How many people come into the league and gain skills? Guys like tmac and kobe you knew they had skill even when they weren't that good. A guy like hakeem who didn't play until later in life still had tremendous footwork. Malick Badiane was a raw talent that we could groom except he didn't have skills. How many busts have we had with trying to get unskilled big men and trying to groom them? There has been a lot. I think it would much more prudent going after a guy like boozer, landry or milsap, guys who have show they have worked on their games over guys like thabeet or hill.
Some guys you just know are going to be good NBA players. Guys like Tmac, Lebron and Kobe all had major highschool hype...especially LBJ. Most people knew they were so gifted that they would be good. Of course there is always that exception....Kwame Brown. Maybe the only bad thing Jordan has done.
Big guys are slow to develop. Did anyone know that Bynum would look good after his 1st couple of years? not Kobe. Big guys do gain certain skills through hard work, look at a guy like Kendrick Perkins. He had no game coming out of high school, he lost weight and added muscle, learned to play defense, and now actually has developed a couple of post moves. All of this happened over the course of 5 years. If a big guy has the size, length, athleticism, all he needs is a good work ethic and he will develop into a nice player. Kwame Brown and Darko are just too lazy.
I think a big man with potential is more likely to bust than a guard. Simply because big men are often drafted on height alone. Usually guards possess skill and talent beforehand. It's pretty simple really. The ball is in the hands of guards a good 75% of the time. They will be less likely to bust because they have already developed fundamentals beforehand.
I think bynum is the exception and I didn't see him play much. Even howard hasn't picked up too many moves despite being pretty good. Lets look at the bad ones: olawakandi Kwame diop darko thabeet Oden I can go on, but I think if by 21-22 you don't have basic footwork etc chances are you aren't going to develop them.
I think you need to get tough guys with strong work ethics. Give me an Otis Thorpe and Mario Elie. Give me a player with confidence, a Sam Cassell. Give me a guy who is not afraid of playing defense on the other teams best, give me a Maxwell
You are too quick to judge Oden and Thabeet. Oden will have a fine career if he can be 75% of what he was pre injury and stay healthy. It's all about work ethic with the big guys. The other guys you listed are just lazy bums that never worked on their games. Then again even lazy big guys can find a place in the league. Look at Dampier and Brendan Haywood, these guys stink it up every year until their contract year comes, then all of a sudden they look like a totally different player because they worked hard over the summer and play hard in games.
Don't be so hard on Ariza. While his handles are worst than my lil 17 year old brother, I think we signed him to eventually take Battier's spot. With that being said, I think Battier will be dealt before the deadline or offseason.
TBH, I think Morey/Les pulled this off, because Ariza played so well with Kobe, that they imagined him playing just as well with McGrady. However, since McGrady has been told off, Ariza has no playmaker on this team, forcing him to jack up shots, thereby making lots of people mad.
