Cam Christie declares for NBA (while maintaining college eligibility)

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I do hope the feedback he gets encourages him to try one more year in Minneapolis - it REALLY hsould help his draft position to get bigger/stronger/savvier
 

Wet_Blanket_Guy said:
even if he gets draft in mid second and hangs onto a roster it’s a smart move. Look no further than Amir coffee. He’s made over 7m in the last two years…it’s better than all of us. Life is good as a 2nd round pick who can hang around.
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Amir was undrafted
 

Why not, get some feedback on what Cam needs to work on. Mostly likely, get stronger, work on ball handling, develop better passing vision, and cut without the ball. The rest of his game is complete. If Cam follows the feedback, he'll be first round guaranteed in 2025.
 




WindyCityGopher said:
It's the right move for him. Gather information that will allow him to make an informed decision about permanently entering the draft or not, while not jeopardizing his college eligibility. My guess is he'll get a low first round grade in a down draft and decide it's too good to pass up.
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Boy, I would be surprised if he gets a 1st round grade at this point. He would get eaten alive in the NBA at this point. Another year in college and time to put on some lbs of muscle would greatly improve his chances to go in the 1st round.
 
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here's my issue: the deadline for withdrawing from the draft process is June 16th. so the Gophers may not know until then whether he's returning. by that point, the odds of finding any type of suitable replacement in the portal will be slim to non-existent.

So my advice to Ben Johnson would be - plan as if Christie is not returning. go out and get the best you can in the portal. then, if Christie does return, the roster is that much stronger. (assuming there is a roster spot still available).
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
His closest comp is Coffey; who was a junior when he went through the process and went undrafted.
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Don't think he's like Amir at all, Coffey wasn't half the shooter Christie is for one. Coffey was much more of a slasher while Christie's more of a natural scorer, better handle. Someone like a Norman Powell. His game should translate pretty well to the NBA, just comes down to whether he can guard wings. Probably could do with another year in college to bulk up
 

GopherNuts said:
Don't think he's like Amir at all, Coffey wasn't half the shooter Christie is for one. Coffey was much more of a slasher while Christie's more of a natural scorer, better handle. Someone like a Norman Powell. His game should translate pretty well to the NBA, just comes down to whether he can guard wings. Probably could do with another year in college to bulk up
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The “closest” comp

The second part of the sentence alluded to said comp, as they’re both underclass men going through the NBA evaluation and are wings, unlike Carr.
 



short ornery norwegian said:
here's my issue: the deadline for withdrawing from the draft process is June 16th. so the Gophers may not know until then whether he's returning. by that point, the odds of finding any type of suitable replacement in the portal will be slim to non-existent.

So my advice to Ben Johnson would be - plan as if Christie is not returning. go out and get the best you can in the portal. then, if Christie does return, the roster is that much stronger. (assuming there is a roster spot still available).
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There will be a roster spot available- that is for certain.

We have 8 now - with Christie. Go get 4 more guys that can compete for being in the top 9 on the roster. Save the last for a surprise summer availability.

Need a couple bigs and a good wing for sure.
 
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Gopher_In_NYC said:
The “closest” comp

The second part of the sentence alluded to said comp, as they’re both underclass men going through the NBA evaluation and are wings, unlike Carr.
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Who thinks Christie's closest comp is Amir?
 

MonikerSchmoniker45 said:
Many are saying it's the worst draft of all time. That and his brother developing nicely in the G- league, I don't feel great about him coming back. At least he's not going to Indiana though.
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If everyone stinks...can an NBA team choose to not take anyone?
 

I love college basketball but I think the best place to develop is the G League. A 19 year old that is probably 1-2 years away from playing in the NBA or the highest level teams in Europe, should really be living and breathing basketball (like they would with tennis, soccer, baseball prodigies).
 


Bob_Loblaw said:
I love college basketball but I think the best place to develop is the G League. A 19 year old that is probably 1-2 years away from playing in the NBA or the highest level teams in Europe, should really be living and breathing basketball (like they would with tennis, soccer, baseball prodigies).
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Exactly
 

bga1 said:
It's going to boil down to how much potential NBA scouts think he has. It's not stats necessarily. The projected #4 pick is a frosh from Colorado - Cody Williams 6-8 kid with almost exactly Cam's offensive statistics. I see Cam and he looks so far from being an NBA ready player, but the scouts may see it differently...

He definitely can shoot - that's his calling card. He has decent quickness but he is not what I would call a high end athlete. He is an average college defender at best right now. Decent vertical.
His ball handling is good for a frosh but he scares me when he dribbles- it just doesn't look secure.
He did not move great without the ball. Average passer. He has the tools to be a great college basketball player- not sure on the NBA level- it just depends on how hard he works at it.
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This sounds like making the case he should not be drafted. Lets emphasize the perceived downside so he can stay. The world is much different now. I see him as an NBA player. It's only a matter of time. And, as you say, they don't have to be "NBA ready" now like a decade or more ago.

I don't know what kind of player his brother is, but he was much more highly rated as high school recruit, and didn't have as big a freshman season as Cam. I wonder if that becomes part of the equation for talent evaluators.

I think The Coffey factor, the promise of a two way contract, isn't as high a risk since he'll get paid from the hard earned dollars of donors to DTA.
 

Gopher_In_NYC said:
His closest comp is Coffey; who was a junior when he went through the process and went undrafted.
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He did go undrafted but had a promise of the two way deal from the Clippers. It was a good deal for him, and he was much older than Cam as well. Similar, but far from exact, comparisons.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
here's my issue: the deadline for withdrawing from the draft process is June 16th. so the Gophers may not know until then whether he's returning. by that point, the odds of finding any type of suitable replacement in the portal will be slim to non-existent.

So my advice to Ben Johnson would be - plan as if Christie is not returning. go out and get the best you can in the portal. then, if Christie does return, the roster is that much stronger. (assuming there is a roster spot still available).
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If Ben doesn't follow your advice, he's a fool.
 

Holy Man said:
He did go undrafted but had a promise of the two way deal from the Clippers. It was a good deal for him, and he was much older than Cam as well. Similar, but far from exact, comparisons.
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See my follow up post below which clarified my first post.

Gopher_In_NYC said:
The “closest” comp

The second part of the sentence alluded to said comp, as they’re both underclass men going through the NBA evaluation and are wings, unlike Carr.
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Of course Ben is doing all he can to recruit off the portal. We all know we need a deeper bench. That being said, my bet is that Cam will be back. Very little buzz about him on mock drafts.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
here's my issue: the deadline for withdrawing from the draft process is June 16th.
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the ncaa withdrawal deadline is May 29th, though i have no clue as to the differences

also, in 2023 242 players declared for the draft and 108 withdrew. wouldn't that be 108 players looking to land back on some rosters? so maybe a slim chance to add a quality player
 

There are 5 portal spots to fill without the potential loss of Christie. The timing of Christie’s decision will have next to no bearing on Coach’s approach to recruiting the portal.
 

bga1 said:
It's going to boil down to how much potential NBA scouts think he has. It's not stats necessarily. The projected #4 pick is a frosh from Colorado - Cody Williams 6-8 kid with almost exactly Cam's offensive statistics. I see Cam and he looks so far from being an NBA ready player, but the scouts may see it differently...

He definitely can shoot - that's his calling card. He has decent quickness but he is not what I would call a high end athlete. He is an average college defender at best right now. Decent vertical.
His ball handling is good for a frosh but he scares me when he dribbles- it just doesn't look secure.
He did not move great without the ball. Average passer. He has the tools to be a great college basketball player- not sure on the NBA level- it just depends on how hard he works at it.
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Yeah, but Cody Williams has an older brother in the NBA, totally different situation than Cam Chri… oh, wait. Nevermind
 

CurveballJesus said:
Yeah, but Cody Williams has an older brother in the NBA, totally different situation than Cam Chri… oh, wait. Nevermind
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:) Jalen has a bigger jet stream than Max to follow in.
 

Amir was 2 years older than Christie is now. Christie needs to get stronger with the ball, and add 15-20 lbs of muscle. He needs another year or two to be NBA ready.
 

daveozark said:
Amir was 2 years older than Christie is now. Christie needs to get stronger with the ball, and add 15-20 lbs of muscle. He needs another year or two to be NBA ready.
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Being NBA ready is not as important as it used to be, especially for bottom of the first round guys. Just because he is not ready doesn’t mean he won’t be drafted by someone who thinks he will be ready in a year or two.
 

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