Celts Waive Donte...

[newmexicuse]

Too bad he has become the poster child illustrating the downside of leaving too soon.

No way that kid should not have at least been an NBA rotation player if he had just taken his time to develop properly. Not to mention that another year or two at the Cuse & he surely would have come out as a lotto pick.

 

[cliftonparksufan]

Too bad he has become the poster child illustrating the downside of leaving too soon.

No way that kid should not have at least been an NBA rotation player if he had just taken his time to develop properly. Not to mention that another year or two at the Cuse & he surely would have come out as a lotto pick.

He will be continuing his career in China this season. I expect that we haven't seen the last of him in the NBA.

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[Shermthegeneral]

As a fan we all think its a bad move but as the saying goes, one in the hand is better than two in the bush.

 

[OttoinGrotto]

As a fan we all think its a bad move but as the saying goes, one in the hand is better than two in the bush.

Yeah. Why are we so sure he has a better career with more school? We can't know that.

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[Bayside44]

Most likely because he would physically develop and learn the game. The kid was a stick and a kid, bad combo for the league.

 

[Madbiker]

Had he stayed another year or two at SU it's likely he would have developed more and been a 1st round draft pick and at least would have received 2 years of guaranteed money at around $3 million. So he missed out on that. Longer term I doubt the outcome would be different but at least he would have gotten some real money. Bad decision to leave so early.

 

[Antiprodigy]

Had he stayed another year or two at SU it's likely he would have developed more and been a 1st round draft pick and at least would have received 2 years of guaranteed money at around $3 million. So he missed out on that. Longer term I doubt the outcome would be different but at least he would have gotten some real money. Bad decision to leave so early.

He was a first rounder. 28th pick by Memphis. It is possible, with one or two years more in SU, he could have been a lottery pick. No guarantee on that.

I wish him well, as I do for all ex-SU players that leave on good terms, but I don't feel too bad for him, as he will likely make more playing one year in China than I will make in the next 5-10 yrs.

 

[Knicks411]

Yeah. Why are we so sure he has a better career with more school? We can't know that.

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Agreed, how many guys do we see who stagnate in college? (Granted, they are usually better players than Donte, but it happens).

Maybe he wasn't as good as we thought. It's not like you aren't allowed to improve as a rookie.

 

[CuseFaninVT]

Agreed, how many guys do we see who stagnate in college? (Granted, they are usually better players than Donte, but it happens).

Maybe he wasn't as good as we thought. It's not like you aren't allowed to improve as a rookie.

I think the difference would have been he would have learned to play better team ball. His only season he was asked to do too much because of the other injuries. I would have loved to see what he could do once there were other deep threats teams had to focus on beside just him. I have a feeling though we wouldn't have seen KO that season, and that would be bad, because he was fun to watch even though his talents were limited.

 

[moqui]

Too bad he has become the poster child illustrating the downside of leaving too soon.

No way that kid should not have at least been an NBA rotation player if he had just taken his time to develop properly. Not to mention that another year or two at the Cuse & he surely would have come out as a lotto pick.

Had he stayed another year or two at SU it's likely he would have developed more and been a 1st round draft pick and at least would have received 2 years of guaranteed money at around $3 million. So he missed out on that. Longer term I doubt the outcome would be different but at least he would have gotten some real money. Bad decision to leave so early.

he had more opportunity to develop in Sacto than he would have gotten in Syracuse. As a pro, there are no restrictions on the amount of time you can practice and workout. Any player who is serious about developing themselves is much better off doing it as a professional, getting professional coaching and training, than as a college player (who can only practice with a coach a maximum of 20 hours per week in-season and 8 hours per week out of season).

there are a limited number of new openings in the NBA each year; the only reason to stay in school is if you are not good enough to guarantee yourself one of those spots. If you are reasonably sure that one is going to be made available to you, you have to take it. And then its all on you to take advantage of the vastly superior development opportunity it affords.

 

[Knicks411]

I think the difference would have been he would have learned to play better team ball. His only season he was asked to do too much because of the other injuries. I would have loved to see what he could do once there were other deep threats teams had to focus on beside just him. I have a feeling though we wouldn't have seen KO that season, and that would be bad, because he was fun to watch even though his talents were limited.

He could have learned team ball at the NBA level too.

I'm not saying I know either way, I have no idea what would have happened if he came back for another year. As an SU fan, i for sure would have liked to see him come back. But it seems to me that we get the idea that going back to college is always a good idea (unless you're Lebron or someone) and players always improve in college, and they don't improve in the league. I don't think it works like that.

As a pro, there are no restrictions on the amount of time you can practice and workout. Any player who is serious about developing themselves is much better off doing it as a professional, getting professional coaching and training, than as a college player (who can only practice with a coach a maximum of 20 hours per week in-season and 8 hours per week out of season).

Also don't forget that the NBA players are a lot better than college players. The 2009 SU team had 2 fringe NBA players. (Maybe 3 if we think AO is going to get a shot?) But you get better by playing against better players also.

Of course, Donte's pro career has been about as bad as it possibly could have been, so it's hard to argue he would have been much worse off if he came back to school, unless he got hurt.

 

[CusefanATL]

Had he stayed another year or two at SU it's likely he would have developed more and been a 1st round draft pick and at least would have received 2 years of guaranteed money at around $3 million. So he missed out on that. Longer term I doubt the outcome would be different but at least he would have gotten some real money. Bad decision to leave so early.

Or he severely breaks his ankle in college and never gets a guaranteed contract.

He went 1st round... he got paid... he hasn't developed yet for 1 reason or another... what makes you think he would have gotten so much better with 20 hours per week of practice vs a professional career?

He isn't a poster child for anything. Lenny Cooke is.

*edit* you do realize he WAS a 1st round pick, right?

 

[Madbiker]

Or he severely breaks his ankle in college and never gets a guaranteed contract.

He went 1st round... he got paid... he hasn't developed yet for 1 reason or another... what makes you think he would have gotten so much better with 20 hours per week of practice vs a professional career?

He isn't a poster child for anything. Lenny Cooke is.

*edit* you do realize he WAS a 1st round pick, right?

My bad. Thought for some reason he went 2nd round. But he has never developed into more than a marginal NBA player and that would be the case even if he stayed at SU longer. I do think it's possible that he would have improved his draft stock with another year to be a higher 1st round pick with a larger guarantee but that's an opinion.

 

[Millhouse]

Yeah. Why are we so sure he has a better career with more school? We can't know that.

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i'm pretty sure

some guys are better off going pro and getting the one deal before they're exposed, but he wasn't that guy.

he could've gotten hurt but that probability wasn't high enough for it to flip the expected value of his earnings

boeheim is good at developing tall skinny offensive forwards - would've had a lot of leash to do many different things on offense and would've learned how to win

the only thing he could do when he went to the NBA was shoot and he didn't even do that well enough to play

 

[sufandu]

he had more opportunity to develop in Sacto than he would have gotten in Syracuse. As a pro, there are no restrictions on the amount of time you can practice and workout. Any player who is serious about developing themselves is much better off doing it as a professional, getting professional coaching and training, than as a college player (who can only practice with a coach a maximum of 20 hours per week in-season and 8 hours per week out of season).

there are a limited number of new openings in the NBA each year; the only reason to stay in school is if you are not good enough to guarantee yourself one of those spots. If you are reasonably sure that one is going to be made available to you, you have to take it. And then its all on you to take advantage of the vastly superior development opportunity it affords.

Maybe he had more opportunity to develop in the league maybe not. The impression I get is that NBA practices aren't so much about developing skills as they are about preparing for the next team. As a bench warmer he saw little game time and pro teams have little vested interest in developing you if you're not self motivated since they can just cast you aside. In college there are fewer games and more practices per week, and my guess is more emphasis on skill development. There is also more vested interest in developing you since teams can't just dip into free agency to replace you. If you're not the self motivated type, you'll probably also get more consistent prodding form coaches too (it's harder to prod a millionaire than a college kid hungry to make it to the league). My guess is the atmosphere is one where the coaches care more about skill development. I'm making a lot of assumptions, but I think Donte is one who's game would have benefited from two more years in college.

 

[tep624]

Yeah. Why are we so sure he has a better career with more school? We can't know that.

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I don't think anyone would argue had he stayed his last 2 years, he would have been more physically developed, more experienced playing at a high level, and would have had a degree in hand.

The first two lend credence to him being more attractive as a draft prospect, the last one for his prospect of being successful after his basketball career was over.

All things considered, I would say the odds lean towards him staying putting him in a better position now than him leaving. You really think that him playing 2 more years of college ball would have hurt his chances of being a late first round pick? It's not like he left to be a lottery pick - then I could really see the argument.

I guess what we should be debating is the time value effect of the first 2 years of his contract moreso than anything.

 

[OrangeDW]

Donte was a streak shooting 6'9 gunner, with no handle, no post game, and a poor defender with limited lateral quickness.

Not really seeing how he's such a disappointment or bust or anything. Unless he developed into a deadeye, consistent outside shooter - that was his real chance to be a good NBA contributor and his one good year was the year he shot well...I can't really see any other skills that he was ever all that close to having or developing. You can't develop something that's not there in the first place. He did well to stay in the league for awhile, I guess. Hopefully he can get another crack.

 

[alphaorange]

Seems like I recall that he and his family really needed financial help. It was more necessity than luxury, as I understand it. Sometimes life makes your choices for you.

 

[sufandu]

I don't think anyone would argue had he stayed his last 2 years, he would have been more physically developed, more experienced playing at a high level, and would have had a degree in hand.

The first two lend credence to him being more attractive as a draft prospect, the last one for his prospect of being successful after his basketball career was over.

All things considered, I would say the odds lean towards him staying putting him in a better position now than him leaving. You really think that him playing 2 more years of college ball would have hurt his chances of being a late first round pick? It's not like he left to be a lottery pick - then I could really see the argument.

I guess what we should be debating is the time value effect of the first 2 years of his contract moreso than anything.

For what it's worth, he was only here 1 year. he had three years left.

 

[sufandu]

Donte was a streak shooting 6'9 gunner, with no handle, no post game, and a poor defender with limited lateral quickness.

Not really seeing how he's such a disappointment or bust or anything. Unless he developed into a deadeye, consistent outside shooter - that was his real chance to be a good NBA contributor and his one good year was the year he shot well...I can't really see any other skills that he was ever all that close to having or developing. You can't develop something that's not there in the first place. He did well to stay in the league for awhile, I guess. Hopefully he can get another crack.

Why couldn't have learned a post game, improved his handle, and improved his defense the same way Hakim Warrick improved his shooting and handle over a 4 year period.

 

[ssbriefcase]

Maybe he had more opportunity to develop in the league maybe not. The impression I get is that NBA practices aren't so much about developing skills as they are about preparing for the next team. As a bench warmer he saw little game time and pro teams have little vested interest in developing you if you're not self motivated since they can just cast you aside. In college there are fewer games and more practices per week, and my guess is more emphasis on skill development. There is also more vested interest in developing you since teams can't just dip into free agency to replace you. If you're not the self motivated type, you'll probably also get more consistent prodding form coaches too (it's harder to prod a millionaire than a college kid hungry to make it to the league). My guess is the atmosphere is one where the coaches care more about skill development. I'm making a lot of assumptions, but I think Donte is one who's game would have benefited from two more years in college.

I've heard the same. I was trying to think reading this thread who it was, may have been Chris Mullin talking about this exact scenario a while back? Whoever it was, was saying the NBA isn't the place to come in and try and develop your game if you're going to ride the bench. College is where you develop your game. Said the NBA grind is way too long and there's no time during the season to really develop a bench player. In practice you're there for the starters to play against, like a scout team. Coaches/teams objective is on the next opponent almost on a daily basis, and then your traveling. Basically the player is on an island. The best time to develop is the off season.

 

[moqui]

In college there are fewer games and more practices per week, and my guess is more emphasis on skill development. There is also more vested interest in developing you since teams can't just dip into free agency to replace you.

this is incorrect . . . fewer games, yes, but players are limited to a total of 20 hours basketball per week in season (and that includes game time) and 10 hours per week out of season. You have vastly more opportunity to develop as a professional, this is not even arguable. Your point about self-motivation is correct - it is up to the player to use that opportunity to their advantage - but the fact is that any kid didn't 't take advantage of the facilities, coaching and time to develop his game that his guaranteed contract afforded him, then he wasn't going to do it literally half-assing it in college at a few hours per week.

 

[sufandu]

this is incorrect . . . fewer games, yes, but players are limited to a total of 20 hours basketball per week in season (and that includes game time) and 10 hours per week out of season. You have vastly more opportunity to develop as a professional, this is not even arguable. Your point about self-motivation is correct - it is up to the player to use that opportunity to their advantage - but the fact is that any kid didn't 't take advantage of the facilities, coaching and time to develop his game that his guaranteed contract afforded him, then he wasn't going to do it literally half-assing it in college at a few hours per week.

I'll repeat it because apparently you missed it. NBA practices are not about player development. They are about preparing for the next game. Benchwarmers don't develop in season. It's not about hours allotted, it's how the time is used. If you look at the post immediately before your reply to me, you'll see that apparently Chris Mullin says the same thing. He may know a thing or two about playing in the NBA. In college Donte would have had playing time in meaningful situations and coaches with a vested interest in developing him.

Oh, and why would you think he's getting more than 20 hours of basketball per week in the NBA? If the team he's playing for plays 3 games in a week (some weeks they'll play 4) and he sees 5 minutes off of the bench in those three games, that's 15 minutes. Is the team practicing another 19 hours and 45 minutes per week outside of games? If they have a 1 hour shoot around on game days, we're down to 16 hours and 45 minutes spread over 4 days. Who's practicing 4+ hours per day? Nobody.

 

[moqui]

I'll repeat it because apparently you missed it. NBA practices are not about player development. They are about preparing for the next game. Benchwarmers don't develop in season. It's not about hours allotted, it's how the time is used. If you look at the post immediately before your reply to me, you'll see that apparently Chris Mullin says the same thing. He may know a thing or two about playing in the NBA. In college Donte would have had playing time in meaningful situations and coaches with a vested interest in developing him.

Oh, and why would you think he's getting more than 20 hours of basketball per week in the NBA? If the team he's playing for plays 3 games in a week (some weeks they'll play 4) and he sees 5 minutes off of the bench in those three games, that's 15 minutes. Is the team practicing another 19 hours and 45 minutes per week outside of games? If they have a 1 hour shoot around on game days, we're down to 16 hours and 45 minutes spread over 4 days. Who's practicing 4+ hours per day? Nobody.

20 hours for college includes game time . . . and Kobe Bryant, for one, is in the gym several hours almost every day , home and on the road, game days and off days. The NBA is a full time job and the dedicated ones put in well over 40 hours a week, especially when you include their S&C stuff, which is state of the art (or, can be, for those who take advantage of it). The staff is there to work with everyone and anyone on shooting, drills, S&C, whatever they need. Guys who want to get off the bench do something about it. Some guys take advantage, most guys don't. The guys who don't wouldn't be helped by the more relaxed college atmosphere.

As for Mullin - deeds, not words. The indisputable fact is that the NBA is not filled with former college seniors. Mullin never took a senior in the first round when he was a GM (2 foreigners, 2 freshmen, 1 junior) and the three he picked in the 2nd round played a grand total of 68 games between them. He doesn't seem to believe his own bullshit.

 

[AZOrange]

As a fan we all think its a bad move but as the saying goes, one in the hand is better than two in the bush.

That's what she said...