Kobe was once in a generation talent. Of course he was that good. I just don't think he's as good at 17 as R.J. is. Kobe at 23 could be much better than R.J. at 23. I don't know but at 17, R.J. is better to me. Defensively, clearly. Size wise, clearly. Skill wise, Kobe. Ability on all three levels, R.J. I think he's better. Athletically, R.J. at the same age as just as athletic as Kobe. Height wise, they look about the same. R.J. looks 6'6ish as does Kobe from my times seeing him in person.
Bennett was very good in HS. I don't see why he should be killed for that hot take. His failure is similar to Rey Sidney who just didn't have the passion for the game and ate his way out of Basketball. To make that comparison to Zion is foolish, even if Zion eats his way out like getting to 300-320, he's more like Rodney Rogers more than Bennett or Sidney.
Cam isn't the one I think is near Kobe. I think he's more advanced than McGrady at the same age. Not Kobe. R.J. is the one I think is generational special. Did you see Kobe, not did the sneaker companies see him, did you see him? I saw Kobe at that age. I saw that his handle was still WIP. His shooting was WIP but his competitiveness and his drive was elite. He kinda reminded me of Collin Sexton although Kobe was better than Sexton at the same age.
Are you high on Trae Young at the next level? I am not seeing it. I see Chris Jackson. I don't see the SG skills Steph had mastered at Davidson. I do think he's a great scorer but I don't see NBA superstardom. What do you see out of him at the next level?
Who do you scout for? A NBA team? Blog site? Regional scout for the sneaker companies?
I didn’t see Kobe live, but the people in the game gave me stories about him. Scouts/trainers/national analysts, AAU heads, etc. That Team Final team is arguably the greatest AAU team ever, and they said Kobe will be the best one of them all. Dwight Howard AAU team was stupid too with him, JR Smith, Lou Williams, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams. I’m actually missing some major names too for both teams. The games I’ve seen of Kobe were only taped footage, but his rep at Five Star/ and Nike were legendary. T-Mac too.
Trae Young to Chris Jackson is actually a great comparison. He was Steph before Steph. Chris Jackson was a bad boy before the anthem protest. He basically Kap’d himself before Kap did. Do I see superstardom? Truthfully I don’t know. I’m so baffled at what Markelle Fultz look like to Donovan Mitchell being a beast that I’m taking a break from projecting. Like Fultz is just blowing my mind, and he was the number 1 prospect during the entire USA trials. He was nasty.
I have a regular 9 to 5 but I’m also a NCAA D1 Certified Scout who also did some scouting work for the sneaker companies. I’m not their employee, but I’ve given them my opinions for certain kids.