this may be oversimplifying things, but if he was a superstar potential big, he wouldn't last past pick 2. count me in the group that wants change, but doesn't want drummond, and frankly, i'd be surprised if morey does. "raw" is one thing. being a big man with no defensive rebounding instinct is another. correct me if i'm wrong, but that isn't something that you appreciably improve upon in your basketball career past a certain point, nor can it easily be taught. it's a lot of instinct and "want-to" as clyde would say. when you are that size and can't rebound for squat, a blood red flag is raised, in my mind. too big of a project and shot in the dark for my liking (to draft and keep, at least).
Bring in Hakeem to work with him on footwork, post play and sky's the limit for this kid. I like Drummond a lot in this draft.
Fair enough. I agree with you and CH that the Howard situation is different due to the Rockets (and apparently also the Warriors) being willing and able to offer superior trade packages for a Howard rental than New Jersey can offer. However, my prior post was more a lamenting of how your convictions have overcome your ability to give your typical nuanced, analytical thoughts that I respect so much. Just ease off the clutch, there. (No pun intended.) P.S. And it's not about "proving you wrong". Anything can happen in this league.
Bima, If Orlando decides to trade Dwight, what chance do the Nets have of trading for him??????? I'll ease off the clutch. You get back to reality bro. You know better than to think that if Orlando trades Dwight that they are going to get the best deal from the Nets. The only play the Nets have is to approach Orlando now about trading for Dwight at the deadline and then going and getting free agents that Orlando would want. And how much sense does that make? None. Orlando trading Dwight for freshly signed free agents. I suppose the Nets could max out Kris for one season, re-sign Lopez, then trade Humphries expiring deal along with Morrow, Petro, Farmar, Lopez, and Brooks, plus their two first round picks in 2013 for Dwight/hedo/BigBaby/JRich/QRich/Duhon. Orlando is left with a shooting guard (Brooks), a center (Lopez), 3 picks in the 2013 draft, their lottery pick and probably 2 picks in the 20's, and a bunch of cap space after 2013. That's the absolute max that the Nets can do. Does that stack up to what we can do?
Andre Drummond had a %30 free throw percent at UConn and only averaged 10 points per game. So why do we want to trade up for this guy?
See, THIS is what I'm talking about. jopatmc, I AGREE WITH YOU about Houston having the superior trade package. It's your belligerent responses to people who are at least trying to point out that teams like Brooklyn have more than a 0% chance of getting Dwight that concerns me. This was never about arguing the merits of Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets or the Brooklyn Nets. It was about you not only making a valid point but also going overboard to defend it. It's just not very becoming of you. That's all.
Watching the video posted on page 1 of this thread , it looks as if he pushes the shot , making it very flat. Poor mechanics that could be fixed - tho the video stated that his mechanics werent bad. The key word in this is "trade". I agree that they have little to offer Orlando in a trade situation. For that reason , I dont see them making a trade for Howard and that if they are to aquire him , its after the season as a FA. At which point , Orlando would play ball for pretty much whatever they could get out of a deal with NJ in a sign and trade situation as I doubt Howard would leave the extra year and money on the table. Those teams interested in a "rental" have a better shot right now but at seasons end , then it is the team of his choosing despite assets.
The Dream had a positive influence on LaBron James and Josh Smith among others. I can't recall that he worked with Hill or Thabeet.
Bima, Very kindly, the Nets have about a 1% chance of trading for Dwight. Now, why is that belligerent? It's simply the truth. We got guys coming on here, reading Dwight wants to be traded to Brooklyn, then posting all over the place that, yup, it's over, he's going to Brooklyn, yada, yada, yada. That's ignorance. It's not belligerent to point out facts. The chances of Dwight being traded to Brooklyn are virtually nil, around 1%. That's why I'm saying...keep it real. The Rockets have a much, much greater chance of trading for Dwight than Brooklyn does.
Drummond is an 18 year old kid. Where he is going in the NBA is not set in stone yet. But he is big enough to bang with Bynum and has the lateral quickness and in line speed to keep up with most point guards in this league. He also has a sweet 10' - 12' jumper. People may complain about his foul shot % but he shot only 88 of them last year. He has not had time to shoot 50,000 of them yet. His future depends on the team and the coaching staff of whom ever drafts him. I vote we draft him and keep him. Then bring him along gently. Why lay waste to a roster for a one year rental?
Agreed. Tons of great big men came into the league Raw and seemingly without many other skills besides being agile, athletic, and long...Dwight Howard being one of them.
Jopat, what happens if a team who is willing to trade for Howard calls him up and gets told that he will walk at the end of the season? No trade. No Howard to the Rockets. And yes it could happen.
That is the case right now. And the Rockets are willing to trade for him anyway. Rox aren't going to call him up before the trade. If we trade for him, Morey, McHale and Co. are going to deal with him when he gets off the plane in H-Town.
Dwight Howard at 18 years old was way more fluid and advanced in his basketball skills than Drummond is. I remember watching him in Summer League, grabbing boards all over the place. He had great rebounding instincts for that age. I think he struggled the first few games scoring wise, but poured it on in the second half of his summer league games scoring wise, scoring 25+ at least twice IIRC. <iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zMK4UXr3XrU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Just say no to Drummond at #5. He's not worth it.
Well most people that are down on Drummond are down on him because of his lack of production. His quickness, his agility, his ability to finish around the rim is hard to deny. Also people saying he has little basketball skills seem to ignore that he's a great shot blocker and has shown great instinct protecting the rim. The reason he dropped though I think is the same reason Lamb has dropped. The lack of success on a UConn team that was supposed to be much better. Unless T-rob drop who else are we taking at #5? Hopefully not someone more 'NBA Ready'
His bad FT shoot is attributed to the fact that the coaches at Uconn were trying to change his shot put shooting motion. He needs to get more reps in with the new motion. Drummond shoots like Shawn Marion.
Drummond - what does he do well? That shot of his is flat, he has no touch. He doesnt pound the glass, is not an instinctual shot blocker. I would take him with the 16th pick, but would not trade up to get this guy. I see that he does not have a go to post up move or a way to score in the paint. He appears a bit lost. The only way that could change is if the Rockets work this guy out and he can prove the capacity to learn quickly. I do see some raw ability, runs and jumps well. Deandre Jordan was very similar to this when he was at Texas A&M..... Seem like the next DJ to me.
