffling.
I don't get how Luka wasn't the number one pick that year.
It never made any sense.
But you're That's a perfect way to put it.
Perfect way to put it.
There was a level of safety with Luka in that, okay, he's six foot seven and he can handle the ball and shoot off the dribble, and he's a, a magnificent passer.
He's gonna be a really good player, and who knows what level he'll reach as a player, and he ends up reaching great heights.
He'll be an MVP candidate for many years to come, assuming he stays healthy.
It's very much the same way with Cam Boozer.
You're right, Tom.
That's a perfect way to put it.
It really is.
Yeah, and they look, and they look at him, they're like, "How much athleticism does he have?"
And like, what's Like, he's not gonna be a guy- Yes who can match Debonce or a Darren Peterson's athleticism.
I'm just like, at the end of the day, he's a hooper.
He's super skilled, crazy spilled, skilled, and super strong.
And, great I mean, I, I've been banging this drum for years, and you see Dylan Harper out there not looking scared at all.
Second generation guy, Jalen Brunson, in the NBA finals leading the Knicks- Yes a-against all odds and getting that deal from the New York Knicks and being the king of New York might go down as the greatest Knick ever, and he was a second round pick because they looked at him and said, "Eh, he's topped out.
He's topped out."
And I wonder if there's some of that with Cam Boozer, where as, as, as much winning as he did at Duke and as, as much of a skilled player as he is at Duke, all you're hearing is like, oh, he, he's, he's a ground player.
He's not gonna be able to be athletic or rising.
He's not an above the rim guy.
And I just look at this and I'm saying, I feel like we're just focusing so much on the things he can't, quote unquote, "do," and not on the things that he was able to do at Duke last year.
And so I just think everything, he's the full package
