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Ok, I’m Starting to See it now…

by Tommy Dee on May 13th, 2009 at 6:56 pm

So when the Suns selected Steve Nash in 1996, some 11 picks after Stephon Marbury and two selections after Kobe Bryant, it came as a shock to many people.

It didn’t come as a shock to a man who I really hold as the Godfather of NBA IQ and that’s one Hubie Brown. Rick Pitino was pretty spot on as well in describing Nash.

It didn’t come as a shock to me either that Nash was drafted that high, really, because Nash and the 10th seeded Broncos dismantled Maryland in the NCAA tournament just a few months earlier.

But I’m starting to get it. I’ve been very down on Stephen Curry and I’m starting to warm up a little. I know the draft is a crap shoot, but there seems to be serious interest by the Knicks in Curry, who, as you study more, is really a superb passer. Sure, he took a ton of shots and couldn’t take his team to the Final Four, or even into the tournament for that matter. But every prospect has weaknesses.

Mechanically, I think his release is too low and that may be a problem shooting over taller players at the two. But he’s got all the ability to be a “with the ball,” and “off the ball player” in the NBA. I know, I know Stephen WAS a PG in college, but he was relied on, heavily, to takeover games shooting the ball and all the games I watched he was trying to do to much. With the ball in an open court system should allow him to show off his court vision, decision making  AND make shots.

Sounds like Nash, no?

Maybe he can be molded into something that no one thought Nash himself could become. Or maybe he can become a Devin Harris-type, to manage expectations on the kid.

Think about it, Nash was skinny and lacked talent around him, yet superseded expectations of a small school, and, oh yeah,  could flat play basketball. They are both around 6’3/190…

Sure, there are plenty of similarities, as Curry confidently admits, between he and Nash, and wouldn’t it be nice if Nash came in to mentor the kid this summer by signing after getting let out of the situation in Phoenix.

I still think Donnie is going to be active, but at the end of the day if Curry is the choice, even mid lottery, I’ll be more than fine with it.

At the end of the day if Walsh and D’Antoni feel that Curry is good enough to be the decision-making engine on a team with serious octaine and can give them even close to what Nash gave the Suns, then it can’t be a bad pick.
  • KBT1615

    I want Stephen Curry to he fits what we want to do to the tee and Lebron loves him but say we get like the 5 or 6th pick. Do we pick Curry over Jennings?

  • DanL

    Wow. The last domino falls. First Chris Riena, then Hahn, now, finally, Tommy Dee. I’ve been advocating for him for a while now on my blog, so if we get him, I sure hope it works out, so I don’t look dumb.

  • KBT1615

    My bad just realized we can’t get the 5 or 6th pick but say after workouts teams fall in love with other players and we have to pick between Steph Curry and Brandon Jennings, Who would you pick ? I honestly would be happy with either because of Curry’s shooting and Jennings extraordinary quickness.

  • CircleLimit4

    I’ve been on the Curry bandwagon for a bit, being my #1 pg prospect outside Rubio and maybe Holiday. But what if Jordan Hill or Hasheem Thabeet are still on the board at the 8th pick? Do we take a chance on a big man over Curry?

  • JRSlim

    I’d take Curry over Jennings. Telfair has proven that having just flash & speed can only get you so far. Even Nate had a 3-point shot. To be a PG in the system, you’ll need to shoot the occasional jump shot and manage the game, and I see Jennings trying to take over games when he won’t be able to. Plus, I think Curry could contribute somehow now as opposed to waiting for maybe 2 years?

  • JRSlim

    Also forgot to mention, I know I’ve seen comments before on the guy, but there’s a recent article talking about Carlos Cabezas. Feel free to look: http://www.hoopsdaily.com/content/who-carlos-cabezas

  • CircleLimit4

    I’ve only seen isolated clips of Jennings, but from what I’ve read, it’s a choice of athleticism over smarts. I generally favor smarts when it comes to the 1 position. I don’t know too much about Jennings but for some reason I’m seeing Sebastian Telfair.

  • CircleLimit4

    Glad I’m not the only one who see Telfair.

  • KBT1615

    I can see how because of the Athleticism and Speed but he shoots better, creates for his teammates better and from playing in europe has made him a aggressive defender.
    Yea you cant really teach smarts but Im sure Jennings can pick some things up.

  • KBT1615

    Come on guys dont just dwindle him down to Telfair look at his ceiling. He does things Telfair cant do.

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  • Mucha

    I’ve never seen Brandon Jennings play so I really can’t judge but I’m quite pessimistic. I’d take Curry over Jennings.

    Stephen Curry WANTS to be a Knick, he’d kill for that. Steve Nash? That’s not a bad comparison, Curry’ll be more of a scorer but he’s an underrated passer. I see a lot of Steve Nash and Reggie Miller in him – for different reasons. But I rank Jordan Hill ahead of Curry Circle.

  • Mr.Knicks 88

    The comparisons between Telfair and Jennings need to stop. Jennings is a superior athlete and has a much better shot. Although Jennings is struggling in Europe, he was a top 5 recruit coming out of high school and was about to go to Arizona who has a rich history of great PGs…ala arenas, bibby. He does have his problems, like high turnover rates, forcing bad shots, and trying to make too many highlight plays, but to say that he resembles Telfair is a bit unrealistic. This dude went to Europe and has had his good and bad games, I am sure it was not easy for him. While college kids are dominating a ton of bad players, he is going up against men everyday. I feel his experience that he has acquired over there will have tons of pay offs for whomever team drafts him.

    If the Knicks were to move up from the present spot, I feel they need to look at a few guys before Curry. Although Curry does seem to fit our system well with his shooting and potential to run the point, we need to draft best available player. I feel Henderson and Harden are both better overall players than Curry. I feel both guys would be safer picks compared to Curry who would be a more potential PG of the future pick. If Rubio and Jennings are gone, I feel the knicks are going to be hesitant of their pick and might want to trade out of it if the right guy is not there. For any of us to sit here and speculate who the Knicks are going to draft before the lottery and evaluating team needs and then best player available for each team, is pointless, lets wait a few more days shall we?

  • Mucha

    Are you publicly asking “Why the hell did I write this post”?

  • CircleLimit4

    Emphasizing Jennings’ underwhelming performances after his decision to bypass college for a professional career as a top 5 h.s. prospect isn’t exactly thwarting the Telfair comparisons, but reinforcing them.

    But really, Telfair is only 23. Even though I don’t think he’ll be the player as hyped, he did show some flashes of potential last season especially in distributing the ball. The Telfair comparison might indicate late bloomer instead of bust.

  • JRSlim

    Telfair is about the same age as Eddy Curry. Are we saying he’s a late bloomer too? But I make the Jennings to Telfair comparisons because everything I’ve seen reminds me of when Telfair came out of HS. A lot of flash but not enough substance. Bypass college to go pro and learns the hard way about pro life. Also, Arizona’s PGs are starting to slip as far as their pro ability. Whatever happened to Mustafa Shakur? Bayless still is waiting for his spot and it’s probably gonna have to come on another team with Sergio Rodriguez looking to take over.

  • The_Guy

    Check out this excellent piece Draft Express just put up on Brandon Jennings and the progress he’s made.

    http://www.draftexpress.com/blog/Jonathan-Givony/#Brandon-Jennings-Biding-his-Time-in-Rome-3212

  • The_Guy
  • KBT1615

    Jennings didn’t want to bypass college he actually took the SAT, but when he made the switch to Arizona he had to take it again because he needed a higher score so he tried to cheat on the SAT.
    So he couldn’t go anywhere and with that straight out of high school rule he was trapped. Don’t think Jennings is a bad kid for trying to cheat guys he is a good person.

  • Sergio

    Stephen Curry over Brandon Jennings is a no brainer to me. I see too much Stephon Marbury/Jamal Crawford in Jennings. Yo-yo And1 handle freezing out teammates and then launching a 25 foot fade-away three. He does have talent passing the ball but he seems like a ‘diva’ to me and not a warrior.

    Curry is the total opposite. Great character, good teammate and will not embarrass your team on or off the court.

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  • KBT1615

    How does he seem like a diva?

  • JRSlim

    And Jennings also said if he could do it over again, he’d still play pro from the jump. And like Sergio said, his character is also a good reason why people like him. How many times have we seen someone “drop” in stock because they feel his attitude on & off the court could be an issue.

  • Jeff Cykiert

    I have been on the Curry bandwagon for a while also. The Nash comparison is spot on. Just because he scored absurdly in college doesn’t mean that he’s going to be a scoring pointguard. He is a highly intelligent player with very good IQ, court vision and passing skills… His ability to shoot the ball amazingly will just be an awesome perk.

    If we have the ability to draft a PG with an unbelievable shot and crazy smarts, IQ, and passing skills, who is a ‘warrior’ and has the perfect personality and attitude to succeed in the NBA, we have to take it.

  • CircleLimit4

    “Telfair is about the same age as Eddy Curry. Are we saying he’s a late bloomer too? ”

    Is this a joke? E. Curry is three years older and has been in league for 7 years. When Telfair gets $10mil/yr, gains 60lbs and is unable to play more than 6 minutes a game, then we can make the comparison to Eddy Curry.

  • Bmorgan327

    I respect the point tommy dee made about similarities between Nash and Curry as scorers, but I don’t think Curry is any where close to the passer and distributor Nash was at the same age.

    I think its FAR more likely that Curry ends up being Eddie House than being anywhere close to Nash. I think Curry has the same problem that Nate Robinson has, he needs a point guard to play with him.

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