NBA Draft: adding perspective to Kristaps Porzingis workout hype
For all the notions of comparing Porzingis to Dirk Nowitzki, or Andrea Bargnani (both European players) — there are two very different examples that stick out as better comparisons: One is Chicago Bulls forward Brad Sellers, and the other is Kevin Garnett. Both are slender, seven-footers and great athletes, and both were skilled with a basketball.
The difference is one had the mind set of an NBA champion and the basketball IQ to bring it altogether into a real NBA player. Given that younger fans have likely never heard of Sellers, there is no sense explaining which talent had the mental acumen to thrive.
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And like Sellers and Garnett, Porzingis is a rail-thin seven-footer with a lot of skills — but is still said to be too thin for his position. It would seem he needs to add bulk to be an NBA power forward, because there is no illusion he could play the three-spot.
That drove Brad Sellers out of the league after having been selected No. 9 overall in the 1986 draft. The 7-foot, 210-pound forward remained in the league until he was 30, but he only saw more than 20 minutes per game in his first few NBA seasons while the Bulls thought he might still develop. By his third season he was still good for just seven points and three rebounds per game, while offering no other real positive values as a player.
That is Porzingis’ failure-model.
The Garnett model is he becomes tough as nails or his offense is otherworldly in the same way Garnett’s defense became so. It does not matter if he adds the bulk or not. He will will himself past the point of allowing bulkier guys to get the best of him or make opponents downsize to stay with him on the perimeter.
Garnett never got big; he is still thin, and he has carved out a legendary career as a power forward. Skills and toughness can compensate for lacking physical bulk.
Porzingis could continue to get stronger without ever becoming bulky in build. Polymetrics are a great way to do so. It may be an utterly moot point if the guy can flat out play ball.
This is not to imply Porzingis is Garnett anymore than those who are asking if he is the next Nowitzki. It is to illustrate his mindset is going to be what determines if he is better than Milicic and better than Sellers. What kind of player he becomes is solely up to him.
Right now, the drive in his eyes seems to say more than any of the verbiage he has thrown around about not being soft. We want to see it in play, and gym workouts just do not do that. Scouts that think they can see a gym workout and quickly conclude he would have been the best NCAA talent in the draft are fooling themselves. We just do not know that nor can conclude that after watching his workout.
Milicic was an impressive prospect or he would not have been the No. 2 overall pick in 2004. He became the butt of jokes, but his prospect profile and his skill set painted the picture of a guy that was drafted ahead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. He was that impressive, too, at one point.
What separates a great gym specimen from an actual NBA All-Star is all mental. The tools are there with Porzingis — it is time to see if he has the mind to accompany it.