I've seen a lot of people on this board clamoring for a low post presence. Someone who can score inside and take a little stress off our outside shooters. We soon forget that we drafted the best low post presence in last year's draft.

Yes I am talking about Sweetney. Yes, I do know he has shown to be awful in the few minutes he's gotten this year. But lets also talk about what else we know about him. We know he's gotten inconsistent, sporadic minutes. Minutes when you'd least expect it. And the other half of the year he's been on a DNP or on the injured list. You can't accurately gauge a player under these circumstances. You need consistent minutes to truly show yourself (see Williams, Frank). When Sweetney has gotten his sporadic minutes, they haven't exactly run plays for him, or given him a role. He's been tossed out there with no purpose, and therefore has looked lost. This is unfair to a rookie player who is just trying to impress and not step on the toes of his veteran teammates.

And who are we to sit our top 10 pick? We're not 9 games over .500 we are 9 games under, and we haven't really come close to sniffing .500 all year. When Sweetney was active, McDyess wasn't even around at that point. There was no reason for Sweetney to play behind Spoon and Harrington. Chaney might've thought Spoon and Harrington were vets that gave him a better chance to win....but, well, we all know how much what Chaney thinks is worth.

So what else do we know about Sweetney? In college, he was an extremely hardworking low post presence. In addition to using his massive size, he had a pretty nice array of moves, as Georgetown big men generally do. He also had great hands, constantly worked to get in position. He had a nice turnaround, and a decent baby hook. The guy also was a force at drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. This was one of his best attributes. And he's a solid FT shooter who can easily knock down 70-75% in his career, and will have a lot of opportunties to improve his shooting. We need someone like this who can get to the line...and he can be it. In addition he works hard on the boards and gives a good effort on D.

So what does this mean? It means the guy should be given Othella Harringtons minutes, and be the primary backup PF. Harrington isn't getting any better, and we know what he can do, but with all do respect, he's no reason to block a top 10 pick. Sweeney should be given about 15 minutes per, and should be allowed to be set up in the low post. Let's run a few plays for him (just like we do for Othella), and give him an opportunity to post up (I don't believe we have all year). He can be a spark off the bench, and if playing well, can earn more minutes. If not, he'll get a chance to continute to get in game shape and learn. The worries are that the guy may not be able to use his size to dominate in the NBA, and maybe he doesn't have enough athletic talent. But I know this guy is a high effort guy with great strength, that needs an opportunity. Its time to give it to him.

I forgot to add...the problem is, we might not get a real coach in here who will consider playing him...

He looked like he was in horrible shape. How did Layden/Chaney allow that to happen?

yo iwent to a pre-season game and sweetney played a lot he was lookin real good agressive nice moves i was excited about him but he does look a little out of shap enow i say they should throw his ass on the tredmill and give hima shot, if he cant battle Othella/Doleac for backup minutes he dont deserve to play anyways lol

I thought Sweets would have gotten at least a little playtime tonight... Maybe he'll get some PT in the next game or two... It's still possible for Chaney to still get chopped too.

they should still play him in garbage time, but im pretty sure we'll have to wait til next year to see the real micheal sweetney. Hopefully he works real hard to get in shape after the season and shows he deserves to play.

damn, you guys sound like chaney. so your saying don't play that rokie because he's not coming out and making an emediate impact? in that case, i'm sure the trailblazers are happy as a pig in **** that they let o'neil go. i'll also bet the sonics did'nt kick flip murray's soory ass out when he did'nt come through emediately. well we won't get into more analogies, but you see what i'm getting at. again, it's not an easy transition for a big guy from college to pros. yes his team was'nt the greatest in the world, but HE still did work on good teams. him being an instant millionaire actually comes w/the territory of being an above avg college star. and as for his father dying, that xo's it's self out because it has nothing to do w/his playing ability. he's the last of our rokies, and i for one don't want to throw it away just because he's not an overpayed vet. but then if that's what you guys want, thanks for the layden-like thoughts. oh just a thought, what other rokie power forwards are out there & how are they doing?

C'mon guys, Othella isn't doing anything to get us into the playoffs at this point. He's inconsistent at best.

Sweetney is not gonna lessen or chances at all. He needs an opportunity to develop. We must see what we have before we trade him to a) decide whethere we want to keep him, or b) increase his value, which isn't very high right about now.

The guy I compare Sweetney to is Zach Randolph, and you can certainly make the case that he is much farther along than Randolph was coming out of college. Perhaps Randolph has more atheltic ability, but Sweetney was/is a harder worker and more of a hustle guy. Anyway, I think you gotta try this guy out at some point. They need a post presence from somewhere. IF you drafted him for his low post ability, lets see if he can do it.

the knicks will trade sweetney and frank just like they traded lampe and their picks. the knicks are not interested in getting younger of developing young players.

Sweetney has the body to play if it is toned. The knix should bring in Oak as a toughness coach and between him and KT mold Sweets into an animal. Neither Oak nor KT can leap tall buildings and LJ would have to look up to see into Sweets' eyes

Posted by fishmike:

sometimes these guys just need time. Sweetney was 20 on draft day.

Look at Zach Randolph. He did nada his first 2 years and just exploded when he finally "got it."

Is Sweetney that kind of player? Maybe, maybe not... but he's longer than Zach and was a MUCH better college player. Lets just be patient.

there is a big difference between randoplh and sweetney. height. is'nt zach 6'10"? sweetney is listed as 6'8" but there are rumors that he may be smaller. in the summer league i remember him being inconsistent. but he is a rookie. i can see him gaining minutes in march or april but he is not as good as othella right now. he is still learning and getting his practices in. it seems like zeke and chaney are being patient with him which is the right move. let's get it straight, he is not going to be a MAJOR contributor but he can still be a decent pro.