Other negatives: - His post game needs some work. His overall offense needs work, especially FT shooting. - The game does not come to him naturally. - Attitude - Great defensive talent, but he still could get better with defensive fundamentals. Not mid 1st round pick, unless you really feel he can turn into a high caliber player. He's going to end up on a team, like Boston, OKC, or Miami. Which is good for his sake.
He had probably been practicing for a while already by the time they started taping. You could tell he was a little tired.
That workout made him look like a big slow lug. He's actually more mobile than that, but still a big lug. Think Joel Przybilla: a big body that rebounds, blocks some shots, and can't score. To get to that level he'd actually have to get in better shape. Pass.
LOL why are you so down on Melo, getting held up because of academics don't really mean anything on the court. DRose SAT scores were so bad they were invalidated, meaning he shouldn't have been eligible for college and would have had to play in Europe like Jennings. OTH, Kandiman writes poems and essays in his spare time and can't do anything on the court. Since he's playing in a zone defense makes it hard for everyone to evaluate how good his D really is, but the fact that his weakside D is exceptional leads me to believe that he does have enough BBaLL IQ to become a good defensive player in the NBA. Thabust never really did anything except stand in the center and be big, this dude at least roams around. Camby is a top flight center and waaaay out of his league (unless you're thinking of old man Camby lol), Nene is a better projection I think. I see him being a good intangibles who has average rebounding, shot blocking and really good weakside D, exactly like Nene.
First off D Roses score weren't invalidated because they were bad. At all. Not sure where you got that from. The quality of his scores had nothing to do with him being suspended, until AFTER being told he was cleared to play 3 times. Fab Melo can't pass the classes he did attend, and can't cover up his lies for the ones he didn't. I do believe he had a .8 gpa the fall semester. Secondly, I didn't say it was THE reason to pass on him, I just said that his lack of character is in addition to everything else. The fact he played in a zone made it even easier to gather rebounds and help on weak side blocks, so if anything it masked his inability to slide his feet and play man defense.
In that workout vid he did look a little slow. Maybe it is because it was just a workout. In this game footage, you can see he moves his feet very well for a big man. <iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/pqALJp84Du4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
I'm not saying Fab is a terrible player, but to waste the #16 pick on him when better players will be available is foolish. If you are suggesting we trade down to 22-25 to get him, that sounds reasonable. Wouldn't be my first choice when there are other guys out there who need less polish and can play the 5.
I think that's what many people here are suggesting. Trade one of our guys for a lower pick and draft Melo. Wasting 14 or 16 would be stupid.
The idea is that since Motiejunas is coming over next season, and he is, you will need a pretty good weak side defender to to cover up for Dmo's defensive mishaps. As you saw in that scouting video, Melo moves well getting back and forth to defend the basket. He is more of a defensive threat at 7'0 than Moultrie, Zeller and Leonard. He was the defensive anchor on that Syracuse team. We currently have his style of center(more defensive than offense)on the team in Camby who can help him polish his talents during training camp.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8K-EKA_vwOU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> I think he's got decent footwork and release on offense - definitely a lot better than I expected. I would not oppose at all if the Rockets drafted hmi because I think once he's in the league he will improve offensively with some coaching.
Fab has had some very good interviews. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/oEtZDyxo4iA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
