With free agency about to begin, I'd like to know everyone's opinion of Sampson. Sampson is an unrestricted FA this year. He hasn't done much in his first 4 years, but neither had J. O'Neal, B. Wallace, Magloire (3rd), & T-Ratliff (3rd). He's a 6'11" 235lb PF/C & could probably be had by the Rockets for ~$1 million. I'm suggesting Sampson for several reasons. 1) He can play backup minutes at center, thus allowing us to let Mutombo walk. I don't think Mutombo is going to be as effective in an uptempo offense as he was in Van Gundy's system. 2) I believe he can play both the 4 & the 5 positions, thus giving us more versatility with match ups & the roster. 3) He's 24 years old & should be ready to step up his game. 4) While he hasn't played much, when he has gotten in the game for 10+ minutes, he's put up some very impressive rebounding & blocked shot numbers. If you extrapolate the numbers out to a full 48 mpg, his rebounding numbers were better last year than anyone in the NBA at 18.53 rpg. And, his blocked shots extrapolated to 2+ per game. If you extrapolate his numbers in each of his 4 years, the numbers are consistently in the same range, or higher. I realize that no player is going to play 48 mpg for a whole year, but assuming he plays starter minutes at PF, I could see him easily averaging 10+rpg & 2+bpg. 5) His one major weakness that I can see (statistically speaking), is his shooting percentage. It's been quite low for a center &, even though he shot .643 last year, he only took 14 shots on goal. However, with all the shooters we seem to be collecting, his lack of scoring shouldn't be an issue. At least it wasn't with Ben Wallace. I don't know that he's the answer we're looking for, but if he is, he could save us from trading away a player or two that we'd rather keep. Looking at the numbers, he strikes me as the kind of player that Morey would be looking at. Any opinions?
5 years and 5 different teams. He has alot of natural ability, so I have to wonder if he is lazy or has a bad attitude. I would think if one of the 5 saw any potential there they would have tried to keep him around.
college numbers? extrapolating numbers to per 48 mins doesnt mean much when he doesnt play any minutes.
He sucks....not fluid, no NBA team seen anything worth keeping, he isnt the diamond in the rough that makes us a contending team.
Mikki Moore had the same track record. I'm not sold on him either though, he simply found the eastern conference...
This is a valid concern & one I can't answer. I was hoping someone that had actually seen him play would chime in with their analysis of his game. Lol. I just discovered that he's the cousin of Ralph Sampson. Here are a couple of write ups about him. NBA DRAFT.NET Overall: 96 NBA Comparison: Samuel Dalembert Strengths: The dreaded "P" word. Jamal has great potential. But at this point his game is very raw. However, 7 footers with his athleticism are not a dime a dozen. Has long arms and very good shot blocking ability. Has the potential to be among the game's elite centers, but has a lot of dedication and hard work in front of him before he can even think about that. Has excellent quickness for a 6-11 bigman. Good shot blocker/rebounder with touch around the basket. Weaknesses: Lack of skills. Jamal will be another player on the 3-4 year plan. A high risk/reward type. Sometimes these (early entrant) players blossom into superstars and sometimes they fizzle into duds. Had injury problems in high school. Lack of strength will keep him from making much of a splash quickly. Desire is still under question. Doesn't appear to be the most disciplined player. HOOPS HYPE Has potential, but not much to offer in the NBA yet... Very raw... Good athleticism & shot blocking ability... Attitude is a concern. UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Sampson enters Cal after an outstanding high school career in which he earned third team Parade All-America honors … considered one of the Top 30 freshmen in the country by most recruiting services … an athletic player who runs the court especially well for a person his size … finishes well around the basket … defensively, has the ability to affect opposing teams with his shot-blocking skills … cousin of former NBA star Ralph Sampson. It does seem that he has an attitude problem. However, he's real young & would've been considered a 5th year graduate & rookie, if he had stayed in school & come out this year. Maybe he's not worth the time of day, but with his youth & size, perhaps he's still salvagable.
