Everything Anthony Bennett

[blackjitsu]

It's official. 48 hours before he clears waivers. A lot of people thinking that Portland and Sixers might snatch him up.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources...212649315.html

[slaw]

Doug Smith from Pravda (Star) is dead set against Bennett .. says its a no win for him or the team. See article below

Dougs usually wired in but in this instance maybe Doug broke his antenna in Mexico at one of those tapas bars. We are woefully short at the PF position and Bennett is as good a risk as Ronald Roberts at this juncture. Bennett might have to see D League time to get PT to further his renaissance but if he does and is serious about improving then we look smart. If he doesn't then you simply turn the page.

If Doug Smith says it's not happening then we can almost rest assured Anthony Bennett will be a Toronto Raptor. Then Doug will tell us what a great, risk-free move it is for the organization and write human interest stories about the Canadian boy coming home....

[Primer]

If Doug Smith says it's not happening then we can almost rest assured Anthony Bennett will be a Toronto Raptor. Then Doug will tell us what a great, risk-free move it is for the organization and write human interest stories about the Canadian boy coming home....

I can't believe people still take anything Doug Smith writes seriously. If Bennett clears waivers he's basically guaranteed to be a Raptor. We need a 3rd PF (it's the one position we have zero young prospects at) and we can play him heavy minutes in the DLeague so he can continue his upward trend from the summer. The Canadian crowds will support him unconditionally and he needs that kind of support while he finds his NBA game. It's definitely the best situation for him, zero pressure and tons of support.

[The Great One]

It's official. 48 hours before he clears waivers. A lot of people thinking that Portland and Sixers might snatch him up.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources...212649315.html

Hope they're right.

[Mindlessness]

If Doug Smith says it's not happening then we can almost rest assured Anthony Bennett will be a Toronto Raptor. Then Doug will tell us what a great, risk-free move it is for the organization and write human interest stories about the Canadian boy coming home....

I now imagine Masai sitting there reading Doug Smith articles and doing the exact opposite of what he writes the Raptors should do.

[BS10]

Surprisingly, at least to me, BR has us pegged as the best landing spot for AB:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...-buyout/page/6

Here's the snippet:

It's impossible to find a more mutually beneficial landing spot for Bennett than the Toronto Raptors.

First, the obvious: Nothing could boost Bennett's confidence levels like playing in front of a hometown crowd. The support he'd receive north of the border would be tremendous, especially considering he was born in Toronto and initially went to high school at Harold M. Brathwaite Secondary School in Brampton—a smaller city in the Greater Toronto Area.

It also helps that he's spent this offseason playing quality ball for Team Canada at the Pan-Am Games. Per Eric Koreen of the National Post, head coach Jay Triano has shared some rather kind words about the forward's development:

I think Anthony Bennett's summer has been absolutely fantastic for us. He's engaged in everything that we do on the floor, off the floor, rebounding. We've asked him to rebound, and he's done it on a continuous basis. He runs the floor on a continuous basis. He provides help on the defensive end. He understands our defensive system.

We told him earlier this summer, if you do...things (other than focus on scoring), people are going to understand he’s got a lot of other skills: His ability to pass the basketball, his ability to get teammates open. He's had a great summer, from the Pan Am Games right through to this tournament.

Now, couple that with a glaring hole at power forward.

Patrick Patterson is a decent starter at the 4, but Toronto is not going to make it through the Eastern Conference—yes, even though it's the Association's weaker half—with Luis Scola serving as the lone natural replacement coming off the pine.

The Raptors only have 14 guaranteed contracts on the books right now; using the 15th and final one to land a high-upside frontcourt player makes sense.

In fact, it makes sense for all parties involved.

[Chr1s1anL]

Masai has a project for each position except PF. PG Wright, SG Norm Powell, SF Bruno and C Bebe. I think Bennett should fill that role for PF.

[Wild-ling#1]

I've read that no one in the top ten, behind the Cavs, were going to take AB if he had fallen to them.

Hmmm ...

Question: Doesn't the fact that he hasn't been claimed yet mean it's growing ever more likely that he'll be a FA in a matter of hours?

I've also read that many think Portland are waiting to snap him up once he clears. I'd really like to read some informed analysis from RR posters as to what kind of upside people think he has ... and in what kind of time-frame. Has it (so far) been about the weight, the injuries and the motivation?

Seems Bennett is gambling on himself here (in negotiating his own buyout).

I don't know that any internet group on the planet has seen as much of this guy, lately, as RR (because of our obvious interest in the FIBA tournament) ...

[Wild-ling#1]

Does anyone think that this would be the perfect opportunity to signal to all the young Canadian players that the Raps are committed to Canadian talent?

Obviously one can't simply give preference to Canadian players ... at the expense of the product on the floor.

But still ... Seems it might be a mistake not to send that signal. I would note that Portland just gave up their D League affiliate and have a number of PF's on their roster. Is there a potential synergy here?

[BobLoblaw]

I've read that no one in the top ten, behind the Cavs, were going to take AB if he had fallen to them.

Hmmm ...

Question: Doesn't the fact that he hasn't been claimed yet mean it's growing ever more likely that he'll be a FA in a matter of hours?

I've also read that many think Portland are waiting to snap him up once he clears. I'd really like to read some informed analysis from RR posters as to what kind of upside people think he has ... and in what kind of time-frame. Has it (so far) been about the weight, the injuries and the motivation?

Seems Bennett is gambling on himself here (in negotiating his own buyout).

I don't know that any internet group on the planet has seen as much of this guy, lately, as RR (because of our obvious interest in the FIBA tournament) ...

I think motivation / confidence have to be a major part of it. I wonder if he still loves basketball. No doubt, health and weight hurt him. Bad media probably snapped his confidence. I don't think that physical shape was issue no.1, since in that case I would expect a guy to give effort at the start, then get tired. In his case, from what I saw, it was often the opposite, he would look extremely lazy for some minutes, then up his effort later for a while, maybe after a coach talked to him.

As to upside, I don't know. Personally I never liked him, even the few college games that I saw prior to the draft, I thought he's a fat lazy Brandon Bass. But I'm not that good at judging young prospects anyway, I don't watch enough of NCAA. One scout who knows much much more than me told me (before the draft) that he saw a more athletic David West in Bennett if he stays healthy, and I could see his point, Bennett is undersized but very powerful, with good shooting touch.

He needs some coach to force him to play inside more, get tougher while scoring and rebounding, attack the basket, and just get overall more motivated and confident.

He has some breathing issues (asthma, plus some sleeping disorder that makes him breethe irregularly when he sleeps), and that hurts his stamina and energy level. But I think mostly it's motivation. Roy Hibbert overcame similar problems and became a pretty good player with his much more limited talent. Also Hibbert has always had confidence issues as well. If Bennett could overcome the mental side, maybe he could achieve something. That's part of why I thought of Vogel as a good coach for Bennett, Vogel oversaw development of Hibbert who also had shape / breething / confidence issues.

[Wild-ling#1]

Thanks for this Bob. Is that "Bob Loblaw" or a play on "Blah, blah, blah"?

[BobLoblaw]

Thanks for this Bob. Is that "Bob Loblaw" or a play on "Blah, blah, blah"?

Bob Loblaw. Famous for law blogs and lob ball blogs.

[blackjitsu]

Man, the people who dislike Bennett's game really dislike Bennett's game. I think there's something there, but only at league minimum... Why do I think that the Kings are crazy enough to pick him up off waivers?

[Wild-ling#1]

A Grantland article goes into a lot of depth on Anthony:

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/ru...s-no-1-status/

Basically the take is that he's seemed disinterested and out of shape so far. That he can be explosive near the rim, but can't resist the mid-range jumper ... though he has a good enough stroke to think he might develop a good 3-point shot (which he showed in college and at the FIBA's). His age and health concerns have to be factored in, though. The conclusions?

Bennett has been an abject disaster, but there’s an interesting player somewhere under the rubble. .... He may hit the minimum market, and if he gets there, watch out for Toronto. Bennett is Canadian, and the Raptors have both a potential roster spot and room for a flier at power forward. All four of Patrick Patterson, Luis Scola, James Johnson, and DeMarre Carroll will see time there, but it someone gets hurt, the Raps could toss a guy like Bennett onto the floor.

[Joey]

I'm all for giving him a shot and seeing if we can't salvage what was once a fairly promising player, though by no means a #1 pick.