I read a long article on his background from ESPN the other day and it claims that his family fell on very hard times but he wasn't an orphan. His family was homeless at times and very poor and yes he seems like a great guy and a good student. But that doesn't make him a competitor and it doesn't mean he loves basketball. Plenty of good guys with troubled pasts have been busts. From what I see on the court, he either does not care to play defense at all or hes too pouty or soft to man up and play the post to the maximum of his capabilities. If you're not competitive enough to give 100% effort to win then I have a hard time believing you'll succeed in the NBA (some big 7'0 Cs can get away with it but there's too much talent at the perimeter spots).
If you guys have 15 minutes, I suggest you read thru this list. There have been soooo many lottery busts in just the past 10 years! All the scouting and prep work doesn't mean shit....... it is a crapshoot straight up!
I really believe that a lot of individual players' success comes from how they fit with their teammates, coach, and organization. It's got to be hard to judge that. If I was running things I would want to have most of the players on the team there, playing with the prospects.
After watching all these playoff games; I'm reminded that in today's NBA you really need a PG who can score. So I think Kendall Marshall would be a mistake; not to even mention he doesn't have the athleticism to ever be a good defender. Even Rondo is hurting his team sometimes by his lack of scoring ability; a good coach like Collins exposed it a little bit more. Portland doesn't have three great scorers, they need scorers.
Not exactly true. You need a primary ball handler that can score in a variety of ways. Guys like Kobe, Wade, Le Bron, Harden are all perfectly capable of leading a team the same way Rose does. Of course, if you draft a guy like Marshall, you're doing it to make him the primary ball handler, so you're right that it's a flawed approach.
That's unrealistic, but I do think a lot of these guys' success hinges on where they land. The problem is that these top prospects land on crappy teams with no winning culture. Coaches on these teams are often flat out just not good and frequently have their jobs on the line which causes them to make decisions which aren't in the best interest of prospects. Usually the rosters of these teams don't have a lot of quality veterans who can set an example as well as provide quality competition in practice. Its a lot easier to find a good system fit when you have a stable system in place. That typically means stability at head coach and already having stars in place. If your team is in transition or rebuild mode you have to rank BPA above all and build around talented players. Pretty much agree. People get uber hyped on "pure PGs" but I don't see much proof that their teams are actually more successful than teams without pure PGs. Nash and CP3's teams aren't any more successful than Tony Parker's, Chauncey Billups', Derrick Rose's, or Russell Westbrook's. Kidd finally got a ring, but he did it as a role player. Rondo has one too but he also had great talent who could also create for themselves. Its not bad to have a pure PG but usually the best teams are built around guys who are unstoppable scorers who will also make the right pass. Teams like Kidd's Nets or Nash's Suns who have one creator and a bunch of finishers who can't create that well will struggle against great defenses in long playoff series. The great defenses will make the non-creators try to create and make the unselfish PGs take lots of shots. I don't think there's any one model for winning a championship, but the most important thing from a PG is low turnovers. Anyone who makes their teammates better is great, but ultimately you need that elite scoring threat who will command double teams, but will also make the right pass. Typically its a non-PG, in which case getting a scoring threat who doesn't turn the ball over like Parker or Billups will do just fine.
And even Nash and Paul are terrific scorers when they feel it's needed; the fact that teams know they can score allows them to have more opportunities to make passes that lead to scoring.
Sorry, should of just put it in this thread. TRAIL BLAZERS PRE-DRAFT WORKOUT SCHEDULE - TUESDAY, MAY 29 WHAT The Trail Blazers' schedule of pre-draft workouts for Tuesday, May 29. The 2012 NBA Draft will take place on Thursday, June 28. WHO Kent Bazemore, Guard/Forward (Old Dominion), Kris Joseph, Forward (Syracuse), Meyers Leonard, Center (Illinois), Garrett Sim, Guard (Oregon), Casper Ware, Guard (Long Beach State), Tyler Zeller, Center (North Carolina). WHEN Workouts are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m., with media access for all players starting at approximately 9:30 a.m. WHERE Trail Blazers Practice Facility - 7325 SW Childs Road
Couldn't disagree more regarding Perry Jones.... Perry Jones has ELITE level talent...Elite level NBA talent....So the question is his motor....and the thing I look at is that there isn't any "red flags" regarding his lack of motor...ie work ethic, bball IQ, off court issues, hoops family, attitude etc.... Everything I have read\heard is the exact opposite...good teamate, unselfish (to a fault) , hard worker, good bball IQ, no off court issues or attitude problems AND he recognizes his weakness (ie floating in games)...With the right coaching staff, this is the kind of player who could blossom into an exceptional NBA player. LA had softness issues when he came out as well and he has made great strides to becoming a dominant NBA player, I see no reasons whay Perry Jones couldn't do the same... Even worst case, you are looking at a guy who would be a key rotational player, a guy like Batum, who many here would gladly pay $11 million to keep on this team.....
Drummond is working his ass off! Andre Drummond has lost 22 pounds since the end of his freshman season at Connecticut. Drummond now weighs 268 pounds, allowing him to have excellent lateral quickness for a player his size. Via Chad Ford/ESPN (via Twitter) Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...t_22_Pounds_Since_End_Of_Season#ixzz1wIMcVxqp
I hate players who get all serious when they realize a paycheck is on the line. My opinion of him went down when I read this earlier
Then check this out son........ Andre Drummond has yet to demonstrate that he can excel within a team system. "If you draft him two, three, whatever, you're putting yourself out there," said an executive of a team that is in the lottery. "The one thing he doesn't do is he doesn't know how to play. He doesn't know how to play with the other four guys on the court. He can't carve out space to rebound the ball. He just rebounds it at that level because he's bigger and stronger and more athletic than everybody else. But when he gets to our level ... he doesn't have that feel as of yet. Could he get it? I don't know." Drummond shot 29.5 percent from the free throw line during his lone season at Connecticut. "He's as bad a free throw shooter as college basketball has seen," a Western Conference scout said. A Southeast Division executive claims Drummond received a bad rap because of the Huskies’ poor win-loss record. "He got labeled with all those other kids as kind of a screwup, but I didn't see anything that would indicate he's a screwup," the executive said. "I wouldn't discount Drummond. You put him with a pretty good coach, I think he's a pretty good learner. The thing I found interesting is how intelligent he was, to the point of taking things apart and putting them together, like computers. Real inquisitive type. That's half the battle, having somebody with some smarts to them." Via David Aldridge/NBA.com Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...rummond_Can_Mesh_With_Teammates#ixzz1wIO6PWD2
Tyler Zeller info........... Tyler Zeller’s shooting and passing abilities remind one Western Conference scouting director of Spencer Hawes. "This is a safe pick," the scouting director said. "You're not going to hit a home run, but you know you're at least going to get a single out of this deal. He'll make some elbow jumpers and he's got some low post moves. You've got an accomplished player. At the least, he should be no worse -- ever -- than Spencer Hawes, and probably better." Zeller, a 7-foot, 250-pound center out of North Carolina, may not have the requisite strength to contribute right away. "He seems to be a hard working kid, so you don't worry about that," an Eastern Conference VP said. "That'll happen naturally. He's 22. By the time he's 25 he'll be all right." Via David Aldridge/NBA.com Read more: http://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...aws_Comparison_To_Spencer_Hawes#ixzz1wIOH8H3r
