I honestly don't know what you're getting at. You made a rather weak comparison to Sheldon Williams, of all people, when the reality is that anyone who saw Sheldon Williams play in college KNEW that that block shot average wouldn't translate to the league because of his lack of height, slow reaction time and the fact that he didn't exactly have springs in legs lol With our coaching staff, Carrol Dawson, vets, Hassan's work ethic, and the fact that Hakeem seems to already have a positive impression of him and may take an interest in his growth, I'd say that the chances of him succeeding far beat the chances of him failing.
^^^ u must have a strong feeling about whiteside since u used ur first post in 7 yrs on the subject :grin:
He is a very raw work in progress. I am just saying there is more to NBA success than having long arms and blocking shots. Recent history has shown that. Spoiler
LOL, whateva Lee...meh, I'm cool if they get him but I wouldn't say that I have strong feelings about him. I definitely see some holes in his game that can be fixed but some that probably can't be. I just really couldn't believe that someone probably googled "NCAA block shot leaders", saw Sheldon Williams name and tried to bring him into the conversation as someone Hassan may turn out to be when the cat probably never say Sheldon Williams play in the first place LOL
Hmmmmm...the fact that Lee was obviously joking combined with the fact that you didn't even try and check to see when my last post was kinda makes you look a little sad dude
All this talk about "Hakeem's seal of approval" is really getting play. How do we know he gave him a seal of anything? It's from a garbage source from a writer I've never heard of. I know Hakeem worked out with the kid but Hakeem works out with lot's of Big men. Do you think Hakeem will ever say that a kid won't do well in the league? He will try to sell anyone because he wants to be nice and do a favor.
Why can't this guy play power forward? He's obviously too weak now to play center, but we already have a center so why waste his talent on the bench as a backup? Is it just me or does his skillset sound like a PERFECT fit alongside Yao? A quick, long, aggressive player who is a great weakside shot blocker, great rebounder capable of getting balls out of his area, and stretch the floor on offense with an outside shot. Put him next to Yao and it's game over for the opposition. Twin Towers II. Offense Yao- go-to-guy in the post Whiteside- 18 footers, offensive rebounding and alley oops, basically Kelvin Cato on offense with a jumper Ariza- athletic spot up shooter/slasher Martin- efficient off the ball scorer/spot up shooter Brooks- ball handler/spot up shooter Notice how well they fit together. We have 4 guys who can stretch the floor around Yao and enough athleticism to get to the hoop and make unathletic defenders pay. As an aggregate, they have scary amounts of size, athleticism, AND shooting ability. Defense Yao- defends opponent's best big in the post, shotblocker when not guarding a perimeter-oriented center like Okur Whiteside- eliminates problem of Yao being taken out of the paint and not being able to protect the basket when matched up with perimeter-oriented centers like Okur; with Whiteside on the court, the rim is still protected and Yao can stay closer to the Okurs of the world and not give them wide-open looks Ariza- takes the opponent's better offensive wing player Martin- takes the worse offensive wing player Brooks- bless his heart Frontcourt defense is solid, backcourt D is weak 2nd Unit Offense: Whiteside- same role with 2nd Unit as 1st unit, except Scola is now the go-to-scorer in the post Scola- give him the ball and let him go to work in the post, hustle, offensive rebounder Battier- spot up shooter Budinger- same role as Kevin Martin basically, but more dunks Lowry- ball handler/floor general 2nd Unit Defense: Whiteside-backup centers usually aren't as good at scoring in the post, so Whiteside can get away with his terrible one on one defense more; still provides shotblocking for the backups Scola-bless his heart Battier- takes the opponent's better offensive wing player Budinger- Kevin Martin's role on defense Lowry- stud If Whiteside's personality isn't as bad as some of you make it out to be, he could be an IMPACT PLAYER as soon as next year and make us a WCF contender just by himself! I can hear you doubters already: "But he's too raw, there's no way he can make an impact so soon! Well, the things I forecast him adding to this team are not complex skills. It won't take him many hours in the gym to be able to rebound, be a shotblocker (which he already is good at), and get a jump shot which he seems to already be focusing on. He just needs to be able to jump and move. He doesn't need polished post moves or Chuck Hayes-like understanding of the offense and passing ability to contribute to this team. Look at guys like Bynum: he is limited in the things he does, but what he does do fits so well with the rest of his team that he's a positive contributor on HIS team. With his wingspan, Whiteside can make up for his lack of experience in things like pick-and-roll defense and be adequate just by being big and quick. I wouldn't be surprised if Morey has been tracking guys like Whiteside for years now and building his team around a guy that can fill those needs for our team and targeting those players in this draft. If Morey thinks this guy has his head on right, then Whiteside might be a perfect fit for this team. Or he might be a headcase; in which case I don't want him on this team. On the other hand however, if he wants to be great, with the tools that he has, Whiteside gives this team exactly what it needs for both a starting lineup and 2nd unit that are good on both O and D. And then we can still use all the assets we still have to upgrade at SF or PG...
thafranchise03 is my first choice for strong feelings, since it's his first ever post. :grin: It's ok, if you have stronger feelings. I believe ya. :grin: Hassan Whiteside is just another one of those sexy 7 ft raw projects that get will be drafted ahead of more polished players on the board. He'll be the next Darko, Kwame, or Saer Sene.
Theo Ratliff in his prime was pretty good. But yeah, as a lottery pick I dunno...I wouldn't mind if Whiteside played similar to Ratliff. But if we pick him, i'm hoping he could exhibit a better offensive game than Theo.
LOL I know it's crazy it's been my first post in 7 yrs (doesn't even feel like it), but I've just been lurking this site for it's good info about the Rockets. Just wanted to throw my 10 cents in. From scouting perspective, the only downside about Whiteside in my eyes, is that when things don't go his way at times, he tends to get down on himself...to the point where he takes himself out of the game. But for a 7 footer, this kid has great hops, top tier blocking abilities, but does need a little work on his form in his jump shot. He's no doubt a project, but this kid w/ the great staff of the Houston Rockets and Hakeem Olajuwon can make this kid a monster...
He would not say that the kid won't do well, he would tell him what he needs to improve on. He is, of course, a professional.
ICONOCLASTIC is right. There were like 12 or so games last season that we would have won if we would have had a decent 7 ft. shotblocker clogging the lane. If we were to only draft Whiteside and get another vet center like Miller, we would be set to contend for the championship. Still to this day, no other team has taken the Lakers to seven games in the playoffs. This is why i say that a couple of minor tweeks should set us up. Whiteside will definitely help us obtain our goal. He only needs to get the same amount of minutes Jordan Hill got last season and by the 2nd half of the season he will be comfortably contributing. He won't be contributing fully, but he will crack the rotation. Especially if he continues to work with Hakeem. We really don't need Chris Bosh.
