The best thing about Black is his contract. His one NBA-level skill is rebounding, and it is possible that he becomes a decent backup Center. With the deal that he is on though there is very little risk to giving him a shot, and adding another big body allows the Lakers to more easily trade someone like Hill, Sacre, or Davis if and when the time comes.
Tarik's First Interview As A Laker http://www.nba.com/lakers/video/2014/12/29/141229practiceblackmov-3476719/?cid=TW
On the plus side to offset the many skills he is currently lacking, Tarik seems to have a good attitude. From Eric Pincus: New Laker Tarik Black ready to work hard, add defensive presence "I'm thankful and grateful for the opportunity to play for such an amazing organization," said Black of the Lakers. "Growing up and playing basketball, you look at the team with the most NBA championships, a team with a vast history of great players, from guards to bigs, and a whole array of greatness just surrounds this place. Hopefully I can just come in and be a part of it." Technically the Boston C Bags have 17 titles to the Lakers' 16, but Lakers fans won't mind the fuzzy math. "Playing basketball is bigger than money or fame or anything like that. I really love the game," said Black. "Coming in here and seeing the great history and tradition of the great players, rings, conference championships, I want to be a part of it. I want my name to be written on these walls in some way, shape, form or fashion. Undrafted out of Kansas, by way of Memphis, Black played 25 games with the Rockets, starting 12 games for Dwight Howard, who sat with a knee injury. Black averaged 4.2 points on 54.2% shooting, along with 5.1 rebounds. The 23-year old said he appreciates the opportunity the Rockets gave him. "I got a blessing just to put on an NBA jersey. I went undrafted. I was under the radar," said Black. "They presented me the opportunity to actually play in the NBA then on top of that when Dwight when down, I became a starter, and who would have thought a non-drafted free agent rookie would be starting eight games into the season?" When the Rockets needed roster space, they chose to cut Black because he was more likely to be claimed off waivers than some of their other players. With the Lakers' claim, all of Black's $507,336 salary comes off of Houston's books, dropping the team back below the NBA's $76.8 million luxury tax threshold. Black said he understood the business aspect of the decision, and that Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey spoke to him multiple times about the move. "I took it positively. I can't take it hard," he said. "I don't apply pressure to myself. You can apply pressure to yourself in some abstract ways, and that's one of them. Thinking, 'Well I should take it hard because I was just cut. What am I going to do?' "That's not my style. I just play the game. I play as hard as I can. Somebody will like me if I play as hard as I can. Somebody will pick me up. Somebody will give me an opportunity and if they don't, then I just probably wasn't good enough to do it, but thus far it hasn't been proven yet." Black also said he loves playing defense -- which happens to be a desperate need for the Lakers this season. The NBA lists Black as 6-foot-11, but he's a bit shorter than the 6-foot-10 Ed Davis. How tall is he really? "In shoes, 6-foot-9," he said. "That's not something I did myself, it's just the way it came out." Black is under contract with the Lakers now for two seasons. He hopes to make the best of his time. "I don't want to look at it as like a chip on the shoulder," said Black. "I'm thankful and grateful for my opportunity. "This is a blessing for me and I want to take full advantage of it." Email Eric Pincus at eric.pincus@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus. http://www.latimes.com/sports/laker...d-work-defensive-presence-20141229-story.html
^Thanks for posting...if he could turn into a cheap, servicable, big, great. He has a Team Option for next year, and if he performs well, and from my understanding can offer him a QO for this 3rd year if we want to keep him.
Wish there were more clips of this guy than that one Houston game. Anyone have a link with some other footage worth looking at?
Here's some, don't know how good, I need to look at as well. I still want to know how the bleep Houston had him at 6'11". Tarik Black youtube highlights
It would have been nice to see him get some garbage minutes last night if the Lakers had been able to hold on to that 20 point lead. Still though, it'll be interesting to see if he can carve out some space in our rotation. Boozer and Davis have been rock solid. Hill has struggled, but he's got some slack out there. Sacre has been neither terrible or awful, so maybe Tarik starts seeing more of those minutes.
I watched Tariq quite a bit while he was at Kansas. He never blew me away with any particular skill, but he brought a certain level of energy and aggressiveness to every game. He played hard in limited minutes. Looks to be the same type of guy in the NBA. He might not be an all star, but I think everyone will be happy with the level of energy and hard work this guy brings.
So he is basically a replacement for Hill then. Not the offense but is he better defensively on the boards or protecting the rim? It seems that Hill gives us more but we have to deal him regardless.
Well, I think Hill is the better (or at least more talented) player on both ends. But, I think given the opportunity Tarik can put up similar numbers and may end up being better defensively purely off of effort. Tough for me to predict given that I haven't watched much of him against NBA competition. I can't see him ever being the offensive player Hill is, but I could see him matching him in terms of rebounds, blocks, etc.
Tarik's Interview After His First Practice http://www.nba.com/lakers/practice-tarik-black-12/31/14?cid=TW
good analog, in that they came in being undersized/underskilled and make up for it with energy and toughness. I look forward to having him in the lineup. he's shorter and less talented than hill or davis, but he's got the mindset to get down to business. sacre has some of that but is just so woefully unathletic that it's hard to make it work. black moves a little better, and that could be the difference between towel-waving and actual impact.
Nothing but praise for Hill. He's played hard and improved consistently. He earned his paycheck nightly. He'll be a great component of a good team. I'll be sorry to see him go. If Tarik can give us some solid rebounding and toughness on D, that'll be good enough.
