Michigan Players in the NBA

I think where a player lands is usually crucial to their long term development. For most guys at least. Perhaps the top handful in each class it doesn’t matter as much. Buddy Hield and Dearon Fox are doing alright after being there but most other talents are struggling. Even Bagley has struggled.

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Exactly! I was always worried that Stauskas’ career would be defined by his defense. His handles and shooting seemed plenty good enough to find a role like Korver, Reddick, etc. The fact that he couldn’t shoot floored me.

I would set the O/U higher if you’re counting all of those guys. I think GR3, DJ, Moe, and Iggy are all going to be sweating their next contract. Even Burke is probably on a short leash and hoping the Mavs don’t bring in another guard.

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Wasn’t quite sure where to put this, but my buddy who’s something of a big shot at a company based in Detroit, is at tonight’s Pistons game sitting a seat away from Jalen Rose(!) at center court.

Asked my friend to get Jalen’s thoughts on recent events…a big ask, but I’ll let you know if I hear anything. :slight_smile:

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Apparently Jalen is a regular at Pistons games.

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Tim Hardaway Jr. had a nice game vs Duncan Robinson and the Jimmy Butler-less Heat. 36 points on 13/24 shooting (10/18 from three). Duncan had 19 points and 9 boards on 6/14 (4/11).

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20 point game on 4/8 shooting (3/5 from three) for Mo in a blowout loss to the Celtics. Iggy had 7 points on 9 shots :grimacing:

7 is still his 2nd best output in the NBA. #SilverLining :smile:

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In last night’s tank-fest by the Magic against the Celtics fan favorite Tacko Fall got some action late. In under a minute he had four blocks…three of them against our former Wolverines. Maybe take a jumper or something when Tacko is out there?

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Iggy got the memo to tank correctly. I hope the front office thanks him appropriately.

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Iggy is a great way to capture what “tanking” means in the NBA. Realistically he’s probably not worthy of an NBA roster spot…and certainly not a rotation spot…at this point in his career. Management wants to tank - players don’t. So management plays a guy like Iggy when they otherwise wouldn’t. Meanwhile Iggy is going to play his @$$ off trying to earn a shot next season. Same with Moe frankly. So teams will play hard, try to do their best and management hopes it isn’t enough to actually win the games.

Hopefully Iggy and Moe show enough to end up on a roster.

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I also think that these “tanking” teams take these last few games to evaluate fringe players. Give players the opportunity to get some reps and gives management the opportunity to see if some of these players have a future.

I know everyone has been down on Iggy’s lack of NBA athleticism, but there have been plenty of guys with “sub-par” (in NBA terms) athleticism that have carved out a niche. It’s about being on the right team with the right need.

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DJ Wilson has hit the Covid protocols. At this point in the season, this most likely means he’s out for the rest of the year.

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I was wondering why he didn’t get any play last night.

I think it isn’t exactly an athleticism thing with Iggy, it is that he’s sort of a tweener forward who’s not big enough to guard 4s and not agile enough to guard 3s. You can still find a role in the NBA for a guy like that…but he has to bring something meaningful to the table. Does he shoot well? Score? Rebound? Defend? Teams are more likely to keep a guy who does one of those things really well than a guy who does all of them sort of okay.

Hopefully Iggy can show something that warrants a team keeping him around next year. As with most ex-Beilein players, his outside shot hasn’t translated as well to to the NBA so that might not be it.

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Kinda incredible that Tacko Fall went from barely moving in HS to having a career in the NBA. I didn’t think he would be successful in the D1 level due to mobility but he worked hard at it and has made a career out of it

Calling Tacko an NBA player is a bit of a stretch. The dude gets mop up duty when the Celtics are up or down big. The Celtics could easily find a more productive guy to sit at the end of their bench.

Yeah, he’s the human victory cigar for the Celtics. I think it remains an open question whether he’ll get another contract.

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The fact he’s still on the NBA roster even as a human victory cigar is still remarkable. He wasn’t a viable NBA player until he developed into one even as a back end of the bench which is more than what most players can say in their career.

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Well right now he’s on an NBA team, which is what NBA players do…

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