Hello folks, I was looking my older posts and I saw a beggining-of-the-season post in which I proposed some "best case" scenarios for our players' developments://www.chasebar.com/2015/8/28/9220137/who-has-the-best-shot-at-those-ultra-optimistic-player-developments?_ga=1.71516435.1441623613.1464008455

It's funny to read it in retrospect and realize that many of those scenarios where close to the reality now, like 75% close to the "best-case" I proposed. It was all far-fetched and shooting for the moon, while recognizing that a prediction on a player development is a wild card, but look at it:

Damian Lillard- By committing to defense (a la 2008 Celtics' Ray Allen) or improving all around like MVP Curry, and surprisingly carry us to the playoffs while being in MVP contention

(Well, he did carry us to playoff and he was in MVP talks, kind of. Plus his defense is better overall, just still bad on PnR's.. I say 75% of prediction reached)

CJ McColumm- By keeping his high production even in big minutes, handling reserve PG duties well and gaining Most Improved and Best Sixth Man awards, maybe an All Star berth

(He wasn't an All-Star but participated in a lot of All-Star events, he won MIP but wasn't a sixth man after all... handled himself well as our backup PG.. I say 75% of prediction reached)

Aminu- By being better on 3pt shots and still using his size and athleticism to be a versatile defender (a la Iguodala) and presence on the boards, growing to make us "forget" Batum. Again - possible AllStar?

(Not nearly an allstar but a fan-favorite, and he was our best and most versatile defender, shot 3pts well and all.. I say 75% of prediction reached)

Crabbe——通过展示更多的类和一致性,插头gin in well into any role required (as SG or SF), being the dream "3 and D" role player off the bench, defendind well and hitting 3pt percentage above 40%

(He really went well, and I admit I had low hopes on him... 75% or more than what I predicted as best case scenario)

Henderson- By showing grit and heart as Wes did, improving on 3pt shots enough to be reliable and still being a ballhawk on defense and a great finisher at the rim. Again - possible AllStar?

(I had high hopes for Hendo but he did show all of that when he was clicking... 66% of best-case scenario maybe?)

Harkless- By pressing for starter position against AFA, being good enough to warrant that. Developing 3pt shot while keep being a dynamic scorer from the SF position, triple threat like Melo or so.

(Mo was the best of the group I guess... He did end up as a starter but not at SF. his 3pt was better than advertised and he showed a lot of energy.. 75% or more than what I predicted as best case scenario)

Well, there's that. All the other predictions went like this: Ed and Mase were overestimated by my best-case scenarios, Meyers and Vonleh were a bust (considering their ceilings) and the others couldn't show a thing (Pat, Pressey, Montero, Alexander). Funny that Frazier went to be a good backup PG (actually SG) elsewhere, he was doing pretty well at the end of the season. Another fun fact is that Meyers was the second-most voted in that poll, closely behind 3J McBuckets.

Hope ya'll found that intriguing as I do, and realize how nice our players (mostly new players for that matter) developed.

What are the next leaps? Who is going to exceed or shatter our expectations? Given our progress, is the ceiling coming?

Share your thoughts in the comments, please :)