Could Shabazz improve like Oladipo or Otto Porter?

[HornetGuru]

Both porter and oladipo's freshmen years were not good but they worked hard and improved, bazz is a fierce competitor and hard worker so i dont see why not, it was his first year of challenging competition so i def see him getting way better, 19 points as a freshmen is sick. Ill do oladipo's sophmore year since he was so young.

Otto Porter freshmen: 10 points 7 rebounds 22% 3point%
Victor Oladipo sophmore: 11 points 5 rebounds 21% 3point%
Shabazz Muhamad: 18 points 5 rebounds 38% 3point%

if bazz didnt go into the draft this year i could see him having a 20-6 year next year while shooting around 45% from 3.

Also bazz plays in a highly constrintive offensive scheme in UCLA where its not easy to score but he does it. Also I think he is a much better defender than people think. Same for being a great athlete, i dont think he is elite, he isnt as good as oladipo but better than porter, if u go watch his draftexpress video he has a couple dunks where he absolutely posterizes people with authority and gets up plus his 7ft wingspan.

also like i said i think he can be a very good defender, he might not be quick enough for SGs but he did fine in college, but vs slower small forwards his strength and wingspan could cause havoc.

[HornetGuru]

Both porter and oladipo's freshmen years were not good but they worked hard and improved, bazz is a fierce competitor and hard worker so i dont see why not, it was his first year of challenging competition so i def see him getting way better, 19 points as a freshmen is sick. Ill do oladipo's sophmore year since he was so young.

Otto Porter freshmen: 10 points 7 rebounds 22% 3point%
Victor Oladipo sophmore: 11 points 5 rebounds 21% 3point%
Shabazz Muhamad: 18 points 5 rebounds 38% 3point%

if bazz didnt go into the draft this year i could see him having a 20-6 year next year while shooting around 45% from 3.

Also bazz plays in a highly constrintive offensive scheme in UCLA where its not easy to score but he does it. Also I think he is a much better defender than people think. Same for being a great athlete, i dont think he is elite, he isnt as good as oladipo but better than porter, if u go watch his draftexpress video he has a couple dunks where he absolutely posterizes people with authority and gets up plus his 7ft wingspan.

also like i said i think he can be a very good defender, he might not be quick enough for SGs but he did fine in college, but vs slower small forwards his strength and wingspan could cause havoc.

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/...Muhammad-6270/

[Tomdda]

It's possible I suppose, but I wouldn't bet a whole lot of $$ on it. Decisions like that are why GMs make the big bucks, for better or worse.

[IVAN_NOH]

I would take shabazz anyday

[donato]

Anyone could get better. Hopefully some of that so-called competitiveness turns into him learning how to play defense and get his teammates involved a bit more. As it stands I can't imagine a pick that I'd be more disappointed in if we take him.

[Pelicans78]

He's also older for a freshmen so he was more filled out compared to Porter. Porter was much more efficient as a freshmen than Shabazz and also younger right now. He was 18 at his freshmen year at Gtown while Shabazz was 20. Also Porter has more overall game while Shabazz is just as scorer.

[bradael]

Maybe. But one big issue with Shabazz is he's older than most freshmen. Shoot, he's 7 months older than Otto Porter... so is it really even fair to compare Shabazz's freshman season to Porter's freshman season?

It's kinda like calling McLemore a freshman when he's really a sophomore as well.

[Eman5805]

Progression isn't exactly something you can unerringly tie to age like an NBA 2K metric. A 20 year old rookie will progress this much. A 19 year old will progress even more. And a 12 year old? Ho boy, gold mine!

[HornetGuru]

Progression isn't exactly something you can unerringly tie to age like an NBA 2K metric. A 20 year old rookie will progress this much. A 19 year old will progress even more. And a 12 year old? Ho boy, gold mine!

are u a priest?

but i agree, age does matter but only to a certain extent, if they werent ready to go they wouldnt have.

[bradael]

Age to improvement factor certainly isn't an exact science, but it's more measurable than a player's heart/will to improve. Teams will certainly take age into consideration because players are expected to reach their prime around 24 years old in the NBA. I remember seeing a graph about a year ago someone put together that factored in numerous players based on their age and statistics, and it basically backed that up across the board.

I think the bigger concern with Shabazz is that he's basically just a scorer and doesn't do much else... at least not to this point. But his age will certainly be brought up when scouts/coaches talk about him before the draft.

[Snarly]

Age to improvement factor certainly isn't an exact science, but it's more measurable than a player's heart/will to improve. Teams will certainly take age into consideration because players are expected to reach their prime around 24 years old in the NBA. I remember seeing a graph about a year ago someone put together that factored in numerous players based on their age and statistics, and it basically backed that up across the board.

I think the bigger concern with Shabazz is that he's basically just a scorer and doesn't do much else... at least not to this point. But his age will certainly be brought up when scouts/coaches talk about him before the draft.

That's the same reputation Rivers had going into the draft. He didn't do anything well other than scorer. And many people didn't believe his offense would translate.

The key is to find out if he's willing To do what it takes to improve the areas where he's weak in.

He's way too talented to overlook. You won't find very many 18-20 year old with that type of offensive abilities.

Team workouts will tell you a lot about him and his capacity to take directions.

[Hard'n'DaPaint]

Harrison Barnes had the same reputation too but he is doing pretty good ! He is clearly the superior athlete !
I like Bazz potential as a post-scorer. I can only see him improving as a passer and a defensive player.

[nolaslim213]

I don't like to look at age when I'm talking potential. Age has more to do with physical development, but your basketball tools come with experience, and that's why I look at years played in the league.

[flyPelican]

bazz would be a good pick. at least he has the best name

[bradael]

I don't like to look at age when I'm talking potential. Age has more to do with physical development, but your basketball tools come with experience, and that's why I look at years played in the league.

The chart I remember seeing took that into consideration as well, and improvement was clearly more dependent on age than experience. 25 year old rookies, for example, rarely showed improvement over their years in the NBA.

[nolaslim213]

The chart I remember seeing took that into consideration as well, and improvement was clearly more dependent on age than experience. 25 year old rookies, for example, rarely showed improvement over their years in the NBA.

I'm not talking about NBA rookies. Obviously, a 27 year old rookie like Gustavo Ayon doesn't have the same potential as a 19 year old rookie like AD. I'm talking about freshman/sophomores in college. Shabazz is an older freshman by a year or 2, but so is McLemore. Moreover, a guy like Lillard, who played 4 years in college, should be far ahead of a guy like Davis, and that's because of his experience more than his age. He was more prepared for the league because of how much basketball he had played up to that point. Davis obviously has a much higher ceiling, though, because of his limited experience. Same could be argued for Rivers IMO.

[JJackisangry]

Bazz proved in his first college season he can score in many ways. It was his first year of playing against serious talent, and he showed some promise. If he was 23 and a senior id be way more concerned. He still has plenty of time to grow.

[Eman5805]

I mean, a team that finds itself struggling to score in clutch situations, you'd think a guy with clear evidence of scoring in such situations would be more a no brainer. Yeah, he's got some red flags, but the bulk of it sounds a lot like guys like Kobe, Melo, or Harden.

[MMEmbreno]

Yeah if Bazz is there with the 6th pick we need to snag him. Offense is a must for this team and he is the one player in this draft who could have an immediate impact scoring the ball. Sure Monty will hound him to play D and he will have to earn every minute. However, as far as scoring potential this guy can easily be a career 16 to 18 PPG type guy and that is evident just by watching him and how bad he wants to score. This is our guy, I'm telling you, this is our guy.

[Pelican589]

Is anyone else concerned by Shabazz's lack of assists? This team will not benefit from having a black hole on its offense (see: New York Knicks). I thought it was a major red flag on his character when he didn't celebrate his teammate's buzzer beater because he didn't get the last shot.

[flyPelican]

Is anyone else concerned by Shabazz's lack of assists? This team will not benefit from having a black hole on its offense (see: New York Knicks). I thought it was a major red flag on his character when he didn't celebrate his teammate's buzzer beater because he didn't get the last shot.

yea that the down side with the kid. looked like he was even concerned that they just won the game.

[flyPelican]

I mean, a team that finds itself struggling to score in clutch situations, you'd think a guy with clear evidence of scoring in such situations would be more a no brainer. Yeah, he's got some red flags, but the bulk of it sounds a lot like guys like Kobe, Melo, or Harden.

it will be hard for demps to pass on bazz

[Pelican589]

it will be hard for demps to pass on bazz

The small forward position can easily be addressed in FA with guys like Brewer or Korver if we don't bring back Aminu. If we can't get Porter, Burke, Oladipo, or even McLemore, I'd rather Alex Len. I hope Demps realizes that Shabazz is going to be nothing more than Carmelo Anthony, the type of player that'll never win a championship.

[Eman5805]

The small forward position can easily be addressed in FA with guys like Brewer or Korver if we don't bring back Aminu. If we can't get Porter, Burke, Oladipo, or even McLemore, I'd rather Alex Len. I hope Demps realizes that Shabazz is going to be nothing more than Carmelo Anthony, the type of player that'll never lead a team to a championship.

I agree. As the leader of a team, Melo will only fail. But as the 2nd best? Where he can only concentrate on what he's elite at? He can absolutely win a title.

[GESWhoseBack]

I agree. As the leader of a team, Melo will only fail. But as the 2nd best? Where he can only concentrate on what he's elite at? He can absolutely win a title.

So who Melo would have to play with? I don't think there is five players in the league better than him. And two of them play his position. He's screwed!