Definitely looks like a franchise type center right now. He's still a baby in NBA years. Think of what Zubac can be in 2-3 years.
Zubac has an easy path because his biggest issue right now is his body. He needs to gain more muscle, trim the fat a little bit and get his conditioning up to par. I think thats the far easier "schedule" than having stone hands, no jumpshot or no off hand or whatever...he is pretty skilled for his size. Just put that body through the grind in the summer and he should see huge gains.
I don't know if we're going to see "huge gains" from Zubac physically. He's not a supreme athlete. His primary strengths are his size, soft touch, and his excellent feel for the game. Physical conditioning over the summer will help him when it comes to endurance over the course of an 82 game season, and maybe help him a bit on defending P&R. Endurance is more important IMO. So many 7-footers have trouble playing an 82 game NBA season. Durability is more important than doing a hulk transformation. So many big men have their confidence sapped after going through injuries. I don't want Zubac to be one of them. I have confidence that our training staff will keep him from doing what Ben Simmons did.
Really agree with your points on durability and endurance. Durability is obviously a given. But the endurance part is exciting, players like zubac generally don't have great endurance so they learn when and how to impact the game, that's why when their understanding of the game and basketball brain catches up to their body they start doing well - think Marc Gasol. However, if a player like Zubac has more endurance, he can make a greater impact earlier because he just has energy to attempt more things on the court instead of being winded, tired or needing to sit on the bench all the time.
I agree that Zubac will not likely turn into Dwight Howard physically or anything, but remember he said he'd never lifted before he came to the States. There's going to be a lot of room for him to build on his frame. However, ideally I don't want him building on that frame. At his size, his strength really needs to be more functional.
I'd just like for him to 1. Hold his ground defending (post and anchoring) and boxing out. 2. Learn how to hedge out on pick and rolls. 3. Develop some strength in the post, and a go to move.
Marc entered the league @ 24 years old and was an 11/7/1 guy in 30 mpg and didn't exceed 14 ppg until he was 30. He's never averaged more than 9 boards in a season and is averaging 6 reb this year. While he is peaking in scoring now (19.9 ppg), he is also shooting .460 as his game moves more and more outside (he's also dishing a lot this year, 4.6 asst pg). He's averaged 33.8 mpg career. Far from a dis on him, I wish we had kept his pick, but we are comparing a kid that has been 20 years old for 1 week and has 4 years to get to 11/7/1. On the (10) games he's played over 20 minutes this season Zu is: 13.8 pts 7.4 reb 1.5 blks on .571 shooting - not bad for a kid still poppin' zits and considering he hasn't really had steady lineups in all those games; he's played with different guys and hasn't had a lot of squad stability. Interesting that his PER is 17.79, higher than Marc's. I don't know if Zu will be the passer Marc is, that's in the Gasol blood. But Marc wasn't a big assist guy to start with. But having watched so many young bigs flounder at this age I find his poise remarkable and his game surprisingly developed seemingly by instinct (which is my favorite thing about this guy). If this kid spends some time not only pounding the gym this summer, but working with a world-class big (calling Dream or The Captain) he could be a force to reckon with a lot sooner than the norm for a big. How much so is the question but my money is on Zu to do some big things for us. Agreed, Zy will likely add some lbs regardless so if anything he needs to watch adding mass. He's not going to be a big back-you-down guy.
I think the main thing will be adding some muscle mass will help his explosion a little bit. Not going to be prime Dwight or anything, but you can add a little bit of explosion by putting on some muscle.
The majority of what he needs will come in his butt and legs anyway. That and his core strength will give him the maximum explosion he's capable of. It won't be much, but it'll be enough to surprise some people.
Agreed. He doesn't need to be a giant. He just needs strength. As for explosiveness and all that, I think sports training is showing that some views of "too big to be effective" are outdated. Defensive Linemen and athletic freaks. Linebackers can run all day at 240 pounds. Sports physiques are changing again, as they did from the early 80s into the 90s.
therealdeal said: come in his butt...give him the maximum explosion...It won't be much... trodgers said: Agreed. I think I read that differently.
what I liked was when he talked about working out and adding strength in the offseason, he specifically referenced the ability to fight for position in the post. He's not just talking about lifting and adding strength because it's what you're supposed to do. I'm fairly confident that, with the training staffs assistance, he'll tailor his regimen to be more for function than aesthetic.