Minnesota selected Zach LaVine as much for his upside and potential as anything, and the rookie explained what he plans to do next in his development.
At 6-foot-5, LaVine has good size to play either of the two guard positions in the NBA, but he tells Jeff Caplan of NBA.com that his body is far from a finished product. The 180-pounder needs to add weight and get stronger, and he knows it.
"I definitely have to get in the weight room and let my body mature," he told the website. "But if they can't touch you, you know, strength really isn't a factor. I feel I'm a pretty physical person, just not the strongest yet, so I definitely have to get into the weight room. But I use my speed to my advantage."
Though the Wolves coaches have praised LaVine for his abilities and his work ethic, the big question is whether that will translate into a prominent role off the bench in 2014-15. Caplan speculates that the opportunity could be there, given that the Wolves currently have only J.J. Barea and Alexey Shved to round out the guard depth, but 2013 lottery pick Shabazz Muhammad is another young player who LaVine probably will have to battle with for minutes.
The fact this is his top priority is a good sign. The guy seems VERY motivated. Can't wait to see what he can do in 14/15'.
EDIT: fixed the quote that cut off most of the post. Thanks Hughes for posting it also.
Minnesota selected Zach LaVine as much for his upside and potential as anything, and the rookie explained what he plans to do next in his development.
At 6-foot-5, LaVine has good size to play either of the two guard positions in the NBA, but he tells Jeff Caplan of NBA.com that his body is far from a finished product. The 180-pounder needs to add weight and get stronger, and he knows it.
"I definitely have to get in the weight room and let my body mature," he told the website. "But if they can't touch you, you know, strength really isn't a factor. I feel I'm a pretty physical person, just not the strongest yet, so I definitely have to get into the weight room. But I use my speed to my advantage."
Though the Wolves coaches have praised LaVine for his abilities and his work ethic, the big question is whether that will translate into a prominent role off the bench in 2014-15. Caplan speculates that the opportunity could be there, given that the Wolves currently have only J.J. Barea and Alexey Shved to round out the guard depth, but 2013 lottery pick Shabazz Muhammad is another young player who LaVine probably will have to battle with for minutes.
Thanks. I like wings that aren't afraid to get physical and that can be a good indicator of his willingness to D up. Man it would be nice if Zach turned out to be the total package.
One guy Zach could learn from is Kevin Martin. He's always been on the skinnier side, but has always been good at creating contact on his way to the hoop or just before pulling up for a jumper. He definitely "hunts" for fouls, but it's been effective. Durant is a good example too, although he's not quite as obvious with it as Martin.
Q12543 wrote:One guy Zach could learn from is Kevin Martin. He's always been on the skinnier side, but has always been good at creating contact on his way to the hoop or just before pulling up for a jumper. He definitely "hunts" for fouls, but it's been effective. Durant is a good example too, although he's not quite as obvious with it as Martin.
Q, I hate when guys pull that crap, just as bad as flopping. Dwayne Wade's the master at both.
I'd like to see Lavine at about 195-200 by the start of next season. People on here are getting really excited about him, I think we should curb our enthusiasm a little bit here. It's just summer league. Somebody on here pointed out how great Smiling Wes Johnson was in summer league too.
Q12543 wrote:One guy Zach could learn from is Kevin Martin. He's always been on the skinnier side, but has always been good at creating contact on his way to the hoop or just before pulling up for a jumper. He definitely "hunts" for fouls, but it's been effective. Durant is a good example too, although he's not quite as obvious with it as Martin.
Q, I hate when guys pull that crap, just as bad as flopping. Dwayne Wade's the master at both.
I'd like to see Lavine at about 195-200 by the start of next season. People on here are getting really excited about him, I think we should curb our enthusiasm a little bit here. It's just summer league. Somebody on here pointed out how great Smiling Wes Johnson was in summer league too.
Right now LaVine might be better off hunting for fouls around the basket because he needs to improve his feel for finishing there quite a bit in addition to getting stronger.
On the strength part I really don't know how much he will pack on. He is young but I watched some workout videos of his he is pretty ripped for the size he is.
People comparing Lavine's SL to Wes or Flynn...there is no comparison IMO. Those guys were decent but all that really was impressive was they shot a high percentage. LaVine was much more impressive and honestly was probably the best player on the team except maybe Dieng depending on what you value. In SL I wanna see what things guys can do and LaVine showed actual ability to play PG plus some actual star talent while not embrassing himself in any catagory too much especially for a 1 and done guy that didn't even start. I'm getting too excited about him but he was VERY impressive and exeeced my expectations by a ton. I honestly won't be suprised if he is a legit contributor this season. I'm not expcting a lot but I won't be suprised if he does. Flip has a good history with young guards also.
Q12543 wrote:One guy Zach could learn from is Kevin Martin. He's always been on the skinnier side, but has always been good at creating contact on his way to the hoop or just before pulling up for a jumper. He definitely "hunts" for fouls, but it's been effective. Durant is a good example too, although he's not quite as obvious with it as Martin.
I'm not arguing that he shouldn't learn how to go strong to the hoop. I just hate the "fake shot, then jump into the defender while he's in the air and throwing the ball up" kind of stuff.
I didn't get to watch any SL games, but it sounds like he's been impressive according to other posters. That's definitely encouraging and it sounds like he can become a 5 tool player (to borrow a baseball term).
BizarroJerry wrote:
I'm not arguing that he shouldn't learn how to go strong to the hoop. I just hate the "fake shot, then jump into the defender while he's in the air and throwing the ball up" kind of stuff.
I didn't get to watch any SL games, but it sounds like he's been impressive according to other posters. That's definitely encouraging and it sounds like he can become a 5 tool player (to borrow a baseball term).
Yeah I also hate guys throwing themselves INTO the defender and then throw the ball up randomly, but I also like the art of legitimately getting the defender to come into YOU while making a good attempt at the shot. To me there's a huge difference. One is just the player going for the foul and the other is the player trying to make the shot while faking out the defender.
