Commercial Appeal At first glance over the weekend, rookie Hakim Warrick appeared to bring to life a prevailing draft-day analysis. The Grizzlies found a replacement for Stromile Swift. Pau Gasol, though, just doesn't see it. And that is not a knock on Warrick. "He's a different player," the 7-foot Spaniard said. Even after the blue team began its first offensive possession by setting up Warrick for a failed alley-oop dunk at the rim? "He has different ability and a different look," Gasol said of Warrick. "He's a spectacular guy because of his dunking ability but he's definitely a different player." The assessment starts with the Grizzlies' desire for Warrick to play small forward. The judgment ends with Warrick having impressed teammates and coaches with his work ethic following the first week of training camp. An early read on the Grizzlies' first-round pick from Syracuse is something from the motivational shelf. "He comes with a good attitude every day and that's going to make him successful," swingman Shane Battier said. "He wants to be good. He wants to be a permanent player. It's easy for young players to fall back on what they did well in college. He knows he's long and can make athletic plays, especially around the basket. But he wants to improve on his perimeter skills." The onus on Warrick is to sharpen his ball-handling ability and mid-range shot to make a conversion to small forward. That position will allow him to see the court as Gasol progresses and commands more playing time at power forward. Warrick said the college-to-NBA transition gets "harder and harder every day." "I know I can play both forward positions as long as we get out and run the way Memphis likes to play," Warrick said. "Right now, just knowing where to be offensively and defensively is the toughest part." Former Griz Drew Gooden would know exactly what Warrick is trying to accomplish. Gooden entered training camp in 2002 as Griz president Jerry West's first and highest Memphis draft pick at fourth overall. An attempt to convert Gooden to small forward under then-coach Hubie Brown failed miserably. When Gooden couldn't -- or wouldn't, some may say -- grasp the concept, West traded him to Orlando in a deal for Mike Miller. Griz coach Mike Fratello seems cautiously optimistic and flexible with Warrick. "I know today he can play the power forward spot. That's an easy decision," Fratello said. "But can he be a highly successful small forward? That's what we have to find out. So if you don't do it now, when are you going to get the chance to do it? Then at some point, you as a coach have to be smart enough to say where does he help us the most?" Source
Hopefully this isnt another Drew Gooden scenario. I think Warrick is a great player and not just because of his athleticism. I do think though that Warrick would prosper on another team because here they already have Shane Battier, Eddie Jones and I think one other player whom I dont remember at the time capable of playing SF.
