Good take by Ben resulting in 2 FTs. I'd like to see more of that. Ben needs to slow everything down. His first jumper of the game he didn't square up...he was in a hurry to get it off. This is clearly going to be a process of learning for him......dude is green. Love the athleticism and there is great potential here but it's going to take time. If this was the old organization and coaching staff, I'd be a little worried but I think the ownership group has brought in a strict coach/teacher with a strong staff in Jent, Dee Brown and Malones dad. Also doesn't hurt to have Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullins around and the new personnell who are good character guys(GV, Moute, Landry). The whole key is how they develop Ben and Cuz and even Isaiah and dare I say Jimmer and Ray McC.
Kings vs Raptors - Summer League Game 3
- Thread starter nebs
- Start date
Look, he's done nothing again. He got one gimme fastbreak dunk at the end of the half on a play where I would have scored. He's not even one of the 5 best players on our summer league team so far.
You can see in this game that somebody told him to quit shooting and try to drive, which is unfortunate advice to have to give somebody billed as a shooter, but probably the correct approach. But he's got no gift for that either so the results are all over the place.
I actually do believe that he could do better in some sort of highly structured cocoon where he's being spoonfed, but the question there always is just how much of your team's energy/structure do you want to waste trying to build a perfect nest for a guy who isn't ready yet. Thornton is just >>> than MCLemore at the moment. And I don't even want to get back into the Reke thing.
Keep waiting for him to give us a spurt, just some presence, something. But right now if you did not know who the lottery pick was on this summer league team there's no way you would pick Ben.
You can see in this game that somebody told him to quit shooting and try to drive, which is unfortunate advice to have to give somebody billed as a shooter, but probably the correct approach. But he's got no gift for that either so the results are all over the place.
I actually do believe that he could do better in some sort of highly structured cocoon where he's being spoonfed, but the question there always is just how much of your team's energy/structure do you want to waste trying to build a perfect nest for a guy who isn't ready yet. Thornton is just >>> than MCLemore at the moment. And I don't even want to get back into the Reke thing.
Keep waiting for him to give us a spurt, just some presence, something. But right now if you did not know who the lottery pick was on this summer league team there's no way you would pick Ben.
The guy is not going to shoot 10% from 3 (currently he is 2-20) forever. Once he knocks down a few shots from there things will open up for him a little. Should we be concerned? Yeah a little. But considering there are 0 games of NBA exp on our summer roster and no one else has any ability to score its understandable he would struggle. If he still looks like this on Nov 1st then we may have a problem.
But he can pass, run an offense, play unselfishly and make others around him better, something Evans never really grasped. Yes its a drop in talent but if it makes us more of a team then I am all for it. Suffering through the selfish dysfunctional play of the last few years I welcome someone like Grevais. The thing I keep getting back to is if Reke is so good why did he wind up in New Orleans. OKC has a huge hole at SG but they had no interest, Dallas took Montae Ellis for gods sake with out even looking in his direction. There is a reason that winning teams did not make him any offers.
Ben Looks overwhelmed. Kid isn't ready to start, which isn't to say he won't be a player. Summer league, hell even rookie seasons, have been ugly for guys who have had long careers. With that said this is why I wanted to trade the pick. When you're mid lotto in a weak draft you can't expect a impact player out the gate. It could be three years before he's ready to make a real contribution, and of course there is always the possibility that he never does. I doubt he's a bust, his athleticism plus that jump shot are big time tools. Plus if you can get him to play defense you're looking at a nice package. We just don't have time for these projects. Cousins needed veterans around him to do the dirty work and spread the floor, role players I believe they're called, not kids trying to find their way.
I know the organization hyped this kid and everyone want him to slide into that starting spot, but it's not a fair expectation. I'll give him a year and hopefully we don't force him into a starting role just because the front office fell in love. Can't trade Thorton at this point either unless you have plans for to pick up another proven sg.
I know the organization hyped this kid and everyone want him to slide into that starting spot, but it's not a fair expectation. I'll give him a year and hopefully we don't force him into a starting role just because the front office fell in love. Can't trade Thorton at this point either unless you have plans for to pick up another proven sg.
Wow. Ben just can't dribble at all. He looks scared to dribble out there. He's not running to rebounds because he doesn't want to start the break. His shot is falling now and he's squaring up better. If he squares up and isn't shooting 3 feet behind the arc then he should be automatic. It's just that his handles have him playing scared.