he might actually be slower than Novak.... But yeah, i don't think he's disinterested..he's just not very aggressive or fast. There's a reason he went undrafted with that perfect jumper.
Prime example of a player who is a shiny toy in the pre-season to fans, but I guarantee they'd turn on him like wolves if we ever go on a losing streak and Wiltjer is jogging around. This is the same place that blew a gasket when Kevin Martin smiled on the bench, has a 50 page debate about Harden's work ethic every time an offseason photo is posted, and thinks that Ryan Anderson is developing palsy. I have confidence (so far) that Dantoni is giving everyone a fair shake in playing time and will pick the right rotation for his system.
Fix it early. Looks like we already missing McHale's hustle hustle clap clap. Wouldn't be a problem under his tutelage.
[Premium Post] How does it matter? I can't remember the last regular rotation PF who could play D, perhaps Chuck Hayes and Josh Smith in his 1st stint? Mauri loves him some non D power forwards so Kyle fits right in Anderson, Beasley, Jones, Dmo (Ok D), Scola, Patterson, Landry, Casspi..... Most below average defenders and the rest average at best.
Wait a minute Your telling me this stiff 6'10 white guy who's a 3pt specialist plays sub par defense? I don't believe you.
Wiltjer has an offensive knack, and an undervalued one at that. He's not just a shooter, he makes passes, simple ones, good ones, that disrupt defensive rhythm and make it easier for other players to score-- undervalued type thing I'm sure we have a stat for. that's why he's here, and that's why he'll stay. as long as he runs back fast enough to start the next offensive play and doesn't commit an outlandish amount of turnovers...
Novak not a passer. Novak shooter. Wiltjer, in the tournament and I offer he made that team go. Mau-che-lonus Jr benefited much from that pairing,and they sliced and diced higher ranked teams. good find, and yes if he plays, when he plays we will mercilessly scapegoat him if we should loose any games...
Looking at draftexpress, I just noticed that his standing reach is an inch shorter than Harden's, which is... Not ideal. Honestly, I'm not sure if he has the physical tools to be an average NBA defender, and his motor's been in question going back to his Kentucky days. Not a very good rebounder at the NCAA-level, either. His skills on offense probably make him worth a roster spot, but if he gets any playing time with the NBA club this year, it means something went horribly wrong.
Not necessarily. Nobody is talking about 25 mpg. But 10 minutes stretched to 15 every few games mixed with some DNPs and some 5 minute performances? Sure. Plenty of role players like that whom actually are quite valuable in that role for their teams.
Agree to disagree. I think his defense and poor rebounding (combined with rookie growing pains) will make him virtually unplayable against NBA-quality rotation players. Unless/until Anderson starts missing games, I don't see Wiltjer getting anything other than garbage time minutes. Particularly if D-Mo ends up signing, which I expect to happen.
highly agreed there are also alot of players out there that can just shot so even if we lose him there are always shooters out there
Definitely a possibility, but you just never know. He's not as tall as Channing Frye or quite the defender, but that's not implying Frye is a good defender, or in any way a good rebounder. And Channing was getting 25+ mpg in Phoenix. And Wiltjer seems better offensively. EDIT: Just noticed that even Novak had 2 years near 20 mpg in NY with MDA. The point may be both the decision to play Frye and Novak that much wasn't smart, but it happened nonetheless. One thing for certain with these 2nd round / undrafted FA type picks, you really never know and its hard to judge preseason translating into real games. But I could see him be never being capable of getting NBA minutes or averaging 10 minutes a night.
Not quite. For one, while Wiltjer's a soft big to be sure, he is a big. He is a stretch 4. So in the universe of stretch 4's, you're not talking about a ton of really good volume shooters. More importantly, to the extent there are other stretch 4s out there that can just shoot... those guys are on other teams already and you can't just pick and choose when you want. To prove that point, the Rockets just had to sign Ryan Anderson, oft injured, also poor rebounding and defense, to $20 million a year because he was finally available. The biggest reason the Rockets might not keep Wiltjer is because he is duplicative. But he'll definitely stick around NBA rosters for a while, until he proves he can either be just not crappy enough defensively and rebounding to get minor role player minutes, or until the NBA realizes he isn't capable of that and he goes overseas and does well. --------- In any case, relative to this thread, the defensive lowlights shown are concerning from a hustle and ball IQ perspective. So either he learns to hustle, and someone tells him he'll never stop the guard coming at him like that an he needs to hustle back... or he doesn't and its his brain that's the problem.
Defense is the reason he transferred from UK. With the players we had coming in after his first year he was only going to get spot minutes and it was all because of his rebounding and defense. They really missed his shot the next year.
Did I really just read 2 pages on an undrafted free agents defence? When you are drafting in the 2nd round, you hope to gain a player who has 1 skill that translates to the NBA and you try to develop them. This guy has a plus NBA skill and we got him as an undrafted free agent. I say we cut the kid some slack and focus on what he does have and that is panty-poppin' NBA 3-point range and beyond. If he develops another skill, we have a steal.
.... but every player we sign need to be a complete stud. The dude is an undrafted rookie. Don't get me wrong I love hustle. I think players should run out EVERYTHING but I'm sure we can find 2 preseason plays that every player looks bad in some way. I'm just glad he can not only shoot and shoot from deep but he instinctively moves the offense along with or without the ball. He'll be a decent bench player in the NBA for a team that needs scoring from outside.
