Are you sure about this? Being tall with a long wingspan, and being "quick enough to guard...Dirk..." are two TOTALLY DIFFERENT things, and they are often found independent of the other, and rarely found together. Thus, it's so tough to match up with Dirk. But, if you say so...
At least he's qicker than anybody that we have right now at his position. He often guards smaller and quicker players coming from the perimeter. Of course he won't be able to shutdown Dirk, etc. but nobody can do that. But I say lets see what he can do when he comes to Houston. We badly need a defender for Dirk, Cliff Robinso, Radmanovic, etc. btw: Malick got only few minutes in game 3 of the BBL-finals and wasn't a factor at all because his team badly needed some offense. It was a low scoring game, nobody could hit a shot. The Skyliners lost at home. But that seems normal since in every game the home team has lost.
GermanRoxFan, thanks for this information. I was actually in Germany a few weeks ago and I caught a playoff game on TV. Malick played some garbage time. I watched him foul clumsily, miss a few free throws, and then I watched the most horrifying vision. Some guy from the other team drove and slipped. As he fell, Malick came over from the weak side ready to block a shot. The sad sack offensive player tossed up a pathetic "shot" towards the goal (in that direction). Malick jumped with all his might (and he can hop for sure). The ball was headed for his belly button and he flailed at it like he needed to block it with all his might. He missed the ball badly and it gently bounced off of his waistline. He seems to have energy and heart, but I couldn't give him much in the way of potential after the game I watched.
I consider a mid first round draft pick to be pretty much of a crap shoot. I consider a second round pick absolutely a wild guess. Deep in the second round is pretty much the odds of winning the lottery. Somebody is going to do it, just nobody I know. I never heard of this guy before we drafted him, I have never seen him play, I know nothing about the league he plays in. Pretty much everything I know is from reading Clutchfans.net. What I am heraing everybody say is at best Malick will be a poor man's Kelvin Cato. And you know how much we whine about Cato. Admit it this board has cried all over itself about trading Cato for a pair of used sweat socks, you know who you are. Clearly, I hope we win the lottery and Malick contributes (off the bench, as trade fodder, allowing us to trade others, as our all-star starting PF (why not - as long as we are dreaming), anything), but really guys - if the Rockets hadn't drafted him, we would never be pinning any hopes on him. Who was drafted ahead of Malick? That guy should have a slightly better chance of making it. What would you give up for him? I don't even know who that is, (and it is not worth taking the time to look it up, in spite of how easy it is to do) but I feel pretty comfortable saying nobody here would give up a lot for that guy.
Mark Madsen has no shot whatsoever. He cannot hit free throws to save his life. His shooting touch is a lot worse than Badiane. He has worse size than Badiane. He is less athletic than Badiane. What did Madsen do in the NBA? He's played on a championship team and played regularly against this championship team in this western finals. He's done well with the minutes he got. All because he can hustle and bring energy off the bench. You guys get down with Malick misblocking a shot, then perhaps you should consider what Madsen does for a shot. In a game against the Lakers, the guy was 9 feet away from the basket, he threw up a brick towards the rim with the intention for the ball to bounce off it, then charged towards the rebound aiming for a putback. I guess nobody can say the Mad Dog has any potential after that scene, but he's actually playing in the NBA for a few years. Heart, hustle and energy are underrated. We need to see how well does Malick's hustle translate into higher levels.
You know someone should send him a letter letting him know he actually has a fan base here. It's not like he's so bigtime that he couldn't write back.
Panda, The last thing I want to do is rag on Malick, but if you could have seen the game I watched, you would have seen someone lacking coordination. Perhaps his hustle and desire will land him a spot on the Rockets much like Madsen somehow has a spot in the NBA. But it's good to be realistic. I would say Malick, at best, could have the impact of Madsen, which is almost nil. I assume you watched the Timberwolves in the playoffs, where Madsen usually got abused by opponents during the minutes he played. What I would like more than anything is consistent hustle, energy, and desire from the Rockets' coordinated players instead of praying for miracles from uncoordinated players.
No one knows what its like to be the Bad-man..... Ok, enough singing for one day. I have been reading all of your posts and feel inclined to reply. Most of you bring up very good points. There is no promise of Malick becoming an NBA star or even getting an NBA contract. That being said, having played with Malick, practiced with Malick, watched him workout for months before the draft, and watched him play one-on-one with both Nene Hilario and DeSagana Diop, the kid has potential. Ah yes, the doomed term "potential." There is no question Malick is a project, Houston knew that when they picked him 44th overall last June. However, Malick was projected as a first round pick and if it were not for some sketchy over-seas politics he would have been a first round pick. I think it is also important to remember that Malick has only been playing basketball for five years. He has great size and has the frame, where if he can bulk up some more, he could make for a nice looking NBA power forward. Unfortunately, the weight training program in Germany with the Skyliners is not nearly as intense as the one he went through in Cleveland last summer. In the end, it will no-doubt be interesting to see what Houston decided to do with Malick and how the entire situation plays out this summer. I think it is unfair to say Malick will never see a NBA jersey, when Houston has indicated on numerous occasions they want to sign him this summer. Obviously, you are all entitled to your opinions and I enjoy reading them. I have told Malick numerous times about all the fans in Houston that are excited to see him play and he is no-doubt excited to put on a Rockets uniform and play for all of you. In the meantime, I will do my best to keep you all posted with any inside information.
This one has no idea what to expect or hope from Bad - man, so your reports are great for me. Thanks. I absolutely hope he turns out to be a Boozer-like find, a Mobley - like find.
Me too. And he sounds like a great guy to boot. Sorry I had to call it like I witnessed it in this thread. I will say that he has more physical tools than Madsen has to work with, but I hope he can get some excellent coaching and training sooner than later.
I did not say that he was a bust because for that to happen, much will have been expected of him which clearly is not the case here. My point is that Malick does nothing to solve your problem at the 4. Even if he's your 11th or 12th man, you cannot trade Cato because Malick cannot replace him - in fact, it's unlikely that he can even PLAY in this league. By your own words, he's not a "star-caliber player" yet you want him to play a position where he'll be asked to play against guys who are "star-caliber" - the Malones, Wallaces, Duncans, Garnetts and Nowitskis. The Rockets are well past the time when they can afford to tinker around with the end of their bench. The improvement they are looking for cannot be found by shuffling seats at the end of the bench. They need strong starting players and reliable proven backups NOW if they harbor any hopes of advancing in the Western Conference. Pinning your hopes on potential will more often than not, get you beat or worse (anyone remember Eddie Griffin?).
Just to make it clear. I don't want Malick to be a starter. I even don't want him to get major minutes. I just want a chance for him to get the developement and coaching that his physical talent deserves. And I also didn't say that he should be our first backup at the 4 and 5. Right now he isn't ready to replace Cato. The Rockets definately need a star-caliber power forward. He could help us to replace Cato in a cheap way. If we trade Cato we'll need some other center for sure. My suggestion would be - if Malick proves that he is ready for a backup role in the NBA - to trade Cato in a package with Cat or Steve to get an all-star forward (e.g. Elton Brand). Sign a cheap veteran for backing up the 5. Let Malick be the backup of the backups at the 4 and 5 and let him be the man for special matchups (like Madsen, Medvedenko, Najera, etc.). So he could bring in his intensity and energy when we need it and he would have the chance to develop into a Kelvin Cato without the fat contract. Of course we could go on signing and releasing players like Charles Oakley, Alton Ford, etc. if that is what you want...
To me I do not see what the big deal is. If the Rockets can carry stiffs like Padgett on their roster, how difficult it is to get BAD on our roster. While I reserve judgement on the decision to send him back last year, the amount of dead wood we carried last year suggests he should have stayed.
What kills me about some of these responses is that people act like the fans supporting this kid are expecting him to become the second coming of a Barkley or a Malone. Nobody's saying that. What's even more is the comments are often being made by people that haven't seen the guy play 1 minute. If he's the 11th or 12 man on this team, then so be it. Nobody's saying he's solving any major problems we have, and if he doesn't, that doesn't mean people can't root or cheer for the guy. "He doesn't solve our problems at the 4". Yeah, so? Is your entire team comprised of starters who solve immediate problems at your starting positions? As someone else said, we had people like Moochie "Freaking" Norris on this team. We had Piatkowski who did next-to-nothing on this team last season. "He can't back up Cato". Guess what? The guy is a PF/C. I'm betting unless he's gotten a lot bigger and stronger, he may be guarding a lot of PF's as well. From what I saw in summer league games, fast/smaller PF's will give him trouble on D and strong PF's will also give him trouble. Those things can be remedied hopefully. "He can't guard the Garnett's, Nowitski's, etc.". Yeah, so what? Who can? And it's not like the Rockets are going to give him 35 minutes a game. I personally don't know what the kid will end up doing in this league. He could be nothing, but he could be a surprise. What I do know is that he's about a 20 year old 2nd round pick who went later than many expected. Why all the hate? Second round picks are always gambles (although that's slowly changing with the influx of foreign talent). He caught my eye because he was willing to learn and he hustled like no other Rocket I've seen since the championship Rockets with the exception of possibly Steve Francis (except Malick hustled on D). The odds are good that he will not be great in this league, but sensibility, and possibly reality, dictates there's no reason to believe he'll be great. He could just end up being a pretty decent player for a pretty good team. You know, those Scott Brooks, Eduardo Najera, Kurt Rambis, John Salley, etc. types that no team really has a use for and serve no purpose in the league other than roster spots. Oh wait, but those are the kind of guys we wouldn't mind having on our team, right. Those guys that complete a team and give them some heart. He's a Rocket and must not be hated until he is gone. I do have a question for o3gs : What do you know about his one-on-one against Nene? I don't think I've read about this.
I would be excited to see what he could do for the Rockets. I'd say give him Pike's spot on the roster, someone who will play some games for not a lot of time, but enough to get a sense of what he can and may be able to do. He's a project and a 2nd-round pick, you can't expect much, but I really want to see how he does over here.
Good Doctor, Last summer Malick did his pre-draft workouts in Cleveland for two months with the same two trainers (one for weight-lifting, the other for basketball skills) that Nene worked out with during his pre-draft workouts two summers ago. Last June, just before the draft, Nene returned to Cleveland from Brazil to workout for a month and the trainers arranged a few one-on-one games with Malick and Nene. While Malick does not have the same bulk as Nene, he did a good job defending him, and getting the opportunity to play against someone like that only made Malick hungrier to play in the league. Nene is represented by the same agent as Leandro Barbosa (who also worked out with Malick last summer). While Malick regularly worked out with Leandro, it is obviously unfair to compare their talents. Hope that answers your questions.
