This years rookie class centers are looking to be very formidable. The past few years have only produced one or two good centers each year but look at what we've got this year. I'll list the players below and their averages over the last 10 games from hoopstats. Points/Rebounds/Assists/Blocks 1. Brook Lopez 16.5 /8.5 /1.1 and 1.4ST and shooting 59.7% and 20.4 EFF 2. Greg Oden 12 /8.2 /0.7 /1.4 and 62.5% and 17.4 EFF 3. Marc Gasol 9.8 /6.4 /2.1 /1.1 and 53.1% at 15.3 EFF 4. Kevin Love 13 /10.6/1.3/0.3 and 51.7% at 19.8 EFF Lopez is a beast, he is no doubt the biggest surprise of them all. Greg Oden is really rounding into shape, he may not be the next shaq but he looks like he'll at least become a solid 15PPG player by his 3rd year and a real defensive force and rebounding machine to boot. Oh and he also leads the rookies in double doubles. Gasol has been very very solid this year for the grizzlies. He seems to me to be a taller, slower but smarter version of his brother Pau. May become one of the leagues best passing centers. Kevin Love is also a very smart player who looks to have a bright future in the league. I think he'll have the steepest learning curve out of these four but will no doubt become one of the better centers in the league at his own pace. Other notables are JeVale McGee Kosta Koufos Roy Hibbert But they are all very raw and are still projects.
Brook Lopez is a pleasant surprise. The guy has an array of moves and is very polished for a rookie C. The only thing that now makes me wonder about Greg Oden is his maddening inconsistency. He's finally learned how to reverse-pivot off the dribble when he's close to the basket. He's so big and strong that when he masters that and improves his jump-hook (with either hand), he could be a 20/15 player for a long time. But some games he just disappears like a mouse when he gets an early foul. The jury is still out. Marc Gasol will be in the NBA for a long time. If he develops a little more touch on offense the Lakers are going to kill themselves for including him in the Pau Gasol trade. I'm not sold on Kevin Love. Some people rave about him but I haven't seen him play well very often. If his sorry mid-range jumper doesn't improve, he won't amount to anything. David Lee has much more upside.
I disagree the Lakers will regret trading Marc Gasol to get Pau. Without Pau the Lakers aren't an elite team. They've been to an NBA Finals already and are favored to get there again this year. That trade has already paid off for the Lakers. Marc has limited upside anyway. He'll be a good player but he's nowhere near as good as his brother, IMO.
Marreese Speights is also pretty surprising. He's pretty efficient with the minutes he gets. With Elton down, I won't be surprised if he'll be getting big minutes and averaging high numbers.
Brook Lopez has been the best, hands down. He doesn't look lost on the floor, blocks 2 shots a game in 30 minutes, and has a polished game. Oden needs more time to prove himself, I can't judge after his injuries that early.
I didn't say nuke the Pau trade. The Lakers should have kept Marc and given up something else in the package.
Right. Still kind of the same point though. Didn't Chris Wallace insist Marc's rights be included? Could have sworn I read that somewhere. If true it seems like Marc was sort of the opportunity cost no matter what. I see your point though. If you knew Marc was good and you're LA you should have tried like hell to include somebody different.
