People need to calm down about Vonleh

I get it, we traded Batum for a guy who has barely played (Hendo) and a guy who looks extremely raw, meanwhile Batum is playing out of his mind. I can understand why people are upset about that, but I wish people would consider a few things.

1. Vonleh is essentially a rookie. He only played in 25 games last year, and he averaged 10 minutes per game. Plus, he missed training camp, which is a massive setback for a rookie, especially a young big man. Hell, CJ missed training camp, large portion of his rookie year, and he is JUST starting to show what he can do. That's a four year college veteran who hasn't come into his own until his third season in the league. Imagine what that would do to a 19 year old rookie big man.

2. The guy is really young. He turned 20 in August. There can be a really big learning curve for bigs, especially guys that young. It takes time to get a feel for the game. The speed and the size and the physicality for a big guy.

3. He hasn't had much burn. He's averaging 13 minutes over the past 5 games. He's starting but he's barely playing. Guys like Vonleh need to be able to play through their mistakes. That's the only way they'll learn.

People need to be patient with the kid. He wasn't brought in to be a starter. He's a project. He's raw. It's pretty clear that Neil wanted to cash in Batum for a young stud that we could develop. A couple things to consider about Batum:

1. He's a free agent after this season, and he's playing like it. I'm sure someone will max him out. Would you feel comfortable maxing a guy who has been extremely inconsistent?

2. I'm not convinced he would have signed here anyway, and I'm still not convinced that he'll re-sign with Charlotte. So if you're the Hornets, and you gave up your lottery pick for a guy that only played one year, how do you feel about that move?

3. If we really love him that much, we can still offer Batum a max deal this summer.

 

Batum still has 60 games to show his true colors; just wait, he'll implode - and if not this year, next year, after he signs his newly minted contract and stops giving a shit again. This is his best season - marginally better, per advanced statistics, than other seasons.

I'm glad we won't be paying 30 mill a year for him. I don't believe he really makes anyone around him better or better enough to justify that.

 

I've seen enough flashes of "feel" and talent that I'm perfectly comfortable with where he is right now. I think he also seems to be a lot more comfortable with the starters because I get the feeling there's more structure to the offense in the first unit and he seems to play less like a chicken with its head cut off when he plays in that unit.

15-20 minutes a night for the rest of the season is probably a perfect amount of burn for him and while it's anything but a guarantee he puts it together, I think there's at least 30-40% chance he turns into a really solid starting power forward.

 

Patience is a foreign term in here... SO far I have seen threads to trade pretty much everyone bu Dame and Plumlee. And so far people have been wrong.

 

I'm pretty sure I recall someone suggested trading Dame a couple of weeks ago. No one is safe. LOL

 

I think most of it comes from Batum playing so well. If he was sucking it up, I suspect people wouldn't be panicking so quickly.

 

I've got no problem with Noah. But that doesn't mean that he doesn't suck ATM.

My personal philosophy with PFs is to sign them or trade for them AFTER they've developed. PF is the easiest position in the NBA to fill. Unless you're getting a HOFer at that position, it should be the position you spend the least amount of money/resources on. There's no reason to spend resources on a project PF. Had we kept Nic I think we could have gotten a much better deal at the Trade Deadline.

With that said, I hope Noah develops so he can either be a useful player or a decent trade chip. So, keep playing him - we've already spent resources on him so now we have to reap some sort of reward.

 

No comment

 

I dont miss Batum at all, as far as i'm concerned: Crabbe>Aminu>Batum.

As for Von, i just keep the memory of how awful Jermaine Oneal looked in Portland and i tell myself to be patient.

I believe Olshey is trying to build a package deal for a star,won't be surprised to see Vonleh and Mayers traded for for a legit starter.

 

I agree w/ everything u said ^ but I'm more about him eventually becoming a solid starting pf (a solid starter isn't a crazy high mark to hit). I also think there's at least a 30-40% chance (aka the minimum) he turns into a really solid starting pf; however the chances of him becoming one is more like 96% For him to become quite awesome (aka > just a solid starter & much more studly), I think the chances here r more like 60% IMO.

 

I'd also like to add... are/were any of you/us a professional anything @ the age of 20? IF so (or even not...), how many of you/us had it ALL figured out/close to it @ 20?

SOME guys aka Thabeet, you CAN c it a mile away that they just will not get it/never will, Vonleh, he's not 1 of those.

 

That was @handiman.

 

Batum being good in a contract year was extremely predictable. It's never been a question of talent and much more about heart and consistency. Many people here predicted he would have a good season this year but still didn't want him because of how likely it is he returns to form after the big contract.

 

Vonleh most resembles Boris Diaw from the Spurs. The more interesting piece we got for Batum is Henderson. If it's up to me I'd look for another team for Harkless and give all his minutes to Henderson, not because I don't like Harkless but I have a feeling Henderson is worth a much bigger role

 

Hendo is a free agent though, and I think it's more likely that we deal him before the deadline. Crabbe and CJ are the future at shooting guard.

 

Henderson is a fine journeyman slashing two gaurd - what you see is what you get. With Vonleh there's enough glimpses under all that clueless raw material that he could be a really, really good player. Still a loooonng way to go though.

 

Who with any common sense actually thought Vonleh was going to come in this year and really do anything? I was probably more upset (and still am) about Nic being traded than anybody, but I'm not upset about the lack of production from Noah. I watch him workout everyday.....kid is raw with tons of potential...... but I knew he wasn't going to help this season.

 

My opinion is that summer league CAN be a decent predictor of talent. Obviously it's not the end all, be all, but if someone dominates in SL, it means they can produce against professional-level talent. Vonleh played VERY well in summer league, which to me means that he's capable, but that he is being held back by one or more factors. In his case, I think it's most likely confidence and adjusting to the speed of the NBA. Buidling confidence can be tricky because it requires playing time, but playing time can also destroy confidence if he doesn't play well or if the coach won't let him play through his mistakes. I think the kid has a bright future. I think he has a lot of tools that need to be developed further. I liked the trade at the time, and I still have high hopes that it will work out in the long run.

 

@Natebishop3 I hope I'm not being unclear, I really am somewhat optimistic about the guy, I just think it's going to take at least another year or two before we really see if he can mature into the player I think he can be - there's just a lot of potential pitfalls between here and there.

 

People with unrealistic expectations and immediate gratification syndrome.