Zenzibar wrote:cgmw wrote:cgf wrote:Can't lump Obi in with Kevin & Frank, he may get a senior-citizen discount, but he's still a rookie. As long as he keeps playing hard, he'll get PT behind Julius at the very least...whether he can start getting minutes as a small-ball 5 or not, is on how much he improves.
And it wouldn't be all that shocking if he claimed Taj's spot as our 3rd string C, for himself; if not over this coming summer then over the course of the following season.
He’ll get PT behind an All-NBA Ironman playing 39 mpg?
Ok.
Obi is the same as Kevin and Frank. People just don’t want to admit it yet. He simply won’t have the opportunity to develop here.
Have to wholeheartedly disagree with Obi's development comment.
What was the biggest concern regarding Obi? Wasn't it his defense?
Seems to me that as the season has progressed the young man's defensive game has, not just a little, but tremendously improved.
Obi's board game is really strong right now and that second unit outscores the other bench by twice most nights.
That has to be credited not only to DRose and IQ's scoring, but Obi holding it down next to Taj.
Obi wasn't ready to contribute to a contender but is flourishing in a winning situation under this staff.
IMO, any young player coming through this new Knicks coaching program is worth more than some of you are giving.
Some colleges produce more stars than others and I feel the Knicks staff will be producing just that.
Thoughts?
Opportunity. He won’t have the opportunity.
Maybe I’m just a hopeless romantic but somewhere tucked inside Frank’s headband and Kev’s forehead creases, there’s a future NBA All Star waiting to be unlocked. It just ain’t gonna happen here.
Trying to pretend Thibs would ever play Obi as a backup 5 is fun and all, but let’s face reality—Obi’s fate was sealed the minute Randle morphed into bizarro MVP.
Could Obi develop despite playing ~11mpg? Could he put on 20 lbs of muscle and be a spot 5? I suppose weirder things have happened. But I’m not betting on it.
Could Obi be a useful cheap backup? Of course and that’s dope. But when I say “develop,” I mean become a star. Or at least a starter.