I'd like to add my thoughts. First of all, he's plenty mobile. He's faster than KG and Bosh. Good speed and quickness for a dude who is a legit 7'0. Second, he hasn't played meaningful minutes in NBA environment. Give him some more time. Third, the comparison to Dirk is kind of unfair. Nelly played Dirk immediately and really focused on developing him. Dirk didn't have Donuts Post game until later in his career. On the same front, Donuts doesn't have Dirk's slashing ability and probably won't be as good as Dirk 3pt shooting wise. 4th, he's rushing his shots. He needs to settle down. that will come with time. 5th, he's got his head in the right place. You can see a lil feisty and good ego in him. 6th, he's not Royce White #bewell
If he ends up playing the 4 he's fine, if he's playing center we're in trouble. That being said offensively he seems to get it but defensively I'm sure he's still a liability. He's definitely the stretch 4 we need to develop though.
In summer league, he was much more balanced in terms of scoring inside as well as outside. The one "interior" shot he took in that video, he was pushed way off the block, turning it into a 12 foot hook shot. Obviously, he needs to get stronger. As a reminder, this is his big summer league game: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jrf4bl0Ze9g" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> If he turns into exclusively a Matt Bullard type spot up 3 point shooter, he becomes a whole lot less interesting as a player.
I'd say a player's production hinges a lot more on the experience and playing time they receive, rather than age, which really is just a number. All bodies and minds mature differently. Let's at least give Dmo a couple of seasons playing significant minutes before making any comparison's to Dirk's career.
It's a lot easier to put on weight than it is to develop post moves that players actually consistently use. A ton of NBA players put on significant amount of weight after joining the league. Not a lot of players however have half the post moves that D-Mo demonstrated. The fact that D-Mo actually uses those moves are a good sign. Howard, despite his training with Hakeem, rarely utilizes the moves he learnt.
While he doesn't shoot the three as well, he's got so much more game already than Bullard had, in my opinion. Too much interior game to turn into a Bullard player.
It's obvious he meant ambiturner....legit 7 footers who can turn either way don't grow on trees. Seriously though, of all our rooks I'm most high on dmo. His ceiling is the highest. He has the tools to have parts of both dirk and pau's game. If anything he creates matchup problems if he can just play within his skillet.
I agree with your comparison to both Dirk & Pau. I would settle for a combo of those 2 for our future 4.
I totally agree with Shark44 and pradaxpimp. IMO, Donuts has the highest ceiling among all of our young PFs. The only guy who has the potential to become a star. He is mobile and he is skilled. That's a combination that bodes well for a big man. He is obviously nervous whenever he's on the floor in a real NBA game, and he rushes his post shots. And yes, he will get stronger. All dudes get stronger after they join the NBA.
Slow post moves. Combined with lack of athleticism and jumping ability that is not good. Not a good athlete on the NBA level. Could contribute if he becomes a lights out shooter. Probably not gonna make it.
Those players receive experience and playing time by being good enough to warrant its issue. That's how they're able to produce. Age isn't just a number. How good a player is at a young age is a strong indicator of whether or not he's going to be a productive NBA player down the road. Using Dirk as an example, even though he wasn't a star, the fact that he was a serviceable rotation player as a 20-year-old rookie gave you the sense that he had real star potential down the road. Look at the controversy over Yi Jianlian's age. There was a reason why team's made a big fuss over whether he was really 19 when he was drafted. The only reason I brought up Dirk in the first place was because someone else brought up the struggles he had as a rookie. My point is that it's not a good comparison to make, because D-Mo is two years older than Dirk was as a rookie (and 22-year-old Dirk was an all-star calibre player).
He needs to focus less on this offense, and more on his defense if he wants to crack the rotation. He's improved on his box outs, but still looks uncontrolled when protecting the basket. Even Aldrich looks better than him on defense, and Aldrich is horrible.
