SCKingsfan
Bench
I can't be the only one who came on after the game looking for a thread like this, or wanting to make one if there wasn't anything. He's got something we need, raw or not.
I'm on the Moreland band wagon. Are you?
- Thread starter VF21
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KingMilz
Guest
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
He considers his "signature move" to be a two handed block. Nice!
Chupacabra
Starter
I think I counted 4 blocked shots in the game. What was also really eye opening were some of his helpside blocks that didn't count due to the play being dead i.e. charges and blocking fouls. The guy swoops in out of nowhere like a bird of prey.
I will be upset if the Kings don't make an effort to sign Moreland. Yeah, he needs to gain weight and it remains to be seen how well he plays on the next level, but he's potentially a great fit next to Cousins and not that far away from possibly being a solid contributor.
Most bigs take a long time to develop. Athletic shotblockers are a bit of an exception to that rule, primarily because they don't have to learn to operate in the post which is what takes the most time. All Moreland really needs to operate next to an offensive machine like Cuz is a reliable 15 foot jumper and the ability to pick up on the team defensive scheme and translate what he's doing in summer league to the NBA.
There are a lot of bigs that put up deceptive block numbers in college. They accumulate them largely due to just being big and long and near the basket. And then there are the guys that go and get blocks with focus, timing and length. Moreland IS a shotblocker. And he deserves a shot with the Kings because he could potentially fill a need.
Most bigs take a long time to develop. Athletic shotblockers are a bit of an exception to that rule, primarily because they don't have to learn to operate in the post which is what takes the most time. All Moreland really needs to operate next to an offensive machine like Cuz is a reliable 15 foot jumper and the ability to pick up on the team defensive scheme and translate what he's doing in summer league to the NBA.
There are a lot of bigs that put up deceptive block numbers in college. They accumulate them largely due to just being big and long and near the basket. And then there are the guys that go and get blocks with focus, timing and length. Moreland IS a shotblocker. And he deserves a shot with the Kings because he could potentially fill a need.
ShastaKingsFan
All-Star
MassachusettsKingsFan
All-Star
Here is the thing with Moreland,
If we drafted a big time defensive player / shotblocker with a limited offensive game somewhere in the mid first/early second round of the draft and he was performing like this, we'd all be thrilled.
But he didn't get drafted, so he has whatever stigma that is associated with 60 other players getting picked before you, and I hate that. He's playing better than a lot of players in Vegas. He's playing better than a lot of defensive prospects other teams have drafted in years past. He deserves an invite.
Oh, and does anyone know what he was suspended for last season?
If we drafted a big time defensive player / shotblocker with a limited offensive game somewhere in the mid first/early second round of the draft and he was performing like this, we'd all be thrilled.
But he didn't get drafted, so he has whatever stigma that is associated with 60 other players getting picked before you, and I hate that. He's playing better than a lot of players in Vegas. He's playing better than a lot of defensive prospects other teams have drafted in years past. He deserves an invite.
Oh, and does anyone know what he was suspended for last season?
As far as I can tell from a quick online search the reason for Moreland's suspension was never made public. That being the case I'd guess it was something that broke team rules but not the law.
And to your point Moreland has been much better than the guy many Kings fans wanted to see them draft in Vonleh. Different players and Vonleh came out after his freshman year vs Moreland staying for four but still - if you didn't know their ages or where they were drafted you'd be hard pressed to find someone that thought Vonleh was the better prospect.
Per minute Moreland grabs significantly more rebounds, blocks 3 times as many shots, fouls less, and is slightly better in every other category except points per game and considering that Moreland is shooting 56% from the field and Vonleh is shooting 30% I wouldn't be too excited about that stat in Vonleh's favor.
Brad Miller was undrafted. So was Ben Wallace. Moreland has so far done everything he could to earn a shot in the NBA. Hopefully it's with the Kings.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
You know, while I do think he needs to get stronger, I don't think weight is a huge issue. Marcus Camby wasn't a guy you put on the front of a muscle magazine, but he was a great defender and shotblocker. Shotblocking and rebounding seem to come natural for Moreland. He should in time be a very good pick and roll defender because of his quickness and ability to switch back to defend the basket. Lest anyone think his addition to our summer league team was a lucky fluke, remember that the Kings had him in for a workout prior to the draft, and then brought him back for a second look. So he was definitely on their radar. I would be very surprised if he wasn't invited to our training camp, perhaps on a one year, unguaranteed contract that becomes guaranteed after playing a certain amount of games.
Camby started his career as SF and always was an average post man-to-man defender. Still your point somewhat stands, because Moreland will likely be used as PF for the time being, and if somehow he becomes good enough to start, he will do it as PF too. Rebounding will be an issue - he gets a lot of "out of his area" rebounds, but he loses mixing it up, fight for position type of boards.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
I'm going to disagree on the latter part. I was at summer league, and the part of his rebounding that impressed me the most, wasn't his out of area rebounds, although I love that part of his game, but the rebounds he got in a crowd. There were numerous times he was surrounded by three or four opposition players and he was the one that came down with the rebound. Now you can argue that it won't be so easy when he comes up against the Kevin Loves and Dwight Howard's of the world, and I would agree. But he has a terrific second leap, and I think he will more than hold his own. His rebounding isn't an aberration, he averaged over 10 boards a game his last two years at Oregon St.
As for position, I don't see him playing any position other than PF. I guess you could throw him out there at the center position if the other team were to go to a small lineup, but I certainly don't want to see him matched up in a man to man situation with Marc Gasol on a regular basis. By the way, since someone mentioned him performing better than Vonleh, I decided to look up how they measured up from the measurements at the combine.
Vonleh: 6'9.5"with shoes, 247 pounds, 7'4.25" wingspan, 9'0"standing reach.
Moreland: 6'10.25"with shoes, 224 pounds, 7'3.5"wingspan, 9'2"standing reach.
Much was made of Vonleh's huge hands, which certainly help when rebounding the ball, and catching the ball. So once again.
Vonleh: 9.75" hand length, 11.75" Hand width.
Moreland: 10.50" hand length, 12" Hand width.
So as you can see, Moreland actually has larger hands than Vonleh, along with being a little taller and longer. Not that any of these stats matter if they don't add up to results. On paper Vonleh looks like the better overall prospect. But it wouldn't be the first time that an undrafted player, or a 2nd round player ended up being better than a lottery pick. That hasn't happened yet in this case, and I would advise against getting overly optimistic. However, just maybe we've discovered a diamond in the rough. Maybe!
His NBA career? You might want to check up on that one.
bajaden
Hall of Famer
Well, to be honest with you, I certainly never looked at Camby as a SF. Not sure how UMass looked at him, but he didn't have much game away from the basket, and at the combine, he measured out to be 6'11"without shoes. They didn't have a with shoes measurement. Ironically, his weight was almost identical to Morelands at 224 pounds. I haven't seen too many 6'11"players play SF in college. Especially since good bigs are very hard to find. By the way, his senior year he averaged 20.5 points per game, grabbed 8.2 rebounds a game, and blocked 3.9 shots a game. Doesn't sound much like a SF either.
Hey Baja,
I just read your most recent post and it was interesting to see that Moreland actually has bigger hands and a greater standing reach than Vonleh. Also interesting because earlier today I was comparing Moreland's measurements to a few other guys in the NBA.
Moreland weighed in at 224 lbs. John Henson was 216lbs, Anthony Davis was 222 lbs and Tyson Chandler was 224 lbs. They didn't record body fat back in 2002 but the Brow and Moreland were both 7.9% Henson, despite being 8 lbs lighter had a higher body fat at 8.6%
In terms of height (w/o shoes):
John Henson 6'9"
Eric Moreland 6'9"
Anthony Davis 6'9.25"
Tyson Chandler 6'11.5"
As far as wingspan goes:
Tyson Chandler 7'3"
Eric Moreland 7'3.5"
John Henson 7'5"
Anthony Davis 7'5.5"
And here's how his standing reach compares:
Anthony Davis 9'0"
Tyson Chandler 9'2"
Eric Moreland 9'2"
John Henson 9'4"
Interesting that AD has the greatest wingspan but the shortest standing reach though you can see why when you look at how low his shoulders are set. And Larry Sanders has the most amazing measurements of any of these athletic shotblockers at 222 lbs with a ridiculous 4.9% body fat. 6'9.25" tall with a 7'5.5" wingspan and 9'4" standing reach.
Apparently Moreland didn't have his vertical measured at the combine but then neither did Davis. But I'd wager that he probably has a no step vert on par with Sanders or Henson at 25.5". Tyson Chandler was the only one that was really impressive at 31"
None of this is to say that Moreland will be as good as any of those players. After all, Thomas Robinson had measurements that compared very favorably to Blake Griffin and we see how far that alone got him.
But the overall point is that people who think he's not physically ready for the NBA need only look as far as these other players to realize that he certainly can be. And while some point to his age, only Chandler (who came straight out of high school) and Davis (a college freshman) were significantly younger. Henson and Sanders both came out after their junior year. And while Davis looks to have a frame that can get a fair amount bigger (and Chandler did fill out a fair amount) I don't see Sanders or especially Henson getting a lot bigger with their builds.
Moreland has a chance. And the best part is that he realizes it. He says all the right things, is trying to play the way he needs to in order to make a team and has pretty good defensive awareness, especially considering how sloppy and disorganized summer league ball is.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the kid.
ockingsfan
Starter
I am expecting an announcement that we signed Eric Moreland to a one or two year NBA contract after the final game tomorrow or Tuesday.
If the contract is not made by PDA within a few days I and a lot of kings fans would be really, really disappointed in this FO.
If the contract is not made by PDA within a few days I and a lot of kings fans would be really, really disappointed in this FO.
It'd be a major ball droppage if Moreland doesn't at least get a camp invite.
ockingsfan
Starter
I don't think you can just do a camp invite. You will definitely lose him to a team giving him a guaranteed or partial guarenteed contract.
PDA needs to get him signed to at leaset a two or three year NBA contract and watch him develop.
He is definitely worth a contract given to second round pick, contract similar to mccallums deal last year.
Glenn
Hall of Famer
Sackings123
Sluggah
All-Star
thanks! new forum functionality learned.
Judging by his sole other contribution to this message board, my guess is he's still bent out of shape over Whiteside not working out.
It looks like he only joined to promote his YouTube clips.
ockingsfan
Starter
Can someone make sure that PDA and Vivek see all these Moreland threads and polls?
Send the links to their twitter or Facebook accounts?
Send the links to their twitter or Facebook accounts?
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