Barbeque Chicken: The Cody Zeller Thread - Pt 2

[Eoghan]

I don't think Zeller can play 5, any time. He's too light in the ass to work/defend on the block and his length hurts him as a energy/rim protector guy.

[Elden Payton]

If you think Zeller can't play Center, then the Vonleh pick was really dumb. CHA could have taken a shooter at 9 and a backup PG at 24, thereby balancing the roster without having to lose McRoberts, bench or trade Zeller or Biz, or scrounge for backup PG from an aging pile of refuse. #frustratedfan

Zeller will be fine against bench 5's imo.

What would have been dumb is drafting based on need, when it is clear who the best prospect available is on the board.

I don't think anyone would have had Vonleh fall past Boston or LA, Orlando taking Gordon really opened it up for someone to fall.

Sacramento passing on him is mind boggling, Vonleh would be the perfect foil for Cousins and guys like Landry and Thompson should never define who a team takes in the lotto.

Cho learned his lesson drafting for need over best possible talent not taking Drummond because Biyombo is here.

Drummond was a failure in college, compared to the hype.

There was a reason Drummond fell to nine.

It's not like he was slotted in as the second best prospect and we went MKG, we took who the scouts considered the second best prospect....second.

I'm not disappointed with the pick at all.

[Liver_Pooty]

Zeller will be fine against bench 5's imo.

What would have been dumb is drafting based on need, when it is clear who the best prospect available is on the board.

I don't think anyone would have had Vonleh fall past Boston or LA, Orlando taking Gordon really opened it up for someone to fall.

Sacramento passing on him is mind boggling, Vonleh would be the perfect foil for Cousins and guys like Landry and Thompson should never define who a team takes in the lotto.

Cho learned his lesson drafting for need over best possible talent not taking Drummond because Biyombo is here.

Drummond was a failure in college, compared to the hype.

There was a reason Drummond fell to nine.

It's not like he was slotted in as the second best prospect and we went MKG, we took who the scouts considered the second best prospect....second.

I'm not disappointed with the pick at all.

Neither am I.

[Elden Payton]

Cho learned his lesson drafting for need over best possible talent not taking Drummond because Biyombo is here.

Drummond was a failure in college, compared to the hype.

There was a reason Drummond fell to nine.

It's not like he was slotted in as the second best prospect and we went MKG, we took who the scouts considered the second best prospect....second.

I'm not disappointed with the pick at all.

Neither am I.

As was proven this draft, Dumars picks weren't about who was right, they were about who was left.

[catch20two]

I don't think Zeller can play 5, any time. He's too light in the ass to work/defend on the block and his length hurts him as a energy/rim protector guy.

Zeller at the 5? Lmao. He not even strong enough at the 4 yet. Lol

[Bassman]

I don't think Zeller can play 5, any time. He's too light in the ass to work/defend on the block and his length hurts him as a energy/rim protector guy.

Agree Seller has a light ballast and shorter length than preferred. Disagree that he can never be a 5. In the new NBA there are few huge centers. Zeller can add strength and play low; he will never be an intimidator, a major shot stuffer, or the second coming of Big Al. I do think he can be a consistent competitor in the post on both sides of the ball. He should learn from Jefferson. Al does not dominate by overpowering his man. He does have major butt power to establish position. I agree this is a significant issue that Zeller must overcome to gain major minutes in the league.

[catch20two]

Now that CHA picked a real stretch 4 (we hope) in Vonleh, it seems to be time to give up the Cody as a stretch 4 idea and move him to the 5. He's by far our tallest player, and his post moves are better than that foul line jumper. All he has to do is pack some muscle on. Worth a try.

Won't work with his tiny arms. He just doesn't have the reach to get shots off regularly or defend post players. He would get eaten alive in the post by NBA length. He needs to stay at the 4. I think ideally if he doesn't get moved for Hayward you keep him here to be the hustle big behind Vonleh in the next few year. Have McRoberts back for two years and then hope Vonleh can take over and Zeller can provide the support you need.

If you think Zeller can't play Center, then the Vonleh pick was really dumb. CHA could have taken a shooter at 9 and a backup PG at 24, thereby balancing the roster without having to lose McRoberts, bench or trade Zeller or Biz, or scrounge for backup PG from an aging pile of refuse. #frustratedfan

The only pick that was really dumb was the Zeller pick. Especially the fact that Cho thought he'd be like Lamarcus Aldridge. That's the anchor on Zeller's back once Cho set those expectations. Now I'm expecting to see a jumper shooting big man that make lunch out of defenders on the offensive end and all I got to see was a short armed 7-footer that just try to drive past defenders and when it don't work he try to hang in the air to get his running layup off that either result in him releasing it with his feet a centimeter from the ground or getting blocked into the floor like a chalkline.

[Hornet Mania]

Yikes. Some of y'all are so quick to tear this kid apart. I'd understand if he looked just as lost in April as he did in November/December, but I noticed a big improvement. It remains to be seen how much improvement he has left in him but there's no reason to think he's a poor pick just yet. That draft was god-awful, there were no LMA's available. Maybe Noel ends being a beast, that's the only guy I can see being drafted after our slot that could presumably make the pick look terrible.

It's natural to be disappointed at a high lottery pick having such limited potential, but in this case the draft class had much to do with it imo.

[HornetJail]

Yikes. Some of y'all are so quick to tear this kid apart. I'd understand if he looked just as lost in April as he did in November/December, but I noticed a big improvement. It remains to be seen how much improvement he has left in him but there's no reason to think he's a poor pick just yet. That draft was god-awful, there were no LMA's available. Maybe Noel ends being a beast, that's the only guy I can see being drafted after our slot that could presumably make the pick look terrible.

It's natural to be disappointed at a high lottery pick having such limited potential, but in this case the draft class had much to do with it imo.

I definitely don't disagree with you, but with the Vonleh pick, Zeller is definitely expendable. Noah is ten times the prospect Zeller is, and while I like Zeller, this team will take a hit if we let McRoberts walk. Vonleh needs minutes, and Zeller is going to get whatever scraps are left over behind Big Al, McBob, Bismack, and Vonleh. Zeller's value isn't getting much higher playing 10 minutes some nights and racking up DNPs other nights. I'm not one to call Zeller a bust, but he needs to play. I say ship him off with Henderson and/or Hairston and try to get a good talent at any of the backcourt positions. I think we are going to have to trade Zeller while he still has value. Is Zeller + Hairston for Waiters + Jack too lofty of a goal?

[Eoghan]

Zeller will be fine against bench 5's imo.

What would have been dumb is drafting based on need, when it is clear who the best prospect available is on the board.

I don't think anyone would have had Vonleh fall past Boston or LA, Orlando taking Gordon really opened it up for someone to fall.

Sacramento passing on him is mind boggling, Vonleh would be the perfect foil for Cousins and guys like Landry and Thompson should never define who a team takes in the lotto.

Cho learned his lesson drafting for need over best possible talent not taking Drummond because Biyombo is here.

Drummond was a failure in college, compared to the hype.

There was a reason Drummond fell to nine.

It's not like he was slotted in as the second best prospect and we went MKG, we took who the scouts considered the second best prospect....second.

I'm not disappointed with the pick at all.

That reason was nobody looked at his situation in context. He joined his team late, his coach was going in and out of the hospital, and his team was a bunch of chuckers. It was painfully obvious that he was going to be an athletic freak for his size and great rebounder, it was widely acknowledged that he was the fastest guy on his team.

I don't think Zeller can play 5, any time. He's too light in the ass to work/defend on the block and his length hurts him as a energy/rim protector guy.

Agree Seller has a light ballast and shorter length than preferred. Disagree that he can never be a 5. In the new NBA there are few huge centers. Zeller can add strength and play low; he will never be an intimidator, a major shot stuffer, or the second coming of Big Al. I do think he can be a consistent competitor in the post on both sides of the ball. He should learn from Jefferson. Al does not dominate by overpowering his man. He does have major butt power to establish position. I agree this is a significant issue that Zeller must overcome to gain major minutes in the league.

I just don't think it's in his DNA, his psyche. He supposedly grew up the 'guard' playing with his brothers and it's really obvious that he doesn't like contact (not that I blame him, every time he gets touched he ends up on the floor). He can play the 5 but it's very rarely going to be an advantage, like if he's going against the Bargnani's of the league maybe. He has to develop perimeter skills for a PF or all he'll ever be is an energy big IMO.

[Hornet Mania]

I definitely don't disagree with you, but with the Vonleh pick, Zeller is definitely expendable. Noah is ten times the prospect Zeller is, and while I like Zeller, this team will take a hit if we let McRoberts walk. Vonleh needs minutes, and Zeller is going to get whatever scraps are left over behind Big Al, McBob, Bismack, and Vonleh. Zeller's value isn't getting much higher playing 10 minutes some nights and racking up DNPs other nights. I'm not one to call Zeller a bust, but he needs to play. I say ship him off with Henderson and/or Hairston and try to get a good talent at any of the backcourt positions. I think we are going to have to trade Zeller while he still has value. Is Zeller + Hairston for Waiters + Jack too lofty of a goal?

I see where you're coming from. I suppose my view depends on the answer to three questions: Does McRoberts leave? Will Vonleh be ready for quality minutes immediately, or will be it be a few months? What return can you expect on a package centered around Zeller? I'm not 100% against moving Zeller, I mentioned I don't think he'll ever be top-15 at his position so he's far from untouchable. I'm just trying to see how those three questions shake out before strongly advocating moving a guy who I think is useful and at least steadily (if not spectacularly) improving.

If McBob leaves we're screwed regardless, I'd rather keep both the young guys than spend money on someone like Channing Frye or Jordan Hill. If we take a step back, so be it, we now have all our picks moving forward and I'd rather be a 38-win team with two prospects at that spot and no bad deals than a 44-win team paying a mediocre PF $6 million for the next four years which unfortunately seems to be the going rate these days.

If we do keep McBob and Vonleh looks super-raw in camp, I say give Zeller minutes as the primary backup and hope he shows flashes. Ship him at the deadline to a team looking to shed salary and tank for a tantalizing veteran contributor (hopefully a wing). If Cho has offers right now like the one you mentioned above where we bring in Waiters+a quality backup point guard then I'm all for it so long as we commit to McBob or another decent 4 to keep Vonleh's seat in the starting lineup warm while he adjusts. I just don't want to do what teams did with T-Rob and ship him off willy nilly for junk.

I mainly just wanted to speak out for the "Zeller is not totally useless" camp I think he'll be a decent player in the league, but if we can get a better than decent player in return for him then by all means let's do it.

[Rajaness]

Let's keep Cody and let bob walk. Cody will start at PF next to al. Have Noah come off that bench. Learn as he's taken under the wings of big al, biz, and Cody. (All high character, high work ethic guys). Everybody is quick to toss Cody out but I feel he has a lot more to improve on and will gradually improve his game as the season goes on.


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[mrknowitall215]

Zeller currently has one major advantage on Vonleh that would make me see him as the starter currently over the latter, and that's the fact that he's not a turnover machine. If Vonleh hasn't improved in that area then the fact that he can stretch the floor better with his jump shooting won't matter as much to me to not have Zeller on the floor more. I'm looking forward to seeing how they both perform in summer league respectively

[Diop]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/DeAntae/status/486532475729223681[/tweet]

DeAntae Prince continues to better at this than Bonnell.

Zeller can hit these during practice, it should be only confidence that stops him hitting them in a game.

[TheKingofSting2]

It should be interesting, I don't care which starts as long as at least one steps up their game.

[Liver_Pooty]

But there he was at summer league practice this week, burying one 3-pointer after another. Zeller looked as good as McRoberts used to in the same drills – the difference being McRoberts would make the shot during games, and Zeller hasn’t. Nor, to be fair, was he asked to.

Now he will be asked to make that shot and many others. If he can’t, the Hornets will find a veteran like Williams who can and who will grab Zeller’s minutes. Rookie Noah Vonleh also plays power forward but is raw and probably won’t be a big factor in his first season.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/0 ... 7zg5vldXgk#storylink=cpy

[amcoolio]

Watch the recent interview and videos on Hornets.com.

Zeller has this air of competitiveness and drive that we didn't see last year. Last year he was a rookie enjoying his life. This year he is hell bent on improving his game and wants to start and prove what he can do. He's all serious-like.

If Zeller can elevate his game, then we have a really nice squad already going into next season.

[TheKingofSting2]

Zeller will be fine, we just need someone to be a leader to stay out there with the second unit after McBob left.

[HornetJail]

Watch the recent interview and videos on Hornets.com.

Zeller has this air of competitiveness and drive that we didn't see last year. Last year he was a rookie enjoying his life. This year he is hell bent on improving his game and wants to start and prove what he can do. He's all serious-like.

If Zeller can elevate his game, then we have a really nice squad already going into next season.

I've done my best to keep interview-based conclusions to a bare minimum. PJ Hairston managed to convince the Hornets that he had learned to keep his off-court issues in check and that there would be no problems.

Player interviews mean little to nothing to me unless they're about a big event. I'll believe it when I see it. There is no reason Cody shouldn't be completely dominant in the Summer League. More so than last year.

[TheKingofSting2]

Hopefully he and Vonleh are dominant.