Can Javale McGee ever develop into an allstar center?

[dockingsched]

He's really an impressive player. He's ridiculously long and has probably the biggest hands in the league. Seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders, just a little bit immature.

i don't believe he's ever given anyone reason to believe that.

[Jo Jo English]

I'm no Javale McGee expert, so my opinion isn't the most educated. From what I've seen of him he looks like an athletic freak with potential game changing defensive ability but probably limited to mostly being an "opportunistic" scorer. Likely never an All-Star, but if you pair him with the right point guard (similar to the impact Chris Paul had on Tyson Chandler) I definitely wouldn't rule it out.

[amb1ent]

never say never; even jaamal magloire was an allstar once

[miller31time]

He's still real young why are ya'll bashing him so bad,he's not stupid he's just young

no. hes stupid. but that doesnt mean he cant learn.

He's not stupid he's young

No, he's both. (Die-hard Wiz fan here)

And as has been mentioned, he's improving his game at a glacial pace.

JaVale McGee makes me want to hurt myself because one night, he'll look absolutely, utterly dominant. Then, the next night, he'll look like the worst center in NBA history. He simply doesn't play the game of basketball fundamentally. He relies completely and totally on his god-given athletic ability. It's gotten him through high school, college and made him a quasi-respectable NBA player without having to put in hardly any actual work or time improving his game and learning from his mistakes.

THAT'S why he's a moron - because he can't see that he has the potential to be great. He's more than fine resting on his natural ability because, heck, it's just enough to get by.

In all of his time in the NBA, I haven't seen him set one screen I'd define as "fundamentally sound" or "effective". He bites for every pump fake from any player because, hey, it looks REALLY COOL if he happens to block the shot. Pay no mind to the fact that if he doesn't block the shot (which happens quite a bit), the opponent gets an easy two points.

On offense, I can't remember the last time we fed JaVale in the post and he kicked it back out. Almost every friggin time, he makes his mind up that "I'm gonna shoot this ball, whether I'm single-covered or triple-teamed". And most of the time, he makes a fool out of himself with some ridiculous contortion of a shot. Sometimes, it goes in because he really is THAT athletic and naturally gifted, but when it doesn't (and it doesn't a lot of the time), he looks like a selfish moron.

Now, as my fellow Wiz fans have pointed out, these last 10 games or so have been a revelation of sorts. He is boxing out better, not forcing up shots at the rate we're accustomed to, not biting for pump fakes as much. And guess what, his numbers have looked fantastic in the process. Hopefully, this continues and is not an aberration (as I, unfortunately, believe it to be). If there's one thing I've learned from being a Wizards fan as long as I have, it's to NEVER trust small sample sizes.

[Diggity Dave]

If he can develop into a mature adult first, he may stand a chance.

[miller31time]

He's really an impressive player. He's ridiculously long and has probably the biggest hands in the league. Seems like he's got a good head on his shoulders, just a little bit immature.

i don't believe he's ever given anyone reason to believe that.

What PippenAintEasy possibly meant is that he is a good kid in the sense that he's never been in any trouble and is respectful. Not that he's intelligent or has any semblance of a basketball I.Q.

[Nothingface]

i mean ur basing ur opinion on highlights of boneheaded plays? let me clarify something for you guys. hes not a moron b/c he goes up for idiotic dunk attempts. hes a moron because he doesnt seem to understand fundamental basketball. wizards fans are more concerned with his inability to do the little things like box out, stay on the ground when the defender pump fakes, not commit weak fouls, get back in transition defense

the thing is, hes stopped with those horrific dunk attempts. hes stopped with the 1 on 5 me me me fast breaks. infact over the last 10 games his fundamental basketball skills have improved leaps and bounds. for us wizards fans, who get to see him on a nightly basis, the only question is can he play fundamental basketball consistently.

Capitals and apostrophes never killed anyone.

[Kabookalu]

He's one of the flat out stupidest players I have ever watched since I started watching NBA basketball (around the 95-96 season).

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zfMW2pUam4[/youtube]

I mean he is just incredibly stupid. He's so stupid I'm inclined to call it a gift. Its difficult for an NBA player to be that dumb, and that's saying something because there are some real dumb jocks in professional sports.

I'd venture he's bordering on the point where we have to start calling him special. Of course, special players do make the All-Star game... so yeah, maybe he could reach that point someday.

But man oh man is he a moron.

Did someone just drop the N bomb in that video?

Anyways he definitely can develop into an all star center, the Wizards need to put serious work into him for McGee to reach that plateau. It looks like he's never been to one big man camp in his life.

[miller31time]

It looks like he's never been to one basketball camp in his life.

Fixed.

[Don Draper]

It looks like he's never been to one basketball camp in his life.

Fixed.

[InsideInfo]

I can not stand him. He screams everytime he blocks a shot gets a dunk...even when his team is getting blown out.

[Midway Bully]

What's his ceiling if he does happen to get his sh*t together?

[Force-X45]

He's just very immature, but with some guidance I can see him developing in to a solid role player not an allstar he's more along the lines of a Tyson Chandler-esque center.

[tsherkin]

The center position isn't exactly teeming with dominant stars, it is POSSIBLE that he could turn into one.

I doubt he'll ever be an offensive monster, but if he can maintain a scoring average in the low/mid teens and add double-digit rebounding, even without competent defense it would make him a potential All-Star.

[sisibilio]

Athleticism of Dwight, IQ of Tyrus Thomas.

Athleticism = jumping high?

[moximus]

McGee's mom was a pro in WNBA, she needs to work with his son during offseason about skills and how to win. I can see McGee be a 20/10/4blks in his peak.

[tsherkin]

I'm not feeling 20 ppg from him. He's 23 and has declined in per-minute scoring in consecutive seasons, he's a bad FT shooter and has no range on his J to speak of.

The blocks, maybe. If he got the minutes (and he's not even super foul-prone, so he COULD technically play them), well, he averaged 3.8 BLK36 last year (of course he only played 16 mpg; he's averaging over 3 BLK36 this year too though). He actually led the league in BLK% last year at 8% and is doing so again at 6.7% this year.

But the scoring? Nah, I'm not feeling it. He doesn't have the tools. Can't play nasty smash-mouth power-post ball and doesn't have a finesse game to speak of, how's he going to generate all those points? Maybe if he had Steve Nash as a PG and worked the PnR all game long. That helped Tyson Chandler, pre-FT improvement, turn into a double-digit scorer for the only time in his career prior to this season but I'm still not feeling it. McGee doesn't really have any of the tools to be a 20 ppg scorer. Athleticism is nice, but you need a brain and skills with it.

Dwight's an excellent off-ball player who has loads of strength and now a decent post game with some developing range. McGee's just 7 feet tall with great springs.

[GaNGsTaRr93]

No lie but hes the next Tyson Chandler

[no D in Hibachi]

McGee will never average 20ppg. However, I must admit he has shown solid improvements in his post game. Granted his post moves are more finesse than power, but I could see him becoming a reliable offensive option as soon as next season. For instance he has a solid running/sweeping hook shot going to the right, a pretty good drop step move on the left block, and if he ever has the ball out to 15 feet and his defender pressures him at all McGee can blow by him with ease.

If he ever dedicated himself to mastering a simple jump hook he'd literally be unstoppable offensively. He'd out length/out jump any defender...the main reason he hasn't mastered it is because he has trouble establishing position. Overtime he'll fill out to the point where he can body defenders for position, but not yet. He came into the league at 237 and is now 256. Another year and maybe he'll have the girth to be more physical.

Physically he is capable of being an all-star, Rondo said McGee is the most athletic big man in the game, mentally is another question, we'll see.

[FecesOfDeath]

Chandler always had a good basketball IQ, even as a Bulls rookie.

McGee not so much. He can still get backed down due to lack of strength, he should have more rebounds than he does now, and he has no post game or any other skill on offense to make up for his lack of post game.

To give him credit, he seems to care about the game of basketball. If not, he'd have been Patrick O'Bryant by now.