Yeah, that's a pretty non-typical "NBA Rookie" crop in terms of age and experience. There won't be years of waiting for "upside" to pan out (see Telfair, Webster, Outlaw, Bayless, Batum.) This time next year we should have a pretty darned good idea of which of these guys are here for the long-haul. (Except for Melvin. I'm planning on being patient with that guy.) I'd add Elliot Williams to MM's list as essentially a rookie, since he only played 149 minutes last year. Williams is 23 this year, though, so he's an older "rookie."
I felt like McMillan pushed Roy into the alpha role. He didn't strike me as a #1 option when he first came into the league. Seemed sort of tentative during the SL his rookie year. He was more of a "do everything" versatile guy that some people thought would play point guard for us. I think Nate should get a lot of credit for pushing Roy into the role that we eventually associated with him, but he was always a "lead by example" kind of guy. Not a vocal leader really. Maybe I'm wrong, but those were my impressions.
Think back to how he handled the Miller/Blake thing ... not exactly what you look for in a leader. leadership is sort of an intangible thing. Kind of like describing the difference between artistic nudes and pornography -- I can't describe what exactly makes them different, but I know it when I see it. For instance, I think there's really only one guy currently under contract that has the charisma, demeanor and affect of a leader: Wesley ... unfortunately his talent level doesn't back it up. On a related note, I thought Lillard came pretty strong in some of the interviews I saw with him. Hopefully that's real and not just the product of studying with a media coach.
I have high hopes for Lillard, not just as a player but as a leader. Hopefully he can live up to the hype.
No, that's not the same thing. That's having juice. Brandon's Rookie of the Year and squeaky clean image gave him a lot of pull with upper management who wanted to market him to a fanbase starving for something to feel good about ... and really, if they hadn't stumbled into the number one pick they probably never would have traded Z-bo (at least not then).
Maybe we're not thinking about "alpha dog" in the same sense? To me it means a natural born leader; somebody whose charisma and will pull people along and inspire others to greatness.
But not over. After we punt on free-agency, we'll add a couple more quality rooks next season, and take a better shot at free agents. I'm excited (no green font).
the most powerful dog in the pack that will kill you if you step out of line you are thinking about a politician
RE the right coach for our gaggle of rookies and sophomores: Kaleb would be the mother of all epic fails. I keep hearing that if we have a young non competitive team, we should hire Canales as head coach. Until we have a seasoned competitive team I guess, then fire him? The logic just completely escapes me. Hire the best coach on the market for crying out loud. These rookies need the best coach they can get, from day one. Plus, there is the Nate connection. Is Kaleb's offense and philosophy much different from Nate? I'd rather have an Adelman disciple or a Popovich disciple or a Jackson disciple than a Nate disciple, period. Shaw/Malone/Budenholzer....
I never viewed Brandon as a good leader either. It seemed like he was told: you're our best player, therefore you're the leader, go lead. But he didn't. He may have forced his will on the team, and he may have thought that was being a leader, but that is not leadership.
i think the idea is that kaleb would play the youngins as a mandate and not be afraid to get fired for sucking
I think this is the crux, you guys seem to be talking about 2 different things. For the conversation we were actually having though, I think 3Rain1ac is right - Roy was a more influential factor in keeping the team together than Nate. A couple of months after Roy was amnestied, the inmates started running the asylum, and got Nate fired. Back on topic, I definitely add Elliot Williams to the list of "rookies."
he def never actually lead them to anything except 1st round defeat, he was the leader, just not a good one
