[joe2BAParticipant]

I for one, think the Mutumbo comparisons are realistic. At Georgetown, Mutumbo recorded 15 points, 12 boards and 4.6 blocks per game his senior year (at the age of 24). Hasheem Thabeet averaged 13.6 points , 11 boards and 4.2 blocks per game his junior year. Thabeet recorded those numbers in a conference by many considered one of the best of all time (not me), and three years younger than Mutumbo (21). So physically (Hasheem is taller and stonger) and from past production, I believe Thabeet has developed faster than Dikembe at this point in his career and has a higher ceiling. However, Mutombo was extremely intelligent having originally intended to become a doctor, interned at the US Congress and the World Bank, and speaking almost 10 languages. During his proffessinal career, he proved he had the heart of a lion on and off the court. I firmly believe half the battle in developing into a great player in the NBA is work ethic and desire. And Hasheem has shown flashes of immaturity off the court, so it remains to be seen if he will develop those attributes. BUT, I have read time and time on this forum people arbitrarily bashing Thabeet. “HASHEEM THABUST” bluu blaaa blee “CAREER BACKUP CENTER” durp de derk “Grizzles would be stupid to draft him” LA DE FREAKIN DA! That’s all I read in this forum and it drives me nuts. I am NOT A UNCONN FAN, I am a student and proud lifelong fan of KU, who will win it all in 2010!! But anyway, I have no partiality towards Thabeet and I just go by what I have seen. And what I have seen is the best defensive presense I have ever witnessed at the colligate level who can run the court with any seven footer in the game not named Duncan, KG, and Gasol. He can develop into a reliable mid range shooter because of his good shot soft touch on his shot and great follow-through. On top of that, according to Chad Ford, Thabeets strength trainer Tom Vachet (a former navy seal) said he doesn’t believe Thabeet has ever lifted weights performed any sort of the core training that Vachet excels in. That kid has no quit in him,” Vachet says. “That’s an intangible few kids really have.” I firmly believe if you put Thabeet in a good situation where he has solid coaching and veteran leadership, he could be better than Mutumbo. The talent is there, But HE has to want it.

[dolla33]

thabeet shouldnt go to memphis they have no need for him they have marc gasol and alot of big centers thabeet is coming to oklahoma city thunder they would have much use for him.. memphis drafting rubio or trading down sacremento should pick up rubio

[BlackMamba24Participant]

He is there defensively. He is still learning as a offensive player which is going to make him even better. It is hard to find a center in these days that can be the strength of your defense for 10-15 yrs. he not only blocked a lot of shots, he changed many other.

[NYK2010Participant]

If Oklahoma drafts James Harden where will Thabeet land in Minnesota, NY? Most likely Warriors, Wizards won’t draft him unless another team offers wants him in a trade.

[Nico4nicolasParticipant]

I like your analysis, the guy is tall and the size is often overrated in NBA but he is more than that. Despite that, the translation of his game to NBA is in question, there is no doubt that he is a NBA player but how well will he perform? As you said Mutombo had two things, he was very clever on the court and outside plus he had this mental strength to give everything for the team, as an example, he sacrificed his body to try to contain O’Neal during the NBA finals. He also gave a lot to motherland Congo as he helped to build an hospital there.
Mutombo was good but he wasn’t so skilled, he made the difference by his desire like Ben Wallace did, this is the question about Thabeet but Hasheem seems even more skilled than the two above so, will it be for the best or will he rely to much on what he has (size and some talent)? That’s the only question about him.

[joe2BAParticipant]

Well put. Exactly what i am talking about Nic.

[j1232eParticipant]

center has almost gone extict in the nba. Each and every team needs a shoot blocker. Lets hope he does not turn out to be shaun bradley.

[Ch13f23Participant]

It would be best for Thabbet to go to OKC cause there he wouldn’t worry about scoring the ball cause OKC would only ask him to grab rebounds and block shots or at least changed the shot, cause they already have players that could score in bundles. And with that he wouldn’t rush his game to develop some offensive to be a better player.

[tonyl33Participant]

It would be best if he went to the Twolves. Why? Because he’ll have Al playing PF doing all the work down low on offense and he’ll just have the role of playing D and picking up trash points. Twolves also have Love who can work the post so he’ll never have to worry about developing his post game early in his career and just be a contributor on D. The Twolves just need to draft a decent PG with their 2nd and 3rd pick. But I highly doubt the Twolves will get a chance to draft him. But I do believe he’ll be better off in MN then anywhere else because he’ll get to play hug mins and gain the experince because the Twolves will not be a contender for a few more years, by then he will have already devolope his post game going into his prime.

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

I think my biggest concern with Hasheem is injuries… I don’t know if that body can withstand 82 games + playoffs…

The question is does the reward warrant the risk?

In this draft, especially if you’re the Twolves drafting at 6, with two other picks to fill the PG need and with 10+ decent PG prospects, the answer is YES. If he falls to them, the woofies would be DUMB to not take him. I feel the same way about Jordan Hill. He may create a log jam at PF, but he’d be the BPA, and you can’t teach size! who cares if he’s not a true center, how many of those are there in the league?

Take the best asset, unless you’re a piece away from being a contender. That’s what GMs are for, turning those assets into a winning product.

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