Karl Wants Javale McGee To Be More Like Tim Duncan

[tracey_nice]

george karl said a sensible thing tho (if u read the actual quote) :/

[spearsy23]

My New Years Resolution was to be more like a young Brad Pitt. So far...nothing.

Aim high so even if you miss you end up an old brad pitt.

[EArl]

I want Dwight to play like Shaq, but it aint happening.

[The Rebel]

Some of you need to actually read what Karl said, he wants him to make the easier play and quit trying to do the spectacular highlight real plays.

[HornetJail]

I want Tyrus Thomas to play like Kevin Durant. Can George Karl arrange that too?

[Greg Stink]

Sounds more reasonable than wanting him to be less like Tim Duncan. That would be impossible.

[Doctor MJ]

This has to be the most hilarious tagline of the year.

[HEAT33]

I want Joel Anthony to be more like Shaq.

[Spicy P]

More like Tim Dumbcan

[Doctor MJ]

Going forward a bit further with this, what strikes me:

McGee is known for being among the stupidest players ever to get basketball scouts this excited. Denver traded for him by giving up Nene, a drastically underrated player because of his intelligence.

The question with all of this is who made the call, and what Karl, a basketball brain, thought about it all. Was this done against Karl's will? Was this Karl's hubris thinking he could change the guy? Is Karl actually not nearly as smart as we thought?

This quote doesn't answer that, but it's one more thing to consider as we learn more going forward. It is however interesting both how inappropriate and appropriate the comparison is. Inappropriate because McGee is not merely not a superstar, he's not even a good player. Appropriate though because the only way to possibly get through to somebody like McGee is to point to a peak he respects. Karl can't tell him to play like Nene because he probably thinks he's better than Nene.

[HornetJail]

^ It was a great trade. Nene's contract is terrible since he's rarely healthy and playing at 100% and let's be honest, 100% for Nene isn't star caliber or anywhere close to it.

Javale is still growing as a player, really young, sooooooooooo lllllllllloooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggg and full of potential.


Aslo just saw today is Javale's 25th birthday, quarter of a century. Javale: "what's a century?"

[MrBigShot]

He basically said he just wants him to be less worried about making the spectacular play and just focus on making the solid, fundamental basketball play. For instance, instead of blocking a shot 10 rows into the stands, block the shot in a way that you can retain possession of the ball. Or instead of trying to throw down a highlight reel dunk in traffic, just put the ball in the basket the easiest way possible. Just play solid fundamental basketball, like Duncan does. Not actually play like one of the greatest big men ever(though that would obviously be nice too).

Nothing too ridiculous in what he said, IMO.

Good post. That's exactly what he's saying. He wants Javale to mimic Duncan's attitude and approach.

Also I agree with CHA_77_Bobcats, I thought it was a good trade.

[sp6r=underrated]

Good post. That's exactly what he's saying. He wants Javale to mimic Duncan's attitude and approach.

People underrate how much "attitude and approach" is innate or set in stone by the time someone turns 18. Saying Javale should mimic Duncan's attitude and approach is only slightly more realistic than saying Duncan should immitate Javale's vertical lift.

[Doctor MJ]

^ It was a great trade. Nene's contract is terrible since he's rarely healthy and playing at 100% and let's be honest, 100% for Nene isn't star caliber or anywhere close to it.

Javale is still growing as a player, really young, sooooooooooo lllllllllloooooooooonnnnnnnnnnnggg and full of potential.


Aslo just saw today is Javale's 25th birthday, quarter of a century. Javale: "what's a century?"

Nene actually should have been an all-star. This is what I mean when I say underrated.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad trade. Obviously they weren't winning any titles with the core they had. Shaking things up can be a good thing. Taking a risk can be a good thing. However, if Denver was under any illusion that McGee was in Nene's league in terms of being able to actually play 5-on-5 basketball effectively at the time, then it was a bad trade because that just means they didn't know what they were doing.

Re: "really young"...25. What sport are you following here? When have you ever seen a 5th year NBA player not understand the game and later evolve into someone who really grasps team basketball well? Basketball simply isn't that complicated if you've got a good brain for it.

[MrBigShot]

Good post. That's exactly what he's saying. He wants Javale to mimic Duncan's attitude and approach.

People underrate how much "attitude and approach" is innate or set in stone by the time someone turns 18. Saying Javale should mimic Duncan's attitude and approach is only slightly more realistic than saying Duncan should immitate Javale's vertical lift.

Attitude/approach is apart of the maturation process that players undergo. Some become more mature and figure it out, some don't. But to say that attitude and approach is set in stone is silly. Karl obviously doesn't expect McGhee to ever be as focused on fundamentals as Timmy, but what he says is something good for McGhee to strive for.

The important part is that he wants him to focus giving a consistent effort in fundamentals throughout games night in and night out, and let the spectacular plays happen on their own. That's the central message and if Karl hadn't mentioned Tim Duncan this topic wouldn't have even been made. Naturally people on realgm jump to the idea that a person is comparing two players because they mention both in the same post(not saying you have, but this is a natural trend.)

[LascelleL]

No lie, I just saw that on the wiretap and busted out laughing.

[dangermouse]

I want my bank account to be more like Bill Gates'.

I want my girlfriend to be more like Jenna Jameson.

I want my Wizards to be more like Oklahoma City.

[Nate505]

He basically said he just wants him to be less worried about making the spectacular play and just focus on making the solid, fundamental basketball play. For instance, instead of blocking a shot 10 rows into the stands, block the shot in a way that you can retain possession of the ball. Or instead of trying to throw down a highlight reel dunk in traffic, just put the ball in the basket the easiest way possible. Just play solid fundamental basketball, like Duncan does. Not actually play like one of the greatest big men ever(though that would obviously be nice too).

Nothing too ridiculous in what he said, IMO.

The idea isn't ridiculous. The idea of the person he's telling it to to be smart enough to pull it off is.

Seriously, McGee may be the dumbest player in the league.

[Spicy P]

I want my bank account to be more like Bill Gates'.

I want my girlfriend to be more like Jenna Jameson.

I want my Wizards to be more like Oklahoma City.

Eww.. really?

[siydee]

easy to take that headline the wrong way, but pretty much everyone is laughing at that wiretap is taking it out of context. there is nothing ludicrous about what karl is saying.