Shabazz Update

[ImHeisenberg]

KCP looks better every day.

Of course he does. In hindsight KCP looks much better in the limited viewing we've had of him. Tireless defender with legit 3-point range.

[Clarity]

Drummond was drafted on his athletic abilities. Teams passed on him because in college he didn't show to prove the hype was real. I blame a lot of that on the UConn coaching staff. He had size and athletism which Muhammed never had.

Comparing a C to a wing is always silly but you can use the same college coaching staff argument for UCLA.

Westbrook proved that loud & clear.

[tru2dagame]

You know, the whole sad thing about this is, is that there were a handful of members who were will throw away the whole season to acquire this bum (I hate using the "T" word). Look how stupid people would've looked had we've taken that route...

[Clarity]

Hasnt played 1 min of NBA bball & hes already a bum.

Makes sense.

[Bartender]

I don't think a lot of the players will skip college to go the D-League route if they go to a three year rule. I see the hyped ones (IE Shabazz Muhammeds, Ricky Ledo, Brandon Jennings, and so on) will jump to Europe to get paid. I have no problem with that in all honesty. This one and done is a joke. Guys are still getting drafted on high school hype. Lots of these guys would be weeded out and not wasted picks. There are too many lotto busts happening.

Not really, there hasn't been a lot of one and done lotto busts in the last few years. Don't forget Drummond got drafted on HS hype, he really didn't do anything in college.

Drummond was drafted on his athletic abilities. Teams passed on him because in college he didn't show to prove the hype was real. I blame a lot of that on the UConn coaching staff. He had size and athletism which Muhammed never had.

Bazz has prototypical size and athleticism for a 2. You're talking out of your rear.

[MrBigShot]

Dre may have had motor concerns, but there was never the issue of lack of maturity and a disregard for rules.

[DetroitDon15]

Not really, there hasn't been a lot of one and done lotto busts in the last few years. Don't forget Drummond got drafted on HS hype, he really didn't do anything in college.

Drummond was drafted on his athletic abilities. Teams passed on him because in college he didn't show to prove the hype was real. I blame a lot of that on the UConn coaching staff. He had size and athletism which Muhammed never had.

Bazz has prototypical size and athleticism for a 2. You're talking out of your rear.

Bazz will look slow guarding 2s while just being a volume shooter.

[DetroitDon15]

Drummond was drafted on his athletic abilities. Teams passed on him because in college he didn't show to prove the hype was real. I blame a lot of that on the UConn coaching staff. He had size and athletism which Muhammed never had.

Comparing a C to a wing is always silly but you can use the same college coaching staff argument for UCLA.

Westbrook proved that loud & clear.

I suppose but there was a lot of funny business going on under Ben Howland so I'm not sure how to rate that.

[Clarity]

Bazz will look slow guarding 2s

In your opinion based on nothing, while his athletic tests say the opposite.

[LoboGuerrero]

Drummond was drafted on his athletic abilities. Teams passed on him because in college he didn't show to prove the hype was real. I blame a lot of that on the UConn coaching staff. He had size and athletism which Muhammed never had.

Bazz has prototypical size and athleticism for a 2. You're talking out of your rear.

Bazz will look slow guarding 2s while just being a volume shooter.

And regardless, he was comparing Drummond's athleticism to Bazz's, and Drummond is in a different stratosphere athletically.

[MrBigShot]

Bazz will look slow guarding 2s

In your opinion based on nothing, while his athletic tests say the opposite.

To be fair, combine stats don't always tell the whole story. KCP has worse vertical numbers than Bazz and yet KCP looks more explosive and looks like he gets higher on his dunks. DWade's numbers weren't indicative of how explosive he was either. DeAndre Jordan's combine numbers are absolute garbage, but he's an extremely explosive athlete for a bigman. MCW tested like a freak athlete, on par with Oladipo...and yet he is nowhere near the athlete Oladipo is(imo).

I think if he gets into great shape he will be able to at least hold his own athletically, but I wouldn't call him anything more than an average athlete at best. I think he will get his shot blocked a lot early on when(if) he starts to get significant playing time.

[Han Solo]

I'd still take a flyer on him.

Trade him to us Flip.

[theBigLip]

I'd still take a flyer on him.

Trade him to us Flip.

I'm not sure if I'd even trade Singler for him.

[Clarity]

To be fair, combine stats don't always tell the whole story. KCP has worse vertical numbers than Bazz and yet KCP looks more explosive and looks like he gets higher on his dunks. DWade's numbers weren't indicative of how explosive he was either. DeAndre Jordan's combine numbers are absolute garbage, but he's an extremely explosive athlete for a bigman. MCW tested like a freak athlete, on par with Oladipo...and yet he is nowhere near the athlete Oladipo is(imo).

I think if he gets into great shape he will be able to at least hold his own athletically, but I wouldn't call him anything more than an average athlete at best. I think he will get his shot blocked a lot early on when(if) he starts to get significant playing time.

Athletic measurements are hard to discredit. Shabazz's numbers showed he is more than capable of defending NBA 2 guards.

Our eyes can trump stats in a lot of areas, athletic testing is usually not 1 of them.

[HotelVitale]

He might be a scrub. Who knows? Those who lobbied for him (myself included), knew he's a gamble. He's a swing for the fences, either a home run or a total miss. He hasn't played a game yet, so it's too early to knock him off.

I agree, it's WAY too early to read much into this. Darrell Arthur was suspended from rookie camp a few years back, and he's had a great attitude and carved out a decent career since then.

But I'm curious why Bazz is still seen as a 'swing for the fences.' He's a decently skilled prospect with solid size and solid athleticism, who plays hard but doesn't stand out among good competition. He's not new to the game, he didn't just have a growth spurt, his skills aren't raw, he doesn't have a 50-inch vertical. Steven Adams and Paul George were swings for the fences--huge guys and good athletes who were ho-hum in college--and Giannis Adetokenubo definitely was this year. But we've seen what Bazz can do against good comp right now and nothing suggested huge NBA upside. Hard for me to see anything more than a pretty good college player and a decent prospect, who has a good chance to stick in the NBA because he has legit NBA size/athleticism and should be able to develop some passable skills. In other words, a reasonable late-first pick who has a good chance to contribute but not a potential home run.