The curious case of Caleb Swanigan

[illmatic99]

How? He was picked 6 picks before Caleb.

@yuyuza1 doesn't like Collins so I'm guessing he thinks we shouldn't have traded up for him and stayed at 15 and 20.

I don't not like Collins. I just don't see him being anything more than a fringe starter. And I don't think Caleb will be in the NBA after his rookie deal. And when you have 3 picks in the top 26, you expect better return than that.

And Giles has looked really good.

 

[handiman]

You tell me.
View attachment 21585


That was Biggie last summer.

He looks nothing like that now. My guess is he got in the best shape he could for the draft process, then let himself go. Disappointing for a guy that’s evidently a hard worker. This year he looks in better shape, but instead of losing weight, he just added muscle. It’s not looking like a great strategy. Let’s see what he looks like in training camp.

Post a side-by-side if you want comparative feedback...

Some people are saying he's out of shape, you're saying he's in better shape but added muscle. I think everyone's imagining things to fit a narrative of why he's not playing well, when the truth is he was always a scrub that looked good only briefly in SL when he was firing on all cylinders. He had nowhere to go but down.

 

[Natebishop3]

Post a side-by-side if you want comparative feedback...

Some people are saying he's out of shape, you're saying he's in better shape but added muscle. I think everyone's imagining things to fit a narrative of why he's not playing well, when the truth is he was always a scrub that looked good only briefly in SL when he was firing on all cylinders. He had nowhere to go but down.

I'm having a hard time finding any photos of him from this summer. There's a ton from last summer.

 

[Scalma]

I'm having a hard time finding any photos of him from this summer. There's a ton from last summer.

The last pic is probably the closest one.

But here’s caleb during last season. Compare it to the summer league one

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Hard to tell, but it looks like his arm and legs are both bigger now. But he's not going into people's chests like a bigger stronger player should (e.g. Harrell).

 

[Scalma]

Hard to tell, but it looks like his arm and legs are both bigger now. But he's not going into people's chests like a bigger stronger player should (e.g. Harrell).

Yeah his play strength isn’t there. I don’t know why that is, maybe he doesn’t know how to use his body, but he doesn’t move guys as much as you’d want for a guy his size. He struggled to move guys in the g league and so far nothing has changed. Maybe he can reinvent himself into more of a Patrick Patterson?

 

[dviss1]

I think everyone's imagining things to fit a narrative of why he's not playing well.

I think this is the case but not because he isn't a good player.

 

[Scalma]

Him gaining weight isnt imagining things to fit a narrative. The broadcast team mentioned numerous times after he was recalled from the G league that he lost some of the weight he gained during the season.

Look at his introductory press conference last summer. Looks like a different person.

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Yeah his play strength isn’t there. I don’t know why that is, maybe he doesn’t know how to use his body, but he doesn’t move guys as much as you’d want for a guy his size. He struggled to move guys in the g league and so far nothing has changed. Maybe he can reinvent himself into more of a Patrick Patterson?

I have hope, but......
the market is so soft for bigs right now. We could probably get Harrell for $5mil (if we had the $$$). There are a number of bigs who would play for vet min that are clearly better than he is right now.

 

[Scalma]

I have hope, but......
the market is so soft for bigs right now. We could probably get Harrell for $5mil (if we had the $$$). There are a number of bigs who would play for vet min that are clearly better than he is right now.

Teams with cap space:

Atlanta
Chicago
Dallas
Phoenix
Sacramento

Would any of these teams be interested in Biggie? They’re all rebuilding.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Teams with cap space:

Atlanta
Chicago
Dallas
Phoenix
Sacramento

Would any of these teams be interested in Biggie? They’re all rebuilding.

Doubt it. We don't want him on our SL team. How will they want him on their NBA team?

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Yeah his play strength isn’t there. I don’t know why that is, maybe he doesn’t know how to use his body, but he doesn’t move guys as much as you’d want for a guy his size. He struggled to move guys in the g league and so far nothing has changed. Maybe he can reinvent himself into more of a Patrick Patterson?

I don't know what it is. There was a nice highlight from last year's SL where he led the break and just before he got into the paint he dished it to a wide open shooter. I saw no such play this year. This year he seemed to force passes. Sometimes they worked, other times they were turnovers.

 

[Blazers Roy]

Idk, but I'm all for Fez's idea of signing Okafor and trying him out with the role Swanigan is probably going to get this season.

If Okafor is available to us financially then FUCK YES that's an awesome low risk-high reward decision.

 

[Scalma]

If Okafor is available to us financially then FUCK YES that's an awesome low risk-high reward decision.

I think okafor would take any kind of offer right now.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

His post game is so robotic.

He's a very good passer from the high-post, his only definable positive attribute aside from rebounding.

In short, I really don't see a lot of upside in Biggie.

A lot of pundits had him pegged as a second round pick. Neil reached, passing on better talent.

 

[BlayZa]

this is just bizarre

we coach the athleticism, energy and D out of a 7 foot guy with physical gifts (this is about as close as it gets to giving meyers a compliment btw) and turn him into a 'spacer' and spot up 3 shooter. wtf
then, we draft swaggigan who came in a lil undersized, but banged and player hard nosed D - and we've seemingly let him unravel before our eyes as far as conditioning.
Collins has not been whoa.
nurk lost weight and for the majority of last season seemed lost with what to do without it. give him a fuckin few big macs n let him do what he was best at, being big, talented and a bully. its like we said, hey with some gym work you could be great like meyers looks. or something.

the more i think about it, and if indeed z-bo was our last decent big man, well holy shit. we need some top level big men coaches ASAP

 

[Sarni]

He has been very disappointing for me. Normally I would not expect a late first round pick to provide a big contribution but seeing the players who went after him play very well, especially the two that went to Lakers (Kuzma and Hart) makes me think of missed opportunity. Even guys like Bell, Brooks have been good.

 

[kjironman1]

So you are saying he is not the next Zach Randolph then?

 

[Blazers Roy]

I think okafor would take any kind of offer right now.

Then what the hell are we waiting for?! this is right up Neil's alley.
Having a front court of Collins and Okafor on the bench is a bit similar to having Adams and Kanter on the bench and those guys gave the Warriors trouble a few years ago.

 

[Blazer4ever]

Caleb is gonna be a key player for us next year, at least if we get no other post player. He's the 2nd power forward behind tweener Aminu (trade him for a real PF please) and our only inside option on offense other than Nurkic

 

[Wizard Mentor]

Caleb just dominated in the SL semifinal: 9/13 for 21 points, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, only 1 turnover.

The Case just got more Curious, and a lot more Interesting.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Caleb is gonna be a key player for us next year, at least if we get no other post player. He's the 2nd power forward behind tweener Aminu (trade him for a real PF please) and our only inside option on offense other than Nurkic

Key to failure or success is the question.

 

[Scalma]

I hate to say this, because I liked biggie when we drafted him, but ever since watching him in the g league I’ve been more and more pessimistic about his future in the league. It’s now to the point where I wonder if we should even waste any more time with him.

If you didn’t know he was a first round pick, would you guess that he was?

There are going to be players available that are better than Swanigan imo, so my question is would you cut him? I’ve seen teams give up on higher selections after one season. Shit one of them is on our roster.

I’m just disappointed. I don’t see how he’s going to get better. He looks in better shape yet is still soooo slow. Ten years ago he might’ve found a spot on a roster. Now? I’m ready to throw in the towel.

 

[Rozay]

Oh ya Swanigan is garbage. Like you said higher picks have been cut sooner.

Honestly Zach Collins isn’t that good either. Defensively he’s solid and will keep him in the league but he’s a late 1st round early 2nd round type of player.

 

[hoopsjock]

I hate to say this, because I liked biggie when we drafted him, but ever since watching him in the g league I’ve been more and more pessimistic about his future in the league. It’s now to the point where I wonder if we should even waste any more time with him.

If you didn’t know he was a first round pick, would you guess that he was?

There are going to be players available that are better than Swanigan imo, so my question is would you cut him? I’ve seen teams give up on higher selections after one season. Shit one of them is on our roster.

I’m just disappointed. I don’t see how he’s going to get better. He looks in better shape yet is still soooo slow. Ten years ago he might’ve found a spot on a roster. Now? I’m ready to throw in the towel.

I wouldn't flat out cut him but I wouldn't have an issue with him being included in a trade either though.

 

[ripcityboy]

I just don't think he has enough quickness to make it in this league. Don't worry, he still gets the season and probably next to prove.... something. I swear, Olshey can never admit to himself when he made a mistake. We are carrying a lot of marginal talent on that bench.

 

[kjironman1]

I just don't think he has enough quickness to make it in this league. Don't worry, he still gets the season and probably next to prove.... something. I swear, Olshey can never admit to himself when he made a mistake. We are carrying a lot of marginal talent on that bench.

I swear i said all this last season. Got completely crucified for it.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I swear i said all this last season. Got completely crucified for it.

Was it here or on O-live?
I feel like while there may have been some dissention on players / talent, a lot of posters tend to feel that way.
I also dont remember being too hard on you, or others blasting you . -Not saying it didnt happen -

 

[Propagandist]

I swear i said all this last season. Got completely crucified for it.

Not from me. I got destroyed in OLive for such views. People don't realize sometimes in the NBA it just comes down to athleticism, or lack thereof in Swanigans's case.

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Not from me. I got destroyed in OLive for such views. People don't realize sometimes in the NBA it just comes down to athleticism, or lack thereof in Swanigans's case.

I had highish hopes for swanigan until I saw him play against nba level athletes and it became very evident his feet are just not fast enough. I still believe he can carve out a niche NBA role, maybe an Al Jefferson type of player. I just dont know how useful that role is in Today’s NBA. He’s got an uphill battle.