Thabeet

[ATWizJr]

I say later in the first round

[GGGG]

I think he'll go high, but I think the jury is out on how successful he will be.  Tall centers, with limited offensive game, aren't as valuable in the NBA as they are in the NCAA.  They are going to pick and roll him to death and NBA players will either shoot over him or blow past him.

But part of the problem is that it is really hard to tell who is going to be good in the NBA sometimes because you don't know about work ethic.  I never thought Big Baby Davis was going to be a good NBA player, but apparently has worked his ass off, got into a good situation, and is thriving.  Will Thabeet work on developing a good mid range game?  Who knows.

[BrewCity83]

Lottery pick.  You can't coach height.

[dwaderoy2004]

he will be gone by the 4th pick.

[reinko]

Lottery pick and bust in the Association.

[PuertoRicanNightmare]

Are you guys kidding? He's twice the player Mutumbo was in college and that guy's been in the league for 20 years.

[Ready2Fly]

Are you guys kidding? He's twice the player Mutumbo was in college and that guy's been in the league for 20 years.

My thoughts exactly.  I hope he falls to the Heat, he's the type of center that would thrive alongside Wade.  I wish he had declared last year so the Heat could have picked him instead of Beasley.

[MilTown]

Top 10 pick for sure. I think if he continues to work on his offensive game and develop his basketball IQ he will have a long NBA career. Maybe not dominant superstar statistics, but a solid NBA player.

I think he will have some problems in the NBA because of his slender build and injury problems. For a big man, he plays very soft. I look at what Blair was able to do to him. The NBA 4 and 5 positions with some exceptions are filled with big physical players that may be able to just overpower Thabeet.

In the end, the guy is 7-4, athletic, and has a decent shot. No way you pass that up if you are a GM.

[RawdogDX]

Lottery pick and bust in the Association.

Lottery pick and bust for the first 3-4 years but then he'll develop into a solid contributer.  Kind of like tyson chandler.

[reinko]

Are you guys kidding? He's twice the player Mutumbo was in college and that guy's been in the league for 20 years.

Say what you will about my prediction of Thabeet, but to claim he was twice the player Mutombo was in college?  You gonna back up something with that statement PRN?  Lemme do it for you.  Both Mutombo and Thabeet played 3 years of D-1 ball, here is Mutombo's last year in college.

Points: 15.2
Blocks 4.7
Rebounds: 12.1
Assists: 2.3
FG%: 58%
FT%: 70%
http://www.hoyabasketball.com/rosters/alltime-m.htm

And Thabeet this year.

Points: 13.6
Blocks: 4.2
Rebounds: 10.8
Assists: .5
FG%: 64%
FT%: 62%
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=31559

[Ready2Fly]

Say what you will about my prediction of Thabeet, but to claim he was twice the player Mutombo was in college?  You gonna back up something with that statement PRN?  Lemme do it for you.  Both Mutombo and Thabeet played 3 years of D-1 ball, here is Mutombo's last year in college.

Points: 15.2
Blocks 4.7
Rebounds: 12.1
Assists: 2.3
FG%: 58%
FT%: 70%
http://www.hoyabasketball.com/rosters/alltime-m.htm

And Thabeet this year.

Points: 13.6
Blocks: 4.2
Rebounds: 10.8
Assists: .5
FG%: 64%
FT%: 62%
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=31559

He's not twice the player Mutombo was... he IS Mutombo.  As a GM, if I were guaranteed a Mutombo and I had a hole at center, I'd take him in a heart beat.

He will have a better career than Oden, easily.

[CAINMUTINY]

Some of the top 5 picks have a distinct need at center and with his height and production in college he is sure to be a top 5 pick.....

[jmayer1]

+1 Reinko.  Some people don't let facts get in the way of their outlandish arguments.

[reinko]

He's not twice the player Mutombo was... he IS Mutombo.  As a GM, if I were guaranteed a Mutombo and I had a hole at center, I'd take him in a heart beat.

He will have a better career than Oden, easily.

I just think the NBA has drastically changed since Mutombo was drafted in 1991.  The 90's were filled with teams with back to the basket centers and the studs were: (Shaq, Hakeem, Mutombo, Mourning, Ewing), but then every other team just tried to fill the hole in the middle with any 7 footer they could find (Yinka Dare, Jimmy Mac...).  The athleticism of of your run of the mill NBA player has exponentially skyrocketed.

Will Thabeet have a serviceable career?  Sure, I stand corrected, maybe "bust" wasn't quite the right word.  But to already annoint him the 2nd best shot blocker of all-time (Bill Russell #1 and Mutombo #2) with 0 NBA games under his belt, and 0 games against a fellow 7 foot stud, I just think it is a stretch.

I just think back to the amount of times I saw Thabeet lying on the floor in pain this year, only to come out and how DeJuan Blair peppered his sauce on national TV.

[GGGG]

He will have a better career than Oden, easily.

What?  They're the same guy except Oden's been injured.  I may have missed something here, but Thabeet isn't really all polished offensively.  He'll be a fine defender, but as reinko correctly pointed out, the NBA is different now.

[dwaderoy2004]

except, as you pointed out, thabeet doesn't have a history of injury.  Oden will go down, with sam bowie, as one of the greatest busts of all time.

[lurch91]

What?  They're the same guy except Oden's been injured.  I may have missed something here, but Thabeet isn't really all polished offensively.  He'll be a fine defender, but as reinko correctly pointed out, the NBA is different now.

Oden already plays like a 40 year old Robert Parish.  He plays a step too slow for a 22-23 year old young man.

[Pakuni]

Top 5 pick, solid, but not spectacular, NBA player. If he can learn how to stay out of fould trouble, I could easily see him average 15 ppg, 10 rpg and 3 bpg. Think Chris Kaman, minus the bad hair.