I didn't understand yanking Essengue from the lineup at all. Ok sure he's the last GM's guy but you have him now and summer league should be for letting guys struggle a bit
As others brought up last year, Essengue represents the dilemma when drafting players who are really young and massive projects. Teams who draft them are running the risk of essentially just hosting them for an internship so they can get a taste of the industry before they go on to more meaningfully contribute later in life.
This becomes even more complicated when there’s a regime change during the early stages of that player’s career. It’s easy (and fair) to say that Graham should give Essengue a real chance, but we also have to put ourselves in his shoes. We’re basically saying “Hey, see that kid who can’t stop falling down and committing fouls and is only taking like three shot attempts per game? We think you should take him seriously, because your predecessor who got fired made a significant investment in him.” If we truly want Graham and Splitter to take charge of this organization, part of that is accepting they might not care about some of the players AKME brought in.
I think Noa will likely spend a good portion of this season in the G League. That might honestly be the best for him. He needs time to learn how to control his body and I’m not sure that will happen in short stints against NBA players. He’ll be someone worth monitoring, because the potential is there. I’m hopeful he can be at least a good role player, but we’re likely not going to see much of that this year.
I didn't understand yanking Essengue from the lineup at all. Ok sure he's the last GM's guy but you have him now and summer league should be for letting guys struggle a bit
As others brought up last year, Essengue represents the dilemma when drafting players who are really young and massive projects. Teams who draft them are running the risk of essentially just hosting them for an internship so they can get a taste of the industry before they go on to more meaningfully contribute later in life.
This becomes even more complicated when there’s a regime change during the early stages of that player’s career. It’s easy (and fair) to say that Graham should give Essengue a real chance, but we also have to put ourselves in his shoes. We’re basically saying “Hey, see that kid who can’t stop falling down and committing fouls and is only taking like three shot attempts per game? We think you should take him seriously, because your predecessor who got fired made a significant investment in him.” If we truly want Graham and Splitter to take charge of this organization, part of that is accepting they might not care about some of the players AKME brought in.
I think Noa will likely spend a good portion of this season in the G League. That might honestly be the best for him. He needs time to learn how to control his body and I’m not sure that will happen in short stints against NBA players. He’ll be someone worth monitoring, because the potential is there. I’m hopeful he can be at least a good role player, but we’re likely not going to see much of that this year.