No, he was still as dumb as a box of rocks. He maybe just hid it better for a little while. But it is still always there, beneath the surface, waiting to come out at the first opportunity.
I think Asik actually offers more on the basketball court than McGee. Asik is a superb defensive big man, possibly one of the best in the league. Ferocious rebounder and changes and blocks a lot of shots. Offers pretty well nothing on the offensive end. McGee is a poor defender who gets caught out trying to block shots all the time. His offensive repetoire is limited to rebounds and putbacks, or point blank assisted shots. He doesn't have any kind of go-to move and looks about as likely to develop one as Asik (ie, not at all). Both players have limitations, but one of them outstanding in a particular area (defence) whereas the other one is just kind of running all over the place.
For a strict comparison between the 2 players: In his first 2 season Mcgee had 15mpg 6.5ppg 3.9rpg 1.0bpg 16mpg 6.5ppg 4.1rpg 1.7bpg Asik has posted the following in his first 2 seasons: 12mpg 2.8ppg 3.7rpg 0.7bpg 15mpg 3.1ppg 5.3rpg 1.0bpg The standout stat is the rebounding one. At this early stage Asik is already a better rebounder (the difference lies mainly on the defensive glass); and we know he is a fantastic positional defender. Ok - you might well argue that Asik is already older than McGee. But even older players take time to adjust to the rigours of the NBA. No doubt McGee has superior athleticism and so will post gaudier offensive scoring stats, but Asik will always perform that fundamental role better (defence) and is capable of anchoring an NBA team.
Disagree big time. Despite javele being spaced out, he has very good production. Double-double with blks and he's younger. Mcgee is a good defender and a great one at the rim. Offensively, he's light yrs ahead of asik who is basically a 0 on offense. Maybe morey can backload a 4yr deal for mcgee. 4yrs 48m to the tune of 8,8,16,16. I mean lin is getting 14.8 in his last yr.
The backload only works on certain players drafted in certain spots, certain amounts of experience. McGee is already a vet and past the threshold of what qualifies for the "Arenas rule" backload I think. I think you can FRONTload him though Like a Nick Collison OKC deal. Its all confusing....anyway I think the extra 1.3 mil a year on McGee's POTENTIONAL over Asik and the center "market rate" can be justified. Asik can give you some immediate plug-in abilities. McGee can too, but by the 3rd year of the deal he can be WAY ahead of Asik.
By the numbers: -Asik is better at rebounding, position D. -McGee is better in blocks, FG%, points, much better in offense, starting experience and as good in everything else. Far less TURNOVERS. For all the stuff about McGee being a knucklehead and always out of position, Asik is a turnover machine worse than Jeremy Lin. I guess you can shield someone's offense deficiency by just not giving them the ball and minimizing their involvement. But you can't do that for defense for too long cuz it requires involvement and concentration EVERY time down the floor from exposing vulnerability. So it depends on what you value - Sturdy interior presense who works within limiations (and in budget limitations). Older Mutombo-esque. - Or player with ability to do THAT, AND be a highly efficient OFFENSIVE contributor. The UPSIDE choice. I'd prefer to go UPSIDE. McGee would fit right into what the Rockets want, ability to compete while rebuilding. But there's budgets to things.
are you really that surprised though? i mean the talent of the 5 spot in the NBA is in a drought. it's horrible. these guys don't deserve this much money when compared to how talented the rest of the positions are in the NBA, but because of a lack of great talent in the C position, they do get money. and a lot of it.
