Pavel Podkolzin sent to the Developmental League - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

MFFL · 03-08-2006, 12:32 AM

Game notes from ESPN.com:
Dallas sent C Pavel Podkolzin to the Developmental League. After playing 10 minutes all of last season, his rookie year, he's missed all of this season because of a stress fracture in his right foot.

The Crippler · 03-08-2006, 12:36 AM

so I'm assuming his foot is better? Has he even been practicing with the varsity or what? Why have we not had any updates from the local rags? Does no one care or is this just another case of awesome Dallas journalism?

jleefilled · 03-08-2006, 12:50 AM

Sefko cares... ; )

Pavel Podkolzin, the 7-5 center who has not played this season, was sent to the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League.

The Mavericks had hoped the big Russian would spend most of the season with the Flyers. But he only now is recovered from right foot surgery.

"It's much needed," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. "He needs to play, and we need to see what we got."

MFFL · 03-08-2006, 12:55 AM

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcont...s.1017cb2.html

In other news, the Mavericks have reassigned 7-5 center Pavel Podkolzin to the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA developmental league.

Podkolzin, who has yet to appear in a game for Dallas this season, has been rehabbing from a stress fracture in his right foot.

The last time the Russian played competitively was last July in the Reebok Vegas Summer League and the Reebok Rocky Mountain Revue. In nine total games, he averaged eight points (52.2 percent shooting) and 4.4 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per game.

wescx · 03-08-2006, 12:59 AM

It will be very interesting to see how he does - maybe play his way into a roster spot next season.

jleefilled · 03-08-2006, 01:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wescx

It will be very interesting to see how he does - maybe play his way into a roster spot next season.

I'm not going to hold my breath, but that would be a very pleasant surprise.

orangedays · 03-08-2006, 01:11 AM

Hm...detecting a pattern here?

I'm very eager to see how he performs in the NBDL, both Marshall and Powell have played very well. I really hope this kid's got game and doesn't turn out like that Russian guy from the Don't Be Next commercials.

foglemann · 03-08-2006, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orangedays

Hm...detecting a pattern here?

I'm very eager to see how he performs in the NBDL, both Marshall and Powell have played very well. I really hope this kid's got game and doesn't turn out like that Russian guy from the Don't Be Next commercials.

Sad to say, but everytime I see that commercial, its pretty clear that Pavel was an influence in the making of that one.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I hope the best for Pavel. Seems like a good kid, don't know about his passion to play, but he needs time. But what a freak of size and he's definitly has the time to get some strength. Starting C for your Dallas Mavericks, Pavel, year 2010.

Thespiralgoeson · 03-08-2006, 02:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foglemann

Sad to say, but everytime I see that commercial, its pretty clear that Pavel was an influence in the making of that one.

EDIT: Oh yeah, I hope the best for Pavel. Seems like a good kid, don't know about his passion to play, but he needs time. But what a freak of size and he's definitly has the time to get some strength. Starting C for your Dallas Mavericks, Pavel, year 2010.

I dunno if the people who made that commercial were thinking of Pavel at all as opposed to just the stereotypical big, foreign players who usually turn out to be busts.

Pavel really has some potential. He's got some skills. Pretty nice footwork, as well as a decent shooting touch. I definitely have more hope for him having a real NBA career than I do DJ.

madape · 03-08-2006, 02:25 AM

cool. I'm going to have to make the trip to Fort Worth. Pavel looked pretty darned promising in those summer league games of two years ago.

dirno2000 · 03-08-2006, 02:34 AM

I wouldn't look for him to have much success. That's a guards leage so he'll probably never get the ball.

Summer league is a better gauge because he'll have Mavs coaches.

If Pavel has more upside it's because of his age. DJ can contribute to a team now...I doubt Pavel can.

orangedays · 03-08-2006, 03:10 AM

Good point Dirno (about the NBDL being a guard's league). I think we'll see Pavel down there for maybe a month, then the Mavs will bring him back up. Imagine how pissed you would be playing for the Flyers trying to one day make it in the NBA and if Pavel just royally sucked on your team - this guy has been sitting pretty with an NBA franchise with a contract for what, *edit: 2 years now? Nothing against Pavel, but that makes me feel kinda bad for the guys who never quite make it.

Folterkammer · 03-08-2006, 03:51 AM

orangedays he never really had a chance because of health problems . he had so many surgeries it`s not even funny . so we should give him atleast the rest of this season and next season to show what he is worth. i am still pretty confident in him if he ever gets healthy

EricaLubarsky · 03-08-2006, 04:13 AM

In his first game for the Flyers he proved to be a real Nellie guy

4-11FG, 4-10 3pt shooting, 0 Oreb, 3 DReb, 4assists, 1TO in 40 min

ok, Im kidding. It will be interesting to see what he has.

kriD · 03-08-2006, 09:25 AM

MAVERICKS NOTES

Mavs' center Podkolzin to join Flyers

By DWAIN PRICE
Star-Telegram Staff Writer

DALLAS -- In an attempt to determine whether Pavel Podkolzin is still an NBA prospect, the Mavericks shipped the 7-foot-5 center to the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA Development League on Tuesday.

Podkolzin has played just five games and a total of 10 minutes for the Mavs -- all last season -- after being a first-round draft pick in 2004. The 260-pound Russian has spent this entire season on the injured list with a stress fracture in his right foot.

Since Podkolzin has seen limited action, the Mavs really don't know what they have on their hands.

"We just need to see if he can play in the NBA," coach Avery Johnson said. "We need to see what we've got, and I need to see personally.

"When he gets down there, and if he can ever get in the game and play, we'll have some film to evaluate."

Area fans will have an opportunity to see Podkolzin play twice this weekend against Tulsa:7 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at the Fort Worth Convention Center. He also will play in Fort Worth on March 17 and 18 in games against Arkansas, but he is not slated to go on any road trips with the Flyers yet.

"It's probably going to be good for me," said Podkolzin, who had surgery on his right foot in October. "I'm going to have minutes to play.

"The foot is OK. I'm ready to go."

After being the 21st overall pick of the 2004 draft, Podkolzin, 21, signed a four-year rookie scale contract with the Mavs that pays him $1.14 million this year and $1.2 million next year. The Mavs own the team option ($1.94 million) on Podkolzin's contract for the 2007-08 season, but he'll probably need to show them he can be an asset before they invest any more money in him.

Stackhouse gets pep talk

Coach Avery Johnson talked to guard Jerry Stackhouse about his recent struggles.

Over the five games going into Tuesday's 93-87 win over Portland, Stackhouse averaged 12.4 points. However, he was shooting just 31.1 percent from the field (19-of-61) and only 1-of-14 from 3-point range.

"Right now we just don't see that same pep in his step," Johnson said. "But like I told Stack, even if you don't have that same pep in your step right now, and your shot's not falling, man, get assists and play defense.

"I told him that again [Tuesday] morning. Just play defense as well as you can -- individual team defense -- and make your teammates better, because he still draws a lot of attention."

The pep talk must have worked.

Against Portland, Stackhouse finished with 21 points (5-of-12 field goals), five rebounds and three assists. He also hit a key 3-point basket that gave the Mavs an 86-81 lead with 41 seconds left.

Harris back, stocking and all

Point guard Devin Harris was back on the court after missing four games with a strained left quadriceps.

And he brought some added material with him.

In an effort to keep his quad warm, Harris donned a black stocking, but only on his left leg.

"This is a very manly stocking," Harris said. "It's supposed to keep compression on [the quad] ... and make sure it stays warm."

Guard Jerry Stackhouse, who wears stockings on both legs, said he's not surprised Harris is wearing only one stocking.

"His legs are too skinny, anyway," Stackhouse said. "He definitely has an issue with his hamstring, so hopefully it works for him.

"If not, then I'm going to make him put on those two-legged ones."

Terry may miss games

Point guard Jason Terry may miss the Mavs' games Saturday in Utah and Sunday in Sacramento because of a death in his family.

bobatundi · 03-08-2006, 10:35 AM

What, it's a guards league just because a guy who's 6'6" is leading the league in rebounds?

Lucky for Pavel that the Bulls just signed Luke Schenscher; how demoralizing would it be to have to compete with that schmuck for playing time?

V2M · 03-08-2006, 10:53 AM

PPod's young (21yrs), strong, tall (7'5") and he's got a great shooting touch (I've seen him knock 3 after 3 during pre-game shootarounds!). He's certainly not anywhere near NBA playing shape. But we have the 3Ds now and if we can spend a few years and may be a few million on some great coaches, we could potentially turn this guy into a ShaqYao!!

seelenjaeger · 03-08-2006, 11:21 AM

Making room to sign Slava as Backup for Keith?

kriD · 03-08-2006, 11:49 AM

If you think sending a player to the NBDL opens up a roster spot, you're wrong, seelen.

BTW, Medvedenko is out for the season...

chumdawg · 03-08-2006, 12:03 PM

It may have used to be a guard's league. But starting now, it's a 7'4" monster of a Russian bear's league. Pavel Podkolzine will smart smashing skulls this weekend. He will gnash and claw apart the defenseless foes of the NBDL.

Let notice be served. The bear is coming.

Dirkenstien · 03-08-2006, 12:04 PM

I had high hopes for this guy when we drafted him but unfortunately he has been the definition of a bust thus far. Even when I saw him play in Summer League he just looked a little slow and uncoordinated. Hopefully he can turn that around and tap in to some of that hidden potential.

At best I don't see him ever being more than a decent backup center. On the other hand, he is only 21 years old.

Five-ofan · 03-08-2006, 12:17 PM

How is he the definition of a bust? We traded what would have been i believe the 26th pick in last years draft for him. We took him with the 21st pick in the year we drafted him as a PROJECT. Labeling him a bust is like giving a kid an F on a project because he hasnt turned it in 2 days after it was due when it was assigned to be due a month later. He was never meant to help right away. For definition of a bust see Kwame Brown.

atrewsfan · 03-08-2006, 12:28 PM

Let's compare how Podkolzine is progressing this season to how all the C's drafted in '04-'05 are doing (draft position in brackets):

* Rafael Araujo (TOR - 8): backup - 11.6 mpg, .394 FG%, 2.9 rpg, 0.13 bpg, 2.1 ppg.
* Robert Swift (SEA - 12): sharing starting C role with Johan Petro & Nick Collison - 21.5 mpg, .507 FG%, 5.9 rpg, 1.41 bpg, 6.5 ppg.
* Pavel Podkolzine (UT - 21, traded to DAL): long-term project - has played only 5 games in 2 years with DAL.
* David Harrison (IND - 29): backup (though seeing significant minutes with injury to Jermaine O'Neal) - 14.4 mpg, .513 FG%, 3.8 rpg, 0.8 bpg, 5.4 ppg.
* Peter John Ramos (WAS - 32): long-term project (assigned to Roanoke of the NBDL) - has played only 6 games with WAS in 2 years.
* Ha Seung-Jin (POR - 46): occasional starter - 8.2 mpg, .520 FG%, 2.1 rpg, 0.33 bpg., 1.6 ppg.

I'm not sure you could say college C's Howard and Okafor were drafted as C's as they have played a ton at PF for their teams. If you buy that, then aside from Araujo only 2 C's from the draft are seeing significant time in their 2nd seasons. Swift is doing quite nicely for the Sonics, while Harrison is showing flashes too. IND doesn't want to give Harrison too many minutes yet though because he's a terrible free-throw shooter and teams could just foul him to their hearts' content rather than let him score in the post. I'm not entirely sure if anyone thought Swift would become a starter given his lack of athleticism and softness on D, while Harrison was the most athletic C in the draft but it was thought that he was a little uncoachable and arrogant. It turns out that Swift's wingspan has enabled him to become a decent shot-blocker and rebounder, while Harrison doesn't seem to mind doing the little things like getting a little physical in the post, setting picks etc. Drafting a C can be a crapshoot...

Five-ofan · 03-08-2006, 12:33 PM

Swift was pretty highly thought of, remember he came out of high school

atrewsfan · 03-08-2006, 12:50 PM

Hmm, well the admittedly few articles I read on Swift at the time of the draft had him:

1. being decidedly lacking in upper-body strength
2. being easily pushed around in the post due to his relatively light weight and weak pipe-cleaner legs
3. being rated behind Podkolzine
4. projected as another Shawn Bradley at best

Well, I guess I've got some egg on my face...

Dirkenstien · 03-08-2006, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Five-ofan

How is he the definition of a bust? We traded what would have been i believe the 26th pick in last years draft for him. We took him with the 21st pick in the year we drafted him as a PROJECT. Labeling him a bust is like giving a kid an F on a project because he hasnt turned it in 2 days after it was due when it was assigned to be due a month later. He was never meant to help right away. For definition of a bust see Kwame Brown.

I suppose you could put the blame on his unfortunate luck with injuries and multiple surgeries, but after 2 seasons in the league (from what I've read and heard) Pavel has not shown any signs of improvement or progress. Even if he was drafted as a project, he has performed far below the expectations we had when we drafted him. Perhaps he can change that around in the development league but as far as I'm concerned the bust label is warranted thus far. Let's hope he can find an opportunity to shake that tag in his future tenure with the Mavs.

wescx · 03-08-2006, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

I suppose you could put the blame on his unfortunate luck with injuries and multiple surgeries, but after 2 seasons in the league (from what I've read and heard) Pavel has not shown any signs of improvement or progress. Even if he was drafted as a project, he has performed far below the expectations we had when we drafted him. Perhaps he can change that around in the development league but as far as I'm concerned the bust label is warranted thus far. Let's hope he can find an opportunity to shake that tag in his future tenure with the Mavs.

I'm not so sure that's true.

It was pretty much understood he was going to miss most of rookie season with pituitary gland surgery. Plus I dont think a contending team like the Mavs really expected an 18 year old center to have any sort of immediate impact on the team.

DubOverdose · 03-08-2006, 02:49 PM

I have no expectations from this guy. I saw him in the Summer League after we drafted him and didn't show much of the potential that was hyped about him. Also, saw a game or two of his over this last summer and again wasn't impressed. I've seen him shoot around before games this season...not bad, but nothing like the hype was. He has the body and a nice shooting touch, but that's all I see for now. My bet is that he never cracks the line up unless we are in serious trouble.

The Crippler · 03-08-2006, 03:08 PM

Swift was indeed pretty highly thought of coming out of HS. He was also a McDonalds All American and one of the top performers in the game his sr. year of HS.

Thespiralgoeson · 03-08-2006, 07:13 PM

Didn't Donnie say that he might be a decent backup one day? Bust? Hardly.

orangedays · 03-08-2006, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chumdawg

It may have used to be a guard's league. But starting now, it's a 7'4" monster of a Russian bear's league. Pavel Podkolzine will smart smashing skulls this weekend. He will gnash and claw apart the defenseless foes of the NBDL.

Let notice be served. The bear is coming.

Grrr...

Thespiralgoeson · 03-08-2006, 07:46 PM

Looks like the D-League better call in the Bear Patrol. Otherwise it looks like bad news for the... Impsons.

mavsman · 03-08-2006, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirkenstien

I suppose you could put the blame on his unfortunate luck with injuries and multiple surgeries, but after 2 seasons in the league (from what I've read and heard) Pavel has not shown any signs of improvement or progress. Even if he was drafted as a project, he has performed far below the expectations we had when we drafted him. Perhaps he can change that around in the development league but as far as I'm concerned the bust label is warranted thus far. Let's hope he can find an opportunity to shake that tag in his future tenure with the Mavs.

Yeah, it's funny how minds can change

Five-ofan · 03-08-2006, 11:38 PM

The 21st pick in the draft really cant be that big of a bust if they can even be a bust considering what the draft has become.

Dirkenstien · 03-09-2006, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mavsman

Yeah, it's funny how minds can change

Hahaha. Now that is pretty embarrassing. Good call on Pavel though, Mavsman.

Thespiralgoeson · 03-09-2006, 01:13 AM

Embarassing? He posted that two years ago. I don't agree that he's a bust, but c'mon, two years is plenty of time for one's opinion to change.

Dirkenstien · 03-09-2006, 02:08 AM

Just so there is no confusion I was laughing at myself and what I wrote in that thread.

But yeah, two years is an awful long time. Still, I clearly missed the mark on that one.

foglemann · 03-09-2006, 02:25 AM

Dirkenstien, you can be Cleveland all you want and call Diop a bust, for example.

Give me a break, he had brain surgery to stop his growth, was going to be out for most of the year. I'm sure in the offseason he was working on things and broke his foot, then has foot surgery. Give the guy a chance, you did once. Don't be fickle.

Dtownsfinest · 03-09-2006, 02:30 AM

I lost interest in Pavel when Donnie said he could possibly be a good backup in this league. I mean to me is that even a compliment? Sounds more like insult than compliment. Not sure what to think of the guy. Guys 7'5 don't just come into this league every draft.

bobatundi · 03-09-2006, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest

I lost interest in Pavel when Donnie said he could possibly be a good backup in this league. I mean to me is that even a compliment? Sounds more like insult than compliment. Not sure what to think of the guy. Guys 7'5 don't just come into this league every draft.

What's the league minimum salary these days? If Donnie wants to insult me and make me a backup in the NBA, I say, "bring it on, Donnie."

Pavel is, of course, making more money than Josh Howard. But then again, who in this league isn't? That should all change for Josh pretty soon though...