Re: [Celtic_Pride] Nazr

["j.hironaka" <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

At 17:03 02/07/01 +0800, kevin lok wrote:
>Trading for Nazr can be hazardous, based on experience with the
>Pot+pick for Andre Miller fiasco:
>- we don't know how Nazr will perform with the Cs. Of course he played
>together with Walker/Waltah/OBie before, but this is a different
>situation.
>- Nazr only get to play the last month of his 3 year career so far.
>Would you sign him long term based on this? It's risky.
>- Nazr is 6-10, Pot is 6-10, is Nazr a upgrade over Pot (or Battie or
>Blount)?
>- can we risk losing our #1 pick next draft, where it is PG deep?
>
>my wish is we stay put with our Pot-Blount-Battie center by committee.
>I can live with this till next Feb dateline.
>
>kevin

I totally agree it isn't worth trading a future pick or anything we got 
last week. A sign-and-trade for one of our centers and one of our 
redundancies (McCarty or Williams/Stith) would work for me. If Nazr wants 
to leave it may force Atlanta's hand. Because so many teams are reportedly 
spooked by the lux tax, and because of Nazr's height and lack of a track 
record, we might get a better bargain than we expect if we explore it. 
There's a big difference between 9+ rebounds after the trade and 11+ plus 
rebounds as an Atlanta starter, from anything Boston has. Physically there 
are big question marks (as with Fortson but to a lesser degree) and I don't 
know a thing about how he does on defense. But it is worth exploring rather 
than rejecting it off the bat because of exaggerated luxury cap fears. It 
seems like one of those rare fits between a player and a team.

Joe

Since I'm on the subject, I'll post some old bookmarked opinions on Nazr 
from the 1998 draft.

TSN
Center/Power forward, 6-10/270, Kentucky
Mohammed has outstanding hands. Not just for a big man, but for any player. 
If you pass him the ball, Mohammed will probably catch it. Mohammed has a 
big body and should be a valuable defensive presence as he's strong on the 
boards and a good shot blocker. Possessing a strong work ethic and 
attitude, Mohammed has progressed from an overweight project entering 
college to a probable lottery pick. Even though he's not known for his 
offense, Mohammed has some solid low-post moves, particularly a soft jump 
hook. The consensus is that Mohammed should have stayed for his senior 
year. While he's improving, he's simply not ready for the NBA. Mohammed's 
game is still rough. He only averaged about 20 minutes a game last season, 
and there are concerns about his stamina. His range is limited to within 10 
feet. He may have trouble finding a position, too. At 6-10, he's not the 
ideal size to play center, and he's probably not quick enough to play at 
forward. While he improved his free-throw shooting as a junior, his career 
average at UK was 58.1 percent.

USA Today
Early entry candidate for draft after junior season. Second on team with 
12.0 ppg as Kentucky won their second NCAA title in three years. Led 
Wildcats with 7.2 rpg, 75 blocks and 59.7% field goal shooting. Recorded 
nine double-doubles to lead the team. Named first-team All-SEC by the 
coaches and media. Finished career with 813 points and 532 rebounds. 
Entered school weighing more than 300 pounds before dropping to 240. Showed 
excellent work-ethic to develop from a 2.3 ppg scorer as a freshman to a 
solid bigman in his third season. Has soft touch and decent post moves. 
Good shot blocker. Could be a solid center in the NBA.

USENET:
The story of Nazr Mohammed is pretty well known. He started out as an 
overweight project, who was a deep scrub on a national championship team 
where he spent the majority of his playing time on the junior varsity. 3 
years later he is the starting center for another national championship 
team and is one of the best college centers in the country. A great story 
so far, but where does it go from here? Overall, coming out early this year 
is probably not the greatest move for Mohammed. Given the further 
development he could make at UK his senior year, and with the seemingly 
bare NBA draft scene in '99, he could have been a Top 5 pick next year. But 
with the lack of quality big men in this year's pool, he may just be a high 
pick this season. What's to like about Mohammed? Many things. For one, the 
work ethic must be mentioned. Coming out of HS, Mohammed was vastly 
overweight (350 pounds it was rumored) and was pretty much unknown on the 
recruiting scene. But since that time, Mohammed has slimmed down to around 
270 lbs, and has worked very hard on his game. Offensively, Mohammed is 
solid down low. He has a few post moves -- most notably a soft jump-hook. 
Late in the season, he even started showing off a fadeaway turnaround shot 
that was pretty effective. What might be Mohammed's strongest point are his 
hands. You throw it to him and you're pretty much guaranteed he's going to 
catch it. Defensively, Mohammed gets good position and gets his share of 
blocks. By simply being big, he's able to get rebounding position and body 
out his defender. In general, Mohammed has a terrific attitude -- his work 
ethic to improve his game and his treatment of coming off the bench early 
in the season are testaments to it. Questions regarding Mohammed's game: is 
he ready? While he's put up good numbers this past year at Kentucky, it 
seems to be a unanimous opinion that Mohammed's game could use some more 
refinement. While he's good down low, his range doesn't seem to go past 10 
feet. At 6'10", he may be undersized for a center in the NBA, and he does 
not seem quick enough to play PF. While he's lost a lot of weight, stamina 
may still be a concern. Defensively, he seems to get into foul trouble often.
Outlook: if he stays in the draft, he most definitely will be a 1st round 
pick. If he's on the board when the Celtics draft (if they're not in the 
Top 5), I would almost bet Pitino grabbing yet another one of his former 
players. But, if he comes back to UK, you're looking at a possible 
All-American and a Top Lottery pick in '99.

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