Exec: Number Of Big Men In NBA Could Be Cut In Half By 2020

[hoopsfan2424]

that executive should be fired because he (she? jeanie buss?) doesn't know much about basketball. if you get rid of your big men then towns, embiid, AD, etc. will eat you alive.

[Scalabrine]

I don't believe bigs will be eliminated for a second. Bigs are changing for without a doubt, athleticism and shooting are becoming more of a focal point in today's game. While there's been a period in recent years where big man talent just hasn't been there compared to the 90's, I do think traditional bigs can give teams a unique edge especially if everyone else is going small ball and not prepared to face size.

I don't think he said eliminated, he said cut in half. The slow, lumbering bigs that can't play in transition, have trouble with the PnR and switching, are going to diminish. In large part because big men are going to continue to be trained young to be skilled in all facets and now just dominate with their size. Look at the present and future of the NBA's best big men; Davis, Cousins, KP, Embiid, Jokic, Towns, Turner, all these guys are a threat from pretty much anywhere on the court. Lopez, the Gasol's, Aldridge, Horford, have all developed jumpers and expanded their games to fit in.

I think Al Jefferson vs. Paul Millsap is a great case study on this. They are both pretty much the same age, and both were successful on the same team, playing a similar game in Utah but Milsap continued to expand his game while Jefferson just crafted what he was good at. Mill is getting what 30 mil a year and was an All-Star just last year (shooting 3.5 3's per game) while Jefferson is hanging onto his career with his one dimensional post game. They've gone in completely opposite directions.