The way Upshaw talked previously, it sounded as if it was an all but done deal. He'd said something to the effect of "If I do well, it will probably happen." Mitch gave him the options...
LOL! I'm confused, but now I'm found. Apparently, we're planning on signing him in the coming days. I should have read the OP! That would have clarified it for me. Either way, I like the move. Another potential lottery pick on our roster if he works out, and I hope he does...
That's possible. Either way, he's our property and will probably be on the D-league roster or our roster come October.
Upshaw is ours for two years. This is terrific! Keep him in D-League until he gets in shape. Again, he can be a really good center in this league, no question about that. He is competitive, has great defensive instincts, and he is very big and strong. We could have something very special here. Players we don't really need right now are Kelly and Sacre. Nice guys for sure, but I just don't see any minutes for them. We should do them a favor and trade them for a second round pick(s); I'm sure they could play on some other team. Right now our bigs are: Randle/Bass/Nance Hibbert/Tarik/Upshaw. I mean... that is very, very good.
Upshaw had a great 'back at ya' move on Towns after he got burned at one end of the floor yesterday. He looked confident and I like his upside as others have said - I think he could be a center in this league. This is a great hedge against Hibbert and Black. Like that Lakers are forward thinking - can package Sacre and Young for picks...and someone we waive and we are in business.
We're not yet seeing really in shape Robert Upshaw. By all accounts. That considered color me impressed with how quick he is and how quickly he moves his feet. So hypothetically, Bob gets 10% stronger and quicker over the next year as he really starts developing his body for the pros. The 10% quicker, hell even 5% quicker...... doesn't he start looking like he's in the conversation at least with Willie Cauley Stein for "quickness"? 80%? 85%? 90%? He moves his feet really well. He looks like if he had even 15-20 lbs more of muscle over his 7' frame and added quickness to what he shows now that he might potentially be even a better defensive prodigy than Willie? What do you think? The guy's not even in NBA shape yet. Edit: Probably down low in the paint guarding the rim specifically and bodying up Big Men, he has an edge already. Maybe Willie can chase shooting guards or point guards in a pinch where Bob can't but we have to love the rim protection more than that. "Paint God" is a pretty impressive nickname from your college teammates.
I get that context. The NBA is pretty good as far as getting players the value of their contracts, but he's a risk. He's already getting paid. A lot. And it's a pretty common deal for UDFAs. It will become fully guaranteed at some point or he'll be released. Paying market value should never be compared with chattel. And his situation makes it pretty close to fair market value. As for the game: what he did vs. Okafor was solid. What he did against everyone else was awesome. Go back and see how many shots he altered.
Yeah I just don't like thinking about people as property. I get the context, just made me feel weird seeing it written that way. Not saying @RandleROFY was even wrong with what he said at all, just made me kind of shudder thinking about it. Any who I thought he played a great game. I absolutely loved his effort out there. He was running hard and working on both ends of the floor. He's definitely a ways out from being NBA ready, but when he was engaged last night he changed the way Philly attacked the paint. He's got just an absolutely natural feel for the defensive end of the floor. I thought he did a decent job on Okafor, but Okafor missed a few chippies as well. When he gets up to condition I can see him being a real game changer inside. The other thing is they kept having him come out and screen and then he'd get pretty position inside... then Jordan or Russell would proceed to dribble around for a while. Give the man the ball!
@therealdeal I'm not Hinkie. . Agreed with all your points about Upshaw. I love to see people succeed and beat the odds. I hope and want nothing but the best for him and hope he stay in a Lakers uniform for a long time to come.
