I don't mind signing another big if there is one worth signing. Otherwise Castleton will have to do till something opens up. I prefer developing him to giving minutes to someone that isn't really going to help us. I would be happy with WG back.
Loved the defense. He plays under control when dribbling, or operating in the post. He’s going to be pretty good after a year of development.
I'd be tempted to throw him in the fire as the 3rd stringer. Make him go against AD and TT every day in practice.
Get the use out of that 2 way this time around. I was thinking the same thing definitely there would be bench and 3rd string matchups where he could probably eat minutes and hold his own by mid season if not sooner and gain valuable experience.
I see him benefitting the most from being with the varsity squad as a more seasoned / skilled player. His issue won't be skill as much as strength and speed.
He’s shown some good stuff, I still think he’s a ways off from playing in the actual league, but he’s an interesting player
That's super impressive. You started at practically the numbers I topped out at haha! Bench: 265 Front squat: 330 Deadlift: 440 C&J: 275 Snatch: 230 Weighted Pull-up: 110 Strict Press: 205 Over that time period I went from 210 to 245. Took me over a decade to put on 35 pounds. I know some people who can look at a weight and start gaining strength and size. I laugh sometimes when fans just expect players to put on 20 lbs in the off-season like that’s possible in 4 months.
I think that’s been very impressive with Christie, being that young and managing to put on muscle that shows even during this past season. Tremendous frame on the kid.
When you first start out as a young guy, your potential to put on muscle is quite high in that first 12-24 months. I believe he put on 10 pounds pretty easily with a decent diet and weight training. The trick will be, how does he go from 200 to 220 without losing his athleticism over the next 4-5 years. He is someone with a naturally slim frame so he won't be able to hold a tonne of weight.
IMO considering Christian Wood to bring in as "the" best backup for AD would be a terrible decision. 6'9" 215lbs ( ) .... can shoot the ball and rebound some. "Questionable" attitude, non contributor to winning (apparently from teams continuing to move on from him) stats put up. Sucks on defense. No thanks. We need size and defense! We had Thomas Bryant who had a great attitude and motor for scoring down low and can shoot the 3, was 6'10" 247lbs and sucked on defense. Once AD came back from his injury Ham wouldn't play him. Malone in Denver wouldn't play him. Why the F would Ham play short, puny, no D Wood? He sure as **** isn't going to start him at the 4 to play next to AD. In the short time Bamba was healthy and knocking down some 3s he never did it once. I "bet" right now, and certainly by the start of the season or at least a couple months into it ..... Castleton 6'11" 241lbs .... with everything that he does surprisingly well in his first showings in Summer League would smoke Wood in terms of contributing to what we need ..... especially since defense is a lot of what he is noted for. And he has the tools to shoot the ball. "Colin Castleton, whose shooting never materialized at the college level, performed well when it came to shooting. His 15/25 spot up shooting, 19/30 off the dribble shooting, 10/10 free throws, and 14/25 in the 3-point star drill were some of the best numbers for any center present and it might be something that makes a front office believe he could develop into the shooter." https://www.gatorcountry.com/florida-gators-basketball/colin-castleton-and-alex-fudge-participate-in-g-league-elite-camp/#:~:text=His max vertical leap of,potential at the highest level. Check this out, BTW, in college long before our pro strength and explosiveness trainers get to work on him. http://www.diehardsport.com/college...olin-castleton-shows-off-crazy-vertical-leap/ Also BTW, all that is not to say I think Colin by that time should be that 1st off the bench sub for AD and his backup when injured. Just give us the championship now if we had a healthy LeBron, AD and Biyombo. I want some size and muscle. No idea the chance of that (size & muscle) and not optimistic.
.... talking about Christie below, who I brought up in the conversation. What is your definition of a naturally "slim" frame? One of the main things that struck me early in one article I read scouting him was that he had a "great" frame and was going to be able to add muscle and strength well. Big legs and calves, not as broad as Kobe, but since then and because he did easily add muscle that young (not always the case looking at lots of these guys) .... I have assumed he's going up into the 220s well over next 2-3 years and already strong. What in your opinion was Kobe's frame in comparison?
I'm 'bout to start repping The Castle as hard as @ZenMaster reps Reaves. Consider me his official Hype man.
He has nice size for a SG for sure, but he has a slim build. An example of players similar height wise but with bigger frames would be Kawhi, Iguodala or Butler. There are two differences between these guys and Max Christie: 1) they have a larger bone structure, wider shoulders, bigger joints etc and 2) they're more in the mesomorph body type compared to Christie who is an ectomorph. This won't stop him from working really hard and putting weight on, but it's always going to be challenging to fill out and be extremely muscular. Kobe is a good example of this, he played most of his career between 205 and 215 lbs and he wasn't naturally a huge frame either, but he got strong. Examples of large frames are your Lebron's, Blake Griffin's etc - heck I would count Rui Hachimura into that too, they're broad frames. Just check out some of those guys legs especially Blake, Bron and Kawhi.
One of Max’s biggest advantages is length combined with his speed( through picks on D and against slower opponents on O). There’s no reason for him to roid out and try to become something he’s not. He’s an excellent fit at either the 2 or three, depending on the matchup. For me, he’s an Ariza type who will grow into a very good two way player.
Colin, like Reaves, maybe too unselfishly for awhile while he gets his bearings and learns what the staff wants him to do more for his own offense …. really handles the ball nicely and passes beautifully to his teammates in the right places with the right kinds of passes.
