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"The way I play here, I play everywhere,'' he said following the Hoop Summit. "In the ACB I play with a lot of smart guys, I play with a lot of strong guys, and when I step on the court I just want to kill them.''

"I want to (play) defense as a team. I want to help everybody on my team and I want to win the game ... That's what I heard from my first coach, that the good offense is defense. If I block a lot of shots then it's good offense. If I get a lot of rebounds, then it's good offense.''

UTJazzFan_Echo1 wrote:I made a post about him roughly a week ago as a guy the Jazz might look at taking with their own lottery pick. From what I know of him, he is pretty raw offensively but has an amazing NBA body/athleticism, has huge up-side, rebounds/blocks shots/plays defense/runs the floor very well and plays his guts out every time he is on the floor. If he really does all of that as well as everyone is making it sound than I think he is worth a lottery pick despite his limited offense.

Also, he grew up watching the Jazz and more specifically Karl Malone with his dad.

The59Sound wrote:

UTJazzFan_Echo1 wrote:I made a post about him roughly a week ago as a guy the Jazz might look at taking with their own lottery pick. From what I know of him, he is pretty raw offensively but has an amazing NBA body/athleticism, has huge up-side, rebounds/blocks shots/plays defense/runs the floor very well and plays his guts out every time he is on the floor. If he really does all of that as well as everyone is making it sound than I think he is worth a lottery pick despite his limited offense.

Also, he grew up watching the Jazz and more specifically Karl Malone with his dad.

It would actually be preferable to bring in a guy that's not offensive-minded, since defense and rebounding are a deficiency and our front-line guys are very focused on scoring.

Dribbles

One big question about big man Biyambo

It was the question at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland this weekend.

Just how old is Bismack Biyambo?

While almost two dozen players who said they'd be at the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Virginia pulled out at the last minute ("60 future USBL players," one general manager texted Sunday night), the Hoop Summit showcased a handful of potential first-round picks from the international select team that lost to the U.S. junior select squad Saturday.

Chief among them was Biyambo, who posted a triple-double Saturday with 12 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocked shots. At 6-foot-9 and 243 pounds with an incredible 7-foot-7 wing span, Biyambo, from the Democratic Republic of Congo, has exploded onto the international basketball scene in two short years. He played this year for Europe's top league, ACB, in Spain, for Fuenlabrada. (Former Nuggets first-rounder Nikoloz Tskitishvili played for Fuenlabrada last season.)

But how old is he?

Biyombo says he's 18, but as Sports Illustrated's Ian Thomsen wrote over the weekend, NBA scouts and executives aren't 100 percent sure, and Biyombo wouldn't talk about it when asked.

"Question of the week here!," a team scouting director texted Sunday night. "No way to know for sure. I'm guessing he's 21 or 22."

If that's the case, it won't be a big deal and Biyombo will go in the first round for sure. But an Eastern Conference GM said he heard rumors that Biyombo was anywhere from 23 to 26, which would obviously be a much different deal. He'd be much more likely to become an undrafted free agent than a Draft pick, and with the uncertainty surrounding labor, who can say for sure how -- and how much -- free agents would be signed and would get paid.

There is, though, no questioning his rapidly developing talent. His defensive skills are being compared to Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka, also from Congo.

"His effort, heart, shotblocking, offensive rebounding and attempt at leadership were big," a scout said Sunday. "Very raw, though."

A Western Conference general manager said that Biyombo could go anywhere from the end of the Lottery to the second round. "He has a good body and good overall quickness, plus he is strong and not afraid of anything."

Biyombo and Brazilian 7-footer Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira, also 18, were the two main 2011 Draft prospects in Portland. Nogueira didn't play well but is still a potential first-rounder. This may well be a year when a half-dozen international big men, including the Czech Republic's Jan Vesely, Turkey's Enes Kanter and Lithuania's Donatas Motiejunas, take up the slack in a less-than-stellar Draft and go in the first round.

Biyombo has a real chance to join them. As long as he wasn't born during the Reagan Administration.

The59Sound wrote:Yeah, you're probably right about that. If Millsap stays at PF, there's not a lot of minutes available at the 4. Can never hurt to have depth, though, and a draft pick (or current player) can always be moved to clear the log-jam later on.

HappyProle wrote:

The59Sound wrote:Yeah, you're probably right about that. If Millsap stays at PF, there's not a lot of minutes available at the 4. Can never hurt to have depth, though, and a draft pick (or current player) can always be moved to clear the log-jam later on.

He's under contract with a Spanish league team for another 3 years, but with a cheap (well, 1M Euro) buyout. I say draft him and let him play there for a year. Then bring him over.

For comparison: his standing reach is 1" more than Favors and his wingspan is 3" longer.

HappyProle wrote:If LeBron had come from Africa looking like he did at 18 everyone would have claimed he was lying about his age.

The59Sound wrote:

HappyProle wrote:If LeBron had come from Africa looking like he did at 18 everyone would have claimed he was lying about his age.

True. Greg Oden looked (no hyperbole) 45 on draft day.