Alex Len and his future

[Hesh]

I remember when everyone thought Len was chosen over Noel for his offensive potential and they were saying that he wouldn't come anywhere near the shot blocker that Noel is. It remains true of his offensive game but the defense we're witnessing is so awesome.

[BVPN]

Would be nice if someone with Insider could post this article

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/ ... e-rankings

Thanks in advance.

8. Alex Len, Suns
Len has exploded as a starter on one of the hottest teams in the league, thanks to his defensive presence and overall ability to make paint plays on both ends of the court. Now, if he could just learn to defend without fouling he'd help the Suns even more.

The good news is his foul problems mostly arise from bad habits he learned in Europe, where the officials allow players to use their hands far more often on defense (shoves and such) than NBA officials tolerate. If Len focuses more on moving his feet and keeping his enormously long arms up or out rather than on the driver/rebounder/shooter, he'll cut his foul rate down considerably.

[Sundreamer]

IMO, Len's ceiling is a somewhat better Marcin Gortat.

[Ryu]

IMO, Len's ceiling is a somewhat better Marcin Gortat.

Nah. Tyson Chandler w/ better offense.

[Qwigglez]

More like a nimble Pau Gasol!

[WeekapaugGroove]

I like the Marcus Camby comparassion.

Sent from my SM-G900V using RealGM Forums mobile app

[WTFsunsFTW]

7'2 Michael Jordan imo

[ImNotMcDiSwear]

A stick-figured Shaq, if you will.

[JDLAW]

On Len-
Simmons: "He’s solid. He’s no [Jusuf] Nurkic, but he’s solid.

…"

What does he mean when he says that? Or was that a joke?
http://www.nba.com/suns/blog/simmons-lo ... -emergence

He was not talking about game, but was talking about build. Nurkic is very solid at 7" 280+lbs. He is also a skilled player, but no more than Len.

[Qwigglez]

On Len-
Simmons: "He’s solid. He’s no [Jusuf] Nurkic, but he’s solid.

…"

What does he mean when he says that? Or was that a joke?
http://www.nba.com/suns/blog/simmons-lo ... -emergence

He was not talking about game, but was talking about build. Nurkic is very solid at 7" 280+lbs. He is also a skilled player, but no more than Len.

Ahh I see. Despite picking him up in fantasy, I have yet to see him actually play (I also picked up Gobert and Len just so ya know, lol). I just checked out a video of him on Youtube. That kid is huge.

[spanishninja]

Surprising that he isn't even on this list, I expected him to be top 5

http://nyloncalculus.com/stats/rim-protection/

this is for the season. Len didn't really pick it up until the last 10 games.

[Frank Lee]

Also, where are we at with Len's nickname? A rotoworld post yesterday called him "The Kraine". Anyone know where that's from? Suits pretty well seeing how freaking tall he is.

Dear Batsmash,

He is from the Ukraine....

sincerely,

Capt Obvious

Nah I meant as in who created the nickname. I sort of like it.

Ooops... I like it too. Knew you knew better

[thamadkant]

Alex Len's potential is Tim Duncan (2010+ version) 17ppg/12rpg/2.5bpg

[thamadkant]

Watched the Nuggets game..

Jusuf Nurkic is a stud..
He is playing similar minutes to Len, but he is getting 8-9 shots also.
He is putting up close to 20 PER, whilst Len is at 15 PER.

Len has higher potential IMO purely just based on his mobility...
Nurkic is also playing next to a pass first PG in Lawson hence perhaps why he is having good production.

Len... given plays and feeds down low, could produce similar points production IMO, but I'm doubtful it'll happen with Hornacek focusing on mid range and ISOs.

[JMac1]

Alex Len's potential is Tim Duncan (2010+ version) 17ppg/12rpg/2.5bpg

I don't like comparing players to all-time greats, because you will have to dumb down their potential to avoid looking foolish by mentioning the two in the same sentence. 17 and 12, Len can't be better than that? Says who?

We have no idea who his ceiling will be comparable to, all we know is it is high enough to be really good. He has shown that he can rebound, dunk, move laterally, drive, run, block shots, shoot, and play defense, that is all you can ask.

Len has the skills to be a dominant offensive and defensive center; who does that compare to, I don't know. What does that look like? I don't know. Who'd thought any great player would be better than the greatest player that came before them, no one ever thinks that, but their will be somone better than Tim Duncan, we just won't know until that player's career is over.

[thamadkant]

Tim Duncan's impact > his numbers.

I want Len to be that player that values team impact as opposed to him just getting his numbers. 17ppg is assuming he does it almost all through the flow of the offense and at a high percentage.
He doesn't have the elite athleticism of Anthony Davis or skills of Cousins to be a 20+ scorer... And he isn't a golden-era center type talent either...
But Len's agility and size can make him real effective from anywhere around 15 feet.

But as mentioned by many his greatest traits is his ability to alter shots without jumping real high. He rarely jumps for fakes but he gets his fingers on the ball at a lot different ways.

[Frank Lee]

Been reading the Len vs Gobert argument on the big board.... holly crap... the BigFrenchy is throwing up some mighty impressive #s.

There is a good crop of big youngins on the scene. Glad we got one of them.

That big kid Nurkic had a game against MGasol.... gave him some good rib sticking lip service too.... there will be no love for jusuf in Memphis. Look forward to their next match up as he was chin to chin with big-little-brother. Jusa is going to be one of the smack talking WWF bad guys around the league.

[Qwigglez]

That's what I said in a different thread Frank Lee. Last year's draft class isn't looking so weak now eh? Gobert has quite the motor. I think defensively he has a higher ceiling than Len, but Len has a far better offensive outlook.
Tonight's performance against the Grizzlies shows what Len can do against a top tier front line. He is capable of putting up these type of numbers every game I believe, and next year he should truly blossom. He should be our number one option offensively and build the offense around him. Everyone else will get touches, but if we go from the inside-out strategy I believe we'll be a solid team.

[Marz11]

The sad reality is that if Frye was still here then Len would be rotting on the bench with Archie, TJ and Ennis.

[RunDogGun]

The sad reality is that if Frye was still here then Len would be rotting on the bench with Archie, TJ and Ennis.

Why? Plumlee started a whole season with Frye at the four.