AJ Hammons traded to the Heat
- Thread starter TopSecretBoiler
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hopefully he gets more of a chance to show his stuff than dallas gave him. they had no center worth anything and still refused to play him. no wonder dallas is so bad now
Hope he has a good couple years there and then can get back home to the Pacers somehow.
Good kid and hope he is enjoying himself.
Boiler Up!
Good kid and hope he is enjoying himself.
Boiler Up!
I love AJ but I think his lack of motor may be hindering his progress at the next level. I remember Mark Cuban being really high on him when they drafted. He put up so-so numbers in the D-League and maybe didn't really do a whole lot to earn himself more NBA time. Dallas was bad so for them to give so many other D-Leaguers a shot tells me they would have given him some burn if they saw something.
I hope battling against Whiteside in practice lights a fire in him to be a better player. I am rooting for his success. He has the talent.
I hope battling against Whiteside in practice lights a fire in him to be a better player. I am rooting for his success. He has the talent.
His biggest challenge from day one at PU. And that's not negative, it's reality. And why I posted so many positive posts about how Painter helped him become better than I suspect other coaches would have. There is a long and winding story here ....
And why I was so upset with those who questioned benching him when he was benched. Those posters did not understand the whole backstory.
I am so sick and tired of hearing about AJ's lack of motor. Give the man a break. I watched him play for 4 years and rarely saw him loaf. Yea he had some disappointing times on the floor but I saw a young man trying the best he could. Just because he wasn't a flamboyant player doesn't mean that he had a bad motor. Kareem Jabar or even Joe Barry were not the most flamboyant players and I never heard anyone question their motors. That's what I heard f
"Hey.....Tell your old man to drag Walton and Lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes."
Completely agree. Many times AJH was the first down the court and while it may look like he has a slow motor, he is also extremely tall. He can be from one end to the other in just a few strides.
You don't get as many blocks as he had by having a slow motor.
Seems like his lack of facial expressions or "game face" leads folks to believe he's not playing hard. To me, his numbers said otherwise.
I think people confuse a lack of quickness on AJ's part for a lack of motor......his moves had to be calculated or else he wasn't going to be effective, as he was not quick enough to recover if he made a mistake....in the end, he was a great offside defender and rim protector because of that. The guy has all kind of heart.
Hope he sticks it to Cuban, at some point in the future. Cuban's nothing except a rich blow hard and a Red Ass. AJ should throw down a monster dunk and reject a few shots, then blow Cuban a Kiss....lol
Was hoping the same thing but I'm not sure miami is a great spot for him. He will be 3rd on the depth chart. That said whiteside did nothing his first couple of years in the league and he's killing it now so maybe AJ can learn something from him.
His scouting report since HS says that his motor "aka intensity" has always been questioned. Doesn't mean he is loafing. In Hammons case just means he usually isn't too aggressive. I'm not saying he's lazy. I will say in all my years of following him I've never heard anyone say how hard he works to improve his game. I feel alot of his "in house" discipline that he seemed to have every year doesn't take suspicion away from motivation issues either.
I've never spoken to AJ but I read him as just a quiet spoken dude who likes to keep to himself and that he may enjoy the game of basketball but his passion for his success at the sport may not be as high as all of the coaches and fans who have supported him all these years.
I think his passion and success in his sport has shown up well at Purdue. I enjoyed watching him and those thunder dunks and blocked shots. Brought the crowd to their feet many a time at Mackey
Your understanding is pretty profound. There are people who refer to someone as "too nice." AJ is a great man. His disciplines were always to help him be a better man. He has come very, very far in a few years. His success may depend on how much he can bring IT every single second he gets to show his stuff. We'll know more in December.
For those debating what djy2j says, go back and take a good look at AJ's freshman season.
This. And I can't count the times he dove on the floor scrapping for loose balls. Lazy players never do that.
I'm a little worried he won't make the roster. Barely playing in summer ball and when he is, he's almost non-existent on the boards statistically . Really hope he finds a team he can stick with if it doesn't work out with Miami.
I'm a lifetime Bucks fan - since their inception.. I watched guys like Lew Alcinder , Kareem, Bob Lanier, Jack Sikma Kent Benson, Bogut, the Tractor , Zaza, Wayne Embry before he became a front office guy,, Elmore Smith, Boerwinkle, and Dave Cowens all play ( yes, they were all Bucks at one point in their career). They all lacked a motor. However, they were all a key part of both our offense and defense. the difference was, we ran a half court offense , and many times Kareem would throw his patented outlet pass for a fast break, and just remain under the opposition's basket. Milwaukee's offensive and defensive schemes were built around their talents, and also built to hide their deficiencies.
I believe that's Hammons' problem. Very few NBA teams run the half court offense anymore. the NBA is a much faster paced game today. And today's centers are expected to run more, and faster, and be better outside shooters. They are shorter and more athletic. unfortunately for Hammons, unlike the guys I mentioned, he is not currently his team's star , and his team's offense and defense is not built around his skills and talents. And he has to adapt
unlike Kareem, the Tractor could never adapt his game from Michigan to the NBA style. I wish Hammons well. Success in the NBA is totally dependent on situations rather than talent. there are many talented players who do not succeed, while many others like Dennis Rodman, Brad Miller Jerry Sichting, and Brian Cardinal who carved a niche for themselves and had a long career
growing up, I thought Scottie May had a lot of talent and would become an NBA star after leaving IU. he never reached the heights I thought he would. he was also not the greatest NBA player of that IU championship team.
I thought Mark Herrmann would have a much better NFL career than Jeff George. it's funny how things play out. that's why we play the game.
I believe that's Hammons' problem. Very few NBA teams run the half court offense anymore. the NBA is a much faster paced game today. And today's centers are expected to run more, and faster, and be better outside shooters. They are shorter and more athletic. unfortunately for Hammons, unlike the guys I mentioned, he is not currently his team's star , and his team's offense and defense is not built around his skills and talents. And he has to adapt
unlike Kareem, the Tractor could never adapt his game from Michigan to the NBA style. I wish Hammons well. Success in the NBA is totally dependent on situations rather than talent. there are many talented players who do not succeed, while many others like Dennis Rodman, Brad Miller Jerry Sichting, and Brian Cardinal who carved a niche for themselves and had a long career
growing up, I thought Scottie May had a lot of talent and would become an NBA star after leaving IU. he never reached the heights I thought he would. he was also not the greatest NBA player of that IU championship team.
I thought Mark Herrmann would have a much better NFL career than Jeff George. it's funny how things play out. that's why we play the game.
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