I'm with Weezy. Brown seems like a nice kid, but his shooting is not translating well. I'm not sure if it's out of his range or what. Coming into the NBA his peers voted him the best shooter in the class. Strange. Too early to say bust but he's got to figure that out or he won't sniff the NBA.
Brown needs to make shots. I mean if he can't do that (his biggest strength), then I don't know what else will earn him a spot. His D hasn't been bad but it hasn't wowed anyone either.
Haha, I almost used Sasha as an example for Brown when describing him not putting his skills on display in games and I didn't for some reason. That's pretty much what I was trying to say though, he supposedly is a very good shooter in practice, he was for sure in college, but I have yet to see it except for that ONE good game he had like at the end of preseason. He was not aggressive at all in this D-League game, and again, I like his unselfishness and he seems to have a very good attitude, but I feel like if pushed himself a little more he could at least have much more of an impact on the D-Fenders. Whether that leads to him being a solid bench player for the Lakers or not, I don't know, but it would at least be a start and maybe earn him a shot. He's taking open shots when he gets them, but he seems long and athletic enough to do more than catch and shoot on this level.
My head hurts too much from its Boron hate this morning. Tell me please if I should like this move, no clue about it or him. Wow as in good or Wow as in hard to see why they did it?
Well, Manny Harris can score the ball. Anyone who has watched the D-Fenders knows this. Damien James a former NBA player who has been out of the league is probably a better all around player but definitely doesn't have the scoring potential Harris does. Lateral move if anything, but I still think Harris is the better of the two.
Harris could be a respectable backup wing. Okay all-around game. Don't know about the other dude. Surprised. Harris was one of the better players there.
Well the D-League is about guys the affiliate would hopefully like to call up one day. Maybe the Lakers felt they'd seen all they needed from Harris and decided to look at somebody new?
I mean, we are pretty stacked now at the guard spot. I think we need to focus more of our scouting on more versatile wing players that can defend and bigs that can provide added depth.
I think that's what Damien James is. He's a 6'7" SF who has had four stops in the NBA. He's 27 years old or so and a four year college vet with the Longhorns. A decent outside shooter capable of putting up points. Good rebounder for his size.
Too much from the D-Fender bigs. Black went for 25/14 with the start. Upshaw added 11/7 with 3 blocks in 17 minutes.
Top players 21 and under in the D-League... http://upsidemotor.com/2015/12/24/the-best-21-and-under-prospects-in-the-nba-d-league/ Featuring your buddy and mine, Robert Upshaw. Robert Upshaw – 21 – Los Angeles D-FendersNBA Skills: Size, shot-blocking NBA Needs: Basketball IQ, body control, post moves Upshaw was a lottery bound talent who was undone by his own off-court issues. After being dismissed from the University of Washington men’s basketball team his draft stock plummeted. Ultimately he went undrafted and signed a deal with the Los Angeles Lakers and then allocated him to the D-Fenders as one of their affiliate players. I’ll admit, I thought Upshaw would come in and just dominate — it has not gone that way, yet. His averages have been pedestrian so far at 5.2 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks but take note he’s doing that in only 15.2 minutes a night. There have been three healthy DNPs and he’s only cracked 20+ minutes three times in 12 appearances. His issue has been staying out of foul trouble. In the NCAA ranks he could time players’ shots, leap and reject ’em with ease, but this is the pro ranks so everyone knows what he aims to do and they can use it to their advantage.
Upshaw has picked it up a bit recently. He's up to 5.01 Scoring, 1.69 Passing, and 3.48 Hustle. That's 71.4 overall. His per 36 minute stats: 12.1 points 9.5 boards 1.2 assists 3.9 blocks 7.0 fouls (yikes!)
Upshaw might be figuring things out now - and he's getting a bit more regular PT, too: in 25 minutes, he hit 5 of 10 shots for 11 points, 9 boards (4 offensive), and 2 blocks. He has pushed his scoring up to 5.09 and his hustle to 3.56; that pushes his positional efficiency to 74. Over his last three, he's averaging 18.0 minutes, 10.3 points, 8.0 rebounds (3.0 offensive), and 2.0 blocks.
