Since NBA GM's have demonstrated over and over again that it is a copycat league, how many teams are going to modify their player development practices and procedures to attempt to capture what the Lakers have done with Bynum?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Dec 26 2007, 10:06 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Since NBA GM's have demonstrated over and over again that it is a copycat league, how many teams are going to modify their player development practices and procedures to attempt to capture what the Lakers have done with Bynum?</div> Id say wait and see til the end of the season. I mean If he drops off again to "average" numbers there will be no need to copycat. I see it as more of a bandwagon anyhow, people only jump on when it becomes fashionable.
I won't accept that Bynum is God's gift to the Lakers until I see the progression continue, because I wouldn't be shocked to see him stop progressing due to the poor work ethic that I've seen.
If by development tactics do you mean grabbing people when they are 19? If so, that'll be a rarity due to the requirement that guys spend a year in college. The only people who would be exempt are international players. Pettreri Kaponen? He's all yours.
What strategy have the Lakers used to develop Bynum? I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Then again, I don't really even see that much progression from Bynum. He seems like the same player he was last year, just playing more now. Still has good touch around the rim, good rebounder, alters a lot of shots, still doesn't have a huge effect on games. His moves are bit more refined now but still, most of his offense is just bullying his way down low and getting a dunk/layup/alley oop. Once I see him develop into a legit go-to scorer then we can talk about how other coaches or GMs will adjust their strategies, right now hes just a physical specimen who scores off of garbage points, feeds from the guards at point blank, and occasionally iso's where he has a big mismatch in his favor. Hes got scary potential but to be honest I don't think his development has been extreme at all. Hes had these skills before he just didn't get the playing time. Also I agree with Kid Chocolate, I don't think his work ethic is all that great, it may be improved from when he was a rookie but its still not where it needs to be to become a Duncan type player. Shaq got away with it because he's a once in a generation talent, I don't think Bynum has the natural talent that Shaq did, although it's comparable.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga @ Dec 26 2007, 10:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If by development tactics do you mean grabbing people when they are 19? If so, that'll be a rarity due to the requirement that guys spend a year in college. The only people who would be exempt are international players. Pettreri Kaponen? He's all yours.</div> The Lakers hired a special assistant by the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to work with Bynum
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate @ Dec 26 2007, 11:05 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>The ex-Dolphins RB?</div> No he was the captain of the UNLV badmitton team.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Run BJM @ Dec 26 2007, 10:57 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>What strategy have the Lakers used to develop Bynum? I don't see anything out of the ordinary. Then again, I don't really even see that much progression from Bynum. He seems like the same player he was last year, just playing more now. Still has good touch around the rim, good rebounder, alters a lot of shots, still doesn't have a huge effect on games. His moves are bit more refined now but still, most of his offense is just bullying his way down low and getting a dunk/layup/alley oop. Once I see him develop into a legit go-to scorer then we can talk about how other coaches or GMs will adjust their strategies, right now hes just a physical specimen who scores off of garbage points, feeds from the guards at point blank, and occasionally iso's where he has a big mismatch in his favor. Hes got scary potential but to be honest I don't think his development has been extreme at all. Hes had these skills before he just didn't get the playing time. Also I agree with Kid Chocolate, I don't think his work ethic is all that great, it may be improved from when he was a rookie but its still not where it needs to be to become a Duncan type player. Shaq got away with it because he's a once in a generation talent, I don't think Bynum has the natural talent that Shaq did, although it's comparable.</div> You really don't see a difference from last season to this season? What the Lakers have done with Bynum should be copied because they accelerated his development schedule. With the the individual work, he'd be another David Harrison or Petro
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate @ Dec 26 2007, 07:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I won't accept that Bynum is God's gift to the Lakers until I see the progression continue, because I wouldn't be shocked to see him stop progressing due to the poor work ethic that I've seen.</div> Poor work ethic??????You obviously have not seen Bynum the reason why he is playing so good may be because of his good work ethic and how hard he has work over the off season.The media in LA have been bragging about his work ethic all year.
If the tactics are taking their time with young centers, hiring the Kareem to coach them (or other HOF centers), and gradually give them important minutes, and opportunities to develop. Most teams probably use these tactics when available. Obviously not all teams have Kareem, not all teams have patient coaches, not all teams have coaches that even trust young players. But it also requires the player putting an effort in, and it depends on the player's size, the player's potential, etc. You won't get Channing Frye or Sean Williams drawing double teams every play like Bynum is, so it depends on the player's build and potential.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (cpawfan @ Dec 26 2007, 11:00 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GMJigga @ Dec 26 2007, 10:55 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If by development tactics do you mean grabbing people when they are 19? If so, that'll be a rarity due to the requirement that guys spend a year in college. The only people who would be exempt are international players. Pettreri Kaponen? He's all yours.</div> The Lakers hired a special assistant by the name of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to work with Bynum </div> Oh you meant like that? Well then sure, who can argue that getting 1-on-1 attention wouldn't be more beneficial?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Bynumite @ Dec 27 2007, 11:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate @ Dec 26 2007, 07:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I won't accept that Bynum is God's gift to the Lakers until I see the progression continue, because I wouldn't be shocked to see him stop progressing due to the poor work ethic that I've seen.</div> Poor work ethic??????You obviously have not seen Bynum the reason why he is playing so good may be because of his good work ethic and how hard he has work over the off season.The media in LA have been bragging about his work ethic all year. </div> Well his work ethic was questioned in previous seasons. I remember reading a while ago that he skipped practice with Kareem or something, and don't forget the time he snuck out of training camp to eat Fruit Loops. lol. But Bynum's work ethic has improved, and even Kobe is taking notice of it and complimenting him. I think the thing is, we can't judge too soon. I know that one of the reasons why Bynum worked so hard was because he was pissed off by Kobe's comments in the offseason and used that as motivation. We have yet to see if he can continue that on conistent basis. Great players are never satisfied, they continue working and continue to improve their games no matter what. The one thing I hope is that Bynum doesn't take in everything the media is putting out there and becomes satisfied with his game. If he loses his hunger, he will never live up to his potential
FWIW, I saw an interview with Kobe on TV yesterday, and he was asked about Bynum. KOBE talked about Bynum's work ethic and sorta praised him and sorta damned him. He basically said that Bynum was working hard now, but that he had to keep it up over the long haul. Kobe would know, as it's pretty well documented how hard he has worked all along and how he and Shaq didn't get along because Kobe didn't like Shaq's work ethic. I would say the "work ethic" thing is not just something made up by NBA fans if Kobe's talking about it like he did. To the point of the thread, not only is Kareem doing a masterful job with Bynum in LA, I've been posting about how the Bulls should fire Skiles for years and when asked who should replace him my answer has been Kareem all along. Speaking of Kareem and his work with Bynum, how about this little snippet from a Sam Smith column about the Bulls? http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sp...-home-headlines <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>One flaw in the Bulls' coaching and staff makeup is too many former guards and no big men. Paxson at times asked Skiles about adding a big-man's coach, such as former Bull Cliff Ray, who's now with Boston. Skiles demurred. He believed he could teach post play as well, though big men are different in the NBA and generally tend to respond better to working with fellow tall guys. That is one area where the Bulls could improve their coaching staff.</div>
I've seen his work ethic, a couple years ago first hand. It was poop. He may improve on it, but I'm going by what I know.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate @ Dec 28 2007, 12:28 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I've seen his work ethic, a couple years ago first hand. It was poop. He may improve on it, but I'm going by what I know.</div> Exactly.
