DeJuan Blair

by ThirtyOne on Jul 17, 2009 3:35 PM EDT

Hate to beat a dead horse but I just read this on ESPN and it made me sick,

On the day he signed a 4-year, $3.8 million contract, DeJuan Blair gave the Spurs a good look at their investment against the Thunder, scoring 20 points on 13 possessions. Blair battled underneath all afternoon, muscling up for putbacks. But there was more to Blair's repertoire, including some wily dribble moves from the top of the key. "They shouldn't have passed on me," Blair said of the Thunder.

Blair has gone on record as saying he's out to make the league pay for doubting him, and on top of that he signed a 4-year deal for less than a million per. That is ridiculous. This man is going to earn every penny of that and then some. I still wish we had been smart enough to see this guys passion and talent and move up to draft him in the second round. Once again the Spurs are going to come out looking like geniuses.

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well...

to be fair its not like the rest of the league didn’t pass on the guy too. They may look really really smart or his knees might fall off. Literally off. You never know. I hope for his sake that he turns out to be a great player.
But if he does turn out great I dont think that you can hold it against pacers managment for passing I mean everyone passed.

by shep31 on Jul 17, 2009 4:19 PM EDT reply actions

The ACL thing was incredible. When I read “Doctors could not find his ACLs” my jaw literally dropped.

All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!

by rollonubears on Jul 17, 2009 4:36 PM EDT up reply actions

I hadn't heard that but....

I know a cheerleader that had the same issue.
She tore her ACL in a competition and waited 8 months before she went in for any kind of treatment. She went to the hospital and was told that her ACL was completly torn but because of other athletic goals she opted to hold off surgery until after she was finished. She got by wearing a large brace. When she went back in 8 months later her doctors were unable to find her ACL. It had absorbed back into her body, the doctor said that because it had been injured her body attempted to heal itself and because it wasn’t attached to anything it ‘healed’ itself until it went away…

by shep31 on Jul 19, 2009 10:06 AM EDT up reply actions

Scroll down to the June 16th update

All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!

by rollonubears on Jul 19, 2009 1:41 PM EDT up reply actions

I'll believe it when I see it

Blair was a fun thought, but he doesn’t work out in this offense, he’s overweight, undersized, and has invisible ACLs (lol, rollunubears). When was the last time a 6’6 280 pound guy made a lasting impact in the NBA? I can think of only one, and it was Charles Barkley…different era. And it’s not like summer league means much. Throw Sir Charles out there in his golf pants and he may still grab some boards and hit some flat-footed threes.

"You're hitting the wrong person. Don't you know you're hitting Ron Artest?"

by LukeNukem on Jul 17, 2009 4:44 PM EDT reply actions

Am I the only one who finds it hilarious in a sick way? HOW DO YOU NOT HAVE ACLs?!?!?!?!? I thought the only people who don’t have ACLs are people who have played QB at Oregon the past few years (sorry for the Pac-10 joke. I couldn’t resist).

All aboard the Jahvid Best rickshaw!

by rollonubears on Jul 17, 2009 5:52 PM EDT up reply actions

disagree

From what I remember, the one statistic that transfers from college to the NBA most often and most consistently is rebounding. And Blair has rebounding stats that are unparallelled. His ability to get boards, especially on the offensive end, are unrivaled. No one had stats like his in the past 15 years. He got a higher percentage of offensive rebounds than entire teams. While he’s only 6’6, his wingspan is over 7’ and he’s got amazing hands. And although he’s a bigger dude, it’s really a whole lot of muscle and he knows how to use it.

I can understand being scared off by the ACL’s. And it won’t be a huge shocker if his career is marred by injuries. But if he stays injury free, he should be able to average a double double (low in points) based solely on his unbelievable ability to board and get putbacks and such.

As for the ACL’s thing, I read an article a few weeks back about a football player who had no ACL’s and had a long career. Can’t remember the name but it was interesting. Again, the chances are high that he will have a rough time with injuries and the football player example is a one in a million type thing. But it just goes to show that it’s not impossible.

I understand why we (and everyone else) passed on Blair. And I won’t be shocked if his career ends up marred by injuries. But personally, I would bet on him being in the league 10 years and averaging 12 boards a game. That’s just me.

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Jul 17, 2009 7:23 PM EDT up reply actions

Well

If it makes you feel better, our first round pick seems to be everything you like in Blair, and with Jack possibly leaving, we have some depth at point with our second pick. Price might not show a lot this year, but he did look capable of playing the point in summer league. There have been quotes floating around about Price being the steal of the draft too…

by jantz101 on Jul 17, 2009 6:53 PM EDT reply actions

yea we'll regret it...

for the first 8 games that he plays and then he blows his ACL 1 more time and he’s injury prone the rest of his career like David Harrison or Jonathan Bender… then we come out looking like idiots… AGAIN. I’d rather take the sure thing that already has a chip on his shoulder as well in my opinion

by SHaFF87 on Jul 18, 2009 2:04 AM EDT reply actions

I have to agree....

JB was one of the most freakishly talented players to ever step on to a basketball court but injuries pretty much nullified those skills. Potential pretty much means squat if you can never get on the basketball court. Of course injuries could derail Hansborough’s career but the odds are much less likely. I one hundred percent agree that the safe pick was the right pick.

"Pressure is something you feel when you don't know what the hell you're doing."

PEYTON MANNING

by cscott5527 on Jul 18, 2009 6:36 AM EDT up reply actions

aaggghhh

I can go months at a time without thinking about Bender and everytime he comes back up, it still hurts. That guy had a realistic shot at being a top 5 player in the league. In fact, I had never thought of it, but his game was a lot like Durants with a few more inches of height and a little less prowess behind the 3 point line. anyways….

"If you don't [draft me], I promise you I'll come back and kick your ass for the next 15 years."

by psvirsky on Jul 18, 2009 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions

yea...

don’t get me wrong i was campaigning for blair for a while, but looking back im pretty happy. He could make us look bad, but if he does, it wont last long, don’t think he is going tohave a long career in the NBA.

by SHaFF87 on Jul 18, 2009 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions

maybe...

maybe he’s the steal of the draft, maybe he’s the best offensive reounder considering his height, maybe he can score the ball, maybe he’s really atheletic. But these are the players you’ll enjoy to see for a season or two and leave the league with tears. yeah.. I’m talking about JB.
Blair is good, but with injuries up ahead? i’d rather look forward for Hansbrough to be the 6th man of the team.. _

by IndieBald on Jul 19, 2009 11:12 PM EDT reply actions