Shabazz Muhammad

[Pinwheel1]

The question about Shabazz rattling around me lately relates to
Shabazz vs. Jemery Lamb

I would trade #10 for Lamb+PJ3 in a heartbeat - not sure if OKC would or not.

However, I do know that neither saw any playoff minutes (actually, they saw 5 minutes combined).

Yes that means they had more faith in a 50 year old Fisher at SG who joined the team a couple of months ago.

 

[OregonHuskerMan]

At the start of the season Shabazz was a lock to be a top 5 pick. Now he's projected around the late lottery, so his draft stock has already taken a hit.

He has more to gain than lose at this point.

Still think that?

Or did his draft projections not just fall down the tank because he shot like shit?

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

Has anyone else read that Shabazz was 19 during his last year of high school?

 

[KeepOnRollin]

Has anyone else read that Shabazz was 19 during his last year of high school?

Other then he lied about his age this is nothing new. 19 year olds play ball in High School quite a bit.

 

[santeesioux]

If he was like Yi, who was what, like 5 years older than thought, i'd be scared. 1 year doesn't scare me off.

 

[craigehlo]

I would trade #10 for Lamb+PJ3 in a heartbeat - not sure if OKC would or not.

I'd rather draft a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Tony Snell or Shabazz at 10 than take on Lamb. Any deal form the Thunder would have to include Reggie Jackson IMHO.

 

[Blaze01]

Still think that?

Or did his draft projections not just fall down the tank because he shot like shit?

I think teams generally view a players performance throughout the year as better barometer than 1-2 days or a specific drill at the combine....


Of all teams, POR should know about overvaluing a cold or hot performance by a player...

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Top NBA 3 point shooter from Thur NBA Draft Combine: Tim Hardaway Jr 19-for-25

Tim Hardaway Jr a big standout here in Day 2 in the drills. So competitive and just a pro #NBADraftCombine

Seems likely he's really helped himself. He's got to go to Golden State, right? Because
a) Tim Hardaway
b) another NBA scion

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Anyone got Insider and want to summarize?

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog...5282/2013-nba-draft-notes-day-1-draft-combine

 

[magnifier661]

Anyone got Insider and want to summarize?

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/blog...5282/2013-nba-draft-notes-day-1-draft-combine

CHICAGO -- The 2013 NBA draft combine officially got underway Thursday in Chicago. A plethora of NBA general managers, scouting staffs and head coaches were in the gym to watch almost 60 of the top prospects in the draft run through five hours of drills and measurements in the morning.

In the afternoon, teams sat down one-on-one with the prospects to interview them.

On Friday, the combine continues with intense drills and live action, athletic and strength testing and more interviews in the afternoon. You can watch all of that on ESPNU from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET, then on ESPN2 from 2 to 3 p.m.. On Saturday, players will get physicals conducted by the league.

I was in the gym for the five hours Thursday and in the J.W. Marriott hotel lobby where the players were staying for most of the afternoon and evening. Here's what I learned:

The NBA draft combine continues to struggle to get the top players to go through the drills portion.

Last year, 11 players, including Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal, Thomas Robinson, Andre Drummond, Harrison Barnes, Dion Waiters, Jared Sullinger, Jeremy Lamb, Austin Rivers and Arnett Moultrie, refused to do the drills. This year, the numbers were equally bad. Ben McLemore, Otto Porter, Trey Burke, Victor Oladipo, C.J. McCollum, Michael Carter-Williams, Cody Zeller, Dennis Schroeder and Mason Plumlee all bailed on the drills section. In fairness to the players, most of the time the decision is made by their agents.

They were joined on the sideline by a number of injured players, including Nerlens Noel, Anthony Bennett, Alex Len, Gorgui Dieng, Jamaal Franklin, C.J. Leslie, Ryan Kelly and Seth Curry. Add in a few top international players who stayed overseas -- most prominently Dario Saric, Sergey Karasev and Giannis Antetokounmpo -- and a whopping 17 players on our Big Board did not participate on Thursday.

The good news was that several potential lottery picks, including Shabazz Muhammad, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kelly Olynyk and Rudy Gobert, did agree to participate. Of the players who did show, a handful really stood out. The drills aren't really designed to necessarily make one player look good or bad, but a few players made an impression.

Pittsburgh's Steven Adams was the big winner on Day 1. Not only did Adams look the part of a NBA center (he measured 7 feet, 250 pounds with a 7-foot-4.5 span), but he showed off some terrific athleticism and toughness on the defensive end. However, that's not what wowed scouts. Adams showed off a surprising -- no, shocking -- offensive game, hitting jump shot after jump shot with a feathery touch.

"I can say I was honestly stunned," one NBA GM said. "Where did that come from? That's not something you develop with a few weeks with a trainer. He was way more skilled than we thought. That makes a huge difference in our evaluation of him."

It was the same story GM after GM. Even veteran scouts seemed surprised by Adams' skill set. He's not Marc Gasol, but the fact he showed anything from an offensive skills standpoint was huge. How big? Virtually every GM I spoke with had him pegged as a top-10 pick. He'll have to keep up this pace in workouts, but no one had a bigger day.

The NBA also charted shooting drills on Thursday. Here was the leaderboard:

Top shooters: Mike Muscala (76 percent), Tony Snell (74 percent), Reggie Bullock and Grant Jerrett (72 percent), Allen Crabbe (70 percent).

Worst shooters : Myck Kabongo (32 percent), Shabazz Muhammad (36 percent), Andre Roberson (42 percent).

Whose stock improved? Dropped?

France's Rudy Gobert also wowed with sheer size. His 7-foot-8.5 wingspan and 9-foot-7 standing reach both were record measurements by the NBA. While Gobert didn't look particularly explosive, nor was he particularly skilled offensively, he was a handful around the basket and could, with another 20 pounds of muscle, be a nightmare around the basket. Scouts weren't ready to declare him a lottery pick, but they did love the effort.

 

[BBert]

I think teams generally view a players performance throughout the year as better barometer than 1-2 days or a specific drill at the combine....


Of all teams, POR should know about overvaluing a cold or hot performance by a player...

If by "POR" you mean "we", then sure. If you mean Olshey, he hasn't been "POR" long enough to know or care anything about the Martell Webster workout or aftermath.

 

[Shooter]

Steven Adams going in the Top 10? Very interesting.

 

[RoyToy]

Adams >>>>> Leonard

 

[oldmangrouch]

I think teams generally view a players performance throughout the year as better barometer than 1-2 days or a specific drill at the combine....


Of all teams, POR should know about overvaluing a cold or hot performance by a player...

Good point. This time of year, people forget an obvious question: if the guy is so great, why hasn't he shown it on the floor? It's not as if combine performance/measurements are the only info available.

 

[julius]

Good point. This time of year, people forget an obvious question: if the guy is so great, why hasn't he shown it on the floor? It's not as if combine performance/measurements are the only info available.

the teams system maybe. I'm not sure that Harden or Westbook were as awesome in college as they are in the NBA

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Thanks mags.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Didn't Klay Thompson look bad at the combine stuff?

Conversely, Brandon Roy had a shockingly good vertical. But then, so did Jordan Farmar...

 

[illmatic99]

After years of following this, I think some guys just try harder than others. There is absolutely no way BRoy is just as explosive as DWade as his numbers from the combine suggested. Same with Dame and DRose.

 

[jlprk]

Shabazz wouldn't stay in Portland. His ambitious father seeks the biggest spotlight for his son.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Shabazz wouldn't stay in Portland. His ambitious father seeks the biggest spotlight for his son.

This is one of the rare times when I actually agree with you, and I think that's actually a really good point too. Repped.

 

[jlprk]

This is one of the rare times when I actually agree with you, and I think that's actually a really good point too. Repped.

As the board Rep Scrooge, I second that. If I ever repped anyone, you'd be the lucky man of the hour. Congratulations!

 

[Pinwheel1]

the teams system maybe. I'm not sure that Harden or Westbook were as awesome in college as they are in the NBA

That is a huge factor. Michael Jordan is a good example. You knew he was all star material when you saw him in college, but no one knew he was he was all-of-fame material. At least according to James Worthy.

 

[oldmangrouch]

the teams system maybe. I'm not sure that Harden or Westbook were as awesome in college as they are in the NBA

Fair enough - but they were still *good* in college.

That is in sharp contrast to someone like Gobert who has no track record of success against high level competition. How does a player who was a mediocre reserve in Europe become a lotto pick?

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

"“He was simply awful today,” one GM told us about Shabazz Muhammad. Slow, stocky, selfish, can't jump, only drives left, he couldn't buy a basket from outside. Did he even want to be here?” We heard others echo similar thoughts.

“I'm kind of warming up to Muhammad,” a number of different executives expressed. “There's no doubt he was the best player in his group. You gotta love that hunger to score. He's an aggressive, competitive kid. He got after it today. I didn't like him during the season but I'm starting to see what all the hype was about.”

--DX

 

[JfizzleBlazer]

"“He was simply awful today,” one GM told us about Shabazz Muhammad. Slow, stocky, selfish, can't jump, only drives left, he couldn't buy a basket from outside. Did he even want to be here?” We heard others echo similar thoughts.

“I'm kind of warming up to Muhammad,” a number of different executives expressed. “There's no doubt he was the best player in his group. You gotta love that hunger to score. He's an aggressive, competitive kid. He got after it today. I didn't like him during the season but I'm starting to see what all the hype was about.”

--DX

In the eye of the beholder, I guess? funny how people can see things differently. Wonder which group will be correct.

 

[julius]

"“He was simply awful today,” one GM told us about Shabazz Muhammad. Slow, stocky, selfish, can't jump, only drives left, he couldn't buy a basket from outside. Did he even want to be here?” We heard others echo similar thoughts.

“I'm kind of warming up to Muhammad,” a number of different executives expressed. “There's no doubt he was the best player in his group. You gotta love that hunger to score. He's an aggressive, competitive kid. He got after it today. I didn't like him during the season but I'm starting to see what all the hype was about.”

--DX

So, either Shabazz was an absolute train wreck, or the best player in his group.

Love the consistency in the descriptions of him.

 

[Pinwheel1]

"“He was simply awful today,” one GM told us about Shabazz Muhammad. Slow, stocky, selfish, can't jump, only drives left, he couldn't buy a basket from outside. Did he even want to be here?” We heard others echo similar thoughts.

“I'm kind of warming up to Muhammad,” a number of different executives expressed. “There's no doubt he was the best player in his group. You gotta love that hunger to score. He's an aggressive, competitive kid. He got after it today. I didn't like him during the season but I'm starting to see what all the hype was about.”

--DX

Is this for real? That is hilarious. Let the games begin. Any anonymous quotes from here on out
from employees from teams should be ignored. It's like a game of liars poker. The more they talk down a player, the more likely they want him. The more they rave about a player, the more they want someone else to take him.