When Giannis Antetokounmpo came into the league, the buzz was that he was a point guard in the body of a power forward.
That’s not an especially uncommon description, especially coming out of the shallower talent pools of Europe, where the best players are often allowed to essentially play wherever they’ll touch the ball most at young ages. Dario Saric is another recent prospect in that mold.
Even a couple big-time American prospects got the “point guard athleticism, big man frame” tag: Anthony Davis and Nerlens Noel.
Noel and Davis both ended up in the frontcourt once they showed up at Kentucky, and Saric played the 4 in the World Cup, and probably will wind up there once he makes the jump to the 76ers.
So you’d be forgiven if you assumed the rumors about the Greek Freak were a tad embellished, and he would just end up a very athletic forward.
Jason Kidd has different ideas.
A few days ago, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders had this report:
Entering the 2014-15 NBA season, Milwaukee Bucks sophomore Giannis Antetokounmpo has a new head coach, a new star teammate, a new owner and even a new position. Jason Kidd was hired as the team’s coach over the summer and he wants to move Antetokounmpo from small forward to point guard.
Kidd believes the second-year player has the skill set to thrive as a floor general, and envisions him being a match-up nightmare with his 6’11 frame and 7’5 wingspan. The 19-year-old has been working out in Milwaukee with teammates and is prepared to make the transition to the one.
“I’m not going to say I was shocked by it,” Antetokounmpo told Basketball Insiders when asked about the move to point guard. “It’s something that I feel comfortable with and I’ll play wherever Coach wants me to play, especially when it’s Coach Kidd who thinks that I can play point guard. That makes me feel like, ‘I can play it. I can play point guard.’ I’m going to try my best and just listen to Coach. I’ll do whatever Coach says to do and I’ll get more comfortable.”
In addition to learning from Kidd, Gary Payton has said that he’ll work with Antetokounmpo during training camp as he adjusts to playing point guard. Antetokounmpo is ecstatic that he’ll get to learn from Kidd and Payton, and realizes this is an opportunity that most players don’t get.
“Oh man, it’s really important and nice, since they’re some of the best point guards in NBA history,” Antetokounmpo said of Kidd and Payton. “Not only are they great point guards, they’re great basketball players and can help us all basketball wise. Whatever they say, that is what I’m going to do. I’m so happy to have guys like them as I figure out the position and to have them teach me. I’m really excited. I’ve talked with Jason Kidd and he’s a really good coach, but he’s also a really great guy. He treats us really well.”
Kidd had Antetokounmpo play some point guard during the Las Vegas Summer League and said that he’ll continue the experiment during the regular season. In Vegas, Antetokounmpo played well. He had the ball in his hands a lot and averaged 17 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, a steal and a block.
Today, we’ve got a little more on the Giannis-at-PG experiment, courtesy of a Q&A with Jason Kidd from James Herbert of CBSSports.com:
Is it true you’re going to have Gary Payton mentoring Giannis?
No, I’m not having anyone mentor anyone. For me, it’s looking at guys that I’ve played against or played with that can maybe help come in for a day or two to talk about what it takes to be successful. And so Gary at some point might come in and talk, but we’re not going to hire him.
What have you learned about Giannis that you didn’t know before you took the job?
Well, he loves to work. He loves to be in the gym. It’s hard to get him off the floor. And that’s all good stuff. Being 19 years old and understanding that he wants to work together is all good stuff that I’ve learned here in the last month or so.
His potential is obvious, but how do you plan to mold him into the best player he can be?
I’m excited. I think it’s a great challenge. I think he has a lot of tools, there’s a lot of skill that he already possesses to be good. When you look at his playmaking, understanding how to make plays for teammates, he’s unselfish. I like what he brings to the table now and, for us, it’s to help improve that and grow. And also when you talk about shooting and all that fun stuff, it’s going to take time for him to be good at it because, again, he’s only 19.
Here’s some more of the latest news as the NBA begins to rev its engines for another season:
DION WAITERS WOULDN’T MIND A SHOT AT POINT GUARD
Giannis isn’t the only promising young player who could play the point. The Cavs probably don’t want to think about what might happen if Kyrie Irving got hurt, but in that event, would Waiters be the worst choice?
Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer:
Matthew Dellavedova will get the first crack at being Irving’s backup – and head coach David Blatt raved about Dellavedova’s during summer league. Veteran A.J. Price was added recently to push Dellavedova. But there’s another player on the roster hoping to get a chance to run Blatt’s offense: Dion Waiters.
“I’d love to play point guard,” Waiters said during his press conference on Friday. “I would love the opportunity if coach gave me a shot at that, I would love to take on the full commitment to that because I think I could play the one also.”
Ever since his college days at Syracuse, Waiters has gained a reputation as a shoot-first player capable of scoring points in bunches. Passing, getting his teammates involved haven’t been strengths. He averaged 2.0 assists per game in his two-year career with the Orange. He has averaged 3.0 assists per game since coming to the NBA. But Waiters is never short on confidence when it comes to his blossoming game.
“I think a lot of people haven’t seen me play (point guard),” Waiters said. “Over the time that I did play point guard I excelled.”
If he was referring to the brief stint in March when Irving was out of the lineup with a biceps injury then he has a point. During that eight-game stretch, Waiters and Jack shared duties running the offense. Waiters averaged 5.1 assists and the Cavs went 4-4.
CAVS DEAL BOGANS FOR PICKS, TRADE EXCEPTION
Keith Bogans and Brendan Haywood are perhaps the two NBA players whose value as trade chips farthest outstrips their value on the court. For a team with massive cap space like the Sixers, Bogans is one of those (buzzword alert) assets that they can afford to take on, and he might even get some playing time, which he didn’t in Boston and almost certainly wouldn’t have with Cleveland.
ESPN sources say Cavs have agreed to trade newly acquired Keith Bogans to Philly
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) September 27, 2014
Sources say Cavs will send a future second-round pick to Philly and create a $5.3 million trade exception in the process
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) September 27, 2014
COULD JULIUS RANDLE PLAY SMALL FORWARD?
I’m anything but a Kentucky fan, but watching them during the NCAA tournament, I couldn’t help but love Julius Randle’s game. I’ve always loved the deceptively athletic bigs, the guys without the biggest verticals or fastest straight-line speed who somehow manage to always get themselves into the right position. It’s why, just once, I want to see Zach Randolph be voted an All-Star starter. Randle looks like another one of those guys, and if I were a Laker fan, I’d be looking forward to watching him.
Randle has the size to play power forward but, through summer league and workouts with the Lakers, has shown an ability to handle the ball.
“He’s got super quick feet and I think if there’s one thing you didn’t see much at Kentucky, as you do watching him every day, is that he’s got really gifted quickness, first step, [and] he loves contact,” Kupchak said.
Could Randle play small forward in the NBA? Kupchak wouldn’t commit to the notion, although he did say that Randle wouldn’t be a liability defensively at the three.
“He can defend small forwards. Do I see him right now as the prototypical small forward? Probably not,” Kupchak said. “But I could see him bringing the ball up the court. I could see him seeing a gap, getting a step on a guy and making a play — whether it’s finishing or finding somebody that’s open. Those are ball-handling skills that you wouldn’t see power forwards have very often.”
The Lakers are notably deep at power forward with Carlos Boozer, Ryan Kelly, Ed Davis, Jordan Hill (who may primarily play center) and Randle.
Boozer was cut loose by the Chicago Bulls via amnesty waivers. The Lakers committed $3.3 million in cap room to claim the veteran — providing a cushion for Randle to learn the game without overextending himself as a rookie.
“We didn’t decide, ‘Well, [Randle isn’t] going to help us this year, let’s get a veteran,'” Kupchak said. “We got [Boozer] to help us win games this year. Whatever Julius gets, he’s going to have to earn.”
TYREKE EVANS OUT FOR A FEW WEEKS
This shouldn’t impact the Pelicans’ season plans too much, but a player missing training camp is rarely a good thing.
Via an official media release:
The New Orleans Pelicans announced today that guard Tyreke Evans is expected to miss 3-5 weeks with a strained right hamstring.
“Tyreke injured his hamstring playing pickup basketball out of town last week,” stated General Manager Dell Demps. “He is back in New Orleans rehabbing with our medical staff. Hopefully, he will be cleared to play before the season-opener.”
Evans appeared in 72 games for the Pelicans last season and averaged 14.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists in 28.2 minutes per game.
jerrytwenty-five says
Regarding Jason Kidd, as Bucks fans will find out, he really doesn’t want the hard work of coaching. He wants to be a decision-maker. It was just revealed at the Nets press conference that Kidd didn’t have real practices last season. In that respect he is a player’s coach. He’s going to let his lead assistant do the coaching, as was the case in Brooklyn.
Bucks are going to suck this season. And with Kidd trying to fight his way into the front office, with the help of his owner friend, I’m expecting a similar dispute as apparently was going on in ATL, between Michael Gearon, Levenson & Danny Ferry.
Regarding Keith Bogans, he has a non-guaranteed contract (5.3 million) with no specific date when it becomes guaranteed.
Maybe Sixers keep him for start of season, in order to qualify for the minimum salary, but don’t expect him to stay for long. I’m not sure how long Sixers have to wait before trading him to a team looking for an expiring, but he’s not finishing the season with the Sixers.