Starting to like Isaiah Stewart as the Raptors pick

Stewart reminds me of Derrick Favors. I think he will make a good late 1st to early 2nd round pick.

i hear mike d’antonio is willing to trade up to get him…..lol

He reminds more of Derrick Favors as well. I think Favors is a better player than Harrell as well. Probably in the minority but I think so. I think Stewart would be an absolute steal IF….the game doesn’t transition to much away from big men. I don’t know what his role would be since he can’t shoot that well.

he reminds me a mix of vin baker and david west, i think he make really good sense for portland

kinda crazy that this was 1990s he would be in the conversation for a top 5 pick…

but he was rated top 10 prospect to start the season..really dont understand why his stock dropped, becuz only vernon carey had a better freshman year…i like the derrick favors/elton brand/zach randolph comparisions…..boston have a couple of first rounders..they might grab him at 16……i’ll be surprised if he there in the 2nd round.

I will be honest, was a big Isaiah Stewart guy up until his coming to college, but have cooled on him quite a bit. I still think he is worth drafting and could be a back-up big, which I guess is alright at the Raptors likely 27-28 spot in the 1st round, but I think I will have him lower on my board. Also think that while the physical similarities are there, the athletic differences are vast. During Harrell’s junior season, he had 74 dunks. As a sophomore, led the nation with 98. Stewart had 26 dunks as a freshman in far more minutes than Harrell played in either season.

Dunking is not the only sign of athleticism, but Harrell much better in all aspects of it. While Isaiah was a decent rim protector in the middle of the Washington zone this season, one could see how that translation might be difficult playing man, especially considering how difficult of a time he has getting lift from a stand still. He also had real difficulties in terms of making quick decisions on both ends. His low assist and steal percentages both point to that, as well as the massive amount of turnovers in comparison to either category.

He does have some touch, absolutely, and I do think that Hop basically made him Noah Dickerson, which was not ideal towards his future NBA role. Character is always seen as being high, he plays hard, he will rebound and he is strong. The major thing will be whether he has the ability to adjust to NBA speed, as it takes him a while to register decisions even at the college level that certainly hurt him at times collegiately.

Trezl certainly improved there once he got to the NBA, also with the freaky height-wingspan differential and without the offensive acumen that saw Stewart among the leading freshman scorers. Just wonder if Harrell’s much better lateral and vertical athleticism are factors that could make the same translation pretty difficult for Stewart. Most of the times I saw Stewart, he played well as an individual offensive player. I am just concerned that once he has to face mostly bigger, more athletic opponents, and relies on shooting he did not put into effect, that could really kill his value. Sample size seems to be so key in terms of shooting and Stewart’s is very small, even if his FT% was encouraging. Would still refrain from comparing him to the athletic big men some have listed here.

Yea. I agree that Harrell isn’t really a great comparison, at least not at this point. I’d probably compare him more to someone like DeJuan Blair, although that’s not really a perfect comparison either. He’s somewhat limited as an athlete (although I believe he has slightly more length and natural athletic ability than Blair did). However, he’s strong, has a great motor and has great instincts on the boards. The bulk of his offense will come off hustle plays most likely. If he can add some range to his shot it would benefit him a lot. Defensively, he has slow feet and could struggle to defend in space. I think he could last as a serviceable role player in the league for awhile, but I’m not sure if he’ll ever really be more than that. I don’t think he would necessarily be terrible value late in the first round, but it would depend on who was left on the board at that point.

It looks to me like he plays more like Jordan Hill or Noah Vonleh. Could be a starter, but will likely be only a role player type.