Pietrus and Malick

[Chicago JK]

I got this report off of another board. I haven't seen these two play yet, but this is a scouting report from the summer leagues. The report seems pretty well done, so I thought I would post it.
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I realize some of you don't have NBA.com TV so may not have caught the summer league. So here is what I see from these two foreign players, as there seems to be much debate about these two guys. To those who have seen the games, feel free to disagree with me. And bear in mind, I have only saw them in summer league games.


Mikael Pietrus - whoever said he resembles Michael Finley must not have seen Finley since he left Wisconsin. The only resemblance between the two is that their names start with M.

Overview: Very athletic and a tenacious defender. Very, very, very raw offensively. Has great athleticism, court vision, and aggressiveness; should be a good offensive player but he just is not. I think the politically correct term is that he has "upside" offensively.

Role: defensive stopper. Definitely more of a role player than star. His game is more suited to the second unit.

Strength: a lock-down defender - very good defensive footwork, quick hands, quick leaper, and good anticipation for steals. Can guard PG as well. Very good at harassing the player with the ball. Has problem when he got posted up but his perimeter defense is already good by NBA standard. Has the potential to become one of the best defensive guards in the league. Hard worker and a surprisingly good rebounder, especially on the defensive end. Has freakishly long arms.

Weakness: offense. I was really surprised by how green he is offensively. His handle is below average - especially his left hand. He cannot be trusted to bring the ball up court, period. His shots are ugly. Decision making is poor, prone to turnovers. His only consistent threats are dunks and lay-ups. Like other wing players who can not shoot, he forces things and ends up taking bad shots (see Darius Miles). But as you can imagine, he is great in the open court. Curiously, he is very savvy at drawing fouls, but his FT stroke is not all there. He has good court vision which unfortunately led to some forced passes as well as good ones.

In his rookie year: Pietrus will steal some minutes as a defensive stopper, but he will be erratic offensively.

Outlook: He is Tariq Abdul-Wahad with a little better athleticism but less handle. With a lot of work he may become the next Desmond Mason. But the Finley comparison is way, way off.

Worth being picked at #11? Sure. Why not. Tariq was a #11 pick too. Pietrus is a safe pick because if all else fails, he is still a good stopper.


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Malick Badiane – if I had seen him played I would not have pegged him a first rounder. From the reports, I was lead to believe he is some sort of athletic freak. Which he is not.

Overview: typical second-round big man - not as tall as you would like, not as athletic as you would like, not as wide as you would like; but has very good upside and may develops into a good role player.

Badiane is too raw to play in the league now. Defensively he is too inexperienced – does not know how to guard men who is stronger and is not very good at help defense. Expect him to pick up quick fouls.

Has a strange body - wide shoulders, long arms, but skinny. He will get out-muscled by NBA centers. Athleticism is not as explosive as some make him out to be, though still good for a big man; but at 6-11 and skinny, he needs to have Keon Clark type leaping ability to be a legit center, and he does not.

Really has a nose for rebounds - he seems to have that unique gift where he can predict where and how a ball bounces off the rim. At times he would leave the man he was boxing out to a spot where the ball would fall squarely into his hands. An excellent offensive rebounder where he uses his slender build to slide between people and snatches the boards. Factor in his long limps and good (but not great) leaping ability and he should be an excellent rebounder in the NBA.

He may have been a good shot-blocker in Germany, but despite having longs arms he is not a good shot-blocker. His timing is slightly off and he cannot elevates like Keon Clark or Zo. But he likes to challenge shots and with better timing he may become a good "shot-alterer."

Offensively he opened some eyes with a smooth hand-in-the-face 15 footer and an equally smooth jump hook. He understands his role and does not force things. Offensive game is probably adequate enough for a garbage man.

He needs more seasoning. Likely will not enter the league this year.

Outlook: his future in the NBA is as a blue-collar guy. Which means he really, really need to bulk up and learn to play defense. Is his body shape an indication that he can fill-out some more?

[Tony tha Mavs fan]

Thanks for the report, look like taking Howard keeps sounding better and better

[aexchange]

gotta love chad ford and his over hyping of EVERY single foreign player to enter the draft. makes us all drool but we end up looking like chumps every single time.

[Chicago JK]

I have never seen Pietrus play, and I don't take much fact into what Chad Ford says. I think he is entertaining, because he has spent a lot of time overseas. Although I continue to say that Andy Katz is a lot more plugged in than Ford. Ford runs with a lot of rumors and tends to overstate unknown players. I think it was obvious that Pietrus was a player teams were hyping to hide their real thoughts. Jerry West didn't want Pietrus like Ford reported for Months. I think it is pretty clear that the Mavs were looking to move up for Bosh and maybe Dwayne Wade. i don't think the mavs had any interest in Pietrus like Ford reported. I have no idea if Pietrus will be a good player though. I would like to see him in the Summer leagues this summer to get a better feel for his game.

I saw Wake play a couple times this past year, so I think I have a good feel on Howard. I must admit I also saw Wake play two years ago and don't remember Howard at all. I was a fan of Darious Songalia and liked watching him play, but Howard never stuck out to me. That changed this year. Howard was one of the seniors I liked. He probably went where he should have. I thought a team like the Wolves might have taken him at 27. Howard will be a good rotation fit on the Mavs and should have a nice career. I am a little worried about his outside shot, but he brings a lot of things to the table. I think Howard was a very good choice by the Mavs. Mavs fans haven't said that too much over the past few seasons.