With his poor instincts, lack of strength and lack of skills, Thabeet has no potential to be a franchise player. Just being 7'3" doesn't mean he has great potential.
Agreed on that one. He's the guy I wanted before his stock rose and made him unreachable. For those unfamiliar, his production on a per-minute basis has been spectacular -- he just can't stay on the floor. Constantly in foul trouble and struggled as a rookie adjusting to the speed on the NBA. Once he gets comfortable and starts avoiding the stupid fouls we're all going to see his numbers skyrocket.
You guys are out of your minds. Thabeet is a true talented big man with a great timing for blocking shots that shouldnt be ignored and is very very athletic for 7,3. Probably athletic enough to be a power forward. Not saying he'll be a future HOF but he should be a future all star...if he can get off the Grizzlies before its too late. I'm a Uconn fan so im slightly biased, but being a Uconn fan ive been watching this guy for years now and i know talent when i see it. Thabeet will eventually take over as the best center in the Western conference (when yao retires of course).
Your moniker is drunk_goat but I am wondering if you are also drunk_this_morning. Come on now, the guy is Shawn Bradley except the non-mormon kind. He will stick around the league simply because he is tall (Ex. Kwame Brown) but anything more than a 7'3 stiff seems to be his ceiling. Potential: Somewhere between Olowokandi and Bradley.
I look at his ceiling now as a bigger Dalembert, which actually would be a pretty decent player. Downside = Yinka Dare part deuce.
Looking at the way guys like Shawn May, Marvin Lewis and Hasheem Thabeet played in college makes me wonder why they ever turned pro so soon. May was a lard ass who shoved people out of his way and so was Haslem but Haslem was smart enough to loose weight: Riddick Bowe ver.2. Marvin Lewis showed only potential and was inconsisten on offense. Thabeet however showed the ability to block shots and that was it. His rebounding was never spectacular and unlike Okafor (another great college shot blocker) he has no post game.
He's still a young guy and hasnt had the need to bulk up yet. Its gonna be a few years till he shows his true potential. Each year he keeps getting better. Last year he was 10 times more dominant on the floor then the year before. Its not just his stats you guys should be looking at. He changes every shot inside the 3 point line and eliminated almost every drive to the basket on d. Also he can run down the court as fast as anybody to make a fast lay up or a fast block. He's a really quick big guy.
Is that news? We know that Thabeet was drafted as a project and would take some time to develop. He was worth a gamble in a weak draft class. Let's come back in three years and see where he's at.
Yeah I wanted him big time last year, but he ended up going a little higher than I expected. He's also got a pretty nice shooting touch.
There is only one way I'd do this: If Morey and Adelman were confident they could make Thabeet look good over the course of 20 or so games, even in limited minutes, then YES. Do you know how easily you could increase the value of a 7'3 #2 overall pick? However, if it were to keep Thabeet over Hayes? Hell no. Hayes is one of the best defenders in the league and he is part of the core of our current culture. Hard-nosed, high IQ, hard-working hustlers playing above their ceiling. When you consider his natural abilities and his undrafted status, it's amazing that he has even stuck around the league for as long as he has. But he's done more than that. He has emerged as one of our team leaders. Truly a one of a kind player.
Dude you are arguing with guys who have maybe watched Thabeet play a couple of college games and obviously even less NBA games. Those of us who watched Thabeet when he first arrived at UCONN and watched his development to when he left know the potential of this guy. His arrival at UCONN to his departure are like night and day. He might not be much now but he has a strong work ethic and seems to really want to continually improve.
I don't see that in him so much. Hope you are right and Thabeet develops into a good player. He needs another "night and day" scenario to happen in the NBA.
I have seen him play more than a couple games in college. So you can honestly say he is going to be the best Center in the Western Conference in a few years?
Outside of Griffin, everyone knew this year was a very weak draft class. These guys get dissected time and time again before they are drafted, and teams still draft based on potential. Thats not his fault. The Bobcats drafting Emeka over Howard si an example if why teams make that gamble.
