Is Donte Greene ready for prime time???

[Kingster]

It's all in his own hands. If he works hard, really buckles down and focuses on what he's supposed to be doing instead of taking up pre-game time bouncing the ball off the backboard to himself so he can dunk it repeatedly then perhaps some of us (well at least me) will take him a little more seriously. He's got a LOT of growing up to do. He's the one who decided to blow off college and head to the NBA. He's the one who decided he was ready to compete at the highest level without spending any more time in college honing his skills and learning more of the fundamentals about the game and being a team player. He's the one who has to decide how he's going to approach the rest of his contract with the Kings - and the rest of his future with the NBA.

And all that said, it was the Kings who traded for that player. So the Kings org better max out his potential or they just blew it.

Good article in the Bee today about Greene and Westphal. I think Westphal is on the right track in narrowly defining Greene's role. As time goes by, and Greene develops his offensive game, that role may be expanded, but first both he and the Kings have to get very comfortable in him doing things he can do well on the court.

 

[OptimusRhyme]

It's all in his own hands. If he works hard, really buckles down and focuses on what he's supposed to be doing instead of taking up pre-game time bouncing the ball off the backboard to himself so he can dunk it repeatedly then perhaps some of us (well at least me) will take him a little more seriously. He's got a LOT of growing up to do. He's the one who decided to blow off college and head to the NBA. He's the one who decided he was ready to compete at the highest level without spending any more time in college honing his skills and learning more of the fundamentals about the game and being a team player. He's the one who has to decide how he's going to approach the rest of his contract with the Kings - and the rest of his future with the NBA.

Loads of potential, mad skills and athleticism don't mean diddly or squat if he doesn't figure out how to use them. And believe me - if he was lighting it up in practice we'd know about it. Things like that have a way of getting out.

yah he probably should of stayed in college a cuple more years, but thats not the situation. the kings wanted donte greene regardless. Hes still so young, and has alot of time to improve because this team isnt going anywhere for a long time. and from the reports today in the bee it looks like hes already on the right path to proving alot of people wrong. We need rebounding and defense and Dontes got all the tools to do that. It all boils down to his effort now.`

 

[gunks]

http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/2247301.html

Decent read on Greene in the Bee today. Westphal is getting on him about shooting, and I guess Donte has gotten the message.

Also, he hasnt lost his sense of humor as evidenced by quotes such as:

"I know I'm probably going to be one of the lockdown defenders on the team..."

and

"I feel I can play all five spots".

Priceless....We should call him Magic Artest!

 

[reid1boys]

This team won 17 games last season, and that was with Cisco getting lots of minutes. Why repeat the same thing we did last year? Are you expecting a different result? Im all for a lineup of tyreke, Martin, Donte, JT, and Hawes.

What is the worse thing that happens? We win a few less games? Who cares. We know what Cisco is going to do. Id like to know what Donte can do and then make decisions based upon that. Donte got 1 start that I can remember last season, and he played pretty damn good.

Worse case we end up with a high draft pick again,and are any of you thinking we arent going to be in the lottery again?

All top teams need a STAR. Avg Joe players arent going to help us one bit. So we got Mason, Noc, and who else? And who cares. i know I dont.

i subscribe to the Jimmy Johnson thought process. he alwyas said you either want to be at the top or bottom, but being in the middle is not a good place. So stink again and hope you get another stud in the lottery. Only then can we think of getting out of this cellar we are in.

In the meantime, find out which young kids can play, and Dont is one Id like to see. Ive accepted the fact we likely lose 60 games again. i am ok with that, I am not Ok for just trying to do the same crap again.

 

[bajaden]

yah he probably should of stayed in college a cuple more years, but thats not the situation. the kings wanted donte greene regardless. Hes still so young, and has alot of time to improve because this team isnt going anywhere for a long time. and from the reports today in the bee it looks like hes already on the right path to proving alot of people wrong. We need rebounding and defense and Dontes got all the tools to do that. It all boils down to his effort now.`

This isn't directed at you, but at everyone that seems upset with the criticism of Greene. I don't think anyone wants Greene to fail. Nothing would make me happier than if he suddenly morffed into the next Dwight Howard. But first and foremost, I want the team to succeed. And if the team is better with someone else on the floor instead of Greene, then so be it. With the exception being, someone thats not in the long term future of the team. Thats why, at this moment at least, it comes down to either Casspi or Greene.

I want one of them to succeed. Both would be better, but I'll be happy if just one of them becomes a legitimate NBA starter. Now I agree that its too early to judge Casspi simply on two preseason games. Although, he did make people stand up and take notice. Kudo's to him. But, I can to some degree, judge Greene. I do have all of last year to look at. And when I do, there are obvious flaws in his game. I'm anxious to see him play in the rest of the preseason. I want him to succeed. I'm on his side. But I will point out his mistakes and hopefully do so in a fair way.

 

[mr. moustache]

Right. I would love for him to prove me wrong. I'm not hoping he fails, I'm just very underwhelmed with what he has done with his considerable physical talents up to this point.

There are major minutes at his position(s) if he wants them and if he has the talent to *take* them. I hope he puts it together, but I don't think he will. I also thought signing SAR was a good idea, so there you go.

This isn't directed at you, but at everyone that seems upset with the criticism of Greene. I don't think anyone wants Greene to fail. Nothing would make me happier than if he suddenly morffed into the next Dwight Howard. But first and foremost, I want the team to succeed. And if the team is better with someone else on the floor instead of Greene, then so be it. With the exception being, someone thats not in the long term future of the team. Thats why, at this moment at least, it comes down to either Casspi or Greene.

I want one of them to succeed. Both would be better, but I'll be happy if just one of them becomes a legitimate NBA starter. Now I agree that its too early to judge Casspi simply on two preseason games. Although, he did make people stand up and take notice. Kudo's to him. But, I can to some degree, judge Greene. I do have all of last year to look at. And when I do, there are obvious flaws in his game. I'm anxious to see him play in the rest of the preseason. I want him to succeed. I'm on his side. But I will point out his mistakes and hopefully do so in a fair way.

 

[gunks]

Well, if he tries to be a glass crashin, putback dunkin, shot blockin, high energy glue guy....I think he can succeed. And if his offensive game comes along later, we got ourselves a legit starter.

...But he cant be standing around waiting to jack a 3.

I for one cant wait for this season to start. I think we're going to be a high lotto team when it's said and done, but hopefully we'll be turning some heads with our future potential.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

Im one of Dontes biggest supporters (at least it feels like that .. seems like Im always defending him ) ... This doesnt mean Im saying you cant criticize him, Its just that when people tell me he doesnt deserve playing time and thats why he isnt getting any .. well, thats where I get upset.

If Desmond Mason gets playing time, its a waste of our time. Its that simple. Im sorry to those of you that are Mason supporters, but hes old. YES!! he is probly better than Greene and Casspi right now, and he should be. I think sometimes people forget that.. He should be better than our young guys. Kudos to him for that, but at this point we need to evaluate what we have, and for some reason a lot of fans here dont want to do that. I cant figure it out.

The WORST case scenario is we give Greene a lot of playing time and he absolutely sucks. And you know what? that still accomplishes more for us than giving that spot to Mason, because then we can say we tried, and move on from him. Cut him, trade him, whatever .. at least it tells the Kings FO and the fans, and even Greene, that he got a shot and didnt do anything with it.

 

[bajaden]

What is the worse thing that happens? We win a few less games? Who cares. We know what Cisco is going to do. Id like to know what Donte can do and then make decisions based upon that. Donte got 1 start that I can remember last season, and he played pretty damn good.

I understand your point of view. But you have to understand that there are people that do care about the winning. Most of us on this fourm are die hard fans. We search every nook and cranny for every bit of information we can find related to the Kings. We post articles on how many pancakes Brockman eats. A non basketball observer might call us fanatical. A word the the word fan comes from.

However, the average fan that on occasion goes to a game, doesn't look at things the same way we do. He or she doesn't care about the inner workings of the team, unless its on a tv show called the " Real basketball team of sacramento county ". The average fan wants to go to a game, be entertained and on average, expect the team to win. So when a saturday night is approaching and he thinks to himself, hey, maybe I'll go to a Kings game. He picks up the newspaper, flips to the sports section and see's the Kings record is 8 wins and 33 losses, and says to himself, maybe I'll go to a movie instead.

A large part of the Kings revenue's come from ticket sales. Ticket sales go up when your selling an attractive product. Just makes sense. 8 and 33 doesn't look so attractive to the average Joe blow, especially in the current economy. So while I understand your point of view, there are people that care about the wins and losses. And their point of view is just as creditable as yours.

 

[Eclipse]

Only when he stops jumping up and down and waiving for the ball at the 3 point line will I believe he truly understands & buys into what Westphal has been trying to hammer into him on what his role is with the team, and the dire consequences if he continues to not comply. Hopefully this will be a break-out season for him with Westphal at the helm providing clear direction on roles & expectations.

 

[reid1boys]

Bajaden,

I think you are misunderstanding my point. Sports is about one thing to me, winning or losing. Losing sucks. I coach a team sport, and I want to win ... period.

but this team is going to SUCK no matter who plays. That is my point. You are saying we hsould try to just suck a little bit less. IMO, sucking is sucking. If you win 15, 20 , or 25 fames, to me, it is all the same. That team is terrible.

Im just admitting this team is going to be terrible. Im not Ok with this. But if you play a veteran player that is not part of any future on this team, you are just plain stupid IMO.

Dont should get the minutes over some 10 year journeymen vet IMO.

You make it sound like I am just a casual fan. I am not. Like I previously stated, I live near Modesto and flew to Dallas to watch one foottbal game. Not too many casual fans drop 2k for one sporting event, unless it is the SB.


And does the casual fan go to watch a 25 win team anyways? i doubt that.

 

[bajaden]

BJladen,

I think you are misunderstanding my point. Sports is about one thing to me, winning or losing. Losing sucks. I coach a team sport, and I want to win ... period.

but this team is going to SUCK no matter who plays. That is my point. You are saying we hsould try to just suck a little bit less. IMO, sucking is sucking. If you win 15, 20 , or 25 fames, to me, it is all the same. That team is terrible.

Im just admitting this team is going to be terrible. Im not Ok with this. But if you play a veteran player that is not part of any future on this team, you are just plain stupid IMO.

Dont should get the minutes over some 10 year journeymen vet IMO.

You make it sound like I am just a casual fan. I am not. Like I previously stated, I live near Modesto and flew to Dallas to watch one foottbal game. Not too many casual fans drop 2k for one sporting event, unless it is the SB.


And does the casual fan go to watch a 25 win team anyways? i doubt that.

Quite the contrary. I think you sound just like me and all the fanatical fans on this fourm. That was my point. The casual fan doesn't think the same way we do. I was just trying to give the casual fans prespective. Let me be clear. I'm all for giving the young guys minutes. I even suggested starting Casspi over Greene and Mason because I don't see Mason in our future, ditto Nocioni, and Casspi has looked to have a better basketball IQ than Greene does. But I think the competition should be between those two and let the best man win.

 

[CruzDude]

Ahhh, errr, this thread is about Donte Greene and "is he ready for primetime". If one has an issue with another replier, best to communicate directly rather than airing any laundry, dirty or otherwise. We are all fans on KF.com Let's leave it at that.

 

[JerN820]

We knew that Donte was going to be a project when we acquired him in the Artest trade from Houston. Give him some time before coming down on him. It would be nice to see improvement soon, but some players just take longer to develop. Hopefully he does become a stud player....just before too long, when he could be on another roster. Gerald Wallace has become a decent player in Charlotte......

 

[reid1boys]

I think everybody in the Kings thought Wallace would be good. He was just on the wrong team at that time. He was on a top team where he wasnt, nor should have gotten many minutes.

This team is the opposite. They stink, so at least stink it up at the same time learn what this guy can do.


And I dont think this conversation ever wandered into being uncivil, not in the slightest bit.

 

[VF21]

I think everybody in the Kings thought Wallace would be good. He was just on the wrong team at that time. He was on a top team where he wasnt, nor should have gotten many minutes.

This team is the opposite. They stink, so at least stink it up at the same time learn what this guy can do.


And I dont think this conversation ever wandered into being uncivil, not in the slightest bit.

I think I know what CruzDude was referring to, as it's something we try and avoid at all costs:

You make it sound like I am just a casual fan. I am not. Like I previously stated, I live near Modesto and flew to Dallas to watch one foottbal game. Not too many casual fans drop 2k for one sporting event, unless it is the SB.

The whole casual v. diehard fan, rich v. poor, etc. is totally irrelevant around here. We're ALL Kings fans to what ever extent we choose or can afford to be. Some of us care only about the wins and losses; others of us are equally passionate about heart and hustle and the overall game experience.

Over the years, I think some of us have shifted from one category to the other or actually been part of several at the same time.

It's all good and our wide variety of fans is one of the reasons we're the most popular Kings fans board on the Internet. There's room for all of us...



Bottom line...and returning to the topic at hand... it appears that whether you're happy with him, frustrated with him or still waiting to see what he's capable of, Donte Greene certainly engenders passionate responses. Now all he needs to do is take them to heart and show us he dsserves the faith a lot of Kings fans have invested in him.

 

[Larry89]

He's ready for primetime, he seems pretty comfortable on his little Donte Greene show and I'm sure he would fit well on primetime television.

 

[CruzDude]

Revisiting this thread after game 4 vs. Warriors shows that Greene is not playing much at all: only 9 min. on the floor in 2 of the 4 games. Even K9 has more min. than that!! So, from this one can only assume he is farther from prime-time now. But no info from the Kings or the Bee as to what-why-when for him. Hmmmmmmm.............