BRIGGS wrote:

Ira wrote:I can't say much about him because I've never seen him play. However your write-up and the write-up in draftexpress make we'll be lucky to get him in the second round.

I think Landesberg may be a nice long term prospect but a guy who may need to strengthen his body and overall game in Europe before the NBA. He's got a very solid handle for a bigng player which is very attractive but seems to be a jack of all trades and master of none. He also has a hitch in his long range jumpshot. What position does he play in the NBA-- is he a 2 or a 3? He doesn't seem to have one stand out skill that would compensate for his lack of explosion and speed. He does have an innate feel but an underdeveloped body and game that right now looks more suited for Europe than the NBA. You start throwing in possible character issues and this guys screams of a 2nd round pick headed to Europe for maturity of mind body and game. But he could be a 2nd round steal in 2-3 years if he develops. I don't see him as a guy who is going to help an NBA team in the next 2 years.

Well I think if you saw him play as many times as I have the past 2 years, you'd come away with a much different opinion:

1) "Seems to be a jack of all trades and master of none...He doesn't seem to have one stand out skill that would compensate for his lack of explosion and speed" - I guess I could see why someone who hasn't seen him regularly might say something like that but I disagree. This sounds like you're going out of your way to criticize not compliment. I prefer to go the other way and say he's fairly advanced in almost every area and leave it at that - slashing, decision-making, handling of the basketball ball, FT shooting and now jumpshooting. And I don't think he needs to go to Europe for seasoning or to develop anything. He just doesn't fit the profile of that type of player at all to me. Going to Europe really didn't benefit Brandon Jennings too much as I recall btw. A little different situation because Jennings was younger and had to fulfill the new obligation of playing somewhere first for 1 year before entering the NBA (which hopefully the league re-examines because it's not really having the positive effect that was intended) but similar. Jennings said all the right things around draft time last year because he had to but from what I remember, playing overseas was a struggle for him and wound up not being the best experience - he got sporadic playing time, he struggled in the little time he did get and then he didn't even get paid on time. Based on this along with a ton of other factors I'm sure (his friends and family are all here) I don't know if going to Europe is really in his best interest. It's an option for SL, just not the best one. It's all non-applicable with this kid anyway -- I see an advanced prospect that's NBA ready right now. I'll grant you, the overall package needs a little honing just like any draft prospect coming into the league, but it's all there and ready for the next step imo. SL was the ACC Rookie of the Year two years ago who improved his jumpshooting significantly this year. Nothing in his game suggested to me that he's not ready now and then can't improve even further once he hits the ground running in the NBA somewhere. We're talking a 6'6" 200 lb. smooth legit NBA shooting guard prospect who has all the requisite skills to play that position in the NBA right now and be part of some team's rotation, even with the lack of some chiseled upper body just yet or a jet pack strapped to his back. No question. To me it comes down to sizing up his abilities right now as a player (which I deem advanced and far from average) and then a little forecasting on how much better he could become. And he will get better - there's room for growth here. Ready now/room to improve - that sounds like the best type of prospect to me..Again last I looked, guys like Allan Houston & Brandon Roy weren't/aren't track stars or body builders, just great basketball players. I see the makings of a very similar player here.

2) "He also has a hitch in his long range jumpshot" - not sure what you saw but I actually see a pretty smooth stroke from mid to long range. Damn effective this year too. Even if there was a little something there that I didn't pick up on, it could be tweaked and refined. We have Allan Houston just waiting there ready to get in the gym to help guys along with Kenny Atkinson - this fella may look a little funny but he seems very dedicated to me, putting in long hours before and after practice working with players and their shooting. I'm comfortable that we have all the help in place here for a guy like SL to continue his development...Weren't you the one defending Tyreke Evans last year up and down over his ugly shooting mechanic? And rightly so, Evans is a fantastic player - a guy we just never had a crack at. Who cares how he shoots the ball. I'm sure Sacramento's staff has worked with him on this and will continue to do so. So it was OK for Evans but now it's a criticism and some fatal flaw in Landesberg's game? How does that work exactly? I don't get that. I don't even see the shooting flaw for that matter. This is a non-issue.

3) "What position does he play in the NBA-- is he a 2 or a 3?" - He's a legit 2, but does it really matter? At 6'6" he's got the height and overall skill package to swing between the two positions.

4) "You start throwing in possible character issues..." - What issues? He cut class and was punished for it. That's the only thing I know of and even that's not that big a deal. It's not like he raped someone, got in a knife fight in a bar (Giddens), had a gun in his car (Tyler Smith), stole Laptop computers (Marcus Williams/AJ Price), got arrested for shoplifting (AD Vassallo) or stole his friend's credit card and ran up a huge bill (ESPN's Doug Gottlieb - who was a terrible player anyway btw). How 'bout Sean Williams and his marijuana problems - BC gave this kid I don't know how many chances to knock it off and when he didn't he was dismissed. Didn't stop him from getting drafted in the 1st round. Different positions, but pound for pound, Landesberg's a better all-around draft prospect that Sean Williams...Point is, those are some character issues right there. I'm all for giving people second chances but I don't even see anything like that with this kid. Another non-issue..Just going on what I've read, he sounds like a kid that just wants to play basketball, nothing else. That's all he's had on his mind - becoming a pro basketball player. Now he let that cloud his judgement a little and lost focus by not attending class regularly which both he and his father have gone on record saying was a mistake. That shows pretty good character to me after the fact. Landesberg and his pops have even gone out of their way to compliment coach Bennett, the university and its fans. Doesn't sound like there's an oz. of bad blood there, only regret. That showed me a lot..I read that his father has even gone down to talk to school administration and found out that they would welcome his son back. Sylven doesn't want any part of it though - he wants to move on...You're implying that this kid has a lot of skeletons in the closet and that's simply not the case. Hey, hopefully many GMs around the league feel the same way - hopefully they all fail to do their homework on the guy and he slips to the point where we did our homework, like him & have a shot at him.

Finestrg wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:

Ira wrote:I can't say much about him because I've never seen him play. However your write-up and the write-up in draftexpress make we'll be lucky to get him in the second round.

I think Landesberg may be a nice long term prospect but a guy who may need to strengthen his body and overall game in Europe before the NBA. He's got a very solid handle for a bigng player which is very attractive but seems to be a jack of all trades and master of none. He also has a hitch in his long range jumpshot. What position does he play in the NBA-- is he a 2 or a 3? He doesn't seem to have one stand out skill that would compensate for his lack of explosion and speed. He does have an innate feel but an underdeveloped body and game that right now looks more suited for Europe than the NBA. You start throwing in possible character issues and this guys screams of a 2nd round pick headed to Europe for maturity of mind body and game. But he could be a 2nd round steal in 2-3 years if he develops. I don't see him as a guy who is going to help an NBA team in the next 2 years.

Well I think if you saw him play as many times as I have the past 2 years, you'd come away with a much different opinion:

1) "Seems to be a jack of all trades and master of none...He doesn't seem to have one stand out skill that would compensate for his lack of explosion and speed" - I guess I could see why someone who hasn't seen him regularly might say something like that but I disagree. This sounds like you're going out of your way to criticize not compliment. I prefer to go the other way and say he's fairly advanced in almost every area and leave it at that - slashing, decision-making, handling of the basketball ball, FT shooting and now jumpshooting. And I don't think he needs to go to Europe for seasoning or to develop anything. He just doesn't fit the profile of that type of player at all to me. Going to Europe really didn't benefit Brandon Jennings too much as I recall btw. A little different situation because Jennings was younger and had to fulfill the new obligation of playing somewhere first for 1 year before entering the NBA (which hopefully the league re-examines because it's not really having the positive effect that was intended) but similar. Jennings said all the right things around draft time last year because he had to but from what I remember, playing overseas was a struggle for him and wound up not being the best experience - he got sporadic playing time, he struggled in the little time he did get and then he didn't even get paid on time. Based on this along with a ton of other factors I'm sure (his friends and family are all here) I don't know if going to Europe is really in his best interest. It's an option for SL, just not the best one. It's all non-applicable with this kid anyway -- I see an advanced prospect that's NBA ready right now. I'll grant you, the overall package needs a little honing just like any draft prospect coming into the league, but it's all there and ready for the next step imo. SL was the ACC Rookie of the Year two years ago who improved his jumpshooting significantly this year. Nothing in his game suggested to me that he's not ready now and then can't improve even further once he hits the ground running in the NBA somewhere. We're talking a 6'6" 200 lb. smooth legit NBA shooting guard prospect who has all the requisite skills to play that position in the NBA right now and be part of some team's rotation, even with the lack of some chiseled upper body just yet or a jet pack strapped to his back. No question. To me it comes down to sizing up his abilities right now as a player (which I deem advanced and far from average) and then a little forecasting on how much better he could become. And he will get better - there's room for growth here. Ready now/room to improve - that sounds like the best type of prospect to me..Again last I looked, guys like Allan Houston & Brandon Roy weren't/aren't track stars or body builders, just great basketball players. I see the makings of a very similar player here.

2) "He also has a hitch in his long range jumpshot" - not sure what you saw but I actually see a pretty smooth stroke from mid to long range. Damn effective this year too. Even if there was a little something there that I didn't pick up on, it could be tweaked and refined. We have Allan Houston just waiting there ready to get in the gym to help guys along with Kenny Atkinson - this fella may look a little funny but he seems very dedicated to me, putting in long hours before and after practice working with players and their shooting. I'm comfortable that we have all the help in place here for a guy like SL to continue his development...Weren't you the one defending Tyreke Evans last year up and down over his ugly shooting mechanic? And rightly so, Evans is a fantastic player - a guy we just never had a crack at. Who cares how he shoots the ball. I'm sure Sacramento's staff has worked with him on this and will continue to do so. So it was OK for Evans but now it's a criticism and some fatal flaw in Landesberg's game? How does that work exactly? I don't get that. I don't even see the shooting flaw for that matter. This is a non-issue.

3) "What position does he play in the NBA-- is he a 2 or a 3?" - He's a legit 2, but does it really matter? At 6'6" he's got the height and overall skill package to swing between the two positions.

4) "You start throwing in possible character issues..." - What issues? He cut class and was punished for it. That's the only thing I know of and even that's not that big a deal. It's not like he raped someone, got in a knife fight in a bar (Giddens), had a gun in his car (Tyler Smith), stole Laptop computers (Marcus Williams/AJ Price), got arrested for shoplifting (AD Vassallo) or stole his friend's credit card and ran up a huge bill (ESPN's Doug Gottlieb - who was a terrible player anyway btw). Those are some character issues. I don't see anything like that with this kid. Just going on what I've read, he sounds like a kid that just wants to play basketball, nothing else. That's all he's had on his mind - becoming a pro basketball player. Now he let that cloud his judgement a little and lost focus by not attending class regularly which both he and his father have gone on record saying it was a mistake. That shows pretty good character after the fact. Landesberg and his pops have even gone out of their way to compliment coach Bennett, the university and its fans. Doesn't sound like there an oz. of bad blood there, only regret..I read that his father has even gone down to talk to school administration and found out that they would welcome his son back. Sylven doesn't want any part of it though - he wants to move on...You're implying that this kid has a lot of skeletons in the closet and that's simply not the case. Hey, hopefully many GMs around the league feel the same way - hopefully they all fail to do their homework on the guy and he slips to the point where we did our homework, like him & have a shot at him.

I'm not criticizing the player at all

I mean what does this mean-->But he could be a 2nd round steal in 2-3 years if he develops.

He's 19 years old--he's not the most explosive guy and his body could use some maturing--perhaps along with his brain. I would think NBA people would want him to develop mind body game. He's going to get picked in the second round but he's not going to be in a 9 man rotation in the NBA next year. That doesn't mean he's not a nice 2nd round pick--because I think he is--but far from ready. He did not average one made three for the entire season so the SG is speculative. Swingman or wing player sounds about right.