I'm not defending Charlotte I agree with you but at the same time MKG is the one ultimately responsible for his own development, he is a PRO at the end of the day. If he has any self awareness at all he should have realized his weakness and worked towards it on his own if his work ethic is as legendary as you say. Being a gym rat is different from working on your game Slowmile Swift, De Andre Jordan, Steve Francis, Westbrick...all these guys are gym rats and keep themselves in great shape so they have good work ethic. But they didn't work on their game and add new things every summer, this is why Melo is getting the vet min while Lebron is still considered the best player in the world.
Agreed. Players have to address their weaknesses and improve them if they're going to truly be great. Can't just lift weights and do what you're already good at. MKG haa worked on his jumper. But he last a whole season before he started. And Charlotte should have seen to that and had him with a shooting coach from Day 1. Charlotte, as anybody can see from their record, has been a poorly run franchise for a long time.
Teams spend a lot of resources to help their players get better. But at the same time the players must be responsible too. And what about the agents, who make a huge cut from what a player earns. I’m sure a lot of people have put their two cents into getting the most from talented athletes. Yet whom stands to profit most is the player himself. The only time I’d blame a team is if they harbor a toxic environment that hinders positive growth.
Perfect up and coming example could be our very own rookie De'Anthony Melton. His jump shot wasn't as badly hitched as MKG's but that was one major knock on him coming into this draft after sitting out his last year at USC. The kids shot looked almost transformed during the SL (and I know it was just summer league but a shot is a shot). Granted I didn't watch much Pac-12 or USC bball the season prior to last, I couldn't tell much of a hitch in his shot... so it must have changed dramatically for most of us not to notice much of a flaw in his shooting stroke. If Jason Kidd can do it at damn near 40 years old, any of these young guys can do it at 19-22, if they truly put the time and effort into improving that facet of their game.
Good stuff. I'm very familiar with it. Leaned to shoot a set shot originally when I was a kid. Then as I developed into a teenager and discovered I had legs I started working on all sorts of jump stop, hang, float, and fire moves in the lane. I was smart. I could jump. And I knew if I could pull up early before I got to the rim that I had the quickness on all the bigs to get the shot yp and over before they could react. Transitioned into fade aways, and then started working my range out to the FT line with what I call the power jumper. In the process, I lost my normal jump timing on long balls. Had to start over and relearn shooting mechanics. When I see guys like MKG.....I see the same affect. He's used to jumping so high and being able to hang and move in the air. It becomes instinctual to power up, hang, float and then release. Guys do that stuff when they're young because they know they have the jets to do it, especially in the paint area (15 feet and in). But that don't work once you get past a certain distance. It becomes this extremely contorted hitch that MKG is trying to rid himself of. Still ugly. But he has gotten better. He is improving. And like I said earlier, he's a terrific defender. A very serious defensive upgrade from Ariza. And that's saying something. I would be all for trading Anderson/Nanu for MKG (and Marvin) if nothing better develops.
