Deeeez Knicks wrote:
For LaMelo I would bet on him cause his other skills are so good and he has good size. Its def a combination of skills worth betting on.
Lemme add this.
My view on Lamelo is similar to my final position on RJ last year. On RJ I didn't love him and would have selected Zion or (possible) Ja ahead of him.
What moved me to embrace RJ was
1. He clearly was the 3rd best player in the draft.
2. Basketball is important to RJ.
The latter IMO is the critical evaluation point.
RJ had/has some holes in his game but I was willing to overlook those holes because basketball is important to RJ.
Because basketball is important to RJ I have zero concerns about his dedication to improve in his craft.
Or to put it another way RJ is self-motivated. He may not turn out to be great, but through hard work he'll maximize his talent. And his talent isn't insignificant.
Talent and skill only take you so far. That burning hunger to be something/somebody is what drives men to greatness. Its what drives them to practice while others rest. Its what drives them to shoot 100 more FTs than the best FT shooter on the team. There is simply no way to measure or evaluate someones heart.
By definition Tom Brady was a average QB coming outta Michigan. Nothing jumped off the page about him. He looked like a "guy".
What nobody could measure was his heart. His burning desire to be great. His willingness to sacrifice personal pleasure (a beer) during the season, because he thought it'd damage his play or conditioning.
Back to Lamelo, as you mention he has the tools. I can see that. What I'd need to find out, if I were MSG management, is how important is basketball to Lamelo?