I saw on twitter today that the Timberwolves are working on a buyout of Bennett's contract. It's true that his career has not been what is expected of a number one pick, but it's not his fault that the Cav's overrated his capabilities. I doubt that any other team in the NBA had him ranked in the top five or even the top ten. He played well in summer league and is only 22 years old. Do you think the Kings should take a flyer on him if he can be gotten cheaply? Personally, I could go either way on this.
Anthony Bennett:
- Thread starter bajaden
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I came on by here just to start this thread.
And that said I think Anthony Bennett is a turd. I thought so on draft night too. Tweener = turd. And he's a classic weenie boy with the gut of a PF and the soft silk panties of a SF.
Still, my general contempt aside, he is a former #1 overall pick who could be popping onto the market for free, and who happens to semi/kind a play the stretch 4 position which is kinda/sorta the last thing we have been looking to fill. Its not an irrational idea to try to sign a guy like that and cross your fingers the talent emerges, I just don't have many more hopes for it than I did for our last soft silk panties positionless wussboy, DWill.
And that said I think Anthony Bennett is a turd. I thought so on draft night too. Tweener = turd. And he's a classic weenie boy with the gut of a PF and the soft silk panties of a SF.
Still, my general contempt aside, he is a former #1 overall pick who could be popping onto the market for free, and who happens to semi/kind a play the stretch 4 position which is kinda/sorta the last thing we have been looking to fill. Its not an irrational idea to try to sign a guy like that and cross your fingers the talent emerges, I just don't have many more hopes for it than I did for our last soft silk panties positionless wussboy, DWill.
What could Bennett provide that Quincy Acy doesn't?
Sure Bennett is 2 1/2 years younger and has the cache of being a former #1 pick but they are similarly sized. And check out their per 36 numbers from last year. They are virtually identical.
And with relatively similar number of games played (57 vs 68) and MPG (15.7 vs 18.9) in similar roles it's pretty much an apples to apples comparison.
And their defensive dashboard numbers agree with what I saw when I watched them last season. Acy was a solid defender - above average really. And Bennett was a complete liability.
Opponents shot 41.9% against Acy and 52.3% against Bennett. So the two had very similar production but Acy was a good defender and Bennett a poor one.
I'm all for adding more frontcourt depth, ideally a scorer that can get hot - either in the post or from outside but Bennett just doesn't interest me. There's no added dimension that he brings IMO.
Sure Bennett is 2 1/2 years younger and has the cache of being a former #1 pick but they are similarly sized. And check out their per 36 numbers from last year. They are virtually identical.
And with relatively similar number of games played (57 vs 68) and MPG (15.7 vs 18.9) in similar roles it's pretty much an apples to apples comparison.
And their defensive dashboard numbers agree with what I saw when I watched them last season. Acy was a solid defender - above average really. And Bennett was a complete liability.
Opponents shot 41.9% against Acy and 52.3% against Bennett. So the two had very similar production but Acy was a good defender and Bennett a poor one.
I'm all for adding more frontcourt depth, ideally a scorer that can get hot - either in the post or from outside but Bennett just doesn't interest me. There's no added dimension that he brings IMO.
eh, not to take a shot at you Baja, but Bennett was a consensus top 10 pick everywhere.
Stats don't tell the entire story. Bennett is by far the much much much better offensive player. He just needs things to click for him if he ever wants to be a relevant player in the NBA.
He struggles like how Doug McDermott struggles.
Stats don't tell the entire story. Bennett is by far the much much much better offensive player. He just needs things to click for him if he ever wants to be a relevant player in the NBA.
He struggles like how Doug McDermott struggles.
6'8 young, positionless basketball player with some untapped potential, a strong frame, solid understanding of the pick&roll and not too bad of a rebounder. This is a guy I would take a flyer on with our veteran crew to see, if he can grow into a decent rotation player. Not his fault, that the Cavs picked him #1.
Except that McDermott has a track record of being a very good shooter.
Bennett DOES have more offensive potential than Acy. But he still shot 42% overall and 30% from three. He gives nothing defensively so he really NEEDS to be a major threat offensively. And he just isn't. Worse yet, I just don't see passion for the game from him.
As far as role players go I'd rather have Acy. And even if I leaned slightly the other way, Acy's already under contract and the two are redundant as undersized PFs with a bit of range.
Bennett DOES have more offensive potential than Acy. But he still shot 42% overall and 30% from three. He gives nothing defensively so he really NEEDS to be a major threat offensively. And he just isn't. Worse yet, I just don't see passion for the game from him.
As far as role players go I'd rather have Acy. And even if I leaned slightly the other way, Acy's already under contract and the two are redundant as undersized PFs with a bit of range.
As far as I remeber there were no talk about him being a contender for the number 1 pick until draft day.
Most writers/analysts thought it's between Noel and Len (who was pretty much the consensus mock draft pick from them in the weeks leading to the draft), with a small minority in favor of Oladipo as a defensive SG next to Kyrie.
Bennett was never really in the conversation for top 5 picks, mostly considered in the 8-10 range.
Most writers/analysts thought it's between Noel and Len (who was pretty much the consensus mock draft pick from them in the weeks leading to the draft), with a small minority in favor of Oladipo as a defensive SG next to Kyrie.
Bennett was never really in the conversation for top 5 picks, mostly considered in the 8-10 range.
Well picking up a slightly younger “Derrick Williams“ for cheap in order to see, if Karl could help him to have an Nba Career is not the worst thing to do in my opinion.
Todays game favours players, who can play multiple positions.
And getting cut in his rookie years might light a fire under Bennets a... to finally improve defensively.
Todays game favours players, who can play multiple positions.
And getting cut in his rookie years might light a fire under Bennets a... to finally improve defensively.
What Brick said, never liked him going into the draft, and don't like him now. I like the idea of an athletic stretch four next to DMC, but this guy can't play NBA basketball. Period. Plus, his intangibles (poor conditioning and work ethic) hurt this oh-so fragile team.
It's good for the sport if he gets better, but he had a great chance in Minny. I doubt he's in the league next year...which would make him, unfortunately, the worst #1 pick in NBA history (LaRue Martin breathes a sigh of relief).
It's good for the sport if he gets better, but he had a great chance in Minny. I doubt he's in the league next year...which would make him, unfortunately, the worst #1 pick in NBA history (LaRue Martin breathes a sigh of relief).
God, I don't want to be put in the position of defending Bennett, but I do have to get the facts straight. Bennett was injured with a shoulder injury, and then had surgery. When he finally arrived at the Cav's training camp, he was out of shape, but no one expected him to be in great shape since he wasn't allowed to do much in the way of working out in the recovery. When you add in he was a one and done, and didn't know what to expect as an NBA player, he had a terrible first year. To say that he can't play in the NBA is a pretty broad statement. He is an undersized PF, but what separated him from some others was his ability to shoot the three. I'm going on memory, but I believe he shot around 37% in his one year at UNLV. He also rebounded very well per minutes played.
Can he develop into a stretch four? I don't know, but if you can get him for peanuts, why not take a flyer on him? If he doesn't work out, then just cut him. I never thought he deserved to be the number one pick, but I did like how he played at UNLV before he injured his shoulder. To his credit, he continued to play every game even after the injury, which in retrospect, was probably a mistake. He should have shut it down, and had the surgery, which would have sped up the recovery process. To the best of my knowledge, no one ever questioned his work ethic while at UNLV. I think a lot of that came from his being out of shape his rookie year. People tend to forget why he was out of shape.
Can he develop into a stretch four? I don't know, but if you can get him for peanuts, why not take a flyer on him? If he doesn't work out, then just cut him. I never thought he deserved to be the number one pick, but I did like how he played at UNLV before he injured his shoulder. To his credit, he continued to play every game even after the injury, which in retrospect, was probably a mistake. He should have shut it down, and had the surgery, which would have sped up the recovery process. To the best of my knowledge, no one ever questioned his work ethic while at UNLV. I think a lot of that came from his being out of shape his rookie year. People tend to forget why he was out of shape.
Yeah, I agree. No one has been more critical of Never Nervous Pervis than I, but to be fair, he wasn't that bad a player when healthy. His problem was that he wasn't worthy of being the first pick in the draft. The Kings were desperate for a center that year, and he was the obvious choice. Unfortunately, when you pick out of desperation, that's the likely result.
He can be "Never Nervous Pervis" when we're talking Louisville hoops.
But in the context of the Kings I'll only accept "Out of Service Pervis" as a nickname.
But yeah, Olowokandi, Kwame Brown and LaRue Martin are worse overall picks IMO. At least Ellison had injuries to point to as a reason for him not reaching expectations.
As it stands now, Anthony Bennett has worse career numbers than Martin. Ouch.
But in the context of the Kings I'll only accept "Out of Service Pervis" as a nickname.
But yeah, Olowokandi, Kwame Brown and LaRue Martin are worse overall picks IMO. At least Ellison had injuries to point to as a reason for him not reaching expectations.
As it stands now, Anthony Bennett has worse career numbers than Martin. Ouch.
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I don't disagree. But lets be honest. The only reason he's being bought out is because number one, Minny is stacked in the frontcourt, and number two, he's failed to put up any numbers worth talking about. Now if we were talking about giving up someone to get him, or taking on his 5 mil salary, then I wouldn't even bring him up. But if you get a free shot at someone that showed a ton of potential coming out of highschool, and played decently at UNLV despite a shoulder injury, then why not? Hey, it's something to talk about other than how many days are left before the season starts. 
I don't disagree. But lets be honest. The only reason he's being bought out is because number one, Minny is stacked in the frontcourt, and number two, he's failed to put up any numbers worth talking about. Now if we were talking about giving up someone to get him, or taking on his 5 mil salary, then I wouldn't even bring him up. But if you get a free shot at someone that showed a ton of potential coming out of highschool, and played decently at UNLV despite a shoulder injury, then why not? Hey, it's something to talk about other than how many days are left before the season starts.
But here's the big thing for me - Bennett is available (or will be if he clears waivers) because he looked at the Wolves frontcourt and thought there wouldn't be much opportunity for him and the Minnesota front office agreed to buy him out. The same Timberwolves that won what, 16 games last year? Sure, they added Towns and the ghost of KG is still floating around but who else is there at the PF spot? Dieng and Pekovic are really centers. Adreian Payne? Rookie Nemanja Bjelica? A guy who really believed in himself and his abilities would make it a point to come into camp like a ball of fire and force the coach to play him big minutes.
But again, that's my big issue with Bennett. Yeah, he is a tweener. Yeah, he hasn't gotten in great shape. But most of all he just doesn't show any fire. Unless this high energy pick and roll sequence floats anyone's boat:
The Kings have been so awful for so long that I've been on board with all sorts of gambles. But to me the Kings have a roster capable of being a huge surprise and having somebody that doesn't seem to care (which is why I was anti-Bargnani as well) just hurts the goal of a focused, hard nosed team.
Yeah, it's clearly still TDOS. Bennett may not even clear waivers. The Sixers and Trailblazers are well below the team payroll floor and my claim him just to have a bit more say about keeping him beyond next season on the off chance he finally shows some promise.
But here's the big thing for me - Bennett is available (or will be if he clears waivers) because he looked at the Wolves frontcourt and thought there wouldn't be much opportunity for him and the Minnesota front office agreed to buy him out. The same Timberwolves that won what, 16 games last year? Sure, they added Towns and the ghost of KG is still floating around but who else is there at the PF spot? Dieng and Pekovic are really centers. Adreian Payne? Rookie Nemanja Bjelica? A guy who really believed in himself and his abilities would make it a point to come into camp like a ball of fire and force the coach to play him big minutes.
But again, that's my big issue with Bennett. Yeah, he is a tweener. Yeah, he hasn't gotten in great shape. But most of all he just doesn't show any fire. Unless this high energy pick and roll sequence floats anyone's boat:
The Kings have been so awful for so long that I've been on board with all sorts of gambles. But to me the Kings have a roster capable of being a huge surprise and having somebody that doesn't seem to care (which is why I was anti-Bargnani as well) just hurts the goal of a focused, hard nosed team.
But here's the big thing for me - Bennett is available (or will be if he clears waivers) because he looked at the Wolves frontcourt and thought there wouldn't be much opportunity for him and the Minnesota front office agreed to buy him out. The same Timberwolves that won what, 16 games last year? Sure, they added Towns and the ghost of KG is still floating around but who else is there at the PF spot? Dieng and Pekovic are really centers. Adreian Payne? Rookie Nemanja Bjelica? A guy who really believed in himself and his abilities would make it a point to come into camp like a ball of fire and force the coach to play him big minutes.
But again, that's my big issue with Bennett. Yeah, he is a tweener. Yeah, he hasn't gotten in great shape. But most of all he just doesn't show any fire. Unless this high energy pick and roll sequence floats anyone's boat:
The Kings have been so awful for so long that I've been on board with all sorts of gambles. But to me the Kings have a roster capable of being a huge surprise and having somebody that doesn't seem to care (which is why I was anti-Bargnani as well) just hurts the goal of a focused, hard nosed team.
But again, that's my big issue with Bennett. Yeah, he is a tweener. Yeah, he hasn't gotten in great shape. But most of all he just doesn't show any fire. Unless this high energy pick and roll sequence floats anyone's boat:
The Kings have been so awful for so long that I've been on board with all sorts of gambles. But to me the Kings have a roster capable of being a huge surprise and having somebody that doesn't seem to care (which is why I was anti-Bargnani as well) just hurts the goal of a focused, hard nosed team.
The Kings have been so awful for so long that I've been on board with all sorts of gambles. But to me the Kings have a roster capable of being a huge surprise and having somebody that doesn't seem to care (which is why I was anti-Bargnani as well) just hurts the goal of a focused, hard nosed team.