Thabeet will become an okay NBA player. It is not his fault the Grizzles are stupid and drafted him second. He is a defensive player that needs to learn some basic offense ,how to avoid contact to stay out of foul trouble, and to really add some strength to hold position.
One Grizzlies fan here said they already have an "All-Star front line" so they don't need Thabeet anyway. :grin: I never thought he would amount to much in the NBA. Like so many others, I saw the Pitt at UConn game last year that proved which guy was the better player.
Dakota is playing 10 minutes away from my house tonight. Had Thabeet been playing with them tonight, I seriously would have considered going.
The problem with the D-League for the grizzlies is the coaches. They have no control of who works there.
Maulybe we should pursue him. Hill, Jeffries or picks straight up? I mean yeah he's soft but I'd take him over Oden any day. Make him workout with dream like Yao did several years ago, and Kobe during the summer. Sure it's a soft twin towers but HUGE twin towers.
Thabeet or Jordan Hill, who will have the better career? Will either one crack $3mil per after their rookie deals expire?
I don't know much about Hill, but I've seen enough of Thabeet to think he doesn't have the ability to focus & play hard for more than a few games at a time. The 82-game season and hard work grind of the NBA just doesn't work for guys like him. To be successful as a pro, (outside of athleticism) a player needs a combination of work ethic, passion and skills. An abundance of one or two can overcome a lack of the other(s). Thabeet is lacking in all 3. That all said, he might end up getting a 2nd contract the same way Kwame Brown did. But, then again, Kwame was much better.
Not surprised at all. Plenty of posters here including myself diagnosed Thabeet's bust potential from the get-go. A_3PO's post regarding what it takes to succeed and how Thabeet is lacking in the key areas is a very good point. I really wish for the sake of the 2009 Draft that we could fast forward a couple years down the road.
This is why teams like Memphis never going to go anywhere. Bad scouting report by them. I always knew Thabeet will end up an average center that can block shot here and there and cannot average more than 10 ppg. This is why teams fails. They have a top five draft pick and they want to go out and draft a defensive player over a good offensive player... Defensive players are important in the NBA but all defensive players are role players (Battier, Bowen, Posey, Prince etc..). Because no matter how good of the defense is, a good offense always wins. Defensive players shouldn't be used on high lottery picks. This always ends up a disappointment. Teams drafted good defensive players and a few years down the road, they wonder why their high draft pick never developed into an all star material. Well, maybe because good defense players are meant to be good role players and the better offensive players are meant to be stars and lead their teams.
hes a real good defensive player unlucky for playing in the wrong team .. We should trade him for our first round pick next year ..
Just blocking shots doesn't mean you're a good defensive player, just like getting steals doesn't make you a great player. Thabeet was solid against middling competition and players who were a foot shorter than him - but when he ran up against guys of similar talent and size, he got pushed around on the boards and looked lost on defense. Dikembe Mutombo was a great defensive center, and was worth the No. 4 pick. He also controlled the glass, denied good low-post position to opposing big men, elbowed people in the head just because he could and was also a great shot-blocker.
