1bigfan13 wrote:Mickey8 wrote:Jokic is the least athletic player in the league yet he's one of the most productive players playing in the NBA. OKC shouldn't be concerned about Pokusevksi athleticism , him naturally being thin and not being physically strong to hold on his own , thats the major concern about him right now.
He's definitely a bit of a project who's going to probably need at least 2 or 3 full seasons before he starts to fill out both physically and mentally. I'm actually not a fan of OKC taking fliers on these types of players (high school caliber). Because OKC is a small market team I'd rather bring in players who are ready to contribute in the NBA in year one. That way we can at least get 5 quality years out of them before they leave. Lets face it, quality free agents aren't exactly beating down the door to sign in OKC. Even when we were at our height it was a struggle convincing quality free agents to join the team. So I worry about OKC putting themselves in positions where they spend 3 years developing these skilled players who are projects, only to have the player jet via FA or trade right when they've finally developed into a quality player.
When you are late in the first round, it’s even hard to find players ready to contribute in year one. I can see the argument against guys like Ferguson and Bazley when we had Russ and PG here. Now that they are gone, it makes sense to take a shot on a guy like Poku rather than hope you get a 24 year old Brandon Clark in the first year of your rebuild.