RealGM

Hey LALAland,
1st off- a late congrats on the title. as much as i used to loathe kobe, i really do like him now, hes pulled a late career jordan in terms of dominating with his IQ. hakeems work with him has worked well and he willl always be better than bron in my book. I really only care for OKC and LA in the west anyway.

2- so i saw you arent resigning DJ congo cash Mbenga. I posted on my board asking what the bulls nation felt about signing him as a 6th big
we have
-noah- yall know him, our heart and soul
-boozer- yall know him
-taj gibson- super solid rookie last year put up like 10 and 9 as a starter
-kurt thomas- long time vet experience and insurance
-and omer asik -a guy coming from turkey we hear is like biedrins meets gortat and that he schools them both usually in euroleague play

everyone on my board just hated on DJ and said hes only good for fouls and so on and he has no skill and hes a thug (when i told the guy hes a refugee philanthropist he said hes a thug on the court)

i just love his size and im assuming athleticism/strength as a 7 ft martial artist.

Q- is he as bad as my board thinks? or can he hold it against howard and such at least on defense?
hes gotta be decent to be practicing against pau and AB right?
thanks!

He was only good in garbage minutes when we were blowing the other team out by 20+ points in the fourth quarter. If he got any chance to get decent minutes, he'd ruin it by getting in foul trouble. He's a helluva shot blocker though.

He's great insurance for what he makes but don't expect him to be shy because he's never met a shot he didn't like. His jumper is money though and he's built like a brickhouse.

he gets in foul trouble way too quickly

For some reason he loooves shooting turn-around fadeaways with someone right in his face...never understood that.

DJ's main contribution came in practice. he kept our bigs on their toes with his shot blocking and physicality and since he didn't get in foul trouble in practice he was a great player to have.

I wouldn't expect much from DJ except a few swats and an occasional jumper.

Although I do remember he did good last season in a few starts when Bynum went down.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ3KhhuG4ik

much appreciation southland (can i say that? haha) your insight is exactly what i thought. unfortunately the thread got derailed and locked called him a thug, unjustly and then the racial stuff got involved BUT if youd like to keep this going id still like to see what everyone has to say. sounds like exactly what you want out of a 3rd/4th stringer or if nothing more, a big body.

heres the thread. viewtopic.php?f=10&t=1049544&p=24844225#p24844225

thanks again, mods especially. and since the closest ive ever been to cali is CPK and sunny d california style. ill say in advance, best of luck this season!

If I was him, I look over seas for a big pay day and more minutes to play. Coming off any bench and being the 6th big man will not get him the money or the playing time. He needs to be a 2nd or 3rd back up to someone like Duncan. Lakers just have too many 7 footers for this season. So he was the odd one out. He did have 8 blocks in one game. So he can do it and hit the 15 footer and grab some rebounds and is in good shape and runs the floor pretty well.

he will make boozer and gibson work very hard in practice, as he makes the the good players on your squad even better.

He has cute ears. You don't need him.

G=K wrote:He has elephant ears. You don't need him unless you're having a carnival.

Fixed.

DJ is NOT a thug, I never see him trying to foul someone hard on purpose, he just fouls in general . Chi should pick him up if anything for boozer to practice against, I guess boozer didn't have anyone to practice against in Utah, maybe thats why he always had trouble with LA length.

Seriously, DJ Mbenga was never really that bad.

In terms of defense, size, strength, effort, & rebounding, I thought he was always pretty damn good.

Hell, there are very few decent centers in the league, if you can find one to play D and block shots, you're in good shape. DJ can get off his feet quickly, and is easily an above-average/good shot blocker.

I'm surprised no one has picked him up yet, actually. He's better than a lot of teams starting centers. He's better than Darko, IMO.

dj really isn't that bad, he didn't get playingtime in l.a. because we have a Bynum gasol n Odom. he's a solid back up center, and far from a thug don't know where people would get that assumption from, everyone on the team seemed to love him.

DJ is actually a hard worker. Dude never gives up, and always ready to play. I'd take this guy before Kwame anyday.

The Laker Kid wrote:DJ is actually a hard worker. Dude never gives up, and always ready to play. I'd take this guy before Kwame anyday.

yep+, Kwame=Physically gifted, great potential, no heart/bad work ethic
DJ=not much bball skills but doesn't give up on plays even if it means getting posterized

So Gutta wrote:Seriously, DJ Mbenga was never really that bad.

In terms of defense, size, strength, effort, & rebounding, I thought he was always pretty damn good.

Hell, there are very few decent centers in the league, if you can find one to play D and block shots, you're in good shape. DJ can get off his feet quickly, and is easily an above-average/good shot blocker.

I'm surprised no one has picked him up yet, actually. He's better than a lot of teams starting centers. He's better than Darko, IMO.

Very true. I think Lakers should re-sign him. He knows the Triangle Offense very well... He could help Theo Ratliff to adapt to the system.

lol I wonder if the triangle ever meant anything to Mbenga.