Alex Len and his future

King4Day · Post #1 » by **King4Day** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 7:42 pm

I remember when we drafted him, I was driving to play rec league basketball and was thinking, "Holy ****, were are guaranteed to get either McLemore or Noel!". Then the disappointment set in. Why would we draft a big man who's injured when there were two prospects more highly touted than him?

Through his injury plagued rookie year, we all saw very small glimpses of what he could do.
Harsh rebounds, shooting touch, nice moves in the post, etc.

Fast forward 2 months into his sophomore season and we all see why he was drafted.

- The guy is still growing but it's clear he's solid defensively.
- He's getting comfortable in the offense.
- Continues to develop his post game and shooting.
- His fouls have gone down significantly.
- Maybe most importantly, he's staying healthy.
- It also doesn't hurt that he has not hit his ceiling yet.

(imagine how he does with a few more years to develop)

What is everyone's view on him now? Will he be part of the Rookie/Sophmore game this year (should be a yes)?
What kind of player could he turn into (comparison-wise)?
I haven't heard any outsider fans talk about him but after Oladipo, I get the feeling Len will be the 2nd best player from that draft.

spanishninja · Post #2 » by **spanishninja** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:13 pm

I think he can be a white Marcus Camby but hopefully healthier throughout his career. He even has the midrange shot that Camby had.

aIvin adams · Post #3 » by **aIvin adams** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:28 pm

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoDcod6c4Dg&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

aIvin adams · Post #4 » by **aIvin adams** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 8:32 pm

i'm hopeful. if he stays healthy, his floor is higher than it hought and his ceiling is... hard to see

King4Day · Post #5 » by **King4Day** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:01 pm

aIvin adams wrote:[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoDcod6c4Dg&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

Loving the highlights but man that's some awful music to have tied to it

kennydorglas · Post #6 » by **kennydorglas** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:05 pm

I still would've drafted Noel, but I can see now why McD take the chance in Len.
He's becoming my favorite player in this EASILY.

Revived · Post #7 » by **Revived** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:17 pm

aIvin adams wrote:[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoDcod6c4Dg&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

That music ruined what was maybe a good highlight video.

RunDogGun · Post #8 » by **RunDogGun** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 9:19 pm

I like his energy and his power on his dunks. He keeps improving, guys just have to find him when he is open.

BurningHeart · Post #9 » by **BurningHeart** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 10:34 pm

If he can be our Zydrunas, I'll be happy as hell. Very excited to watch him continue to grow. Him, Dragic, and Markieff are my three favorite players on the team at the moment.

SunZel · Post #10 » by **SunZel** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 10:44 pm

Developing post game? I don't see that at all. Dude doesn't even have a hook shot. Eh he is a starter but, i don't see all star.

JMac1 · Post #11 » by **JMac1** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 11:12 pm

SunZel wrote:Developing post game? I don't see that at all. Dude doesn't even have a hook shot. Eh he is a starter but, i don't see all star.

Here

He hardly gets any opportunities with our ball hog style, but his first points against LAL was a drive to the hoop with a right handed hook shot!!

His face up game will be devastating because of his J. Once he puts on more weight, his back to the basket game will be sick too. Too tall to not develop a hook shot.

As far as Noel

bigfoot · Post #12 » by **bigfoot** » Mon Dec 29, 2014 11:56 pm

Jeez JMAC I can hardly responded to the thread looking at that last pic.

Clean up crew

bigfoot · Post #13 » by **bigfoot** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 12:07 am

What I like

1) Can't teach height
2) Big / tall guys with major athleticism is really rare. Too many 7 foot stiffs out there. Len is not one of them thank goodness
3) Great free throw shooter
4) Nice outside game
5) Has shown he can make the three point shot.
6) Bothers a ton of shots
7) Get his fair share of blocks
8) Has shown pretty good hands when receiving the ball from the PGs
9) Hedges really well on the PnR ... wingspan really cause problems

What I hope for by 2016.

1) He develops a few goto post moves.
2) He works on his ball handling so he can face up and drive by slower centers
3) Improvement on his rebounding numbers. Would love to see 11 per game by next year
4) He becomes a legit star so he gets the benefit of the doubt from the refs on both offense and defense
5) He stays healthy

Right now I'm not sure I would trade him for anyone in the league. If he was the focal point of the offense he could be a 22/12/3 type of guy in two years and only be 23 years old.

bigfoot · Post #14 » by **bigfoot** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 12:18 am

Also, I don't think I would send him to Olajuwon this summer as someone suggested in a different thread. I think the Suns/he should hire Dirk's coach

RunDogGun · Post #15 » by **RunDogGun** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:00 am

bigfoot wrote:Also, I don't think I would send him to Olajuwon this summer as someone suggested in a different thread. I think the Suns/he should hire Dirk's coach

I wouldn't care who he goes to, as long as he works on his game. My only concern with Olajuwon camp would be another fade away jump shooter. We have enough of those.

I would like him to go to whoever worked with Bynum early in his career.

kennydorglas · Post #16 » by **kennydorglas** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:31 am

Bynum is a completely different player, at 19 he was already an insanely good post up player
Len is more like a Brook Lopez type of a player (face up, baby/running hooks)
Being a 7'1, its kind of a waste to transform him in a back-to-basket player.

kennydorglas · Post #17 » by **kennydorglas** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:34 am

About Noel, he's already posting insane numbers in that **** Philly's team. (46% defending the rim, almost 2 stl/blk per game)
He'll be a mobile Big Ben. But im fine with Len.

Saberestar · Post #18 » by **Saberestar** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 1:58 am

I really like his progression, but we have to be cautious about the expectations. Patience will be recompensed, he can be our starting C for the next 10 years.

Cutter · Post #19 » by **Cutter** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 2:02 am

RunDogGun wrote:
bigfoot wrote:Also, I don't think I would send him to Olajuwon this summer as someone suggested in a different thread. I think the Suns/he should hire Dirk's coach

I wouldn't care who he goes to, as long as he works on his game. My only concern with Olajuwon camp would be another fade away jump shooter. We have enough of those.

I would like him to go to whoever worked with Bynum early in his career.

He already has a small fade away tendency in his shot naturally which seems like something that needs to be fixed in the off season. However, I could see him eventually going to the Dirk slight fade away where he buffers with his right knee while fading back slightly for the shot. I think there is a name for the Dirk fadeaway but I don't know what it is.

Cutter · Post #20 » by **Cutter** » Tue Dec 30, 2014 2:07 am

Putting Len next to a PF with excellent defense and decent offense would be my dream. Someone like Serge Ibaka would be ideal IMO. A Len-Ibaka-Tucker front line would be awesome defensively but somewhat limited offensively. Now if Len scored 15 PPG that line up would work.