RUMOR: Golden State Warriors head coach Don Nelson would have traded Monta Ellis to Memphis Grizzlies for O.J. Mayo + Hasheem Thabeet "in a heartbeat"

…thing is a bad joke. He’s 4-for-25, averaging less than one free throw per game. People’s percentages, in NBA terms, generally don’t count when you have that few attempts. If Devean George goes 20-25 on three pointers next season, he won’t be given the three point percentage crown.

The lack of attempts is what’s most troublesome, but the hysterics about his percentage aren’t worthwhile. I hope he’ll get back to his normal rate of drawing fouls and general good health after this offseason.

Flashier? yes. Special implies something else in my mind. Not And1 balling ability but actually game changing ability like Dwayne Wade, Dwight Howard or Kevin Durant (picked 3 random names, but they all are “special” in different ways).

Personally I don’t find either Monta or Mayo “special” Monta is the better individual, Mayo is a better team player. Mayo being in his second year also has higher upside. I would have pulled the trigger on this ‘theoretical offer’

Michael Jordan drew enough crowds as a rookie that the losing Bulls were second in league-wide attendance to the Sixers (who still had Dr. J).

…too early to put that judgement on Thabeet. I think dismissing a player strictly for reasons of reputation (he got sent to the D-League) and personal stigma (surely we haven’t had the best luck with big men around here) isn’t the way to go, you need to look at the specific contexts f each individual player. In Thabeet’s case, he’s stuck behind a guy in Marc Gasol who he almost certainly wasn’t going to beat out. Add Zach Randolph’s semi-resurgence and the frontcourt time gets a little thin. Additionally, Memphis wants to try to put some wins up this year, so giving minutes to who they consider a project center likely isn’t their gameplan. I know that in the minutes he did get, he wasn’t unproductive. He fouled a ton, that’s the most concerning thing. 2 fouls in a little over ten minutes, that gets you kicked out by 36. Still, he was keeping a 10 per game rebounding pace, as well as blocking shots at a very impressive clip.

Career averages per 36 minutes:
O’Bryant: 12.8 PTS (.514 TS%), 8.8 REB, 1.7 AST, 2.9 TO, 1.3 STL, 2.8 BLK, 9.0 PF
Darko: 11.5 PTS (.481 TS%), 8.5 REB, 1.5 AST, 2.2 TO, 0.8 STL, 2.6 BLK, 4.3 PF
Thabeet: 8.9 PTS (.606 TS%), 10.0 REB, 0.3 AST, 1.6 TO, 0.7 STL, 4.0 BLK, 6.8 PF

In his limited minutes so far, Thabeet has not just been better than POB and Darko, he’s been much better. He’s rebounded a good bit better than they have. They’ve both blocked a lot of shots, but he’s blocked a lot more… while blocks can be an overrated part of defense, a truly elite, league-leading-level shot-blocker is a big asset. Most importantly, he has scored with extreme efficiency, while they’ve scored inefficiently (wildly so in Darko’s case). And remember, this is comparing his rookie season to their entire careers… POB and Darko were even worse than this in their limited minutes as rookies.

Those two just aren’t good comparisons for Thabeet. A much better one is Andris Biedrins, who put up very similar numbers in his few minutes as a rookie: good rebounding and scoring efficiency, mountains of fouls. Andris was much younger, of worse, but Thabeet hasn’t been playing basketball for very long… I don’t know that there’s a huge developmental difference between the two as rookies.

Thabeet is not without his warts. His passing numbers are scary bad — only four assists in his 516 minutes — and that’s a real problem; even defensive-minded centers would ideally be able to move the ball a little bit. On the other hand, it’s not like he’s the only big man with this problem. Robin Lopez only has five assists in his 810 minutes; Joel Przybilla only had eight in his 681 minutes before getting hurt. Serge Ibaka and DeAndre Jordan are both stuck at ten assists, and they’ve both played more minutes than Thabeet. All four of those guys are highly valued by their teams all the same, because of the other things they bring to the table and, in the case of the three young ’uns, because of their potential to improve with experience.

The point is not that Thabeet will definitely become a good NBA player. The point is that he actually has played pretty well when given the chance, and that the odds are consequently pretty decent that he could become good. The Grizzlies seem down on him, but so what? We’re supposed to trust the opinions of a franchise that traded Kevin Love and Mike Miller for O.J. Mayo?

Thabeet’s not ballast… he’s a gamble. And a pretty good one.

Indeed he did. But the Nellie of 2010 is not the Nellie of 2006.

Teams in the NBA lost around $400 mil last year. No way the new CBA will expand player contracts. Owners are likely to lock out the players to be honest…..