Totally agree with Snyder being underated. If only he can improve his jumper he can be a poor mans Gerald Wallace. As far as signing Chuck Hayes...love the hustle and heart, but even Ben Wallace can make a layup! Forget freethrows anf jumpshots.
I think it's mostly that Snyder has shown poor shot selection in his limited time. A lack of aggressive initiative (creating more shots off the dribble), questionable passing, and little playing time to evaluate him give him the reputation of a "low-bball-iq" player. I don't think Snyder actually doesn't understand bball, or the system, or that he's an unintelligent person at all. I was screaming for his length and speed versus Utah. It's a term that posters like to throw at players who have seemed unsure, tenative, or out of place which are all horrible things for a professional basketball player, but not things that I think apply to captain Kirk. To affirm, Durvasa, Snyder is most definitely underrated by the stats, last year's management, and in relation to others on the team. I will jump on the Snyder bandwagon before I jump on the Novak-Bonzi-Brooks breakout season bandwagon. I think he gets too much credit as a "lock down defender", when it is really just freak quickness and long arms that give him room for defensive error. The ballhandling point is an interesting one, I was unaware he played PG at Utah. With his size, he could do a ton of damage if he is able to prove he make smart passes and dribble safely through traffic.
The motivated, disciplined and in shape version of Bonzi is much more likely to impact a game than Snyder. That's no knock on Snyder really but he is what he is: an athletic freak with a limited skill set. He has a shaky jumper, little to no post up ability and rarely ever drives. If his best offensive attribute is his ability to drive and attack the rim and yet he rarely ever does it, what does that tell you? I also doubt he's going to have a breakout year or anything. Usually in order for that to happen the team has to be pretty bad or there has to be a need for him in the rotation. But who knows what version of Bonzi we're going to see. If he's anything like he was last year then i'm all for giving Snyder a shot. There's no need for a fat slow chucker that can't guard anybody out on the floor. Last year Bonzi looked to have lost a lot of his quickness on both ends which is a major concern in my book. Whether that loss of quickness is solely weight related, we'll have to see.
I was excited by his play early in the season, before he injured his wrist (?). Thought he'd turn into a decent rotation player, who had potential to improve. After his injury, I don't think he was given a real chance to do much of anything. That he played a grand total of 3 minutes against the Jazz in the playoffs was one of the stupidest decisions on Van Gundy's part, IMO, in that series. Snyder was drafted by the Jazz, and played his first season with them. He's big and athletic. Why on earth wouldn't you give him some minutes, considering the kind of team the Jazz were? Perhaps he would have made a difference. Maybe not, but now we'll never know.
Hayes is a better shooter than Wallace. Better at the line, better in the field. I don't know if Snyder will do anything in this league, but I think if he does nothing for Adelman his chances are slim and none. I also would wager on Wells being productive over Snyder. But I'll take 1 out of 2.
Agreed. When the Spurs dismantled the jazz one of the weaknesses were exposed by Manu Ginobili. I think Ginobili is the personification of basketball IQ. He repeatedly drove hard and drew fouls then made his foul shots. That is why penetration is important in the playoffs , especially against a team like the jazz who are known for their tough play , when you slash inside you are probably going to get a foul. " Foul Beat" is a skill or ability to draw fouls either by selling it to the referees or executing shots in such a manner as to make contact inevitable. You will not draw fouls with your starting pointguard seemingly afraid to drive into the lane and instead preferring to clank so many shots from beyond the arc. Our strategy seemed to be to let our two superstars take over the game and win it for us. this strategy would have worked in the days when all zone defenses were illegal and man-to-man defense was mandatory. Now that you are allowed to sag in the lane, collapsing defenses make it more difficult for the superstar to singlehandedly take over the game.
Maybe I should start a "Chuck is Underrated" thread too. Ben Wallace Shot Chart Chuck Hayes Shot Chart
I don't know... I think the IQ factor is one seriously underestimated and underappreciated factor. I have always been of the opinion that an unatheletic, but SMART player will have a longer basketball career, be more appreciated on the basketball court and brings more to the table as compared to an atheletic, but UNSMART player. Prime example of course would be a comparison between Battier and Synder. I think Battier is constantly going to be in demand until late in his career as compared to Snyder (unless there is a substantial improvement in his basketball IQ), despite his lack of atheleticsm. One word from durvasa that caught my attention: FREQUENT mental lapses. The word frequent itself goes to show that Snyder's deficient basketball IQ are not one off things... it is constantly present in his basketball characteristic. Finally, I don't know whether this is a valid factor: Adelman's basketball system. A lack of IQ his detrimental for players who have to play in a system; the more complicated the system, the greater the low IQ weakness. From what I have read, Adelman's system seems to require high IQ basketball players (I may be wrong, it could be that players who have high IQ would perform much better at it as opposed to low IQ players who would only perform normally). Now, if that is the case, how would this affect Snyder? Would he be a liability because of his inability to function within the system (brought about by low basketball IQ)? My personal thoughts are this... Mike Harris is better than Kirk Snyder, and if Kirk Snyder can be traded for an upgrade at C or PF, he should go. We also have that fantastical thread about trading half of our guards for Kobe...
kirk snyder is basically an superior athlete and that's it. he has some potential in certain areas but when a player like him hasn't developed much in that areas after being a couple of years in the league it basically means that he'll always be just an athlete. snyder is still young but he's also incredibly raw. i don't see where he's a good ball handler. his shot is still awfull. he hasn't much offense besides using his athletic abilities. his basketball iq is questionable. so is his desire to become a better all-around player. obviously he had his share of trouble with jvg because of that. but it tells you a lot if a player with such incredible athletic abilities plays such dumb defense under a great defensive coach like jvg. i haven't totally given up on snyder but it seems that he's just one of those players that don't maximize their potential.
how can he be underrated when all he has going for him is athleticism? he cant dribble, isnt a good passer, doesnt make good decisions, isnt a very good shooter, etc No doubt he could bring a lot to the team because having a 6-6 skilled and athletic SG would greatly help this team, however he is just not skilled. Last year he did get a back break, no pun intended, and he didnt even start to get what little handle he does have on the ball until late in the year. It would have been interesting to see how it worked out if he hadnt broken his wrist but at some point you have to stop making excuses for a guy.
Snyder reminds me of Mikele Petrius. He has the potential to be a good sot blocker at the SG position but he needs to be more consistent with his jumpshots.
i think snyder would flourish under aldemen. divac, said aldelman use players strength. and alots of freedom on court. snyder i think will flourish under that, since u dont' have to have lots of iq, to be free.
Snyder is an incredible athlete. But you know what, so is Lebron James. The difference is James by age 18 was able to use that athleticism and develop a skillset that made him incredibly effective on an NBA court. Snyder has not been able to even come close to doing that by his mid 20s. No I am not saying Snyder should be at James' level. Im just saying, the fact the guy is a great athlete doesnt make him underrated. I hope he makes big improvements under Adelman, but there is probably a reason teams have given up on him and let him go for next to nothing.
There is a problem with some players who have "incredible athleticism". They have relyed on this throughout their basketball lives and it has gotten them through without hard work to improve on what they have. Once they are in the NBA however that advantage no longer gets them by. Whats worse, now they have huge sums of money and even less reason to work on being better, they made it, dream realized. Snyder may not care whether or not he ever becomes a great player and if he doesn't care, he won't. Take all that athleticism and give it to somebody who is insanely competitive and will work constantly to improve like say.... Kobe Bryant(oh wait he has all that) and you might have something.
