What plays and role would he fill here? Running pick and roll, boarding, and defending the rim. Those are things that do not require a lot of intelligence or intricate detail. There's not a bunch of options that Whiteside has to remember off the pick and roll. He picks and dives to the rim. You don't throw him the ball on the block just like we avoided throwing Asik the rock down there last year. Defensively....he's got a 9'6" standing reach. He's gonna take the opposing team's 5, and sag off if his man steps outside the paint...and he's gonna help on any perimeter guys driving to the rim. His job and role is not rocket science (pardon the pun). It's not like the other position that have to rotate around and set screens and decide whether to go baseline or to the rim. His position and role would not call for him to have to think through a bunch of options and make adjustments on the fly to the defense. Remember this commentary from Jerry is basically 2 seasons ago. And remember all the players I mentioned fulfilling the same role Hassan would be fulfilling. Kwame? Dalembert? Jordan Hill? Look at their attitudes throughout their careers. Look at their limited skill sets. Look at their very limited iqs. What has Hassan done or not done that is so much worse than these guys that he isn't being given another chance to make good in the league?
As I noted, even though its old, the commentary is still the same. I would assume RGV commentators would say almost the exact same thing now. He's freakishly long, and athletic looking. Can obviously block shots, but still struggles to stay on the floor long enough to make a difference, and when he's on the floor his positives obviously dont make up for his negatives... Even in the D-League. You can argue all day long about what those positives and negatives are, but the truth is, the negatives obviously out weight the positives. If he can't fill in a major roll down there in the D-League, what makes you think he can fill even a small one up in the big league on a team that boats a frontline rotation of Dwight Howard, Omer Asik, Greg Smith, and potentially Marcus Camby? Obviously the guy is tall and long... I think we've established that. However, I think you're severly underestimating how difficult it is to be a reliable defender, rebounder, working within an NBA set, and be reliable on the offensive end to be where you are supposed to be all the time, do your part to get the offensive players open shots, and stay hidden (assuming your a bad offensive player which Hassaan ABSOLUTELY is). Look, if Im an NBA GM sure I might think about trying to get him to play for my D-League affiliate as a long shot gamble, but there is just too much evidence that backs up the fact that this is not a player who can cut it in the NBA for one reason or another. I still dont understand what the facination is with this guy. Yes he's tall, but that doesn't mean he can cut it in the NBA.
My fascination with him has to do with the fact that some team is probably going to sign him to a minimum salary deal and may even get him to agree to a 3-yr non-guaranteed deal after yr 1. And having him come off the bench as your backup big at the minimum or 3 years is much better value than paying players like Kwame, Udoh, Jordan Hill, Dalembert, etc. several times more money to be a backup 5. This is IF we do indeed trade Asik...which I feel is going to happen at some later juncture in the season. Again it all has to do with perceived value. I perceive that Hassan at the minimum is a much better value proposition than most backup bigs we could acquire. And this is based on moving Asik in trade. Tell me from your observations of him in d-league...what were his extreme negatives that kept him off the floor? I don't think you're going to be able to define those basketball-wise. When they were giving Vernon Macklin 20-30 minutes to do what???? He wasn't kept off the floor at RGV because he was a terrible player and his basketball negatives were more than his positives. He was kept off the floor for another reason. I'm trying to find out what that was. If it is attitude...like I said...I'd like to know more about what the attitude issue is.
And I thought the love affair with Budinger was bad... At least Budinger is still a decent role player, but Whiteside is just a scrub.
I am not in love with Whiteside as a player. I simply see an opportunity to possibly catch value here. That's all.
There is no catch in a 24 year old player with less game than Greg Smith. Let alone one who has an attitude.
Ok, we have to now do this- Ohlbrecht and Macklin won minutes over Whiteside fair and square, and only the coaches could tell you why... However this is what I saw during the limited minutes he played at RGV. The reason I believe those other two got minutes is because they made RGV's best players better by setting good quality screens, running the floor(something that Whiteside struggles at), and always being in the right spots on the floor. One "negative" I've noticed about Whiteside is that he sets some pretty piss-poor screens on offense. Despite the fact that the NBA pick and roll is one of the more simple plays a team can run, it doesn't mean that bigs dont have responsibilities, or placement & proper movement within those sets. With RGV being a very perimeter oriented team last year you really needed your bigs to be able to clear space, and stay out of driving lanes. Whiteside often looked out of place, slow to set picks, and slow to get into offensive sets. Even if the offense is simple, that doesn't mean NBA defense is. This is where it can get tricky for young bigs. You could clearly see that while Ohlbrecht and Macklin weren't Dwight Howard on defense... they were very solid in their rotations, and were almost always in the right spots defensively. I could also clearly see that even when he had position he would still sometimes have trouble getting defensive rebounds because his base was so weak. Still, I have seen that his base has gotten significantly stronger than in his rookie season with Sacramento where he got tossed around like a rag doll, and quite simply THIS was a notable game where he dunked a basketball... and that made it worthy for a Youtube highlight I guess- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpycqS-Sr7k (skip to 43 seconds for a good laugh) He's much better than the stick in the mud he was his rookie year, but the problem still is the same... if you can't do the small things to beat out players like Ohlbrecht and Macklin... how the hell are you going to earn minutes in the big league? Even is Asik is gone, Greg Smith is a better option. Going small is a better option, and obviously the coaching staff would probably say... Vernon Macklin is a better option.... if you are looking to win games right now this second... which they obviously are now that the Rockets are trying to contend in the West. If another team takes Whiteside under their wing and he explodes on the scene than great. Almost every team past on him in the draft, and no NBA team claimed him off waivers when he was cut from Sacramento. In the D-league he's even struggled.... what shame would it be for the Rockets if he became a Jeremy Lin-like sensation overnight???.... None.... every team has passed on this guy FOR YEARS... Its time to move on please.
Whiteside improved his game a lot last season in Dleague. Why he's got less opportunity is anybody's guess. His advanced stats don't lie and there's report about his positive improvement which probably is why RVG traded for him in first place.
Still, he was nothing but a bench player even in RGV, he couldn't outplay the big German for playing time, how good could he be?
Despite what I said, I wouldn't be opposed to RGV picking him up again if he will sign down there in the Valley. Ohlbrecht will probably be with the Sixers if they keep him, and he might make more strides with his all around game. Im just not about to sign him with one of the Rockets 15 roster spots this season. There are much better options for a contending team.
Highly doubtful. You know why? 1. Because he struggled in the D-League: Even NBA rookies and guys who struggle getting off the bench in the NBA tend to be very good against D-League competition. 2. Because he just agreed to play in Lebanon: Lebaonon. Not Spain. Not Greece, Lebanon. Not Turkey, not France, Lebanon. Not even China. Lebanon. Basketball there doesn't pay anything (though the team does set you up with an apartment and daily ration of hummus), you think a guy with any realistic prospect of an NBA contract, even at the league minimum, is gonna go to Lebanon?
What about when he turned a steaming pile of dog**** into James Harden? That was pretty good I guess...
I think he has already completed his stint in Lebanon and is now playing in China. He's just out making money. Nothing more to it than that. I would seriously doubt that he is tied up and can't come back state side for an NBA job.
What attitude? Tell me specifics about his attitude that has caused the Rockets (and apparently every other NBA team) to not want to sign him. And can anybody verify that this is how Morey feels about him?
dobro, I never brought Ohlbrecht in to this. I always felt he deserved all his minutes and he earned his nba contract. Frankly I think Ohlbrecht is a better all-around player than Greg smith is. But Macklin? Macklin is/was a power forward with a limited skill set trying to play pivot. Wasn't Macklin and Ohlbrecht already the starters when RGV acquired Whiteside? And then Macklin left for the Philippines or Cuba or the Dominican, can't remember which. And Whiteside STILL didn't get minutes. Now if you know anything at all about Macklin then you know that Macklin is dumber than a sack of door knobs and he's got an attitude problem too. I'm talking about Macklin, not Ohlbrecht. Hassan is better than Macklin. He should have ssupplanted Macklin or at the very least he should have inherited Macklin's rotation minutes when Macklin left. To say Whiteside was ineffective in his limited minutes.....don't know what you guys were watching. Whiteside was a very effective rebounder and paint defender in RGV.
