What’s really lacking in Mo’s game at this level? Is there a role for him in the NBA?
Right now he’s out of the rotation but Robin Lopez hasn’t really shown he has anything left.
Defense.
He was a good offensive player last year.
They very clearly like Thomas Bryant better, and they were last in defense last year so they signed Robin Lopez in an effort to fix that (so far he hasn’t).
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Defense. Just absolutely putrid defensive player. He fouls at an obscene rate
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Yeah his foul rate last year was comical. He’d pick up 5 in 12 mins.
Just not picking up these options is pretty rare (as we were discussing with Jordan Poole) - my thought is that they just committed a ton of money to Davis Bertans to be the second unit 4, and the Wagner/Bertans front court is about as bad defensively as you can get.
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I love Mo but I am not sure what his NBA role is. He isn’t big or strong enough to be a true 5 and doesn’t have the quickness to be a stretch 4. I think his ideal role is to come in off the bench as a backup five and score more points than he gives up on defense.
I hope he gets a chance to prove he deserves a chance…look what happened with Christian Wood in a similar situation.
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It’s tough to know where to start with an argument this bad.
Agreed. The notion that you stop improving once you get to the NBA is just so weird.
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Yes, it’s the premise of why the NBA wants to draft young players - they think college coaches/the constraints college puts on training aren’t as effective at developing players.
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lol OK, I’d love to know how staying another year in college would have made him a better NBA player
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The idea of improving on your own dime vs a multimillion dollar contract…HMMMM!
Given that every promising player knows that–given injuries and acts of Providence–each time they step on the court could be their last. . . it’s only in hindsight that we might say that a player like Poole could have profited from another year in school. And since his relationship with coach Beilein was under strain. . .
One might even venture to say that the less successful Poole is in the NBA the smarter it was to GO.
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Poole is a very tough example to use. I was firmly in the camp that he would have boosted his draft stock (and thus first contract) by staying another year and improving his outside shooting and overall ability to create offense efficiently. I do believe that there’s ample evidence to suggest that Beilein would have helped him in both areas with another year.
However, in order for that to work Poole has to be willing to stay in college and put in the work and deal with the other parts of staying eligible (some guys are just ready to be a pro) and on top of that, the GSW still picked him in the first round and gave him a good contract based on his potential. So I guess you could try and argue that Poole may have moved a few picks closer to the lottery if he stayed, but overall it seems like he made a good decision. His ability to get the NEXT contract in the NBA wasn’t going to be related to staying another year - that comes down to showing you can play in the NBA.
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Mo’s big enough to play the 5 in the NBA, at least against most other 5s. Strong enough may be an issue. Mobility is of course an issue. Hopefully he gets another chance.
He did play the 5 in Washington. It’s all he played. His main issue is that he can’t move his feet or jump enough to play good defense and his best efforts end in fouls.
It’s tough to tell…it seemed like, in October and November and early December that he was playing offense well enough that you’d live with his defense. Then he got hurt, missed awhile, wasn’t great when he got back, then the league went on hiatus, and he was really bad in the bubble.
Oct to December injury: 11.8 points and 6 rebounds in 20 mpg. He shot 58% from the floor and 39.3% from three. True shooting over 63%
When he returned from hiatus it dropped to 6.8 ppg and 4 rebounds in 17 mpg. He shot 55.8% from the floor and 9% from three.
In the bubble: 5 ppg and 3 rebounds in in 15 mpg. He shot 36% from the floor and 15% on 3’s
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Yeah. I think if he can stick some 3s, or convince someone he’ll be able to, he’s got a potential future as a third-string center/situational matchups guy.
I totally agree with this in general as far as Poole’s personal development. But the offense was going to run through Simpson, so Jordan’s usage wasn’t going to go much higher (IMO). Like you said, maybe he becomes a more lethal shooter…but the young man got drafted in the 1st round, to a seemingly good spot (Klay injuries and losing KD left some unknowns). He made the right choice and one I would make 100 out of 100 times.
Again, I agree with your overall take. Just adding the realistic take that he had to leave because Beilein wasn’t going to take the ball out of X’s hands.
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I assume Mo will get another chance. Turning down his option was most likely scenario if he was falling out of favor this season because the team can replace him with a cheaper option for the vet minimum next season than his $3.9M salary.
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I’d think so too, agreed.