I think the Rocket players farmed out to the NBDL count against the Rockets Roster. If so, Badiane's not worth burning a roster space. He might be worth burning a fat one but that's about it.
NBDL players count against an expanded roster so they don't really take up a roster spot in the traditional sense. My question is will NBDL players be allowed to work with their NBA team? Could Badiane be assigned to Austin but still practice with the Rockets in the preseason, even playing in pre-season games or come over to practice when the Austin team isn't playing so he could benefit from Deke and the Rox staff and primarily the strenght coach? If so, he would probably grow faster here. Heck Hakeem wasn't great till he spent his summers at Fonde.
i've never seen the guy play so i'm going to say absoulutely nothing about badiane. he definitely has ideal size (6'11, 240) at the PF position but so do a lot of players in the NBA but they still suck. i just don't think we should stop talking to nba veterans at PF position this offseason because malick MIGHT be ready. if there is any doubt he may not be ready, he definitely WON'T be getting the starting job and logging 30 min. a night. i'm not either up or down on badiane and i don't think any of us should be as well....unless you actually saw him play in germany. then let us know how he actually looks.
I know we've gotten conflicting reports about Badiane's readiness, but CD did say on 610 that he may or may not be ready for the NBA this year and that he has no doubt he would eventually contribute to the team. CD had no reason to say that - the average Rocket fan has never heard of him - but it just doesn't sound like we're ready to dump him, in fact it's just the opposite. Regarding Kas' report I enjoyed it very much, but what he said was that Badiane was completely lost and couldn't play. He also said Sura and Wesley are done and Head has a good chance to start on this team. No offense to Kas, but I'd prefer to keep CD's impressions in mind regarding someone we've been monitoring for 2 years. There's also been a lot of statements from people who have followed the Euro leagues that suggest they are not the best place to develop big men, that they're more guard oriented and less physical in the paint. The NBDL would seem like a better place for him especially now that it's a true minor league and we will see players there that would have been sitting on NBA benches in the past. pgabriel is right: There's no hype here, merely interest.
There has been so much hot air blown by people who have never really seen him play or practice that we will just have to wait and see what our management thinks. They are desparate for PF help and if they send him back to Germany then we will just have to trust that he is not ready. If they keep him then good and the Haters can shut-up for a little while any way. FYI: His last name is pronouced in the French manner: Badjan I think.
Krocket, it's not hate that makes us doubt this guy but simple realism. To wit: IF this guy possessed the ability to play in the NBA NOW, he'd be here playing NOW. The fact that he's been left over in Europe to play speaks volumes. From all reports that have come in on this guy we know a few things: The kid has an excellent attitude and works hard. He is basically learning how to play basketball and as of yet does not have a real grasp of the game. I personally feel that it may have been better for him to play college ball but that's another discussion. He has virtually NO offensive game and can sort of rebound. He's in no way ready to even sit at the end of the bench and basically is a long shot to ever make it. IF he's here, he will need to be able to play against the likes of Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzski, Kevin Garnett, Bew Wallace, Kenyon Martin, Amare Stoudemire and, well you get the idea. That's why it's simply wrong to keep bringing his name up as a solution to their PF problem because he can't even begin to help them for at least 2 more years, maybe more and the Rockets need help NOW.
from Hillboy: Sure, but I think very few people are talking about Badiane as being anything other than a 3rd string pf/center if he's ready now. Until CD rules that possibility out, I won't either.
Hillboy, it safer to avoid stating absolutes about what you know little to nothing about. Who told you Malick has "NO" offensive game? Gosh you guys can run your mouths for no good reason and without caution. And why bother about his immediate readiness or whether we should force feed him playing time or creat a roster spot for him to the detriment of the team's bigger picture? Where are you folks getting these misconceptions from? Just like other projects, there is a timetable. GM's hold steadfast to these timetables before the make final decisions - many GMs have been burned by rash and quick decisions especially in the case of big men. Most foreign players drafted in the 2nd rounds are potential future first rounders who need little to a lot of work to fully develop. I can run off names of many that have made it (including swing men) but I assume you know them all by now. Take for example Mirsad Tucsan. He is a star now (in Europe).....and Rudy T and CD were right in the judgement of his talent and subsequently drafting him but they did not project very well how long it will take him to "arrive" hence they gave up on him too early. Our scouting and follow-up with players in Europe wasn't even good then as it is now. They learnt a lesson then and they followed up closely with Malick and Vassy with personalized training programs in order to maximize their potential. And both players are still on schedule...so what is the fuss? Mirsad eventually has arrived but Rudy did not get to enjoy what he started.......I disgress. These kids take time especially big me. Channing Frye was drafted #7 or #8 overall and he is now expected to start behind another late bloomer (and borderline junk player) in JJames. The talent is there but there still remains holes to be filled and the timetable is different for everyone. In the case of Malick a Senegalese who did not even pick the game until later in his developmental stage (ala Haiti's Sammy Dalembert). The point is when you draft big men in the first or second round they are not expected to contribute right away unless you are Amare, Duncan and the rare few. All we need Malick to be is a Reggie Evans (even a poor man's Evans may be enough) not an all star........well we will be elated if he turns out to be an all star. He will [expected] be a part of the puzzle we are trying to construct. He was projected to go in first round but fell due to his rawness IIRC. The Spurs mastered it and everyone is now trying to mirror that master plan of finding and developing your own players, spreading your tentacles all over the world. The aim if to avoid building inflexible teams that could easily be hamstrung by the current structure of CBA. Patience is virtue. Malick will make at least a Reg Evans impact in the NBA and I hope it for the Rockets. You can hold on that. PS. Malick has serveral offensive moves including a shake and bake fade-away, 15-foot jumper + descent footwork (with great promise) and a ferocious finisher arround the rim.
Hillboy, I understand your post except for a few things. First of all, to your credit, you are a doubter not a hater. Big difference. I think you probably know the haters I'm addressing. I have never posed that he is the NOW solution to our PF concerns, nor do I think anyone else has. The BIG question is whether he should be here practicing on the team, with Yao and Deke, or in Europe playing for a low level team. Now in my opinion that is a rather strong statement for someone who lives in Dallas and probably could not have seen him play or practice unless you travel to Germany frquently. It might have been easier for me to agree if you said, "I have read that Badiane's offense is still raw by NBA standards, although he has a nice short range jumper, and his strengths of rebounding and shot blocking could use some more work." That statement could have just as easily applied to Big Ben Wallace a few years ago. No, I am not comparing the two.
Time for a few comments from people who have seen Badiane play in at least one game! These were comments posted in July of 2003 after DoD and I saw Badman in a summer-league game in LA... Dr of Dunk's post: There were several plays where Malick had posted up the defender, but for whatever reason we decided not to get the ball to him. He definitely wasn't featured much in this game. Most of his shots early on came from garbage baskets (at least 2 or 3 of them did anyway). Badiane didn't start the game, and as a matter of fact, didn't even play the first quarter. He continued to display his non-stop hustle. There was one play after a turnover where he out-sprinted everyone down the court to get in position for an easy dunk. Unfortunately, the play was called dead because of a foul. I didn't get to see much of anything new from Badiane in this game. For the second straight game, I was sitting next to Rocketsfan34, and one thing we both were noticing was, whoever said this guy has no offense is off their rocker. He has a good touch from the FT line, he has a good 15 foot jumper, he has a jump hook, and he has a fake/spin move in the post. That's the good stuff. Now for the bad. If Badiane has to ever guard Chris Bosh one on one again, he'll be destroyed. There's no way he could stay with Bosh. But then maybe that's why Bosh was drafted so high. Malick was juked and faked out of his underwear on 2 or 3 plays by Bosh. Bosh almost slammed 2 or 3 highlight reel dunks over Badiane and his teammates on a couple of other plays, too. By the end of the game, Badiane was getting help in the form of a double-team before Bosh could do any further damage. I'm not sure what Bosh's final point total was, but believe me, it could have been higher had he been featured. My feelings on Badiane after the 2nd game? He's raw, but not Olajuwon raw. His defense is good, but he isn't intimidating people like a Mutombo. He's very similar Mutombo in that if he has to move laterally, he can be beat by quicker PF's. He's rather awkward at times when he has to move laterally. Like I said, Bosh was the one exposing him, so it's not like he was letting some absolute stiff do this to him. I still think the guy has game. Is he better than Mo Tay? No. Is he better than Eddie Griffin? Probably not at this point. He's more aggressive than Griffin, though. My post: Badiane will make the team some day. He's got a long stride and gets up the court VERY fast. His shooting touch is uneven, but not bad. A year of hard work and he could be a good shooter from 15 feet in. And his free throw touch blew me away, especially for someone his size. Sweet, sweet, sweet. Swear to God, if Shaq could shoot FTs like that, he'd average 40 ppg. Because Badiane's FT touch is so good, I can't help thinking he just needs to work on things like squaring up, creating space, etc. and he'll be a solid shooter, and possibly even a starter down the road. He's got a long way to go, though. Another thing about Badiane: When you watch these summer league games, you're basically watching teams full of guys who are destined for the CBA or Europe. Maybe 2 or 3 guys on each team are truly NBA-caliber, and those guys stick out like sore thumbs -- they're very noticeable amid the riff-raff. And Badiane has a little bit of that NBA charisma. He gets your attention on a bunch of plays, much more than most of the scrubs. You find yourself watching him a lot, and that's a good sign. A little off-topic, but here are some prophetic comments I made about Boki after seeing him in the same game: The good points on Boki: * He looks like a nice guy. * He tries hard. * His teammates seem to like him.
wouldnt this guy benefit more staying here and working with a coach on fundamentals instead of learning on the fly in europe?
To answer your question, no. My understanding is that this kid has only been playing for a few years and is simply not even ready for doing what you suggest. I base my opinion on reports I have read from others here over the past 2 years. I feel folks here are confusing "offensive skills (shooting, dunking, etc.)" with "offensive game (the complete package)". From all reports, this is something that he simply has yet to develop. After all, he's only been playing for a few years. He's been playing against lower level competition and is often not been featured as a scoring option. Yet, in one, possibly two years, he'll be expected to go against guys with fully developed NBA game skills. Maybe "no offensive game" sounds a bit strong but it's not necessarily a bad thing - Cato had a virtually nonexistent offensive game and he did OK. You know something? It's kind of sad how things work out. I look at this kid's work ethic & attitude and I look at Kwame Brown's attitude and lack of work ethic and I can't help but shake my head at how these work out.
from Hillboy: What as been worked out here? If Badiane never plays a minute in the NBA at this moment in time we have CD saying he may or may not be ready for the NBA now.
See my response to Krocket. I am not damning the kid. If you want believe that he's the real deal then by all means knock yourself out. But, I think you are confusing his offensive SKILLS with his overall offensive GAME of which he has yet to develop. He is simply not ready - not even to sit at the end of the bench and keep Vin Baker company. I agree with you that the kid is a project at this point. As such, I feel that it is simply wrong to continue to assert that this kid will somehow make in the league. Simply because others in his circumstance have done so does not mean that he will become one of that group. If players from top tier NCAA programs fail to make it in the NBA then someone coming from low level Euro leagues faces a much more daunting task to make it. Whether he does or does not in x number of years from now is not relevant to me when they (Rockets) need to address their weaknesses NOW.
I was referring to Badianne's drive and positive desire to be better compared to Kwame Brown's lack of the same. One is a millionaire slacker (who's going to the Lakers BTW) while the other is working his butt off to be better and may never make it to the league. Sheesh!
Any of you guys that think Badiane is going to be anything but a benchwarmer are dreaming. And who the heck needs to wait 3 years to develop a benchwarmer when you can scan the waiver wire for one. To those of you that think Badiane is going to be like Reggie Evans, Reggie's game is based on strength which has nothing to do with Badiane running around with reckless abandon because he doesn't know how to play NBA Basketball and hustling is the only thing he can do. CD isn't going to trash Badiane in this article. He said the Badiane's offense was improving which meant it sucked before and it sucks a little less now. Bottomline, it will be the third year in a row that Badiane is eating Frankfurters in Germany.
So what can Vin Baker do that Badiane can't? I don't see why it would hurt to have him. Even if hes our Darko (human victory cigar), it would sure help him to play here.
Curriously strong statement based on hearsay. Even CD said Maybe/Maybe No. We are basing our opinions on the same information then. I watched Hakeem from the day he walked into the Cougar gym until the day he walked off the Rockets court. You talk about RAW. But, his soccer skills gave him such wonderful footwork that he was still better than most centers in college ball. When he came to the Rox he was also raw by NBA standards, but he caught on pretty quickly, I'd say. Maybe Malick will have an iota of Hakeem's skills and footwork from the soccer skills mentioned in the opening. A guy 6'11" that can play hacky-sack would be something to watch. Yes it does. As I said Ben Wallace is only now developing some 'O' after being a defensive all-star umpty-ump years. I agree. There a long list out there.
* He is also a good dancer * He is a very good cook I think I heard all this about my last blind date. When was the last game you in which you watched Malick? Was it the same game that Dunk reported on.
