What's Alex Len's ceiling?

[Revived]

This kid's showing a ton of promise. Had a 5 block game against Minnesota on Wednesday and then another 5 block game in the game against Milwaukee on Tuesday. He actually alters and changes more shots than he blocks. He's already showing some Tyson Chandler ability in his game. He has good range on his shot on offense as well and is good finishing through contact so he should improve on the offensive side of the court as well.

What type of potential do you guys see in this kid?

I think he can eventually be an All Star caliber center but I'm obviously biased.

Since being inserted into the starting lineup on December 15, Len is averaging 2.6 blocks per game—3rd most in the NBA trailing only Pau Gasol and Anthony Davis over this timespan (source: Suns Communications).

Perhaps more significantly, over the last seven games, Len has blocked at least five shots in a game three times.

http://www.nba.com/suns/offenses-beware ... e-alex-len

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoDcod6c4Dg[/youtube]
(Warning: awful background music)

[Chalk1]

Hopefully he can avoid the injury bug. Great defensive potential for sure.


I like this one better.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5im8_An4GA[/youtube]

[Illmatic12]

Maryland fan who watched Len in college. i've seen his last few games since he's really started getting PT.. this kid has a lot of potential in the league. His size/length/mobility really jumps out at you, he has great defensive instincts (needs to cut out the silly fouls though)

Offensively it will take him another few seasons to polish up his arsenal, but he already looks like he can hit he 15-footer in the PnP and is aggressive on the offensive boards.

[MotownMadness]

Stay healthy kid

[Rasheeed!!!]

He’s been pretty good this season. Watching him play you can see that he will be an impact player in this league.

[DemonLizard]

I don't want to be invited to that party.

[ufsports]

There are a lot of young, promising centers in the league, it's going to be great!

[MalonesElbows]

Starting to live up to that lofty draft spot.

[Salieri]

Major props to the guy, I hope he keeps up the good job.

But the fact that Pau Gasol is still ahead in that ranking impresses me more. A 34 years old veteran never known for his athleticism or defense is throwing block parties everywhere as well, and the only 2 guys who can keep up with that pace are two youngsters. I'd love to have a chat with D'Antoni to find out if he is more bitter or surprised. Anyway, an interesting conversation for sure.

[DaleyBlind]

His going to be very good, as long as he can stay healthy.

[ManualRam]

his agility is of no surprise. he's a former gymnast. he can block shots without chasing them and breaking defensive integrity. he's got soft touch on his jumper and is coordinated in terms of executing moves as well so he does have 2 way potential. solid frame, already approaching 260 and can stand to put on good weight without sacrificing mobility. chess player too so he's got a good mind.
yeah, he's got very good potential. its all about health for him but he's showing signs of being injury prone with all the various injuries he's had so far.
i liked him more than noel coming into the draft and i still like him more going forward.

[Illmatic12]

his agility is of no surprise. he's a former gymnast. he can block shots without chasing them and breaking defensive integrity. he's got soft touch on his jumper and is coordinated in terms of executing moves as well so he does have 2 way potential. solid frame, already approaching 260 and can stand to put on good weight without sacrificing mobility. chess player too so he's got a good mind.
yeah, he's got very good potential. its all about health for him but he's showing signs of being injury prone with all the various injuries he's had so far.
i liked him more than noel coming into the draft and i still like him more going forward.

Noel is just too damn frail at C. Don't know if he can ever reliably give you more than 25mpg on a winning team.

Out of that draft I would rather have Len, Adams, Dieng, Plumlee for the long term. And Gobert, goes without saying is a clearly better prospect than Noel also.

[Anatomize]

damn!! I didn't notice he was on the waiver wire in my league... totally missed out.. got Gobert and Nurkic.. but with Len I would have 40 blocks a week haha

[Illmatic12]

Ironic/coincidental, I'm listening to the Lowe + Simmons podcast and they were just talking about Len: "He's no Nurkic (jokingly) but I saw him play in person, he's abnormally long yet really coordinated. He's very nimble for his size"

I have to agree, and I'm similarly high on Len's potential as Lowe and Simmons. The kid is huge and can move well, good instincts, just turned 21yo. As a 'project' big you can't really have a better starting point.

[TheKingofSting]

I hope he develops offensively.

[Johnlac1]

Len has looked good in a number of areas, but off. he has to show he can beat his man one on one. Certainly looks to have the potential to do that. Suns players are a little reluctant to throw him the ball in the blocks. He has to earn their respect.

[Flying Colors]

I hope he develops offensively.

The fact that he hasa nice little 15 footer is a good sign for his offensive abilities, he is slowly getting better at put back buckets as well, and i think he aint a bad FT shooter, if the suns PGs looked for him more often, he could easily get 12-15 points a game

[Chalk1]

It's got to be a very strange time and place for the young fella in his life. He's a high draft pick who is starting to come into his own in the NBA, meanwhile his hometown and region has turned into a war zone that is controlled by warlords and has turned into a humanitarian crises. He has family that has been living through it all.

Hopefully he'll play for Ukraine in the future but he may not be from Ukraine in the future.

[NashtyNas]

Starting to live up to that lofty draft spot.

Not even close. I have loved everything I have seen from the kid so far, but his production thus far doesn't warrant us drafting him there. What does warrant it, as it did at the time, is the POTENTIAL that he has, and these clips show you why our FO felt he was the BPA at that slot.

As excited as I am, I will suggest that we (Suns fans) don't get carried away. He still has a lot of trouble with positional man defense and is prone to fouling too much on that end. Of course we expect those issues will be minimized as he gains experience but I still have concerns about his ability to stay healthy and handle big minutes. Obviously he's much too raw offensively at this point so that's another area I would like to see him improve in. Adding just one or two reliable go-to post moves would do wonders for his game offensively because of the height and speed advantage he has on most nights.

[Saints14]

There are a lot of young, promising centers in the league, it's going to be great!

With a bunch of stud C's in the upcoming draft. Maybe in 5 years C is the new PG