Minnesota Sports Forum

Would you rather have measles or chicken pox, Tim?

This is going to be a development year for Shabazz and he probably should spend the year in the D League.

"In three summer league games here are his totals: 22 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1-5 from the FT line, 9-26 from FG."

That stat line is troubling given how much harder it gets playing against NBA talent on a nightly basis. At this point, I see Bazz riding the end of the bench and probably should be playing in the D League so he can get the playing time to get better. He's playing like the exact same player as his time at UCLA. No stats outside of points and not enough defensive skill to warrant playing time as a 3 and D guy. Right now he brings nothing to the table that helps an NBA team win games as he is scoring in a very inefficient manner and doesn't have any other stats that can help a team win.

I hope Flip sticks him in the D League and keeps Hummel who can stretch the floor and rebound well for a wing. The only promising aspect with Shabazz is that he is still only 20 and has the desire to get better, but he is a long way away from being a guy we should use in any capacity in any game. Keep a 3 man rotation with Martin/Brewer/Bud and we will be fine. Shved can still play some 2 against the smaller 2's in the league to fill in any leftover minutes. Bazz is going to take a while to develop and Flip needs to treat him that way if there is any hope for Shabazz to develop into a contributor.

60WinTim wrote:I thought I had seen a reasonable quick first step from Shabazz, but maybe that was an illusion created by my glasses... :geek:

So who becomes the better NBA player? Shabazz or D-Will? (it's disgusting I am even willing to ponder that question)

Tim, Shabazz had one of the lowest % of possessions in isolation last year with UCLA. He rarely beats his guy off the dribble. There is a reason a 6'6" 220 lbs player needs to rely on a 10-15 foot push shot: He can't get to the rim.

As for Shabazz vs. D-Will, I actually think D-Will has a leg up. While I still consider him fairly mediocre, he's at least become a legitimate rotation player that is deserving of minutes on most teams (albeit not starting minutes IMO). If Shabazz decides to really focus on his defense and 3-point shooting, he does have the size, strength, and competitive zeal to be a rugged defensive "3 and D" guy. But if he fashions himself as being the next LeBron James or Kevin Durant, forget about it. He's barking up the wrong tree in terms of his niche in this league.

Shabazz will be a better backup SG than Brandon Roy was last year. I'm glad to see the improvement.

Someone was talking about the D-League when we played them. They talked about how they are trying to change it where it is more like the minors in baseball where you can bring guys up and down and not have them count as a roster spot. It makes sense and I hope they change it soon.