...yet another kid in the premises [see Ingram thread]. The potential with him alone too. Moz has Big Brother duties.
OK .....your "week" of fun in the homeland and taking selfies with your GF standing next to you lounging in bed on balcony overlooking the ocean..... is over. Get your a** back to the Lakers facility and start working with the trainers in the weight room and on your game young man. Need to see pics of that now.
I need news on Zu!! The hits just keep on coming ...... I'll go on a limb ... well I think a sturdy one .... and say that Zu is going to play closer to a 20.5 - 21 year old than to the actual age he is at 19.5 - 20 years. It's a given he's stronger and physically better by start of season alone, let alone his improvement as he learns. This kid has played against men before. He likes to bang people with his big frame.
There you go! Thank you!! As asked for above .... he's back in town! That's what I'm talking about! Our next "Big" BIG man center on the Lakers! Vlade was kind of a Big thing back in the day because he was good in a lot of areas. Zu is going to be even better as an NBA player and going to be an even bigger Fan Favorite.
I have watched repeats of the summer league games, and although you can't make a definitive evaluation of talent, this kid has got all the tools to be an excellent NBA center: size, frame, footwork, rim protection, touch, etc. Kind of a cross between Vlade and Marc Gasol. His talent and ability does raise the question as to the development of Euro centers vs. U.S. kids. It seems the Euros have surpassed us in developing bigs as far as fundamentals. I am wondering if it's because there is a greater number of European kids that still buy into learning to play the post while American kids are focusing more on wanting to stretch the floor. And how much of that comes from our coaches from the high school through college ranks.
i need to see a lot more of his ball skills and hoop iq before putting him in the same breath as vlade or marc gasol. i'm hopeful, though.
We can stop hating on his girlfriend now .... he's back in town. Just remember a happy GF = a happy . He definitely feels more grown up and manly for having been with an "older woman" at his tender age. And 4 years ain't huge.
Zu has nice form on his shot to go along with a good touch. It would appear that his face up J would be difficult to block. Even better, Zu is no liability at the charity stripe at least from what I saw from SL. He is far from a finished product, but the stuff is there
Unless we are missing something, and it doesn't appear that we are, this guy has a big chance to be the steal of the draft and beyond but only a little time will tell. Off the bench he won't have to compete with JR for boards and if he gets mins in the upper 20's a double double average would be amazing. Though I think Tarik is going to get a lot of backup center minutes and we won't be playing pound-it-inside ball either. Unless Moz goes down (very possible) he won't play a lot of minutes this year methinks.
I don't envision him getting much time either. I think it's much more likely that Mozgov/Black get the vast majority of minutes and that's fine with me. I think Zubac takes Mozgov's spot in a few years (assuming we keep the young guys together) and I agree he has all the tools to be the steal of the draft. If he keeps his head down and keeps grinding, he has all the natural talent of the players he idolizes. At 19 with his kind of touch and feel for the game, he's got a bright future ahead.
Zu would get into the game if either Moz and Black are in foul trouble or ineffective or both. Could be the case too if there is a matchup with a player that the coaching staff feels he can handle. I wouldn't believe Walton would leave him out for long spells or stretches of games where he plays significant minutes. About his talent, Zu has a knack for keeping the ball in play with his shot-blocking. He doesn't try to send it out into the bleachers. Just enough so that his team can retrieve it. With rebounding it's the same, if he can't get the ball, he would attempt to bat it to a teammate close by. Good habits.
Well damn .... proof our young guys themselves or their homies read Lakersball. Ask for something and you get it Boom just like that. Next stop should be, "I need news on Brandon ". How bout a signing of his contract?
