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"Which NBA player does he compare to?"
In writing about the NBA Draft for many years, the most frequently asked question about virtually any prospect is the one outlined above. It's easy to see why, because projecting a familiar pathway on to any player is a good way to conjure where a player should go in a draft or how they might impact one's favorite team.
At the same time, player comparisons can be fraught and flat-out misleading at times, which brings us to three examples in this class of what not to do with comps. Here we go.
Ace Bailey to Cam Reddish
In light of recent buzz about Ace Bailey, a canceled workout in Philadelphia, and the perceived potential of a draft night fall, the skepticism about Bailey has gone too far in some circles. Granted, Bailey seems to be getting some strange advice in the pre-draft process, and he is still far from a perfect prospect. In fact, he has real holes and landing in the right situation could be important.
However, the growing negativity has led to comparisons to Cam Reddish, and that is taking things a bit too far. To be fair, there are some logical parallels in that both were highly touted high school prospects who had mixed seasons in college and questions about their ability to adapt at the NBA level. Ultimately, Reddish failed to launch in multiple stops, headlined by his time in Atlanta, and he struggled to transition from a potential standout to the life of a pure role player.
At the same time, Bailey has more upside than Reddish ever presented, simply because of his shot-making prowess. Bailey's shot selection is very much in question, but most agree he projects as a high-level shooter, and with a wingspan north of seven feet, he can shoot over the top of would-be defenders. The future is uncertain with Bailey as it is with any prospect, but that carrying tool should help.
Ben Saraf to Manu Ginobili
It doesn't take too much to see what Ben Saraf is being compared to Manu Ginobili. Saraf is nearly the same size as Ginobili. He is a left-handed like Ginobili. He also attacks the rim with reckless abandon and intriguing craft in the way that Ginobili did. With that said, Ben Saraf is probably not going to be Manu Ginobili.
For one, Ginobili is one of the best players ever that was born outside of the United States, and he is a four-time NBA champion and Hall of Fame player. As such, players projected near the bottom of the first round probably shouldn't be compared to Ginobili. In addition, Saraf is also not as strong or athletic as Ginobili was in his prime, and Saraf has a long way to go to be anywhere near the shooter that Ginobili was for the majority of his career. Overall, Saraf is a real first-round prospect, but this one is too lofty.
Kon Knueppel to Luke Kennard, Corey Kispert, Jimmer Fredette, etc.
Knueppel's widespread comparisons to Luke Kennard were enough to inspire a post of its own on this topic. In short, skeptics of Knueppel tend to choose a less than inspiring white shooter and use that as a comparison for the Duke standout. Those comparisons are not limited to Kennard, Kispert, or Fredette, but they do paint a picture of the perception of Knueppel as "just a shooter" in some circles.
A more granular viewing of Knueppel's game pushes back against that characterization. He is certainly a fantastic shooter, which helps his overall brand, but Knueppel showed quite a bit of creation equity as both a scorer and distributor at Duke. He has star-level upside as a result, and Knueppel is also physical on both ends of the floor.
Needless to say, player comps sometimes turn into tropes, and this range of Knueppel parallels is a good example.