The big men have the hardest time translating D-League skills to the NBA. The level of competition is not as strong in the DL. There are no Tim Duncans or Dwight Howards to practice against.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C01909nHSck video from 2011 after doing a really quick search on youtube.
Perhaps, but Greg Smith was an example of a guy whose high efficiency translated in the DLeague translated to competence in the NBA. Anyhow, it's just a game of chance with all these end of bench guys. A small wager with no long term drawback but a decent potential payoff. If you get one Greg Smith and one Chuck Hayes out of the deal while not getting any real benefits from a bunch of guys like Courtney Fortson, Diamon Simpson, Scott Machado and Jeff Adrien, it is still a worthwhile investment.
It's also a matchup thing, most backup Cs in the NBA are more Cole Aldrich then Dwight Howard you'd agree, as long as he mostly get matched up against the Cole Ostriches he'd be fine.
Olhbrecht News from NBA D-League (02/25/2013) Ohlbrecht interviews from the last 3 months http://www.nba.com/dleague/video/2013/01/07/ohlbrechtrgv130107mp4-2347726 (01/07/2013) Ohlbrecht on where his career's taken him http://www.nba.com/dleague/video/2013/01/09/ohlbrechtgame2130109mp4-2349811 (01/09/2013) Ohlbrecht on what's next http://www.nba.com/dleague/video/2012/12/22/Hilightsctnrgv122112m2t-2334287 (12/22/2012) Postgame interview (Charge 102 vs. Vipers 110)
Some of you guys need to understand that a lot of the praise out there for this guy was from 5 years ago when he was a teenager. His stock obviously plummeted a lot since then. Maybe he can eventually be a rotation big in the NBA though.
This is great news! I have seen him play in few Vipers games this year and I have to say he looks like a good player. He puts up some good production. The dude can run the floor and finish around the rim strong. Great acquisition if you ask me, cant wait to see how these new look Rockets gel together.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Tim Ohlbrecht signing with Houston is a great story. Check out the profile we did on him in January for more on why: <a href="http://t.co/kerDnAh3NF" title="http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Tim-Ohlbrecht-536/">bit.ly/WbjfZ2</a></p>— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) <a href="https://twitter.com/DraftExpress/status/306327242861051904" data-datetime="2013-02-26T08:58:00+00:00">February 26, 2013</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
It's amazing how the NBA is signing any top 100 European center in the last few years. If you are over 6-10 and can run you have an NBA job automatically if you want it.
6'11 255 24 y/o top european big who's been learning the rockets system in the D-League. How can you not like it? Especially with our depth at C.
You make some good points here. After watching many of the Vipers games this year, I think Ohlbrecht very well could replace Smith as our backup Center. It's clear that the Rockets aren't completely happy with Smith as his defense is lacking. Ohlbrecht is definitely a more polished player and I think he will be a pleasant surprise to many Clutchfans. Although the Rockets have done well this year, it's clear that Morey is still mainly focused on the future. Morey is still more concerned about gathering assets and creating cap space than to find the best pieces for a playoff run. However, I think Ohlbrecht can help us both in the short term and long term.
I strongly disagree. Morey does not waste roster spots. Most teams do waste roster spots; not Houston. Morey would very much like for Tim Ohlbrecht to emerge as a competent backup C, which, again, allows Morey to somehow move Greg Smith, either in a quantity-for-quality deal (a 2-for-1, or a 3-for-1, possibly along with Terrence Jones) or for a draft pick, which creates another open roster spot, which allows Morey to begin the process anew. As far as Ohlbrecht "panning out": all the organization realistically expects here is for Ohlbrecht to be a competent backup C. Not an All-Star. If Ohlbrecht demonstrates between now and this summer that he is comparable to Greg Smith, who appears to be a competent backup C, then obviously Houston looks to trade Smith and keep Ohlbrecht. I think that it's reasonable that a player with Ohlbrecht's skill set, work ethic, and professionalism can emerge as a competent backup C.
And lots of backup 5s are stretch 4s. Positions are newly redefined almost constantly in today's Association. Frankly, I think DMo and maybe even TJ could play effective minutes as a backup 5 in matchup situations. BTW - - name all the good backup 5s who are real back to the basket 5s.
