I think it's important to remember that if not for some off court problems, Moreland might have been a high 2nd round pick. Of all the players on our summer league roster that wern't on gurarnteed contracts ( Stauskas, McCallum etc. ), Moreland was the player I wanted to see. He didn't get much press at Oregon St., since they were a bad team, and to be honest, the only time I watched him play was when Oregon St. was playing a team I was interested in, like UCLA or Arizona etc. But in those moments, he flashed his defensive potential. So I would think of him in the same way we thought of McCallum last year. Young and inexperienced, but with potential that could develop into something.
The nice thing about his position, is that he's under little or no pressure. He has some big bodies ahead of him in the pecking order. So anything he does to move up in that order will be considered a bonus. Like McCallum he may spend some time in the D-League. Who knows, two years from now, he may be an important part of the team. I know that doesn't help the now, but you have to plan for the now, and for the future. That's what good teams do! I, like many would like to think that he'll get his share of minutes, but history tells us that coaches don't like rookies, unless their named Lebron of course. Coaches like experienced players that make fewer mistakes. So we'll see just how confident Malone is about his job.