GT: Hornets vs Hawks Fri April 10 7:30PM EST

[tondi123]

It kind of made me wonder when all of the teams drafting where he was supposed to go in last years draft all went with other guys til he finally fell to a team that probably hadn't worked him out or talked to him or anything. Of course that team wouldn't know any better and think they stumbled into a gem but instead they got a turd sandwich that everybody drafting above them had already sniffed out.

[MPM]

Vonleh has far too many tools - far too much talent - to be a bust. He'll be fine. Like almost every rookie, he's going to need a few years. A bit of playing time - perhaps an offensive touch or two - might help. Right Cliff?

Patience, amigos.

[JDR720]

It kind of made me wonder when all of the teams drafting where he was supposed to go in last years draft all went with other guys til he finally fell to a team that probably hadn't worked him out or talked to him or anything. Of course that team wouldn't know any better and think they stumbled into a gem but instead they got a turd sandwich that everybody drafting above them had already sniffed out.

Orlando at #4 pick Gordon, I dont know why honestly I think Vonleh is a better prospect even before the draft.
Utah picked Exum #5, didn't make sense to take Vonleh with Favors,Kanter and Gobert.
Boston picked Smart to replace Rondo, already had Sullinger and Kelly.
Lakers picked Randle he then torn his ACL, was widely viewed as the other top PF prospect.
Kings picked Stauskas because Ranadive

Vonleh was 5 on our big board I think.

[LofJ]

A lot of you guys are going overboard with the pessimism and negativity. I'm out for a while until the lottery is drawn.

[BeesWax]

wishing for Vonleh to get major minutes in order to show us something in pointless. even if clifford played him 48 minutes, it wouldnt matter, because of our clogged toilet offense. He'd just run around setting picks and generally looking lost. He might get 10 rebounds and 10 points on garbage buckets, same as biyombo or max.

that being said, i have seen nothing from vonleh that gets me excited other than his wingspan and hands. people get excited when he makes the most basic of plays that you would expect any competent NBA player to make.

i think there is about a 30% chance we drafted a total turd sandwich, 60% chance he becomes, at best, a rotational big and maybe 8% chance he becomes a very good starter and a 2% chance he is the real deal. it will take, probably, 4 years to figure it out, which is just a waste of time and resources, and of course a draft pick.

i hope i am wrong.

I always get a kick when someone says " that should have been his 2nd assist if he would have made the shot" . Or whatever. Everyone getting so excited when he gets a rebound for Christ sake. He has shown nothing, zilch. Kind of sad actually. Just another massive project.

I think both of you are completely wrong and are just mad at the season and that is why you are saying this. LP surprises me because Cody showed less promise even with all his playing time first half of last season than Noah has shown in his limited and he was championing him all last year. He has shown handles and good shot form from deep. He looks closer now to being an NBA player than Cody did after 50 games last year. Expectations for the team need to be kept in check and not change your expectations of draft players. He isn't half the project you act like he is or we still need to wait two more years for Cody to be useful since he was a larger project.

[Hornet Mania]

Vonleh has far too many tools - far too much talent - to be a bust. He'll be fine. Like almost every rookie, he's going to need a few years. A bit of playing time - perhaps an offensive touch or two - might help. Right Cliff?

Patience, amigos.

/\ The truth.

How many seven footers move that fluidly, have a respectable stroke from outside, rebound at an elite level (in college anyway, seems to rebound fine in his limited minutes here as well), and play defense? At age 19? Almost none. That's a foundation that you can develop into a formidable player.

Rookie Biz makes Vonleh look like Hakeem, at roughly the same age, and yet he has developed into a useful (albeit very limited on offense) player. Vonleh can be much better than that, just needs time and game experience. Clifford's plan to sit him for most of the season was nonsense from the start, it likely held him back more than it benefited his development or our team as a whole.

Fats made a good point about reining in our expectations for Vonleh, and how our offense doesn't set him up at all so it's probably not realistic to expect big numbers right now. But whose fault is that, exactly? Big men always need to be fed the ball to score, we can't just hand it to him at the top of the arc and say "alright, show us that potential, kiddo." Vonleh was never intended to be part of our rotation this season and it shows. Clifford has not given him a defined role in our offensive system because he never wanted him to play minutes this season. I think that's incredibly dumb, but at this point it is what it is. I just think it's unfair to Vonleh to put all that much blame on him for it, what exactly is he supposed to do?

I'm not saying Vonleh is a sure-thing by any means, but what I do believe is that our staff has done nothing to help him succeed. Our plan was to never play him this year except in the event of catastrophic injuries to our front court, and as a result he goes out there and clearly has no defined role. That's on the coaches, not on Vonleh. Hopefully next season Clifford in his folksy wisdom will try to fit Vonleh into some sort of role and allow him to get a comfort level out there. At that point we can actually see how much that potential could translate to production, but until then it's too early to call bust.

[yosemiteben]

A lot of you guys are going overboard with the pessimism and negativity. I'm out for a while until the lottery is drawn.

For real.

[JDR720]

Vonleh has very good tools for a modern day PF

6-9.5 height
7.4 wingspan
9-0 reach
37 inch vertical
250 pounds, just 7% body fat

has demonstrated an advanced dribble for a PF, excellent rebounding, ability to shoot threes, can score in the post with turnarounds or hooks, can defend both the interior and perimeter.

if he has the work ethic ans the mentality he should be a very good player

[BlackOutBuzz]

It kind of made me wonder when all of the teams drafting where he was supposed to go in last years draft all went with other guys til he finally fell to a team that probably hadn't worked him out or talked to him or anything. Of course that team wouldn't know any better and think they stumbled into a gem but instead they got a turd sandwich that everybody drafting above them had already sniffed out.

We vetted him and scheduled a workout, but he backed out when he apparently was assured he'd go in the top 8.

[Bassman]

Vonleh has very good tools for a modern day PF

6-9.5 height
7.4 wingspan
9-0 reach
37 inch vertical
250 pounds, just 7% body fat

has demonstrated an advanced dribble for a PF, excellent rebounding, ability to shoot threes, can score in the post with turnarounds or hooks, can defend both the interior and perimeter.

if he has the work ethic ans the mentality he should be a very good player

Indeed. My only disappointment for Noah is that Clifford have him no chance for playing time. He needed minutes to learn and measure himself against pros. Vohleh has the most potential of any young player on this squad.