Silas likes to go big, but man I’m scared of how thin Mobley is. That’s a freak injury waiting to happen.
Players with Mobleys build usually have a lot of injury problems. Oden, Bowie, Yao. Those twig legs won't last...especially if he gains a lot of weight!
Here is the thing though right? People will say Jalen Green dominated in the g-league...but he didn't. He wasn't even a top 5 scorer in the league. He was 19 in scoring. Who was first? KPJ was first. KPJ is not much older than Green...this is to say, how has KPJs scoring translated to the NBA as #1 in the G? Pretty well right? Has it translated so well that it's made him some top scorer in the NBA? No, but it makes him nice. So I guess I'm not buying the whole idea that everything Green does in the G will translate to the league exactly. As for Mobley, well, it's been said that he's a sefless player. I don't see that as a knock, that's a pro to me. Harden's old coach used to say the same thing about him that they would have to tell him to be aggressive. That he didn't have amazing games every night is no surprise to me, that's natural, if he did then he would have averaged 20ppg.
Capela has been pretty durable while thicker players like Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum were not. So I don't know if thin stature always equates injuries, but you just never know until they get in the league to see how their games will translate. If Mobley's skill level translates then that might save him the pounding in the paint his first couple seasons, and you can play him alongside Wood, maybe Olynyk (who I think would be a great complement to him), and maybe some tougher perimeter players like Tate who can help in the paint. I think if we are taking Mobley I just think that Olynyk getting resigned would be such a huge asset for Mobley's development. All three bigs in that rotation have skills that really complement each other, and Mobley doesn't really have to do a ton right away, but there are so many ways for him to be active in those lineups where he might be asked to do too little, or too much on other rebuilding teams where they just throw a guy like that in there against guys like Jokic, Gobert, and Embiid every night.
Like I said , I'm NOT all in on Green. I could be convinced to go with Suggs .... or Jalen Johnson If he didn't have the off court issues he'd be much higher in the conversation. (after a trade back). I just don't buy that Mobley will ever be good enough offensively to justify the draft slot. He'll never be a second option on a good team. He'll be Clint Capela .... rim runner , lob catcher , put backs and not much more .... minus the 14 boards a game.
Well I can't argue your opinions on the matter, I just don't see why Mobley couldn't dominate on offense. He's fluid, has a nice touch, and doesn't have a broken shot...oh and can actually put the ball on the floor and is a great passer. I really don't get the Gobert and Capela comparison's, he's coming in with more of an offensive skillset than those two ever did. Capela came in raw as possible too on that side of the ball.
Yao had literally the thickest legs in the NBA. His lower body was nearly twice as large as Shaq's. Rocket Man Deez nuts.
Is this what we're doing. Listing players who've shown brightness but never reached full potential because famous injuries? Guards: Derek Rose #1 Penny Hardaway #3 Jay Williams #2 Shaun Livingston #4 Brandon Roy #6 draft pick
And Yao's legs and feet still couldn't handle all the upper body weight he gained! What's going to happen with Mobley when he gains weight?...SNAP.
I watched this and came away much more impressed by Wiseman actually. Honestly don't think Mobley is worth the 2nd pick in this draft if we have to bet so strongly on potential and he looks like he barely gained any weight since this video which was a few years ago. He's going to get dominated for at least the first few years he's in the league and also looks like an injury waiting to happen.
Yao never had extreme upper body weight. He was all lower body all the time. What happened to Marcus Camby's legs? How about KG? How about Bill Russel?
The Capela comparisons , at least from me are based upon his shooting and nothing more. (I haven't compared him to Gobert) Yes , he's a better ball handler than those guys but you aren't going to put the ball in his hands and say go to work ... unless he improves his shooting dramatically. If he doesn't make that dramatic improvement , he is what those guys are on the offensive end - rim runners , pick and roll , lobs and put backs. I don't see the "has a nice touch" ..... Everyone has a nice touch on highlight video's but if you watch the game , he clanks quite a few and there's no touch on the free throw. He's laying bricks. there's video of him missing multiple 4-6 footers on the baseline in practice with no one defending him .... Someone here made the comment that his handlers shouldn't have let that video get out .... It could cost him money. I will say this - If the Rockets draft Mobley , I hope I'm wrong and he's a unicorn like Durant / Giannis.
Remember when Clint Capela and Giannis snapped in half after they added weight in the NBA? It's something that happens to every player over 6'9 so we need to build a team of nothing but 6'6 players.
There is no comparison, Mobley comes into the league as a better shooter than Capela could ever hope to be....hell Mobley was a better shooter in high school than Capela could ever hope to be. So yeah, if that's your comparison, it's a REALLY bad one.
Yao gained too much weight and that's what shortened his career. With Mobley it's going to be worse because his legs are skinnier. Too much risk. If Mobley is going to successfully defend NBA centers and PFs...he's going to have to bulk up...and if he bulks up, that increases his injury risk. I'd pass. A part of building a winning team...is building a team that stays healthy.
Yao had the weight in his legs/core.... It was China's insistence on playing ball year round....no rest... That's what killed his career and at least one title.
He would have played another 2 years without being called up to the NT, but no big international player has refused NT so far. Now you play 66 to 72 games due to Covid. In the past you used to play 82 games with much more travelling.