og15 wrote:I think teams can overrate their ability to develop players, that might have been the case here, maybe not.esqtvd wrote:og15 wrote:Draft is certainly unpredictable either way, there are guys who will have the "pedigree" that Mann has for example and flame out quickly, and others who people don't expect much from and surprise. It is even more true the later we go in the 1st round, and certainly in the second round.
Mann is the type of player who could have turned out to be what he has shown so far or to be like Tyrone Wallace if things didn't work out (both 4 year college guys, Tyrone had better stats and more PG like skills, but worse shooting, etc).
Kabanegele's lure was the combination of being a big who can shoot from outside and also block shots. He only scored 13.2 ppg and came off the bench playing 21 mpg, but he was his teams leading scorer. NBA teams were less concerned about how tall his head was because he has a 7'3 wingspan, and he's got good size. His biggest issue was that he fouled too much, and yea, he's not a guy who you put in any offensive decision making role or who is going to see the floor and find guys, but that's not what he was being drafted for anyways.
Thanks for your factual counterarguments OG.And I'm not a shoulda-coulda when it comes to the draft because it IS a crapshoot. But they traded up for this guy. A #19 for a #27. For an older player who couldn't start for his college team. This was a FAIL.
I presented Mann because Max Headrom brought him up--Mann was drafted with a garbage what the hell pick. He's found money. As MaxH said, he's MADE himself an NBA player on basketball IQ and on character, intangibles Fi lacks. As for the tangibles--Fi doesn't have the NBA body to play the 5, let alone a trace of the skills to play the 4 in 2021. As for basketball IQ or fire in the belly like Mann has--fugetaboutit.
That's why I call this a fail. That you drafted Joe at #22 when Jim at #26 went on to become a star, well that's shoulda-coulda bullshi*t. That's not what happened here.
Kabangele was on a high because of his tournament performance, that likely clouded judgement on what can be gotten out of him. He averaged 17/9 and 2 blocks in the tournament, looked like a beast at times. Didn't look to pass much of course, lol
I disagree about lacking NBA center size. If you mean starter, sure, but late 1st you're expecting at best a rotation player, anything else is gravy. He has NBA rotation C size in the current NBA where PJ Tucker, Jeff Green, Draymond Green will be found in the court at C for more than a few minutes per game. He certainly has NBA C length, that's for sure.
Maybe their plan all along was to pair him and Mann together, hoping their Florida State teammate connection would help both flourish or something
You're right about Florida State making the Sweet Sixteen out of nowhere. Front offices get seduced. IIRC--and it's water under the bridge now lol--the same Clippers scout who reported on Fi said hey, his Florida State teammate Mann's better and he's still on the board at #48?! A 'what do you have to lose' pick. No genius involved here.
averaged a career-high 14.0 points and a career-high 7.7 rebounds in three games during the 2019 NCAA Tournament…became just the 37th player in school history to score 1,000 or more career points and finished his career ranked 20th in school history with 1,322 career points – he completed his career as just one of 20 players in school history to score 1,300 or more career points…finished his career with 1,322 career points, 710 career rebounds, 269 career assists and 112 career steals…one of college basketball’s ultimate “Stat Sheet Stuffers”
The subject is Fi. FAIL. For reasons given. Ironically, that was the very pick sent to Detroit in the 3-way Kennard-Shamet-19th pick [Saddiq Bey] trade. We could have 2 of the 3 right now. You can do the math. You're the most clever fellow here [except Tucson Jeff, who's smarter than both of us let's face it].
