Can someone make sure that PDA and Vivek see all these Moreland threads and polls?
Send the links to their twitter or Facebook accounts?
I don't have control over "all" the polls, but this one is definitely going to be promoted to TPTB.
Can someone make sure that PDA and Vivek see all these Moreland threads and polls?
Send the links to their twitter or Facebook accounts?
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.
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.
I think our last 2 roster spots should go to Moreland and brooks. They've done well in summer league and they bring what we need. A defensive blocking big and a possible 6th man spark plug that we all wanted IT to be. Give them contracts for the minimum with a team option for the second year.
Moreland was pretty average offensive rebounder in college and that usually directly tied to strength. I'm not just talking about obvious guys like Love or Griffin, who will certainly overpower Moreland, but a lot of bench guys...not everyone is Channing Fry, that's for sure.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!
Looking at b-r.com, it was probably just Summer League, because I remember reading, that he was tried out as SF first.His NBA career? You might want to check up on that one.
“If I block a shot and say something to (an opponent), he’ll try to do something and that will get them out of their game,” Moreland said. “Blocking shots is a real momentum changer and it really sets a tone. So I’m happy to go block a shot anytime I’m in there, block as many shots as I can and get under their skin.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/20/6569940/kings-take-a-long-look-at-moreland.html#storylink=cpy
“I’m completely locked in,” Moreland said. “That’s what this team needs, shot-blocking and rebounding. That’s just my niche. I don’t necessarily focus on it, but I go out there ready to play every day, and I just want to bring my energy because that’s what they’re looking for and that’s what’s going to help us win.”
Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/20/6569940/kings-take-a-long-look-at-moreland.html#storylink=cpy
The weight isn't an issue for me. Pretty much all the best defensive bigs in the NBA are around that weight anyway and there's numerous examples throughout NBA history of guys his weight being elite defenders.
The next logical thing to do is to see if he can continue this success in Reno next year and work on his game. Next level up of competition, more sample size for us to get a more clear look at him. There's no reason to send him to the NBA team and just let him sit at the end of the bench. Would much rather see him put up a strong year in Reno and possibly groom him for a rotational spot the following season.
The best defensive bigs don't weigh 224. Even the guys in that range with potential need another 15lbs at least to be able to hang and bang. And I'm actually not entirely sure with his build he can add it. Just a scrawny build.
But that's the thing. Moreland DOES have the same size and build as the other athletic shotblockers in the league like Sanders, Davis, Hendon, Chandler and Camby.
Yeah, it'd be nice to get a full sized defensive center like DeAndre Jordan or Andre Drummond but outside of those two guys all the athletic shotblockers/weak side defenders are about the same size and build.
Now Serge Ibaka has about 20-25 lbs of pure muscle on all the guys I first mentioned and it doesn't help him bang at all. In fact he's routinely abused in the post. Something about that long, lean build just works against being a man defender in the blocks.
That's why a guy like Jason Thompson is valuable. As a change of pace when teams like the Spurs or Grizzlies are playing two physical bugs and you need someone to defend down low.
The best defensive bigs don't weigh 224. Even the guys in that range with potential need another 15lbs at least to be able to hang and bang. And I'm actually not entirely sure with his build he can add it. Just a scrawny build. But this is a summer league invite we're talking about, not a Top 5 pick. To find even a guy without perfect size who not only has the right traits, but actually uses them with enough enthusiasm to be an impact player in SL is just a flat gift.
Maybe we can find some Hollywood doc to lipsuction off 50lbs from Sim's middle and squirt it into Moreland. Then we could come out of SL with 2 promising young bigs.![]()
http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/20/6569940/kings-take-a-long-look-at-moreland.html
Some good stuff here. Sign him asap
Jeeze Brick,
For years and years you've complained about us not having a shot blocker on the roster....Now we finally may have found a legit shot blocking prospect, and he's too skinny for you!
Just no pleasing some people....![]()