The case of the missing tree.

[fnordius]

A couple of years or so back, Piksi noted that our D would be a lot better if we just took a tree, put a Kings jersey on it, and left it somewhere around the paint. Aside from a few games when Muss or Muss Jr. decided to play Justin Williams, we haven't really had anything like that in several years. No King has had 100 blocks in a season since '02-03 (our last good blocking year), when CWebb had 88, Vlade had 105, and Keon had 150. I realize the impossibility of replacing Vlade, I'm thinking more of another Keon.

With Thabeet, Gortat and Fesenko all looking like they're headed elsewhere, has anybody put much thought into more readily available trees? I'm kind of looking at Kravtsov http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Slava-Kravtsov-5044/ since he's about the best young tree in Europe right now, and is projected as a realistic possibility for us (may go undrafted). Others in the same situation are Luke Nevill http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Luke-Nevill-548/ and John Bryant http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/John-Bryant-5317/ , neither of whom have much chance of getting drafted. It's pretty slim pickings this year WRT shotblocking bigs, and I'm tempted to consider some of the smaller candidates, but after watching guys like Stephane Lasme have their game not translate in the NBA, I'm kind of pessimistic about those under 6'10"...

I realize that talking about guys who might go undrafted is way less fun than discussing how we'll get Lebron in our next trade, or the #1 out of the Clippers, or other pipedreams like that, but I'm hoping that, just maybe, this fairly severe hole in our roster will get fixed one of these days, even if it's only by a lukewarm guy off the bench.

Anyone else been thinking about this?

 

[Bricklayer]

As an aside, 02-03 was also the last year when we werre really effective defensively. Go figure.

The difficulty is that that missing tree can only be valuable if it actually gets to plant itself out on the floor. And with Spencer and Jason already there, the only way that tree could get enough minutes to truly make an impact is if he was good enough to be the 3rd big. First big off the bench with 20+min a night. Are a Kravtsov or a Nevill really going to be able to do that?

Oh, and BTW, the more the merrier when it comes to trees. If we want to take a tree to be our 3rd big, and another to be our 4th, great. Just have my doubts whether anybody undrafted is going tobe able to come in and get 20+min as a 3rd big for us.

 

[NME]

There is only one true Tree. All others are imitators!

 

[fnordius]

As an aside, 02-03 was also the last year when we werre really effective defensively. Go figure.

Bizarre coincidence, huh?

...the only way that tree could get enough minutes to truly make an impact is if he was good enough to be the 3rd big. First big off the bench with 20+min a night. Are a Kravtsov or a Nevill really going to be able to do that?

Kravtsov's a big "maybe," he's around Fesenko level. The other two would probably go the way of Nik Caner-Medley, and give us a good Summer League show before heading off to Europe. But that's what summer's for, right? Test out the long shots and see which of them might work out? You never know...

Because we're going to need at least a third PF/C, regardless. Greene or Nocioni are only acceptable PF options if we're playing small ball, and that would be a bad idea with most matchups. JT and Hawes can't play 48 minutes a night, so... who will it be? There's nobody that's remotely tempting at #4, or at #23, and at #31, Heytvelt can't even manage 1 block per game. Claver seems totally wrong for it, too. Macvan only blocks shots by accident. That leaves... Taj Gibson (PF ONLY) at #31? If, given his combination of size and athleticism, he can even be an effective shot blocker in the NBA, which I rather doubt. And I'd have to be convinced that he's worth the #31, which I'm not at the moment. That's the only reason I'm thinking about guys who don't require draft picks, I'm just not seeing any good alternatives without trading up or down (which I really doubt will happen).

Even if our #3 big only gets 10 or 15 minutes a game, our guys would have a chance to practice with a tree. That could come in very handy when we see an opportunity to upgrade.

I realize that another year is probably going to go by without an end to this situation, but I was hoping that somebody could think of a candidate or two that I've overlooked, whether drafted or undrafted.

 

[Arby's Roast Beef]

Kravstov's very much like Fesenko in many ways--very strong, bulky big man with mobility and athleticism, but still raw around the edges. But I actually like the potential upside with him--his big men markers are quite good (he's only a reasonable rebounder for a big man right now but he's a really good offensive rebounder, he has a good free throw rate, and he can really block shots. But he's just terribly raw and this shows up in his skillset--he is extremely foul prone, turnover prone, shoots his free throws below 50% (which says a lot about the progress of his jumpshot) and he's the worst scorer in the EuroCup, so he doesn't even look to score offensively . He might not amount to much of anything offensively at all besides catching and dunking or scoring off offensive rebounds, but the defense can potentially be very good. He would be good for a pick in the 50s to see what amounts of him, but we don't have that luxury, so probably just forget about him.

 

[Bricklayer]

I realize that another year is probably going to go by without an end to this situation, but I was hoping that somebody could think of a candidate or two that I've overlooked, whether drafted or undrafted.

In this particualr draft there really is pretty much only Thabeet and then...nobody. Couple of guys who might or mgiht not be able to get an occasional block. Couple of atheltic tweener forwards. But only one force. And all the rest fo the top shotblockers aroud the country were all Justin Williams clones -- 6'9" 210lb college centers

 

[fnordius]

In this particualr draft there really is pretty much only Thabeet and then...nobody. Couple of guys who might or mgiht not be able to get an occasional block. Couple of atheltic tweener forwards. But only one force. And all the rest fo the top shotblockers aroud the country were all Justin Williams clones -- 6'9" 210lb college centers

Not ALL, but I admit it's pretty bad. Kravstov's currently listed by draftexpress as being the very last pick of the draft, so he could still happen. But most of the NCAA guys, that's true about.

Then again, if you dig deep into the NCAA candidates, you could just end up with Chief Kickingstallionsims http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/player/profile?playerId=23355 on your team, and how cool would that be? Best name since World B. Free!

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

This is exactly why I started a thread about Sun MingMing, a 7'9 center from china, he isnt very mobile, but neither is a tree. I really dont see why some team wont give him a shot .. he should be able to give a solid 10 mpg off the bench.

 

[Entity]

In this particualr draft there really is pretty much only Thabeet and then...nobody. Couple of guys who might or mgiht not be able to get an occasional block. Couple of atheltic tweener forwards. But only one force. And all the rest fo the top shotblockers aroud the country were all Justin Williams clones -- 6'9" 210lb college centers

Sooooo do we draft Thabeet at #4 then take one of (if available) Lawson, Maynor, Teague, or Collison at #23 then the ungaranted at #31 taking Mills or Beaubois for pg insurance.

Just a thought because like you said after thabeet that tree is nowhere in sight.

 

[SLAB]

Haven't heard Sun Ming Ming's name in a good long time.

Sadly the best literal tree in the nation, Kenny George, got a staph infection and had part of his foot amputated.
http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/...enny-george-has-part-of-right-foot-amputated/

 

[fnordius]

Haven't heard Sun Ming Ming's name in a good long time.

He's having his best year ever, playing for the Hamamatsu (Japan) Phoenix, and getting 20 minutes a game. Unfortunately, he still only gets 0.7 blocks per game, I suspect because he's too slow to get in front of anybody, they just run around him. And that would be all the worse in the NBA.