Bledsoe to the Kings. Pistons move up

[suns91fan]

I like Len, but i think some people here overrate him a lot. If he stays injury-free, i can see him becoming a decent starting caliber center in this league, but anything more than that is very unlikely. Basically, the only aspect of his game which stands out is his shot-blocking ability, but he also fouls a lot trying to do it, so it kinda negates it. And concerning the fact that he was ignored on offense, well, most of the 2nd year centers without developed post game are ignored as well, so he is in the same boat as them. 10/10/2 player with a solid defense and no injuries is likely the best possible outcome from that 2013 draft. If he can achieve that, everyone here should be happy. Everything beyond that seems unrealistic.

[RunDogGun]

I like Len, but i think some people here overrate him a lot. If he stays injury-free, i can see him becoming a decent starting caliber center in this league, but anything more than that is very unlikely. Basically, the only aspect of his game which stands out is his shot-blocking ability, but he also fouls a lot trying to do it, so it kinda negates it. And concerning the fact that he was ignored on offense, well, most of the 2nd year centers without developed post game are ignored as well, so he is in the same boat as them. 10/10/2 player with a solid defense and no injuries is likely the best possible outcome from that 2013 draft. If he can achieve that, everyone here should be happy. Everything beyond that seems unrealistic.

I'm glad other fans see it similar to what I was seeing. Now it would be great if he stepped up his game greatly, was able to stay on the floor both physically and with limited fouls, but that's still a lot of ifs. As for now, still not a high quality starting center, especially if we have a better option sitting on the bench, regardless of age.

As for his stats, if he can put up 12/10/2, and have a post game and a decent 10-12 footer, I'd be happy. I already like him, so that isn't a problem. But many here are really inflating him, without him proving much.

As for his per 36 minute stats, he has only managed to make it past 36 minutes twice in the NBA. He often took himself off the floor with fouling. Other times his minutes were limited due to pain and/or injury. But he is young, so hopefully he can fix both of those. Time will tell.

[Qwigglez]

I don't think anyone in here is drinking Len's kool-aid. I think we are all just hoping for the best out of him to help turn this franchise around. His fouling honestly shouldn't be that concerning, as most big men entering the league struggle with this. He's still learning the game, but I think he's on course for rapid development as long as he continues to start and goes against opposing teams starters.

I think a good comparison for development would be Nikola Vucevic/Jonas Valanciunas. Second year in the league they were averaging 13 and 11 (Nikola) and 11 and 9 (Jonas). I could see Len being somewhere in that neighborhood next season.

[Scutt]

What you also forgot to mention was the reason he was only playing 24 minutes per game, which was he was a risk for another injury, and he had constant pain in his foot.

He had constant pain in his foot? Do you have a source for that?

I really doubt Lens risk for injury played a significant part in limiting him to 24 minutes a game in his 2nd year. Young big men take time to develop, and what Len contributed last year was impressive, regardless of injuries. The following came from a Bright Side of the Sun article:

"In 2014-15, Len is the third youngest big man (center or forward-center) to play 1000+ minutes, behind Jusuf Nurkic and Nerlens Noel, regardless of experience level."

"In the last five years (since 2010-11), Len is the fifth youngest big man (center or center-forward) to play 1000+ minutes. You can only add Anthony Davis, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond to Kurkic and Noel as the only players younger than Len to play 1000+ minutes."

[Cutter]

Plus, it is normal for big men to miss games every year due to injury.

Stud Anthony Davis has missed approx. 16 games per season for his entire 3 year career.
Andrew Bogut has missed a ton of games throughout his career but has always been considered elite. He's the current defensive anchor for western conference champs GSW.
Dwight Howard has missed a ton of games over his career.
My favorite Center Joakim Noah has missed a lot of games over his career.
Len missed about 13 games last year (I think, someone can recheck this).
Robin and Brooke Lopez have both missed a ton of games to injury (Robin is not an elite player).

DeAndre Jordan is an example of a Center who hasn't missed many games.
The all time stud Center Tim Duncan has been basically an iron man throughout his career.
I'm sure there are a few other Centers who have been fairly injury free.

My point is, big massive centers miss a lot of games to injury over the course of their careers. Len is nowhere near injury prone status when you look at the big picture for centers. IF he averaged missing 10 games or less per year I would be very happy.

[RunDogGun]

Plus, it is normal for big men to miss games every year due to injury.

Stud Anthony Davis has missed approx. 16 games per season for his entire 3 year career.
Andrew Bogut has missed a ton of games throughout his career but has always been considered elite. He's the current defensive anchor for western conference champs GSW.
Dwight Howard has missed a ton of games over his career.
My favorite Center Joakim Noah has missed a lot of games over his career.
Len missed about 13 games last year (I think, someone can recheck this).
Robin and Brooke Lopez have both missed a ton of games to injury (Robin is not an elite player).

DeAndre Jordan is an example of a Center who hasn't missed many games.
The all time stud Center Tim Duncan has been basically an iron man throughout his career.
I'm sure there are a few other Centers who have been fairly injury free.

My point is, big massive centers miss a lot of games to injury over the course of their careers. Len is nowhere near injury prone status when you look at the big picture for centers. IF he averaged missing 10 games or less per year I would be very happy.

Well I hope we aren't thinking Len is as good as Davis, Howard, or even Bogut at this point even compared to their sophomore seasons.

I wouldn't be a concern if it was in different areas, like the two ankle surgeries and then the broken finger, but something that Scutt must not have seen, in January Hornacek said that Len was experiencing soreness in his foot. It had been a nagging pain for a little bit,according to BSotS. Then Lopez took him down on his ankle, which sidelined him for most of the remaining games. Now him being young, and us having a great medical staff, maybe it won't be a big deal, but foot pain and seven footers can be quite serious, even for elite bigs like Yao.

I'm not sure what people are thinking limited Len's minutes to 24 a game, other than foul trouble and precaution for pain, when both were noted throughout his second season. Are people thinking Jeff just didn't like him, so that is why Len only played a handful plus 30 minute games?

But comments like "he is objectively our most valuable player" is going overboard. He has been alright. If he can avoid the fouling and the injuries, he will make a fine role player.

[Mr-Al]

Plus, it is normal for big men to miss games every year due to injury.

Stud Anthony Davis has missed approx. 16 games per season for his entire 3 year career.
Andrew Bogut has missed a ton of games throughout his career but has always been considered elite. He's the current defensive anchor for western conference champs GSW.
Dwight Howard has missed a ton of games over his career.
My favorite Center Joakim Noah has missed a lot of games over his career.
Len missed about 13 games last year (I think, someone can recheck this).
Robin and Brooke Lopez have both missed a ton of games to injury (Robin is not an elite player).

DeAndre Jordan is an example of a Center who hasn't missed many games.
The all time stud Center Tim Duncan has been basically an iron man throughout his career.
I'm sure there are a few other Centers who have been fairly injury free.

My point is, big massive centers miss a lot of games to injury over the course of their careers. Len is nowhere near injury prone status when you look at the big picture for centers. IF he averaged missing 10 games or less per year I would be very happy.

Well I hope we aren't thinking Len is as good as Davis, Howard, or even Bogut at this point even compared to their sophomore seasons.

I wouldn't be a concern if it was in different areas, like the two ankle surgeries and then the broken finger, but something that Scutt must not have seen, in January Hornacek said that Len was experiencing soreness in his foot. It had been a nagging pain for a little bit,according to BSotS. Then Lopez took him down on his ankle, which sidelined him for most of the remaining games. Now him being young, and us having a great medical staff, maybe it won't be a big deal, but foot pain and seven footers can be quite serious, even for elite bigs like Yao.

I'm not sure what people are thinking limited Len's minutes to 24 a game, other than foul trouble and precaution for pain, when both were noted throughout his second season. Are people thinking Jeff just didn't like him, so that is why Len only played a handful plus 30 minute games?

But comments like "he is objectively our most valuable player" is going overboard. He has been alright. If he can avoid the fouling and the injuries, he will make a fine role player.

omg regardless of how many smiley faces you use, it's still a load of crap

Len is our most valuable player

He's the highest picked player on the entire **** team

He's 7'1 and he's agile

You know how many atheltic 7'1" basketball players there are on the entire Earth?

A handful

and Len is one of them

He's our most valuable player by a mile

The only other guy that barely comes close is Bledsoe and he plays the most saturated position in the league


It's literally the most obvious thing in the world. Thank god you're not the GM

I don't know if you're trolling or not but I don't think you have clue what value athletic 7-footers have

[RunDogGun]

Cool story, Junior.

[RaisingArizona]

Plus, it is normal for big men to miss games every year due to injury.

Stud Anthony Davis has missed approx. 16 games per season for his entire 3 year career.
Andrew Bogut has missed a ton of games throughout his career but has always been considered elite. He's the current defensive anchor for western conference champs GSW.
Dwight Howard has missed a ton of games over his career.
My favorite Center Joakim Noah has missed a lot of games over his career.
Len missed about 13 games last year (I think, someone can recheck this).
Robin and Brooke Lopez have both missed a ton of games to injury (Robin is not an elite player).

DeAndre Jordan is an example of a Center who hasn't missed many games.
The all time stud Center Tim Duncan has been basically an iron man throughout his career.
I'm sure there are a few other Centers who have been fairly injury free.

My point is, big massive centers miss a lot of games to injury over the course of their careers. Len is nowhere near injury prone status when you look at the big picture for centers. IF he averaged missing 10 games or less per year I would be very happy.

Well I hope we aren't thinking Len is as good as Davis, Howard, or even Bogut at this point even compared to their sophomore seasons.

I wouldn't be a concern if it was in different areas, like the two ankle surgeries and then the broken finger, but something that Scutt must not have seen, in January Hornacek said that Len was experiencing soreness in his foot. It had been a nagging pain for a little bit,according to BSotS. Then Lopez took him down on his ankle, which sidelined him for most of the remaining games. Now him being young, and us having a great medical staff, maybe it won't be a big deal, but foot pain and seven footers can be quite serious, even for elite bigs like Yao.

I'm not sure what people are thinking limited Len's minutes to 24 a game, other than foul trouble and precaution for pain, when both were noted throughout his second season. Are people thinking Jeff just didn't like him, so that is why Len only played a handful plus 30 minute games?

But comments like "he is objectively our most valuable player" is going overboard. He has been alright. If he can avoid the fouling and the injuries, he will make a fine role player.

omg regardless of how many smiley faces you use, it's still a load of crap

Len is our most valuable player

He's the highest picked player on the entire **** team

He's 7'1 and he's agile

You know how many atheltic 7'1" basketball players there are on the entire Earth?

A handful

and Len is one of them

He's our most valuable player by a mile

The only other guy that barely comes close is Bledsoe and he plays the most saturated position in the league


It's literally the most obvious thing in the world. Thank god you're not the GM

I don't know if you're trolling or not but I don't think you have clue what value athletic 7-footers have

Stop

typing

like

this

.

[ATTL]

I like Len a great deal. If his health wasn't a concern he would be the most important piece on the team. He has been injured his entire career and citing the past shows it most likely won't improve.

I am hoping for the best of course.