twix2500 wrote:SA37 wrote:
It's a small sample, but again, I just don't see an NBA player there.
This smells a lot like one of those picks/acquisitions teams make because suddenly teams get the Jay Bilas shakes and are enamored by wingspan, length, and "he can guard/play all 5 positions" and get distracted from real basketball skills.
I hope I have to eat my words, but from the little bit I have seen, I don't think Okpala is going to be in the league much longer.
That's what you call a raw NBA player. Its been done in the past and present. The past was a lot more difficult because you had to play the guy during real games and lose while developing him. A team must be committed to long term. That is why you have G-League and SL to use to develop a player. Derrick Jones Jr was a player who was very raw, and got two SL and G-leagues before he was sent to Miami and was able to get some minutes for the Heat. He also gotten minutes on a bad Pheonix roster who could afford to lose and develop players. Derrick Jones Jr got two summer leagues, 2 g-leagues seasons, he got two seasons of NBA minutes with Phoenix. Miami picked him up the mid 2nd year. His stats are pretty bad but he learned how to stay within a certain role. And that is what the Heat are hoping Okpala can learn to master a small specialize role. They are hoping he can become a better version of DJJ. And possibly more than that when he gets older.
I understand that many think a player is getting a lot training during a NBA season, that is true, as far as getting NBA experience and seeing how Pros prepare for games but the player does not get development time. Meaning he is not attended to individually and allowed to f up in practice because teams do not practice a lot during the season. Most of the time they are doing drills to keep body in shape and in the film room. When they are doing a fullcourt practice its about getting the team ready for a game plan. The end of the bench players are used as players imitating the opposing teams for the regular rotation players to practice against. Teams do not get as much fullcourt practice as some may think.Practice time is something that will be in short supply around the NBA this season; teams are basically playing every other day, and that — along with travel and mandated days off — realistically leaves time for no more than two practices per week
And there are times they do not practice for a whole week or longer. In terms of fullcourt play. There is no time for a team trying to win for Okpala to try new things during practice or work on new things during practice. The rotation players are what is being attended to. And its why the Heat like the to have old vets at the end of the bench. Players who do not need individual attention.
I think a guy like Okpala, who isn't going to get consistent playing time, is going to be working extensively with the assistant coaches when he does travel with the team. This is precisely why you claim BS injuries and the player doesn't travel with the team sometimes; they can stay and work with some of the assistant coaches and staff that don't travel with the team. It makes no sense to drag a player to all 82 games for mainly DNPs if he isn't going to be able to also get some reps in before and after games (even if it isn't the 5-on-5 or more team-oriented types of practices); you're better off just sending him to the G-League.
I do understand Okpala is young and the Heat acquired him because they clearly saw some hope he could develop into a legit NBA player. It might happen. In the videos, highlights, and few games (4-5) I have seen Okpala in, I just don't see a guy who is going to make it in the NBA. There are just too many talented guys coming in every year and, while Okpala is still young enough some teams will still see him as a viable prospect because he is 22, that window will be closing relatively soon.
in all seriousness, it should be an MVP-like campaign for Jimmy. For all the talk about missed trades last year, this group has been revamped with 
