Re: 4 free agent centers, who gets paid?
McGee looked like his old self out there last night and that wasn't good. 20 minutes, 2 points and 5 fouls.
I've watched him for several games since the trade and even though he's still young, that doesn't excuse everything. The excuse that centers take longer to develop doesn't cut it, he should be farther along after 4 years in the league. It's a shame with the gifts he has and I hope he figures it out but I can see why Karl has put him in the starting lineup yet. The guy has shown real flashes but I hate seeing a player paid an 8 figure salary based soley on potential. I'm sure he'll start at some point for the Nuggets next year if they keep him, but when's the last time a bench player netted a contract in excess of 10 mil?
I came across piece quoting Karl about McGee.
http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci...%3A+Nuggets%29
http://basketball.realgm.com/blog/22...e_JaVale_McGee
McGee looked like his old self out there last night and that wasn't good. 20 minutes, 2 points and 5 fouls.
I've watched him for several games since the trade and even though he's still young, that doesn't excuse everything. The excuse that centers take longer to develop doesn't cut it, he should be farther along after 4 years in the league. It's a shame with the gifts he has and I hope he figures it out but I can see why Karl has put him in the starting lineup yet. The guy has shown real flashes but I hate seeing a player paid an 8 figure salary based soley on potential. I'm sure he'll start at some point for the Nuggets next year if they keep him, but when's the last time a bench player netted a contract in excess of 10 mil?
I came across piece quoting Karl about McGee.
http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci...%3A+Nuggets%29
LOS ANGELES — Each dunk — so vicious and delicious — made the Staples Center shush, except for one blare of bellowing bravado coming from Section 210: "We're going back to Denver, bay-bee!"
Pamela McGee, the loquacious mother of Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee, stood and cheered often Tuesday night. After all, her son scored 21 points and had 14 rebounds as Denver won to force tonight's Game 6 at the Pepsi Center against the Lakers, who lead the first-round playoff series 3-2.
"Anytime he had a dunk," Pamela said Wednesday, "they were all like, 'Who are you?' "
After the final buzzer, JaVale corralled the game ball and heaved it toward Section 210.
"It was like Peyton Manning. It
was right on target," McGee said of the ball his mom caught. "I had to really put a spiral on it." Meet the McGees, the Mile High City's favorite new Denverites. There's proud Pamela, a former basketball star and coach who was seated (occasionally) under a Pepsi Center basket at Games 3 and 4, getting major TV time high-fiving every hand she could. And there's JaVale, the raw, 7-foot, über-athletic 24-year-old skywalker, acquired in a trade for fan favorite Nene back in March.
Going into the playoffs, not many folks saw McGee being a key factor coming off the bench. But he's become a major factor.
In the Nuggets' Game 3 victory, he had 16 points and 15 boards. And, with Denver facing elimination Tuesday, holy moly, McGee was a game-changer, outplaying all-star big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol with his unorthodox game of hook shots, finger rolls, up-and-under moves and dunks off alley-oop passes from Andre Miller.
"He's really blossoming in this series," the Lakers' Kobe Bryant said. "He seems to be coming into his own. He's showing a lot of versatility and skill around the basket. Defensively as well, he's changing shots."
McGee's sudden ascension has caught the eye of fans nationwide, who have made Twitter atwitter. After two mundane games in L.A. to start the series, McGee has played like an all-star in two of the past three games, reminding Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt of a former player. Back in 2007, Hunt was on the Cleveland Cavaliers staff when an unknown guard named Daniel "Boobie" Gibson erupted in the conference finals against Detroit with 21 points in Game 4 and 31 points in Game 6, including 19 fourth-quarter points in the series-clinching game.
"People were saying he was coming out of nowhere," Hunt said. "That's the comparison that comes to mind right away. His shooting, rebounding the basketball ... it was special."
McGee plays basketball like the court is a trampoline. On seemingly every possession, he's leaping for either a block, rebound or dunk. He has a 7-foot-6 wingspan and, as Hunt explained, his fingers are so long that they remind him of the character Inspector Gadget saying, "Go, go Gadget fingers!"
"I don't think I've ever coached a guy like this," said Nuggets coach George Karl, who got his first NBA head coaching job in 1984. "He has the kind of moves of a 6-6 player. The guy he kind of reminds me of a little bit is (1970s star) Connie Hawkins. There's this long, unfolding one-handed stuff. He's got a long way to go to become Connie Hawkins."
McGee is unpolished. Sometimes, he'll swat a shot into the stands. Other times, he'll swing and miss. And then other times, he'll be called for goaltending a shot that had no shot. But, he's a presence in the paint. Even Bryant missed a couple of layups Tuesday because he was focused on those Gadget fingers.
In this series, McGee has averaged 3.2 blocks per game. To put that in perspective, only one NBA player had a higher average in the regular season.
"There are not a lot of people like him in the world," Hunt said. "I mean, seriously. You can throw it up there, and he's so long, he can get to it. He's had six-block games, and also, just the number of shots that he alters, he's just a different kind of player. And when you have a guy who's unique, you got to give him opportunities."
Opportunities. That was the plan when Denver acquired McGee from Washington. The Nuggets' front office knew McGee had an abundance of athleticism, but he developed bad habits playing for a poor team.
"Our intent was to get JaVale for the future, not just for three months," Nuggets executive Masai Ujiri said.
Asked Wednesday whether McGee, a restricted free agent this summer, is a player he wants to lock down for the future, Ujiri said, "One hundred percent."
So, will Pamela McGee be at the Pepsi Center tonight?
"Is water wet?" she said.
Read more: Sky's the limit for Denver Nuggets' JaVale McGee - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci...#ixzz1uZ3HpLGT
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
Pamela McGee, the loquacious mother of Denver Nuggets center JaVale McGee, stood and cheered often Tuesday night. After all, her son scored 21 points and had 14 rebounds as Denver won to force tonight's Game 6 at the Pepsi Center against the Lakers, who lead the first-round playoff series 3-2.
"Anytime he had a dunk," Pamela said Wednesday, "they were all like, 'Who are you?' "
After the final buzzer, JaVale corralled the game ball and heaved it toward Section 210.
"It was like Peyton Manning. It
was right on target," McGee said of the ball his mom caught. "I had to really put a spiral on it." Meet the McGees, the Mile High City's favorite new Denverites. There's proud Pamela, a former basketball star and coach who was seated (occasionally) under a Pepsi Center basket at Games 3 and 4, getting major TV time high-fiving every hand she could. And there's JaVale, the raw, 7-foot, über-athletic 24-year-old skywalker, acquired in a trade for fan favorite Nene back in March.
Going into the playoffs, not many folks saw McGee being a key factor coming off the bench. But he's become a major factor.
In the Nuggets' Game 3 victory, he had 16 points and 15 boards. And, with Denver facing elimination Tuesday, holy moly, McGee was a game-changer, outplaying all-star big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol with his unorthodox game of hook shots, finger rolls, up-and-under moves and dunks off alley-oop passes from Andre Miller.
"He's really blossoming in this series," the Lakers' Kobe Bryant said. "He seems to be coming into his own. He's showing a lot of versatility and skill around the basket. Defensively as well, he's changing shots."
McGee's sudden ascension has caught the eye of fans nationwide, who have made Twitter atwitter. After two mundane games in L.A. to start the series, McGee has played like an all-star in two of the past three games, reminding Nuggets assistant coach Melvin Hunt of a former player. Back in 2007, Hunt was on the Cleveland Cavaliers staff when an unknown guard named Daniel "Boobie" Gibson erupted in the conference finals against Detroit with 21 points in Game 4 and 31 points in Game 6, including 19 fourth-quarter points in the series-clinching game.
"People were saying he was coming out of nowhere," Hunt said. "That's the comparison that comes to mind right away. His shooting, rebounding the basketball ... it was special."
McGee plays basketball like the court is a trampoline. On seemingly every possession, he's leaping for either a block, rebound or dunk. He has a 7-foot-6 wingspan and, as Hunt explained, his fingers are so long that they remind him of the character Inspector Gadget saying, "Go, go Gadget fingers!"
"I don't think I've ever coached a guy like this," said Nuggets coach George Karl, who got his first NBA head coaching job in 1984. "He has the kind of moves of a 6-6 player. The guy he kind of reminds me of a little bit is (1970s star) Connie Hawkins. There's this long, unfolding one-handed stuff. He's got a long way to go to become Connie Hawkins."
McGee is unpolished. Sometimes, he'll swat a shot into the stands. Other times, he'll swing and miss. And then other times, he'll be called for goaltending a shot that had no shot. But, he's a presence in the paint. Even Bryant missed a couple of layups Tuesday because he was focused on those Gadget fingers.
In this series, McGee has averaged 3.2 blocks per game. To put that in perspective, only one NBA player had a higher average in the regular season.
"There are not a lot of people like him in the world," Hunt said. "I mean, seriously. You can throw it up there, and he's so long, he can get to it. He's had six-block games, and also, just the number of shots that he alters, he's just a different kind of player. And when you have a guy who's unique, you got to give him opportunities."
Opportunities. That was the plan when Denver acquired McGee from Washington. The Nuggets' front office knew McGee had an abundance of athleticism, but he developed bad habits playing for a poor team.
"Our intent was to get JaVale for the future, not just for three months," Nuggets executive Masai Ujiri said.
Asked Wednesday whether McGee, a restricted free agent this summer, is a player he wants to lock down for the future, Ujiri said, "One hundred percent."
So, will Pamela McGee be at the Pepsi Center tonight?
"Is water wet?" she said.
Read more: Sky's the limit for Denver Nuggets' JaVale McGee - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nuggets/ci...#ixzz1uZ3HpLGT
Read The Denver Post's Terms of Use of its content: http://www.denverpost.com/termsofuse
http://basketball.realgm.com/blog/22...e_JaVale_McGee
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