Been watching ball since the 80's bro, never heard of Calvin Unseld, do you mean Wes Unseld? I'm very very familiar with Wes Unseld, great outlet passer BTW. Hakeem is different breed of center, Hakeem is the greatest defensive center of all time and it's not even close. The greats can play in any era IMO. Houston has drafted some of the greatest centers of all time. If Hakeem was present for us at the draft lottery then I'm sure he'll be able to at least give the Rockets some feedback on what he really truly thinks about Mobley along with the other scouts and coaches. That part I have 0 worries about. Even if Mobley, Green, Cunningham or any other person we take at #2 is a bust it'll still be a fun ride!
So true, most of the NBA Basketball players have twig for legs (it results in much better ability to play at NBA speed for the duration of an NBA game). When 6'5" point guards weigh 180 lbs, and 7 foot centers weigh 215 lbs... Freak injuries can an happen to anyone. Especially as high as they jump.
I was talking about Calvin Murphy's Wes Unseld stories. I think he always joked about biting unseld's ankles. Anyway, I agree that whoever they pick will make next year's team much more interesting. It'd be nice if they also made them more competitive...
I guess I didn't realize till right now that Mobley and KPJ both wore number 4 at USC. Pretty cool if they ended up teammates.
The bust factor on Mobley is a scary thought plus being a 215 lb center/get bullied by stronger bigs. I just hope he is the right choice.
Another issue with these big guys is conditioning. Giannis can't even make it through a full game. We all saw how long it took Clint to do it. These guys take so long to develop, fill out, and then can be injury prone on top of that. When's the last time a big was a real force? Dirk? Shaq? Just no to these centers when we already have Wood on the team.
I'm old enough to remember 7 footers like Anthony Davis and Kevin Durant winning championships and guys like Giannis and Jokic winning MVP's.....
Mobley was a JR and barely 200 lbs in this vid but he blocked Wiseman repeatedly and yammed on him all night. There was no fear of physical contact vs. the older and more physically developed Wiseman. And Mobley is clearly bouncier and more agile than the longer Wiseman. Its unbelievable to me that CF would rather have Wiseman over either Wood or Mobley. Crazy.
Mobley was actually a PG before his growth spurt. He does have guard skills as 7 footer, hence the Unicorn descriptor.
Pistons are threatening to take Mobley or Green over Cade. Per Chad Ford, they value Mobley as much as Cade, maybe more.
You're right. He apparently grew 8 inches taller over highschool, with a 4 inch growth spurt his freshman year. The point I was making is that AD and KD both played guard for the majority of their highschool careers. I think Mobley switched to C/PF after his freshman year. There are some clips of him bringing the ball up the court, or attacking on straight line drives, but nothing that makes me. confuse him for a wing or guard. I don't deny he has some handles and vision, but they're much less developed compared to pre-draft KD, AD, and Giannis. Just based on what I've seen so far, I don't think his handles are an advantage skill right now. He feels more like Bosh than a unicorn, and there's nothing wrong with that.
I think Mobley will be a good nba player, but he is a PF although he is 7ft. Small ball Center, not an actual Center. I think trying to make him into a center will ruin his career. I don't think Mobley's frame will ever be able to hold up to guarding the big men of the league in the post full time. Instead of trying to quickly put some more muscle on him, thinking he is going to be able to guard big men down low, the team drafting him should focus on him using his agility, quickness, and handles be effective and let him gradually get stronger. I think Bosh is definitely a great comparison for Mobley, and he will be good, but he isn't nearly as NBA ready as Green or as much of a sure thing. Green has the work ethic, competitiveness, training, experience, skills, and elite athletic gifts to be a generational talent.
I wouldn't go that far on Green, but I want him over Mobley. I know we need Mobley's overall skill set, height and length more than Green's. I just don't know if he will be consistent every night. He certainly needs to handle contact better.
I still don’t see the offensive potential at all tbh. That’s where I think he’s being overrated. Top 5? I honestly doubt he ends up a better scorer than even Wood let alone in the same convo as Giannis, Embiid AD, Jokic.
