It's very hard for me to get excited about SL performers but I think this guy can have a solid NBA career. His composure was a bit of a surprise, he looked like he had been playing at a high level for a while. He seemed to be able to get his points within the flow of the game. I could see him playing very well off of a star. His court vision and awareness was something I didn't expect to see, but he def has them. He will suffer on the defensive side but I think he will get better, the effort is there. I don't want to see any Novak comparisons his skill set as a whole is far superior
Why he dropped so far is the question I've been asking as well. Best answer I've heard is his toughness and tendency to get down on himself when he's in a slump. Very excited about the kid, I'm no GM but I think a lot of teams made a big mistake.
We haven't seen how he will fare on defense against NBA small forwards. That will be the biggest litmus test to whether or not he can thrive in the NBA.
why is everybody freaking out? yeah he's got some skill and yeah he maybe legit in SL but what happened to Donte' Green last year? Dropped 40? whatd he do in the NBA last season? Hell i hope i eat my words, but i wouldn't count your eggs until they hatch.
True but I do hope He becomes another Cuttino Mobley. A late 2nd rounder that produced more then decent numbers in the NBA. The Rockets would really have the steal of the draft.
Skita, Darko, Morrison, Reddick are white and got drafted as lottery picks. They got drafted too high actually. They should have been in the 2nd round.
I dont think anyones freaking out. It is just summer league. but this kid is definitely showing signs that he may have fallen too far. And thats why the OP is asking. I think mental toughness and potentially bad defense made his stock decline. but I like the kid and hope he can contribute one day
Because of the reduced expectations transitioning into the NBA might be easier for him that transitioning into the college game. He doesn't have to save anyone or anything, just play the game. Basketball might become fun again.
Precisely, Let Him play his game and not add to the pressure of having to produce right away. Let us hope for the best. The team needs all the luck it can get after suffering in the past seasons with injuries.
I never said the book was closed on Donte'. I meant i think he'll be a great player just won't develop much over his first year. I just dont want everyone to get there hopes up and be shattered like us rockets fans are all the flipping time!!
I hear ya bud, too many heart breaks. but thats the way it goes as any sort of sports fan in houston.
he was suppose to be a lottery pick couple of years ago but decided to stay in college longer then dropped
It is a number of things already mentioned. 1.) Joe Alexander = Scary athletic white boy doesn't have the fundamental talent to excel at the next level. Milwaukee Bucks are also almost a blueprint on how not to draft in the 1st round (But strangely enough are extremely successful with 2nd round picks). 2.) Disappointing Final College Season. Classic case of the hype dissipating on a guy when his team doesn't live up to expectations. I think he became old news and a lot of people got frustrated that he didn't lead a mediocre Arizona team to a great season. 3.) Questions of toughness, mental ability to lead a team, all things it seems to me are overrated when you're talking about a guy who is best suited to be a role player at the next level. 4.) Circumstances, I.e. The crapshoot that was the 2009 NBA Draft, rather than a lot of teams take guys who were GREAT proven college talents like Dejuan Blair, Chase Budinger, Jodie Meeks, etc... you had a muddled mess in which even the so-called "experts" had no idea how to rank the players outside of the lottery. The talent pool was literally that even. I think for that reason we'll see an unusual number of successful late round picks come out of this draft as well as a lot of highly selected flops. For this reason, a very talented shooter with athleticism like Budinger falls into your lap early in the 2nd round... Morey looks like a genius again... but we'll see if he can take it to the next level and beat out the competition to earn a rotation spot. My money is on the kid.
lol you are probably white i mean right....the coldest white boy in the game right now is Dirk out here in dallas.... I hate his guts
Guys who excel at the "Team" game are not sought after as much, it seems. Budinger landed with EXACTLY the right team and coach for his skillset. The honest answer to the ops question is that GMs make mistakes too, and they all did here.....good for us..... DD
