Here is what Pearl said about Kessler on Wednesday. USA TODAY Sports projects Walker Kessler to be the No. His particular set of skills could be a nightmare for the rest of the NBA.ĭavid Whitley is The Gainesville Sun's sports columnist.View Gallery: Walker Kessler: A look at the Auburn basketball forward, UNC transfer So when Silver steps to the podium Thursday night, the Magic shouldn’t play it safe. Holmgren would make them better and fascinating to watch. Smith or Banchero would make them better, but not unique. The Great Wall of China was constructed in less time than it’s taken the Magic to find a cornerstone. Orlando is now in the fifth phase or sixth phase of its latest rebuild. When was the last time you heard a draft prospect try to convince the world that he’s not starving? That’s given the Magic with a lot of food for thought. “I actually do lift weights,” Holmgren said. He was asked what the biggest misconception about him. When someone tries to kick sand in his face, he kicks right back. While Holmgren looks frail, he has the attitude of a retired CIA operative. That’s the kind of performer who makes viewers put down their remotes on cold, dull winter nights. Joel Embiid could still use Holmgren as a toothpick, but there’s a place for a sharp-shooting beanstalk who can run, dribble, pass and swat away shots like he’s swinging a broom. It’s all about spacing, and flow and everybody jacking up three-pointers. But the game has changed, however, since Walton was MVP. That he’ll get folded, spindled and mutilated over an 82-game haul. Holmgren just turned 20, but his skeleton apparently isn’t designed to NBA specifications. Noted vegetarian center Bill Walton weighed 205 pounds as a rookie, but he put on 40 pounds by his second season. Tiny shoulders,” an NBA scout told The Athletic. The negatives NBA draft analysts have about Chet Holmgren Skills that make a nightmare for people like you.” But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career. He sounded like the Liam Neeson character in the movie “Taken.” After human traffickers snatched his daughter, the ex-CIA officer got a call from the bad guys. “I’ve been blessed with certain tools you can’t really work on or teach,” Holmgren said. He can grab a rebound, put the ball on the floor, scan the court, take about five strides, dish to an open man or slam it home. He defends the rim like a young Dikembe Mutombo. He shoots 3-pointers like a Splash Brother. Holmgren can dribble like a shooting guard. His footwork is fluid, and his hoop instincts are sharp. You expect somebody that gangly to move like a drunken stork, but there’s nothing geeky about Holmgren. ![]() Shaquille O’Neal’s biceps weighed 195 pounds when he played for the Magic. It had the body of an Olympic marathoner on a hunger strike. ![]() The 10th looked like a Ripley’s Believe It or Not! exhibit that decided to take up dunking. Nine of the people on the court looked like human beings. That’s how I discovered Holmgren a couple of years ago. 1 for Magic, unpredictable lottery picks add excitementĭavid Whitley: The Westminster Dog Show is a refreshing alternative to usual sportsįor Father's Day: His father's example turned into a lifetime gift for Florida's Billy Napier Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren not just some skinny kid If you stumbled across him while flipping through the channels, you’d drop the remote and go, “What the?”Ģ022 NBA mock draft: No clear-cut No. Holmgren is a once-in-a-generation freak. But guys like that come along every year. They are one-and-done college studs who’ll probably produce some All-Star caliber years and retire with $500 million in the bank. Team Woebegone needs an attraction.Īuburn’s Jabari Smith or Duke’s Paolo Banchero would be safer picks. I say that more as an entertainment consumer than a basketball fan. ![]() Please, please, please let it be the human Q-Tip from Gonzaga. “With the first pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic select…” NBA commissioner Adam Silver will step to the podium and say: The future of basketball in the universe, the NBA and our state will be determined at about 8 p.m. ![]() Watch Video: NBA mock draft: With three clear top prospects, who will Magic take at No.
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