Nigerian Dwight: The James Nnaji Thread

[wilson115]

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[wilson115]

How did Barcelona get their hands on this gem. Reminds me of Mark already.

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[Diop]

reminds me of prime Diop

[wilson115]

That’s the beauty of euro teams, really push the fundamentals on the bigs, especially if they want court time

Sounds true here given the way he talks shop for an 18 year-old. And he didn't even get to practice before his first game.

He missed the first three days of summer league practice and sat out Monday’s game against San Antonio while still awaiting his international clearance from FIBA, finally getting approval from the world’s governing body of basketball to allow him to be on the court in Wednesday’s loss to Golden State and Friday’s defeat to the Spurs.

“Wherever I play, maybe we shoot the ball in the last four seconds,” Nnaji said. “Meanwhile here, within 14 seconds, we are putting the shot up, and you run up and down a lot. Where I’m from, we have to construct every single possession we have. It’s a different game, and it’s just a different defense.

“I’m trying to adapt to it and trying to see if I can adapt to it real quick because that is the most important thing. Adapting is not the problem, but how fast can you do it is very important.”

Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article277126548.html#storylink=cpy

If his fundamentals hold up, and the way he breaks down the game, he could become a defensive quarterback-type like we used to have with Marvin Williams. Man I hope our player development guys don't drop the ball with this kid.

[vorbis]

I feel like Nnaji is *the* upside pick of this draft for the Hornets.

he needs a fair amount of experience in Greensboro to really adapt to the NBA game, but his talents shine on defense.

he's still loose with dribbling in the post and catching the ball in the post (remind you of any other Charlotte draft picks originally from the African continent, anyone?) and he hasn't really figured out the right pace with which to play when he grabs an offensive rebound or catches the ball in the post.

but the bounce is there, the engagement is there. the ability to stay with defenders out to the 3pt line is there. the shot blocking is there. his boxing out is inconsistent but the fundamentals are there.

no touch with his jumper or free throws whatsoever. it's like he's shooting a whiffle ball instead of a basketball. I don't know how much that changes with experience. but if the secondary and tertiary skills get up to NBA level, he's a potential starter who can play big minutes.

[JMAC3]

NNaji said in an interview that he will be on Barcelona for another year. So safe to say we aren't bringing him over this year.

[MPM]

NNaji said in an interview that he will be on Barcelona for another year. So safe to say we aren't bringing him over this year.

Best thing for the Hornets. Based on the obvious fundamentals he's learning in Barca, the swarm would be a developmental step backward.

[SWedd523]

NNaji said in an interview that he will be on Barcelona for another year. So safe to say we aren't bringing him over this year.

Best thing for the Hornets. Based on the obvious fundamentals he's learning in Barca, the swarm would be a developmental step backward.

honestly so might the senior team

[luciano-davidwesley]

NNaji said in an interview that he will be on Barcelona for another year. So safe to say we aren't bringing him over this year.

And that's just fine. Let Barcelona develop him for another year. Their coaching staff is probably better than ours anyway lol. Hopefully they still give him plenty of minutes.

[wilson115]

NNaji said in an interview that he will be on Barcelona for another year. So safe to say we aren't bringing him over this year.

And that's just fine. Let Barcelona develop him for another year. Their coaching staff is probably better than ours anyway lol. Hopefully they still give him plenty of minutes.

Good to hear, hope our FO keeps in touch with those guys. Maybe steal some of them away when Nnaji comes over.

[amcoolio]

I feel like Nnaji is *the* upside pick of this draft for the Hornets.

he needs a fair amount of experience in Greensboro to really adapt to the NBA game, but his talents shine on defense.

he's still loose with dribbling in the post and catching the ball in the post (remind you of any other Charlotte draft picks originally from the African continent, anyone?) and he hasn't really figured out the right pace with which to play when he grabs an offensive rebound or catches the ball in the post.

but the bounce is there, the engagement is there. the ability to stay with defenders out to the 3pt line is there. the shot blocking is there. his boxing out is inconsistent but the fundamentals are there.

no touch with his jumper or free throws whatsoever. it's like he's shooting a whiffle ball instead of a basketball. I don't know how much that changes with experience. but if the secondary and tertiary skills get up to NBA level, he's a potential starter who can play big minutes.

Unless Nnaji develops a Serge Ibaka-like jumper he won't play in this version of the NBA. Maybe the NBA metagame changes but doesn't look like it is soon. Everything else is there though. I think he is more fluid and a better defender than Bismack Biyombo

[JDR720]

Teams still need bruisers. His main issue is his lack of FT's. If he can make them, he could be a solid defensive starter.

He's basically a bigger Robert Williams or Robinson from the Knicks.

But I don't understand the pick. We already have Mark, who is obviously our long term starter. And we just extended Nick.

So why spend a high 2nd round pick on a 3rd stringer that has a ceiling as our backup?

[wilson115]

But I don't understand the pick. We already have Mark, who is obviously our long term starter. And we just extended Nick.

So why spend a high 2nd round pick on a 3rd stringer that has a ceiling as our backup?

Said the same thing the night of the draft. Back then I thought it looked certain we'd have a deep forward rotation locked in for a while. Now it looks like we're losing three of those guys next year and they're the ones who start.

Then again, drafting another big instead of insurance for our unsigned wings means the FO's just as clueless as I was.

[wilson115]

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[wilson115]

"Nope."

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[wilson115]

NNaji said in an interview that he will be on Barcelona for another year. So safe to say we aren't bringing him over this year.

Here's more of it:

“According to the information I have, I’m going to continue for another year. But neither do I want to say yes nor no, we have to see how everything goes, the circumstances, depend on what happens in the Summer League. But for now, I would say yes”, he said on his future with FC Barcelona.

However, it mainly depends on whether the Charlotte Hornets decide upon him staying in the NBA or not. “They want to look at more options, they have not told me that I’m the first, but anything can happen as I have said. There are also other issues like the team’s cap space and they have a full roster. They want to wait for a better situation, that’s why they talk to me for about a year”, James Nnaji added.

https://www.eurohoops.net/en/euroleague/1527546/james-nnaji-barcelona-charlotte-hornets-future/

[SWedd523]

I want to reiterate that I'd like Nnaji to stay at Barcelona for another year to develop.

Because he's probably going to develop better there than he will scrubbing buckets in Greensboro with the **** committee.

He's shown real promise as a defensive rotation Center and I feel like we're due for one of our gangly African bigs to pan out. He definitely has an uphill battle behind Mark and Nick, but I like what I see

[Diop]

-his picks look brutal, creates so much room
-

[KembaWalker]

Letting Barcelona develop him for a year and starting his contract a year later is a no brainer move. It'll be nice to have him once Richards as a backup is a luxury we can't afford anymore

[luciano-davidwesley]

He's tried that lefty hook a few times. Hopefully it develops into a nice shot for him