Well the problem is not that he's raw, he's seem too chill to be on the court. Everyone wants him to be a defensive presence, but unfortunately this isn't the 80's anymore, when all you have to do is be 7 feet, stand in the middle and then swat or clothesline anybody who comes into the paint. Now, the league is all about "finesse" and superstar calls, and you need high bball IQ to stay on the court as a defensive specialist. Mutombo wasn't Shane Battier, but he had a good instinct for knowing where the ball was going to be, and he wasn't afraid to mix it up and bang with everyone down low. We'll see if Mchale can teach him how to be a big man in the NBA. I certainly hope so, he's 7'3 and athletic, almost like Yao Ming before the knee injuries.
The guy speaks like 6 languages, the problem is not intelligence it is his confidence, once he gets that, he can be more aggressive. He just needs burn on the court. DD
I think he lacks a little motivation too. Sadly, the article kind of points that out or leads the reader to feel that he's perfectly fine where he's at this point in his life. Just hope Mchale can bull whip his behind and smack some sense of urgency into him. Coaches can/may make impacts to players careers. IIRC, Kevin Martin mentioned that Rick told him if he didn't work on his game, he'd be playing in Europe or out of the league in a few years. Look how good he is now.
I saw Hasheem playing in a charity soccer game that was hosted by Steve Nash once. He was skinny as a stick, and showed more enthusiasm than he's ever shown on an NBA court. The scary thing is, even though he's probably never played soccer at a competitive level, he was holding his own against the MLS soccer players that were present. (MLS is maybe what NCAA is to NBA, 1.5 tiers below the best soccer leagues in Europe) I believe he has the tools, but unless he starts focusing hard on becoming a better NBA player, he's gonna be known as Thabust forever.
You gotta love DD's ability to hope against all odds. However in this case, he's hoping in vain. Personally I think that wishing for Thabeet to magically become a legitimate NBA player is an exercise in futility but I can salute DD for his faith in the possible. I have to go by what I've seen and I haven't seen anything to make believe otherwise. I did catch McHale's smoke-and-mirrors interview on 790 the other day where he talked about Thabeet being the anchor of the Rockets' defense on the court and I couldn't stop laughing. I found this on the Bleacher Report about the 25 Worst draft Picks of The Past Decade: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/937861-25-worst-nba-draft-picks-of-the-last-decade/page/4 "Hasheem Thabeet was the highest draft pick ever to be sent down to the D-League. That says it all." Curiously, also on the list is another Clutchfans favorite one Terrence Williams: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/937861-25-worst-nba-draft-picks-of-the-last-decade/page/6 "The New Jersey Nets drafted Terrence Williams out of Louisville, expecting him to continue to be the stat sheet-stuffing monster that he was during his collegiate days. It took a little over one season for them to give up on Williams and send him to the Houston Rockets, who might be ready to give up on him after just 11 games." By my count, that's two players on the list that currently wear Rockets uniforms. Most interesting. Anyway, at some point you simply have to believe what your eyes and not your heart is telling you about Thabeet. This article is the companion to Adam Fromal's 25 Biggest Draft Steals of the Last 10 Years. For those who are interested, he explains how draft busts are determined here: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/937861-25-worst-nba-draft-picks-of-the-last-decade/page/2
This quote from the article says it all. Thabeet is just following the same path as he did in college. It is just a slow progression. Truthfully, he wasn't terrible in his 1st season. Definitely not bad enough to be sent to the D-league. He had his shot-blocking down. The rest would have come as he learned to position himself better. At 282 lbs. with 3.5% body fat, that should definitely help.
Hasheem is looking much bigger, if his skills have improved as much as his muscle he may be able to tap into his great potential
I was just looking at the pics in the article, he no longer looks half the size of all the players on the court. I think the one where he is signing autographs is the best shot. Also, they say he is at 280+
I'm keeping an open mind. Want to see him on the court this season before writing him off completely. I will give him these things: 1. He has stayed in very good shape. 2. He is athletic. 3. He has more offensive skill than given credit for. He's got a jumper and a hook. Now after saying all that, he has looked like a total clutz except in garbage time. He seems like a nice enough kid. Too nice. No bite to his game, a lack of competitiveness, and lack of improvement. However, I'm willing to see what he's got going on this season before writing him off for good.
I think the problem is that our eyes have yet to see him. What did he play, three minutes for the Rockets last year? He needs to be on the court as much as possible. If you look at his rookie season (especially the second half), you know that he has got at least that level of play in him. While not great, it's a starting point. As a starter (13 games) he averaged 32 minutes with 8pts, 9reb and 3.5blks per game. So the Rockets would have a legit center that could actually change shots and protect the basket. I'm not sure why anyone would be against giving him a chance this year.
Thats already better than anything Nene could give us. I would be willing to bet that 2 years from now Thabeet will be putting up better numbers than Nene and Chandler for half the price
