Yes...because its so uncommon for a first year player to not have that great of a shooting percentage...or for a wing to not average that many assists. Besides, the second half of the season, he averaged 2.7 assists per game.
I dont know about him being Durant-like but I sure do want to see him during a real regular season game. See how he handles it.
The great thing about drafting a player like Greene is that he plays at a position where we could certainly use his weapons, but after the Barry signing it is no longer a position of "need" per se. In Barry we have a specimen whose value is known, finite. If Greene is worse than that value, then we bench him or send him to the NBDL for seasoning. If he eventually develops to the point where he becomes better than that value, which he has two years to do, then he becomes the backup SG. And for all you UT fans out there, I have no doubt in my mind that Greene could be every bit as BAD as Durant was last year given the same minutes. Durant could end up good someday, but nobody in their right mind should be arguing that his rookie year was anything of the sort. It's called Clutchfans, not Longhornfans. Take the beergoggles off.
Seriously, what kind of expectations do some of you have for rookies? He had the fourth best PER for rookies at 15.84 as the #1 option. He had NO good veteran help. They traded away the team BEFORE and DURING his first year there. Seattle's starting line up consisted of Earl Watson, Jeff Green, Nick Collison, and Chris Wilcox. He averaged 20.3 PPG off of 43% shooting. He had 4.4 RPG and 2.4 APG. Those are not bad numbers.
You're making it seem like it's harder to put up good numbers on a bad team without veterans. I think that's backwards.
I think its harder to put up good numbers on a bad team without other options. He's the only option on that team. No team is going to be worried about Watson or Collison. Besides, he wasn't particularly inefficient for a rookie. For example, he had a higher FG% than Lebron, Dwyane Wade, and Carmelo, just to name a few.
I think some comparisons are accurate in a number of areas, since both players have a similar style of play. I can see Donte as poor man's Durant...which not bad at all. I know alot of people are quick to say everyone was gifted and talented in the NBA, true...but some players are more so than others. And, Greene is one of those others. He has pretty good range in his shot, and is super athletic. His weakness are things that you can fix, unlike players who are physically limited or not as gifted athletically. Defense and rebounding are more about effort than anything. Here's the biggest kicker for him being on the Rockets........Greene is actually not one-dimensional. He seems like player that can find a way to score no matter what, from 3 point land to getting to the basket or moving off the ball.
The funny thing is that despite a massive wingspan edge for Durant, the standing reach isn't so far off. Must be Donte's small frame and narrow shoulders. This tempers the argument that Donte has short arms. His standing reach is very good for a SF. It'll allow him to get his shot off, and block some shots (which he did pretty well in college blocking 1.6 a game).
i love the people who just put the most r****ded comments you can possibly read! Ok so david thorpe thinks he is the 13 best rookie. you think morey isn't going to use that advantage? greene is going to get his share of minutes this year. Morey drafted greene for NOW, even though he is completely ready. he is gonna get thrown in the fire. mark my words. morey was not drafting for the future in this draft both picks were needs to help us now! anyone disagree with that???????????
i guess theyre similar cuz theyre athletic, tall, and they can shoot. greene doesnt handle the ball as well, doesnt have as good of a midrange game, and doesnt post up as much as durant does
Morey: Greene might get his minutes if he shows up in practices and plays well in some limited minutes ala Landry, or if Battier/McGrady/Barry gets injured.
It makes no sense to compare greene with durant who is the most proper roster to lead a team chasing the 1st oval pick.Greene has the ambition to win games while durent has little such ambition.
Who the hell couldn't win with the all-mighty Adrian Griffin on their team, Durant is a loser. Griffin SINGLE-HANDEDLY led the Rockets to 45 wins, while only playing 19 games.
The only thing similar is their size. Durant had arguable the best freshman to even play college basketball while Greene almost slipped to the second round.
heres what www.nbadraft.net said about greene Donte Greene -- 22.6 ppg, 42.5 fg%, 3.6 rpg -- Greene was the only summer leaguer to register a 40 point game. His 22.6 ppg was good for second overall in scoring. After going 28th overall in the draft, Greene appears ready to make a lot of teams regret passing on him. Greene's great length and athletic ability along with his tremendous shooting stroke give him the perfect skills to excel at the NBA level, which were not showcased at Syracuse and within the college game. In college, Greene worried scouts with his apparent lack of a motor and laziness, but the talent is obviously there for him to be a standout pro.
I hope you guys realize that Durant shot a better percentage than McGrady last year. And yes, that's without having any other real weapons on his team. If we got a guy who's half what Durant will be, it was a steal. KD is the real deal.
Speaking of small frames, have you seen photos/videos of Durant? That's a narrow-shouldered guy if I ever saw one. Here's a likely explanation: The fact that Durant's wingspan is so much greater than Greene's - but the difference in standing reach is less - is because both arms are measured in wingspan, whereas only one arm's length is taken into consideration in standing reach measurement. In other words, Durant's long arms are counted twice in wingspan, once in standing reach.
