The comeback begins!

[Papalrep]

https://heavy.com/sports/los-angeles-lakers/nba-rumors-news-shabazz-muhammad-workout/

[Papalrep]

Oh, wait, who was drafted next after our man Shabazz?

[Lipoli390]

We never should have let Bazz go.

[BloopOracle]

I remember posting on the ESPN Timberwolves message board that he was a lock to be a multiple NBA All-Star lol

[FNG]

I'll admit I drank the Bazz kool aid too, bloop....especially during his 2nd year. He was so effective on the left block that I thought he might be almost unstoppable around the basket. Then I realized it was the only thing he could do on offense, and defenses quickly adjusted to him. What a huge disappointment he was.

[TheFuture]

Bazz was extremely talented, he just didn't understand what passing was. When the ball got in his hands, there was one single objective. Try to score, you could just put 3 guys on him if the ball ever moved to him.

[Q-is-here]

I remember posting on the ESPN Timberwolves message board that he was a lock to be a multiple NBA All-Star lol

I believe Wildwolf was a massive backer as well.....we all have our misses. I thought we should draft Wiseman over Ant and Ball. Doh!

[Jester1534]

I bet he still can hit that left handed bank runner shot and that's about it

[Q-is-here]

You guys remember the Eddy Curry Line? Curry was a slovenly "baby Bull" that averaged more turnovers than the combined sum of assists, steals, and blocks. He was Fantasy death for anyone that dared to draft him, although he could score the ball, which is what duped teams to keep his career alive longer than necessary.

Bazz was almost Curry's equal when it came to the lack of assists, steals, and blocks. But he also didn't turn the ball over much (unlike Curry) because he basically shot it the second he touched it!

The thing about Bazz is that his physical makeup and overall motor (he did play hard if I recall correctly) is PERFECT for today's game. He had the athletic skills, strength, and size to play small ball 4. He could have turned himself into a 3 & D role playing gem with a post game. But like so many Wolves draft picks before and since, he never developed his 3-point shot and he always thought himself as a scorer first and foremost.

[Monster]

You guys remember the Eddy Curry Line? Curry was a slovenly "baby Bull" that averaged more turnovers than the combined sum of assists, steals, and blocks. He was Fantasy death for anyone that dared to draft him, although he could score the ball, which is what duped teams to keep his career alive longer than necessary.

Bazz was almost Curry's equal when it came to the lack of assists, steals, and blocks. But he also didn't turn the ball over much (unlike Curry) because he basically shot it the second he touched it!

The thing about Bazz is that his physical makeup and overall motor (he did play hard if I recall correctly) is PERFECT for today's game. He had the athletic skills, strength, and size to play small ball 4. He could have turned himself into a 3 & D role playing gem with a post game. But like so many Wolves draft picks before and since, he never developed his 3-point shot and he always thought himself as a scorer first and foremost.

I think what was more problematic than his 3 point shooting (career 40% shooter from the corners but the 3 point shooting was a problem) was his defense at the 4 would have been problematic. His team defense on the wing was bad and so I don't think he was going to give any help which hurts a lot at that position. One of the advantages of playing a smaller guy is that they are quicker than a bigger player so they can cover more ground have quicker hands etc. Bazz even though he certainly tried hard just didn't seem to get playing D. I think the last year or so he improved on the wing both as an individual defender and as a team defender but the bar was pretty low.

The guy I thought fit the modern game even better is Anthony Bennett. I thought maybe the time he spent with the Toronto organization would get his career on track to be a decent role player but nope. I think for him it was mostly mental...and his 3 point shooting was less reliable than even Bazz but he would have offered some other stuff. Reading a bit on Wikipedia, a couple years ago an international team signed Bennett but let him go to add Dante Cunningham. Ouch. Dante Cunningham was a solid player and he had a relatively nice career for a guy picked early in the 2nd round.