This week on The Doctor Is In, Ekpe Udoh drops by and we talk about the prospects of him going #13 overall to the Raptors on draft night and about what makes him tick as a player. Spoiler alert: he’s all about the “D” – and as a Raptors fan there is nothing sweeter to the ears! Lastly, the big board starts to move as the Raptors focus shifts to include a stronger emphasis on the SF position and we introduce the next stage of the big board with the addition of 5 up and 5 down.
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93 Raps
I’m a big fan of this kid. Great work on the podcast Steve.
I almost hope we move up to get this guy. Modest, sounds hard working,
defensive minded, and wants to get better. It’s almost like he’s the ideal
rookie for the Raptors to take.
Joined the facebook group too. Joe Johnson for The Raptors 2010!
(and Arenas if that doesn’t work :))
Do you think we need to re-sign Amir Johnson if we draft Udoh?
You can’t have enough big athletic guys. What this does is make Reggie Evans even more expendable.
I don’t think we’ed need to, but I’d personally still like to. You can’t have too many guys who play that type of game on your team, the guys who are willing to go out and play hard every night and who want to get better. It really comes down to how much we would have to pay Johnson and whether or not Bosh decides to stay.
ya, I agree. If Bosh walks, I like the idea of a fron court rotation that includes Andrea, Amir, and Udoh- all of whom can play both the 4 and the 5. I think it gives the coach a lot flexibility and options.
Who out of that bunch do you think can play the 5?
And when I say play the 5, I mean defend the position it effectively?
Andrea can defend the 5. Its his inability to rotate and help defend thats the problem.
So can Udoh … you can’t teach someone to hustle and sweat and work hard … its either in you or it isn’t … I think Udoh will draft higher and he won’t there at 13, BUT the above question is asked and answered Bargs and Udoh, done … book it.
… somewhere, Buddahfan is trying to catch his breath.
I lol’d.
Not really.
Just finished my morning walk about of 4 plus miles about 20 minutes ago of which the first half is all up hill and when I was done my heart rate was still close to normal. Didn’t even break a sweat.
I think you have a hole in your screen door.
I think the Raptors should pass on Johnson.
I am sure that Pop would love to have him. Pop made him an offer three years ago but Johnson decided to stay with the Pistons. I doubt that he would turn down Pop a second time especially given how old Duncan and McDyess are.
In fact unless Johnson off the record agrees to sign with the Raptors before July 1st, it wouldn’t surprise me if Pop was on the phone to Duffy at July 1st 12:01 AM.
If Tiago Splitter doesn’t come over, I can easily see Amir heading to SA. Plenty of PT there for him, and they’d give him the MLE. Him and Duncan would be a very nice combination, too…
Duffy could even consider calling the Clippers who have lots of cap space. That of course would depend on a number of things including who the Clippers draft at #8.
However, it sure would be fun to watch Johnson and Griffin on the court together on the same team.
Why do we need a player who has the same body type, with less upside than Amir?
I was a big Udoh supporter until I saw the light, we need a big body defensive/athletic centre. ie. Orton or Ed Davis. There are three types of players the Raptors miss. An Alvin Williams, an early Carter, and an Antonio Davis. Orton could be our Davis of the future.
Ed Davis? No thanks…
Here is an interesting comment made by Franchise at RaptorsHQ:
“I see Udoh in a similar light and visions of guys like Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Jerome Moiso unfortunately flash through my head. These visions were backed up by ESPN.com’ s recent statistical draft ratings done by John Hollinger. Udoh finished near the bottom of the prospects in future PER ranking and was given the “dud” status.”
Another Pops?!? Yipes.
before we get too geek-ed out on Hollinger and the stats, lets not forget that Hollinger’s stats two years ago said that Beasley was the real deal and that Derrick Rose wasnt even the best point guard in the draft:
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2008/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=DraftRater-080620
and last year he also picked:
Top 12 rated collegians for 2009
Player School Draft Rater
1. Ty Lawson North Carolina 16.34
2. Blake Griffin Oklahoma 16.21
3. Tyreke Evans Memphis 15.02
4. Austin Daye Gonzaga 14.24
5. Stephen Curry Davidson 14.18
6. Nick Calathes Florida 13.66
7. DeJuan Blair Pittsburgh 13.56
8. Danny Green North Carolina 13.28
9. Jonny Flynn Syracuse 12.99
10. James Harden Arizona State 12.97
11. Hasheem Thabeet Connecticut 12.90
12. Earl Clark Louisville 12.88
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft2009/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=DraftRater-090618
stats need to be backed up by the eye test- and dont forget that Udoh had two sub par years at Michigan before transferring to Baylor that play a bigger part in the Hollinger analysis (2 years at MICH vs 1 at Baylor) than is actually the case.
Hey folks, good discussion so wanted to interject with a few points:
-Steve’s right, Hollinger’s rankings can’t be taken completely to the bank, simply another interesting piece of the puzzle. That being said, if you look back historically where Hollinger’s really been off are with combo guards, not big men, and players with only a year of data for use in his regressions. (He whiffed on guys like Mayo, Gordon and Westbrook.) And really, I don’t care about projected PER down the road, it’s more which players in general he’s ID’ed as studs versus duds, those he’s been pretty good on.
-I like Udoh. Talked to him yesterday again, after the workout, good kid, great work ethic, intangibles the Raps need. But he just don’t blow me away in any one area and I worry that people are falling into the same trap as I did with Tyrus Thomas looking at upside and athletic ability. Udoh’s not young, yet still quite raw, and you have to wonder if some of his success at Baylor can’t be attributed to having much better players around him than he did at Michigan.
-I wouldn’t be appalled by the pick like I was with Hoffa, but think guys like George, Henry and Aldrich (if the latter two are on the board at 13 still) are better options.
And by “good on” I mean “on” ha ha…
PER is also notoriously deficient when it comes to defensive skills (steals and rebounding excepted) and other intangibles of leadership, hardwork, speed etc. Hollinger himself acknowledges this. Udoh is admittedly not an offensive powerhouse and will be drafted high precisely for the abilities not easily measured in PER.
phdsteve
You said that you have to be skeptical of James and Bradley because they played for a team that underachieved.
Would you say the same thing about Bosh?
Ouch:)
hey Buddahfan, I like both James and Bradley, my big question is how did this team underachieve so badly? I mean Texas, has had some solid recruits the last decade and has no real NCAA success to show for it. But last year is really a head scratcher. Im not sure Bradley and James are to blame for it, or are any worse of a set of NBA prospects because of it, but I do think its worth thinking about some more- the part that these guys played in this? If I can get bradley or james on the show- Ill be sure to ask them that.
I absolutely agree with your line of thinking.
So what about the Raptors and Bosh.
He was their leader this year.
Almost everyone picked them to make the playoffs and maybe win between 45 and 50 games.
Clearly they underachieved.
So it would seem to me using the logic of Bradley, James and Texas and applying it to Bosh then maybe Bosh is not a Max contract player. eh?
sure, but unlike the college, in the NBA market forces ($) and not talent or past performance determine contract value. :)
I don’t buy that one bit.
Talent comes first once the general unwritten salary scale for a certain talent level at a position is determined.
For example the NBA given the economy and CBA has a certain salary range for backup centers based upon health, talent, age and NBA experience.
So for a PF like Bosh who is a double double guy with bad knees, 7 years experience there is a salary range. Bosh will probably get a Max Contract though he is not worth it. Whoever pays him a max contract will overpay just like the Lakers overpaid for Bynum.
“Almost everyone picked them to make the playoffs and maybe win between 45 and 50 games.”
Most experts had them one game out of the playoffs, or 8th.
“Almost everyone picked them to make the playoffs and maybe win between 45 and 50 games.”
If by almost everyone, you mean one or two people outside of Raptor fans. I had them pegged at 45 wins, and I was above most predictions I read.
I think there’s a big difference between underachieving in college than in the NBA. In college, a great player can elevate a team. In the NBA, only a few players can do that. Besides, I don’t really know how much the Raptors underachieved this year. I pegged them at 45 wins, and if Bosh doesn’t get injured, they would have been fairly close to that.
I believe not making the playoffs is an automatic for underachieved status
So if Bosh doesn’t get his face bashed in, and the Raptors win one more game, then the Raptors don’t underachieve? That’s a very, very thin line.
not really. making the playoffs, and then each subsequent round of victories are pretty clear markers of a team’s success. For this team, they needed not only to make the playoffs, but to also win a round to not have underachieved this year.
What?!?! You actually think this team had a chance to win a round this year? I was called out a few times for being too homerish in regards to the Raptors, and I never once thought they had a realistic chance of making it to the second round. No team with the defense and rebounding problems the Raptors would ever have a realistic chance at making it past the first round. The Raptors team was built to try and make it to the first round. No more.
not me, but Colangelo. His words, not mine.
What Colangelo says t the media and what he believes may two very different things. When he made his prediction of 50 wins I snickered and didn’t think he actually meant it. I just took it as a way to try and motivate his team.
phdsteve: Colangelo surely doesn’t believe what he is saying.
I’m not even talking about the 50 win prediction, I am only talking about what he said to Tom Liston and I- when he told us that the season would be a disappointment with a visit to the second round.
typo- should say “without a visit to the second round”
Colangelo must have been a) truly deluded, then, and b) more disappointed by the season than anyone. How he thought a team without defense or rebounding would get to the second round is beyond me.
The perception at the beginning of 09-10 at least by BC was that the Raptors were going to be a better rebounding and defensive team with the edition of Evans and an improved Bargnani.
As I recall the fans also believed that.
U Gotta Believe!!
Don’t include me among the fans who believed it. The reason being was that Evans was never going to play even 20 mpg for the Raptors, which would make it difficult for him to make much of an impact on the boards.
So Tim W is saying that Johnson since he only played 18+ mpg had no impact.
Or anyone who plays less than 20 mpg has no impact.
That is really weird and a total put down of rotation bench players.
Uh, Buddhafan, it’s right there in front of you. I believe the exact words were “[...] difficult for him to make much of an impact on the boards.” How you managed to turn that into “no impact” is beyond me. English much?
The Raptors were 22nd in the league in rebounding differential. I think that says it all.
For the Raps to have made the playoffs and won a round would have been a MAJOR overachievement for this team.
A major overachievement of epic proportions!
not according to BC.
There’s a major difference between a goal and an expectation. BC would have to be a major doofus (a la Babcock) to say he expected just over 40 wins and a first-round exit. I mean, come on, you have to be super anal to not see the difference. If BC was an analyst instead of having a personal stake in the team, I bet you no way does he predict a 50 win season OR beating out Cleveland/Orlando/Boston/Atlanta to get into the second round.
Tim is right, and it’s amazing how short memories are around here. Never mind starting the season with 9 new players, while having the 2nd hardest schedule to start. Never mind that for the 24 games before the All-Star break, the Raptors went 18-6, beating the Bobcats, Spurs, Magic, Mavericks, Lakers, Heat, and splitting two games with the Bucks. Never mind that the team was without their best player (by far) for 43% of the back stretch, killing any chemistry and momentum they had up to the break.
Either the team winning 45 games assumed a relatively healthy season, or this really was a 50+ win team. Considering the unlikelihood of the latter, one has to assume that the team would have made the playoffs if Bosh didn’t get his face smashed in. It’s clear that barring the injuries, the team very much “achieved”. It was not a good defensive team by any measure, but they were finding ways to win before Bosh’s first injury.
Beyond that, expecting the team to outplay one of the top 4 in the East, who have spent the last few years growing with largely the same core, is hugely irresponsible, and honestly, what BC expected is irrelevant anyhow. The original prompt was “I believe not making the playoffs is an automatic for underachieved status.” If you go over the flow of the discussion, almost seems like you’re hiding behind “BC’s words” to avoid reconciling the team’s performance with their injuries. Surely you can think for yourself, and surely you can see how badly Bosh’s injuries hurt the team.
What he /\ said.
Sorry but I cant get too enthused about the “sign JJ” effort. He is going to be seeking what is his last contract and signing with a team (Raptors) who do not immediately have the prospects of making any noise would say something about the player. This kind of raises the antennae automatically for me. Worse, if Bosh were to leave. JJ certainly did not prove to be a pull-up-the-bootstraps type of player in the Hawks post season so his immediate past body of work is suspect. A case can be made that Hedo had a more exciting immediate resume prior to signing here. All we would need is for JJ to pout or not showup for games and get booed. Yechhh and scary. And I havent touched on the salary and contract length implications on the cap or the fit with current personnel. Creator is the best I can say for JJ…but cant we get someone cheaper with a contract not as onerous?
sure, but if you want to keep Bosh, thats the type of move its going to take.
If you listen to Udoh’s 5/23 interview on DraftExpress he talks about how he and Griffin are both Oklahoma kids.
He also mentions that he met Griffin in a restaurant recently and that they talked for a bit about the Clippers drafting Udoh.
Udoh broke into a big smile when he talked about the possibility of playing with Griffin.
Draft Express has him going #8 to the Clippers.
Griffin and Udoh, Udoh and Griffin.
Maybe the Raptors will have to go to phdSteve’s fall back pick at #13?
We shall see.
If you watch that interview it is amazing how much Udoh facially and expression wise resembles Antonio McDyess.
ya, and at the end of the interview with me yesterday he talked about working our for SACTO and GS! I would be really surprised to see this kid drop to 13, but would be happy to see it happen. I would say that pretty much every team 5-12 could add Udoh and be better next year. He is a good fit almost anywhere.
I don’t see Udoh going #5 or #6 though you could be correct.
However I can tell you this regarding Blake Griffin.
I have never met him but I watched all of the Clippers games last year and he was on every single one.
The Clippers even created a special segment called “Blake’s Take” which ran during the Clippers pre-game show.
This kid has personality plus,plus,plus. Everyone loves him, even more than Johnson. LOL
So if Blake being a fellow Sooner state guy goes to Clipper management and says Udoh would be a nice pick for us if Udoh is available at #8 I would be willing to wager that the Clippers draft him.
Of course Griffin may prefer someone else.
Does Griffin really have that much influence with the Clippers management?
It would not surprise me in the least.
Sacto could be the wild car here. Remember last year they took Tyreke at 4 and shocked everyone. Also, when we spoke to Zach Harper (from espn.com’s SACTO true hoop site: cowbellkingdom a couple months back on the podcast he said that PF was their primary need.
but think about it after that:
GS- yup, he’d look nice there next Biedrins with Curry and Ellis. They definitely dont need guard play and will be drafting for the PF
DET- in desperate need of big bodies and guys to play D
LAC- you already explained
UTH- with Boozer gone, and Okur and Kirelenko always rumoured to be on the block- how nice would Udoh and Milsap look next to each other for hte next decade in the front court. Plus, I betcha Sloan would kill for a kid like this.
IND- Udoh replaces Murphy in PF and now moving forward you have a core of Hibbert, Udoh, Granger
NO- would love to grab a kid like Udoh and allow themsleves to move West’s contract for more pieces or in a deal where a team also takes back a Peja or posey contract.
I think he makes sense in all of those scenarios especially since none of those teams are looking for a guy to be their primary scorer.
I like the kid as a lottery pick. You get no quarrel with me on this. I am just not sure like you that he will be available at #13.
Anybody else notice how Udoh evaded the “Raptors are soft” question? He sounds like a good kid, doesn’t want to piss off anybody this early.
Regarding D. James and the Raptors
I don’t really care who the Raptors draft as long as they can add at least one or hopefully two young guys with their heads on straight who are hard workers, tough, physical, strong and can play defense.
If there are better picks so be it.
I just don’t want to see the Raptors add some soft guy who can shoot three’s or some athletic guy who is a head case and can’t bench press his weight or some guy can score but has no interest in playing defense.
This kid is playing against college kids. It might take years of the bench and the gym before he can contribute, that’s if he gets to stick around for that long.
I think going after Joe Johnson would be an incredibly bold move, but one that could backfire if Bosh leaves. That said, if Colangelo is somehow able to turn Turkoglu into Joe Johnson (I really don’t see how that could be done), then I see no reason for Bosh to leave. Even if they are able to sign Joe Johnson and keep Bosh, I still think the Raptors have some retooling they need to do if they want to be a contender. I think they have the pieces to be able to get what they need. I just don’t know if they will do it.
agreed. Might be worth thinking some more about, no?
Ugh, what is this obsession with all the max free agents, outside of Bron and Wade they are all extremely overrated. I want Joe Johnson and Bosh as much as I do Boozer and David Lee. The worst thing the raps could do would be ink Bosh and Joe to max deals. The new CBA is going to make all these deals look absurd. There is a handful of free agents BC should go after before even thinking about JJ. I’d rather overpay for Rudy Gay, Tyrus Thomas, Josh Howard or Anthony Morrow.
Going after Joe Johnson would certainly not be my first, or second, move. That said, if the Raptors can turn Turkoglu into Joe Johnson, I’d definitely do it. I’d rather overpay Rudy Gay, but the idea was to be able to turn Turkoglu into a player like Joe Johnson. If Memphis wants to take on Turkoglu in a sign and trade for Gay, then I’d definitely do that before trading for Joe Johnson.
Okay, I agree. I would support turning Turk in Joe Johnson, but I also support turning Turk into the world’s most expensive paper mache exhibit.
Wouldn’t Turk be a better fit for Memphis then Gay? Especially if he is going to making 15 and Turk only 10. They need someone take some of ball handling pressure of Conley and OJ and Zach are more black hole than play maker.
Lol on Turk. Short of getting rid of Triano and Calderon I dont see Hedo being particularly effective in TO. There is a chance though that someone impresses upon him that he come back in top shape and show everyone how wrong they were about him. Re Zach, he might be looking at the Grizzles on a tv at a penitentiary if those drug stories are true which may cause the team to rethink their roster.
“Wouldn’t Turk be a better fit for Memphis then Gay? Especially if he is going to making 15 and Turk only 10. They need someone take some of ball handling pressure of Conley and OJ and Zach are more black hole than play maker.”
I think you just answered your question right there. If Mayo is such a black hole, do you think Hedo will fit actually fit in there? I mean heck, he seemed to have trouble fitting in with “black hole” Calderon (sarcasm on the black hole bit, btw). Hedo is going to have the same kind of “ball” issues in Memphis.
More like short of acquiring Dwight, Rashard and Jameer, but yea the Turkish graffiti is on the wall, if he’s not gone in 30 days the whole city should get free pizza.
I just try and choose teams with spotty GM’s who might want to take a 10 million dollar flier on Turk. I think Orlando was the perfect fit and Toronto the worst, so as long as he finds a team somewhere in the middle he should be okay. Memphis has nice pieces and if they want to make playoff noise they could probably use a guy whose actually played in the spring, prison rules not counting.
I respect your opinions Tim but I wonder if they truly do have those pieces needed to retool to become a contender let alone the make-up or style of play necessary to get to this status.
It’s like you mentioned earlier, they needed one more win to make the playoffs, Bosh got injured and yet those ‘pieces’ couldn’t get it done.
I think that most Raptor fans might be overvaluing the pplayers on this team.
If the Raptors are somehow able to turn Turkoglu into Joe Johnson and Bosh stays, I think the Raptors have the pieces to theoretically GET the right players to become a contender. I think players like Bargnani, Weems, Jack, Calderon and DeRozan, as well as their 13th pick, gives them some valuable pieces. Whether or not they can turn them into the right players, is the question.
You and I know Tim that Turks is more likely to turn into a pumpkin than turning into Johnson and as for Bosh staying while I would be fully behind that happening, its also more likely that he depart to play with better players than what the Raps currently offer.
I’d like to think that they have some pieces that could net solid players in return but outside of Jack (who I wouldn’t trade) and Bargs (BC would never part with his one true love) it’s hard for me to envision acquiring better pieces with the players the Raps currently have to offer teams.
Hey, I’m not disagreeing with you. I was just responding to phdsteve’s proposal to get Joe Johnson. I don’t in a million years think it will happen, but it it does, I think the Raptors have a chance to build themselves into a contender.
It’s no surprise that I’d trade Bargnani and, quite frankly, trading him is about the only way I see them really making improvements. It should be obvious to anyone that Bargnani simply doesn’t fit on this Raptor team, whether you’re a fan of him or not. While it might be debatable whether or not Bargnani should stay if Bosh leaves, if Bosh stays, no one in their right might should think that Bargnani and Bosh can play together successfully.
I’d rather not see Jack go, but he’s a good player with a nice contract, so I can see him being quite valuable to other teams.
DeRozan is another player who could end up being valuable trade bait.
In the end, it doesn’t really matter because everyone but phdsteve knows the Raptors aren’t turning Turkoglu into Joe Johnson.
Agreed with all your points. The only scenario I want to throw in there is if Bosh and Barg’s are on the same team, yet the 3rd big (Amir or another Camby-esque type) is getting equal minutes as Andrea, could you see the possibility of it working?
I would love if the Raps could keep Bosh, but I know BC will never trade Bargnani (which will most likely get him fired or force him to slink out the back door eventually) so do you think that with a more balanced rotation with a big that can proivide rebounding and defence consistently, that there is a chance for that pairing to work?
For Bosh and Bargnani to work, the Raptors would have to get a rebounding and defensive machine at SF, and an All-Defensive team big man for the team to become true contenders. Otherwise, they will always have a weakness on defense and on the boards.
+1, especially on the “rebounding and defensive machine at SF”. I’ve always imagined someone like Gerald Wallace (but hopefully without the injury concerns) would be the best fit for a team building around a less prototypical big like Bargnani. Our 2 spot would then go to someone who could create. Calderon, Joe Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Bosh and Bargnani wouldn’t be shabby at all. Oh, a man can dream, can’t he?!
Next season will be Amir Johnson’s sixth season in the NBA. Ekpe Udoh is older than Amir.
Good point,
Amir is a proven commodity who is a legitimate above average player
WS/48 = .150 (average is .100)
Off Rating = 124
Def Rating = 110
2 year adjusted plus minus = of 6.33 (second only to Bosh)
We all know Bargs isn’t moving to the bench. In still-possible-but-unlikely world,
Move Bargs to the Bench, sign Amir to start, retain Calderon (get Jack out of there), Draft Cole Aldridge.
Cole
Amir
Somebody
Somebody
Calderon.
Revision,
Assuming Bosh for Bynum happens (probably not but one could hope)
Then don’t draft Cole, draft Xavier Henry
Then you would have
Bynum/Bargs
Amir/Reggie
Xavier Henry/Sonny Weems
Marco Bellinelli/Demar Derozan
Calderon/Banks
Bynum:
The guy just had his knee drained again for the 2nd time in about week and this time there was more fluid in it than one week ago.
Forget this guy. He isn’t worth $8 million a year, yet along $14 million a year or whatever he raped the Lakers for.
I hear ya,
Ideally it would be Houston in a sign-and-trade but Houston is not on Bosh’s list, though I would like to have Ariza and Jordan Hill.
I would however be happy with Deng and Taj Gibson so that we could Draft Aldrige and make it
Cole/Bargs
Amir/Taj
Deng/Sonny
Marco/Demar
Calderon/Banks
As an aside,
What does everybody think of Belinelli?
His adjusted +/- numbers are relatively good. His other advanced stats aren’t
I believe that he is clearly better than Derozan and is a better option if they want to field the best players instead of rebuilding
What do you guys think?
Um, adjusted +/- is nice when taken with many grains of salt. This also goes for Amir, and FYI, I think he’s great and hope he stays in Toronto.
That said, you simply *cannot* take a player who played only 1121 minutes last season (Belinelli), or averaged 1182 minutes over the last two seasons (Johnson), and expect him to perform the same way over a 2000-2500+ minute span. It changes who you play against, your energy level throughout the game, how hard you can defend, etc. As a very shallow example (not to be taken as any actual projection of performance), if you were to project Amir’s stats last season over additional minutes, while factoring in the highest fouls/game (Marc Gasol’s 3.7) to keep things realistic, Amir would have the highest FPG stat in the league if he averaged just over 21 minutes a game. Something would obviously have to change for him to play significant starter minutes.
Same goes for Belinelli. He definitely has certain strong points, but a team featuring a 4/5 starting lineup of Calderon, Belinelli, Johnson and Aldrich (FFS, it’s Aldrich, not Aldridge =p) is going to be competing for the cellar. Belinelli’s peak will probably be as a role player on a decent playoff team.
I’m a big fan of Belinelli, but I have to agree, Calderon, Belinelli, Johnson and Aldrich as a lineup is certainly not going to scare anyone. Well, unless your small forward is LeBron.
I do think Belinelli still has a bright future, and he’s probably the most complete wing player the Raptors have. I think a team could do far, far worse than having Belinelli as their starting SG.
Good stuff,
thanks for the replies
It will really be his 4th season.
The first two years he only played 11 games for the Pistons and spent most of his time bringing donuts and lighting up the D-League.
In addition last season was his first post high school year that he ever received any legitimate coaching.
The Pistons screwed him big time and to tell the truth I don’t even count the time with the Pistons as NBA experience except for about 3 months in Jan – Mar 2008 when Saunders played consistently with the Zoo crew and they were the best second unit in the NBA.
The best asset we have right now is Bargnani.
$10 million probably looks reasonable on the NBA market and Bargnani does have offensive skills (though he isn’t particularly) efficient.
People in the NBA like scoring, so in an ideal world we could leverage that overvalued Bargnani skill into something that could truly help our team.
Udoh needs to get bigger. Patrick Patterson and Paul George are really nice players could be amazing replacements for Turk if we can get rid of them. If raptors can get a high pick from a trade maybe like 5-8 and if Greg Monroe is on the draft board its a rap. Greg Monroe is an amazingly gifted player and will help out Bar-gs on the front court. My choice for the 13th pick is Avery Bradley, if he’s still on he is still on the draft board.
Hey phdSteve word of advice: Don’t call a guy that is alot bigger then you are a “Kid”.
lol!
Bruce Lee had no problem with that.
Size only takes you so far and the bigger they are the harder they fall.
I don’t recall Lee refering to Kareem as a kid either.
The words of a short man.
If he can Mbah-Moute his way through the NBA, then hw will be successful in the league for sure.