The Rage Monster wrote:I'd have to give us an A for Robinson and a B for LaVine with an overall of a B+. This grade really comes down to one thing, what you think of LaVine. Personally I don't love the pick, I think LaVine lacks the mentality that great players have, but I can see why Flip picked him. Outside of the top 3 there was one player I thought had a chance to be a franchise, 1A option and that was LaVine. He has all the athletic ability and basketball skill so I can't blame Flip for passing on that.
Rage -- I agree with you that Zach was the one player outside the top 3 (or 4 if you include Exum as I do) with star potential. I liked the LaVine pick a lot on draft night and like it even more now. Actually, I think Zach does have the mentality of an elite player. I noticed it at his introductory press conference at Target Center. The way he talked exhibited a definite swagger -- not arrogance, but that type of defiant self confidence we generally refer to as swag. And he also has an edge to him -- a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Watching and listening to him at that press conference raised my already high level of confidence in him. Since the press conference I heard Flip referring to Zach's presence or "it" factor that struck Flip when he interviewed him. I think I now know what he meant.
Obviously I could be wrong and it wouldn't be the first time. But guys, I think Flip landed a real gem in Zach LaVine.
The Rage Monster wrote:I'd have to give us an A for Robinson and a B for LaVine with an overall of a B+. This grade really comes down to one thing, what you think of LaVine. Personally I don't love the pick, I think LaVine lacks the mentality that great players have, but I can see why Flip picked him. Outside of the top 3 there was one player I thought had a chance to be a franchise, 1A option and that was LaVine. He has all the athletic ability and basketball skill so I can't blame Flip for passing on that.
Rage -- I agree with you that Zach was the one player outside the top 3 (or 4 if you include Exum as I do) with star potential. I liked the LaVine pick a lot on draft night and like it even more now. Actually, I think Zach does have the mentality of an elite player. I noticed it at his introductory press conference at Target Center. The way he talked exhibited a definite swagger -- not arrogance, but that type of defiant self confidence we generally refer to as swag. And he also has an edge to him -- a bit of a chip on his shoulder. Watching and listening to him at that press conference raised my already high level of confidence in him. Since the press conference I heard Flip referring to Zach's presence or "it" factor that struck Flip when he interviewed him. I think I now know what he meant.
Obviously I could be wrong and it wouldn't be the first time. But guys, I think Flip landed a real gem in Zach LaVine.
I really hope you're right, if he does have that mentality we'll end up with a great player. I haven't heard everything he's said but I do agree that what he has said does sound good. The issue I had was from the few games I saw him play, he didn't seem to have it, there was just something missing that I couldn't quite put my finger on. It's similar to GR3, he has all the tools but regardless of who was on the court he was their 3rd or 4th most important player. I'm hoping the real issue was just his age, being behind experienced guys, and not actually his mentality.
