Q&A: Aran Smith of NBADraft.net on Marco Belinelli

by Atma Brother ONE on Dec 20, 2007 12:18 PM PST in Interviews Comment 14 comments

Aran Smith of NBADraft.net already shared his thoughts with the GSoM community on Warrior rookie forward Brandan Wright. Up next is the man the Warriors took with the 18th pick in this past draft Marco Belinelli.

With all the summer league hype, the offseason praise from Nellie, and the Warriors marketing lacing the racks of the Warriors team store with #18 jerseys before you can say Belinelli three times fast, who would've thought at this point in the season Marco would have 31 points (23.9% FG, 29.2% 3pt), 8 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 turnovers, 3 steals, and 0 blocks-- TOTAL?

He's usually wearing a fly Italian suit, but he looks fly here too!
(Photo by Rocky Widner/NBAE via Getty Images)

We play a little Marco polo after the jump with Aran.

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Golden State of Mind: After being touted as a draft day steal and making some serious noise in the Vegas summer leagues, Belinelli seemed to come back down to earth in the preseason and so far in the regular season. Was his performance in the summer league a mirage? Does Belinelli have a long way to go and a lot of work to do before he becomes an impact player in the NBA or do you think that will happen this season? What averages (points, fg%, 3pt%, rebounds, assists : turnovers, and steals) do you see him collecting in his rookie season?

Aran Smith (NBADraft.net): A mirage? No way. Summer league play can be deceiving, but this is a player who proved he could be a successful pro in Europe, and hung with the best in the world starting for Italy at the World Championships in Japan (2006) against the USA team. Belinelli showed a ton of promise in the summer league and just needs to time to become adjusted to the speed and athleticism of the NBA. With Monta and Kelenna, there's a bit of a logjam at the position so it's difficult for him to get minutes. He's a special talent and I still believe they got an absolute steal, he's just had a rough start to his rookie season. Right now it doesn't appear as though he will get significant enough minutes to put up meaningful stats, but as the season goes along I think he will start to see more action and possibly be a contributor off the bench when the playoffs roll around.

Golden State of Mind: Last year when the Warriors went on that amazing 16-5 run to make the playoffs Nellie went super small and super fast with Baron Davis, Monta Ellis, Jason Richardson, Stephen Jackson, and Al Harrington. They were arguably one of the fastest starting 5's of all time. If Nellie decides to go that route again at some point during this season does Belinelli have the footspeed and quickness to run and gun with BD, Monta, Jax, and Al?

Aran Smith (NBADraft.net): Yeah I don't see any reason why he can't play Nellie ball and run with those guys. He isn't as fleet of foot, but he's not exactly a slug. He is more of a liability on the defensive end where opponents are able to drive past him or back him down. Similar to the way the Warriors recently abused JJ Redick. Belinelli just needs to get stronger and learn how to better defend his position. He may never be a great defender, but he'll improve from where he is now and become far less a liability than someone like Redick.

Golden State of Mind: Fellow Italian Andrea Bargnani went #1 in the 2006 NBA Draft, but that class is widely believed to be much weaker than the 2007 crop. How do Belinelli and Bargnani's games compare? When it's all said and done which Italian sharpshooter do you see having a more fruitful NBA career?

Aran Smith (NBADraft.net): That's sort of comparing apples and oranges since they play different positions, but both players have a tremendous skill level and scoring ability and neither is a great defender. As much as I love Belinelli, Bargnani is 7-feet and a tremendous shooter. It will be hard for Nellie2 to end up as good. But I wouldn't rule out the possibility. Bargnani is already established, having one impressive rookie season under his belt. He has struggled so far in his sophomore season to improve his numbers, but he's been battling some nagging injuries. He is already a solid NBA player, so he clearly has less downside. Belinelli has yet to even prove he can even make it in the NBA. His skill level and effortless shooting stroke is reminiscent of early Peja, only Belinelli has great passing and better athletic ability. Belinelli's ability to successfully make the adjustment to the speed and athleticism of NBA 2-guards and bring his defense up to speed will determine his long term success.

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Also see:

We've still got Aran's preview of the 2008 NBA Draft on tap, but make sure to check out his thoughts on Brandan Wright if you haven't already.

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asdf

Three questions?? I got nothing new out of this interview :( Get him back on the horn and ask him about Marco's personality. Is he the type of player that will be willing to take on a small role on this team? Can we rely on him to come into a game for 10 minutes a night and do nothing but protect the arc and launch threes? Can he put his ego (does he have an ego?) aside and focus on D to earn himself the minutes he will need to prove that he belongs in the NBA?

And so on and so forth. I'm more concerned with Marco's psyche than his talent, we all know dude can play...but when will he start actually, you know...playing?

"Oooh, watch yo biceps Buk, watch yo biceps Bukie."

by tobin on Dec 20, 2007 12:57 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

M.I.A.

Logjam?!?!? I wanna know if he's even got a shot with a Azbuike and Monta playing outta their minds right now. The dude looked liked the second coming of Manu Ginobli in the summer league. Is he even gonna get time to develop with some court minutes? What does Nellie think about this? Does anybody know? I wanna see this kid on the court, at least in some back up small ball lineups. What's really good?

by addisports on Dec 20, 2007 1:33 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

I don't know

"an absolute steal" as the 18th pick? That implies Bellie will at least be a good player. Smith says Belinelli has to get used to the speed of the NBA game and improve his defense, but doesn't mention his poor shooting. Belli doesn't have chance in this league unless he markedly improves his shooting stroke. And he's had good looks. Remember, he was a low percentage shooter in Europe.

But perhaps Smith meant that Bellinelli won't get the chance to improve his shooting unless he improves the former. I agree that he doesn't play defense well enough to stay on the floor.

I don't buy the logjam at the SG postion theory. The Warriors are one of the thinnest teams in the league. They could always use a 4th guard, otherwise Hudson wouldn't have been playing. If Nelson thought Belli could play, he would be.

by San Francisco Slim on Dec 20, 2007 2:14 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Thin?

The Warriors are not one of the thinnest teams in the league. Though the point guard and center position could use more depth, the positions Belinelli would be playing are taken up by exciting youing players that are contributing at an incredible pace. I don't think you could call it a logjam but they definitly aren't thin.

Playoffs!!??

by PAWarrior on Dec 20, 2007 5:41 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Again

The Warriors are 8 deep. That is thin. When Troy Hudson is (was) your fourth guard, you are definitely thin at that position.

by San Francisco Slim on Dec 20, 2007 8:59 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

that's a colda blow Thin

Poor Thud. Guys are kicking him more now that's down and out :-)

You call me ancient, I say "oldguysrule"

by commish on Dec 21, 2007 10:03 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Like I said

They are thin at point guard, but Belinelli doesn't play point guard. You can't just group all of the guard positions together. There would not be minutes for a lot of shooting guards in this league with the kind of play the warriors are getting out of Ellis and Azibuke.

Playoffs!!??

by PAWarrior on Dec 21, 2007 3:56 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

Belli up?

Marco won't get enough minutes this season to show the marked defensive improvement that Aran Smith is talking about.

From what I've seen of his time on the floor, Marco is so convinced that he needs to hit 3's that he is not allowing himself to get into the flow of the game. Italians are known to be crafty players, the kid needs to make some back door cuts and get a layup or two before trying to drain 27 footers. I think he is trying to prove himself so hard that he is not playing the game, but forcing things. He is a better player than he is showing right now.
Tim Fitz brought up a good point that its tough for rookies to get minutes on a team with playoff expectations. That's fine as long as he's learning and will be a better player next year (if Kelenna moves on for big bucks).

!!Spree for three!!

by peteb24 on Dec 20, 2007 6:10 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

Uh???

How is he supposed to be forcing things when he's not getting any minutes? I just want to see the dude get a chance.

by addisports on Dec 21, 2007 11:40 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

poor marco, he need more minutes

I still like Marco. Not to be off topic or anything, but does everybody agree that Dwight Howard will always be better than Greg Oden (even if you compare the two at their primes which has yet to come) just like LeBron will always be better than Kevin Durant?

by CatchAndShoot on Dec 20, 2007 9:31 PM PST reply actions 0 recs

You can't say that just yet with any certainty.

Oden hasn't played this year and Durant hasn't even played half a season. Meanwhile Dwight and LeBron are in their 4th and 5th seasons.

Your opinion may have more basis once Oden and Durant actually hit their strides as Dwight and LeBron have.

off topic but: Dwight > LeBron for me.

Warriors, Stupidest franchise in the league.

by kenntoe on Dec 20, 2007 11:20 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I agree

I think the odds are very good for those two things to be true. Oden would have to be the best player in the league to be better than Howard and basically the same with Durant being better than James. Oden and Durant might turn out to be terrific players, but the odds aren't great that they will be the best, just as they wouldn't be with any unknowns.

by San Francisco Slim on Dec 21, 2007 8:27 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

I Agree.

Durant dosent have the attitude of a star...

Like that Jersey commercial he has...he is so emotionless..

I have yet to see a star that has no emotion. except for Big Oger Duncan.

"We Like To Party, We like We like to Party" - Mbenga Boys

by WingStop Warrior on Dec 21, 2007 9:45 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs

NBADraft.net

I have followed his site for quite a few years now. I do prefer DraftExpress now, but I still check in on NBADraft.net from time to time.

I must say that I am a little dissapointed with the analysis in the last couple interviews. Is it me or does this guy come off as a (at least slightly) biased Warriors fan?

Anyway, keep the interviews comming. They are one of the more entertaining features here. Great job as usual.