Hawes and other current big men in the NBA

[venom_7]

The major difference I see between Hawes and Thornton is Spence will be 29 when Al is 34. That seems big to me.

 

[Packt]

The US still churns out athletic and skilled players, and Europe still puts out guys who do nothing with their fundamentals. International comps didn't start to get competitive until national teams started to corral athletes onto the basketball court.

Spurs, Heat, Spurs, Pistons, Spurs, Lakers

Where were the athletic, high-flyers that impacted their championship run? Martin and Camby don't seem to be pushing Denver deep into the playoffs.

I think "the athlete with potential" is getting overhyped. If anything, we're seeing a return to the skilled player. Athleticism will win you a dunk contest. Hawes is demonstrating that he can be a starter in the NBA, regardless of "athleticism."

Martin and Camby have both played in the finals. They lost to athletic frontcourts. Hawes is still a work in progress, but if he has the career Martin and Camby has had, injury plagued season and all, it'd be a successful pick.

There are legit reasons why athletic frontcourt players get the hype they do. Some, maybe even most will just be athletic, but a few end up as franchise players.