DonaldSanders wrote:If the big problem is that your #2 selection needs time in the D league instead of NBA minutes I really have trouble picturing them as ever being an impact player.
Jermaine ONeal would have absolutely played in the D League if it existed when he was drafted. Instead he got 10 mpg for 4 points
Andrew Bynum averaged 1 point in 8 minutes
These guys are wings so it's different, but:
Kobe effing Bryant started all of 6 games as a rookie and averaged 7 points in 15 minutes.
McGrady 7 points in 18 minutes
Giannis averaged 7 points in 12 minutes
19 is too young for a big person's body to play effective basketball. They haven't had the USE of a 7 foot body for long enough to master it. It takes 10,000 hours (5 years of dedicated work) to master a physical task. How would that even be possible for someone this young who has never had to use that body against like sized people?
Being too young to contribute as a #2 pick doesn't mean it's a bad pick (it could be. Darko was clearly a bad pick and lots of bigs don't develop into anything worthwhile) but, realistically, the development does not happen in NBA game minutes for these guys. It happens in the practice facility and the weight room and in training camp.
We are seeing the sausage being made here, and it's ugly. There's a reason most teams historically have not done this in big regular season minutes.