Z-Rex: The Cody Zeller Thread

[mrknowitall215]

Now I have no choice but to believe DX's earlier reports that MJ almost fired Cho because he absolutely didn't want no parts of this Cody Zeller pick on his reputation tab as a owner after carrying the burdens of Kwame Brown & Adam Morrison amongst others

[Blkbrd671]

Congrads guys on your pick, Cody is really underrated because he doesn't make highlight reels. He's big,athletic and good compliment to BB.

What i don't understand is this kid last year in a stronger draft was top 5, he goes back to college improves statistically but suppose to drop in a weaker draft?

Its a good pick, Kemba to Zeller is going to be your go to

[Logander]

Well I won't start hating until I watch him play. Just still can't get it out of my head on why we passed on the guys we did for Zeller.

[TheKingofSting]

Jalen Rose just chose Len as his Top 5 player chosen too high, he said that some would say Zeller but he thinks he will have a good pro career.

[BlackOutBuzz]

^Was gonna mention that, and Simmons said he felt the Cavs actually had the worst draft. Can't believe Simmons hasn't ripped us a new one for this pick (yet), guess he's still reeling from the Celtics news.

[doc.end]

Charlotte Bobcats ‏@bobcats 1m

"Kemba sent me a text saying how happy & excited he was about Zeller. To me that speaks that we made a great pick for the team."-Rod Higgins

That's what I am scared of - what if Zeller is actually not a Cho's pick. DX was about who's calling the shots not about who specifically liked Zeller.

[doc.end]

Nah, I'm done with Cho. Good at trades but sucks at drafting. Passed on Drummond last year and now both Noel and McLemore fall into your lap? He can go back to teaching tennis.

At least we have our version of Kurt Rambis. Hopefully we can draft the next George Zidek next year while passing up on Wiggins, Randle, and Parker.

We actually can http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Ond ... 133/stats/

[BeesWax]

thats fine. mcbug has earned that right. zeller can be first big off the bench next year, or at least until all-star break. he'll still get 25+ mins a night.

I think McBob is a good goal for Zeller.

I'm sure Zeller has better goals than being Josh McRoberts.

I hope he does. Not sure he can be better. McBob is a smart player and better on defense and passing and dribbling than Zeller. Both have solid mid range games and Zeller is more athletic. McBob has a little more range of his shot right now. I would not be shocked if this is what Zeller becomes. Now we will give him more time because he was over drafted but the game is very close.

[BeesWax]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/IUCoedCheer/status/350425406098243584[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/KySportsRadio/status/350403966506508288[/tweet]
[tweet]https://twitter.com/NotJerryTipton/status/350404119678300164[/tweet]

How many of you are going to call Cody Zeller "Big Handsome"?

I will call him Fluff because he is soft as a marshmallow.

[Bassman]

I don't think Zeller is soft. The kid does play hard and physical...he just needs to add strength to be more effective. No doubt he gets blocked inside, but he needs to adjust how he attacks the basket down low. Ewing will help him adapt to that over time. If he can add an extra 15 lbs or more of pure muscle, while retaining his speed and quickness, he could become very dangerous.

Now, there are those who say he is not built to add significant strength down low. Looking at his frame I agree he will never be an oak tree, but he doesn't project as a center anyway. Cody's future is at the 4; he has real potential to be very effective in that role. Noel will NEVER be an oak tree in the post. He is uber-skinny. Combined with the knee, I am not sad we passed on him. Ford and all the hacks swallowed the Nerlen kool-aid. He will be what he is in the NBA...an athletic defensive big who can block shots, but gets pushed around on the block and fouls out frequently.

I am more concerned about passing on Mac. He has concerns and issues, but has the greater upside of anyone in the draft. But, GM's and coaches are worried about knuckleheads; they create more issues than they solve.

[ohara]

Trying to deal with the disappointment. But I will still pull for him and hope he proves to be better than I thought he could be as a pro. I will just always compare his career to Len, McLemore and Noel. Hope he is the tops. Then I will admit I was wrong.

[lucky777s]

Very surprised by the CHA pick. Hope Zeller proves me wrong but I would rather have Jeff Withey in the second round as a bench big who can play a Jeff Foster type role.

Cats could have come out the last 2 drafts with Barnes and McLemore but instead will continue to struggle to score points and probably not improve much at all.

Why pass on Drummond last year to take Zeller this year. No potential to be a dominant player with Zeller.

[SWedd523]

Zeller was 7th in the entire country in FTA, don't see how a soft player could get to the line so much

[-Ian-]

NBA DRAFT 2013 GRADES AND RESULTS

The Bobcats continue the theme of the draft night surprises when they grabbed Zeller with the No. 4 pick, ahead of Alex Len and Nerlens Noel. His stock fluctuated wildly throughout the season, but a 7'0 with skill and speed was never going to stay on the board for too long.

UPSIDE Jonathan Tjarks A-
FIT Tom Ziller C
IMMEDIATE IMPACT Mike Prada B

[Snidely FC]

Zeller was 7th in the entire country in FTA, don't see how a soft player could get to the line so much

It's interesting the Cats are stockpiling players (Hendo, Sessions, Zeller) who get to the free throw line. Reminds me of the moneyball A's emphasizing walks.

-Cody Zeller was maligned at times for his lack of great progress this season, but nonetheless looks the part of a high-level prospect on paper. He used 14.9 possessions per-game while scoring 1.06 points per-possession, both well-above average marks only marginally different than those posted by Anthony Bennett.

Unlike Bennett though, Zeller stands out in a few very specific areas. Drawing free throws on an impressive 25.7% of his possessions, Zeller got to the line at a better rate than any high usage player in this group, by a fairly large margin. He also got out in transition for 13.9% of his possessions, the third most among players in this group, and converted at a near 80% rate on the break, also good for third. These two things helped him compensate for his below average 43% shooting in the post and only slightly above average 60.9% shooting as a finisher.

[HornetJail]

I can see Zeller following David Lee's career path. Not a dominant big man by any stretch, but a very solid big man who could make an all-star team or two over his career.

Not gonna lie, I'm disappointed we didn't trade down for an additional asset, but that very well could have been because Phoenix or New Orleans wanted him. I do like the pick, I'm convinced that Zeller was one of the few players without some kind of red flag.

[-Ian-]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/rick_bonnell/status/350622433700614144[/tweet]

[LedeniZZZ]

Bad pick I think. To take him ahead of Ben and Noel is just nuts ... he can become better player than them don't get me wrong... but that is a reach... very small chance for that .... how much ? Maybe 10% maybe more, maybe less.... it's just bad pick.

Also if you are so high on Zeller you could of take Ben McLemore and trade him to Minesota for #9+something... Zeller would be available on #9 for sure. He would have smaller salary and you could of had some asset to go with him.

[yosemiteben]

Bit of a lurker here and this is my first post. I went to the Bobcats draft party yesterday and I would say 85-90% of the attendees were obviously disappointed with that pick. They had actually set up life size cut outs of guys that we were targeting and asked people to vote on which they wanted, and Zeller wasn't even included.

With that said, I have to respect Cho for riding out his conviction. I mean, look at these quotes (source):

Cho said there were several trade scenarios the front office considered once Anthony Bennett (Cleveland), Victor Oladipo (Orlando) and Otto Porter (Washington) were selected 1-2-3.

“But at the end of the day,” Cho said, “we didn’t feel comfortable moving back and (possibly) losing Cody.”

“People forget he was (projected as) the No. 1 pick in the preseason,” Cho said. “He’s a versatility pick – inside and outside (scorer). He’s one of the best athletes in this draft. His work ethic is off the charts. He’s a competitor and his character is off the charts.”

Tough to disagree with his logic. Zeller is a safe pick that will produce right away, fills a need and is highly unlikely with his combination of athleticism and scoring ability to be a bust. Assuming he can develop well, he seems like an almost perfect companion to Biz.

I have to admit I was one of the ones that expressed shock at the draft party, but I don't feel like we passed on anyone that doesn't have question marks anyway. IMO, whatever modest gains we could have made by trading down would be more than offset if Cho is right and Zeller is a long term asset for this team.

[Red Larrivee]

Zeller was 7th in the entire country in FTA, don't see how a soft player could get to the line so much

Adam Morrison got to the line 10.3 times per 40 in his junior season at Gonzaga. Morrison too, is soft.

Zeller's soft because he gets bullied by stronger, physical players/defenses. His intangibles are great, but besides getting to the line in college, he's not really a standout at one particular skill. He just plays hard and competes. Hansbrough and McRoberts did the same thing and neither are anything more than average players at the next level. Hardly something that enhances a rebuilding project.

Noel, Len and McLemore all have the chance to be an all-star. If the Bobcats hadn't taken Zeller, I think he would've slid quite a bit.