Quote:
Originally Posted by cj
Russell Westbrook was never a good shooter, even in college, and still isn't. Fultz was better. Something is wrong mentally with him it seems.
Also, Russ was on a lottery team for one year. His second year, same as Fultz is in this year, was a team that gave the eventual champion Lakers all they wanted in the first round. A buzzer beating tip in by Pau Gasol saved them from a G7. Obviously Fultz didn't play a lot in his first year but there is something to be said for being on the roster and being coached by pros for a full season.
This much I can say from watching Fultz so far. He is no Westbrook and he never will be. He just doesn't have that kind of explosiveness. The Sixers blew it by not drafting Tatum. Maybe they'll be able to overcome that mistake and win a title or two but they'd be a potential dynasty if they had made the right choice.
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I think everybody agrees that something is wrong w/Fultz vs. his level of play in college and nobody has the answer to his problem at the moment. The point I was making with the RW comparison was fairly mundane -- that the rookie year of most players, even many of the greatest, are usually unimpressive and unrepresentative of their later careers -- I could just as easily have used Harden, Curry, or dozens of other players as examples. All of these players improved by huge leaps after an inauspicious beginning. As you point out, by the end of his second year, RW and Durant were challenging the Lakers in the playoffs, and two years later they were in the championship. But, unlike Fultz, RW initially had the benefit of full-time play on what was then a bad team, which allowed him to develop in a relatively unpressured environment.
Also, the idea that players have to somehow live up to their draft-pick level and that teams know what they're doing in the draft is idiotic. Is Sam Bowie supposed to apologize for the rest of his life for being picked ahead of Michael Jordan? It should be obvious by now, that truly great players aside, no one, not even the teams who are spending money on them, can predict how college players are going to pan out in the NBA. Donovan Mitchell was drafted in the #13 spot last year -- you think the GMs that passed on him are simply morons -- no, that's just the reality of the situation. And it's obvious now that the pressure of being the #1 pick probably didn't help someone with Fultz' issues.
Going forward, the Sixers are committed to giving Fultz minutes for what seems like a couple more months. Regardless of how he does, they're still going to win ca. 55 games and go deep into the playoffs. With three great players already, though, they don't need Fultz to be a star -- they can win it with role players in the 2 and 4 slots and an improved bench, at this point. If, in a few months, he could give them 17 pts. and 4 assists, I think they're set. But, again, a long way to go still.
