Biyombo willing to come out of hiding

"With such a high ceiling with little to show for it he may be the biggest risk in this draft because of his age issue."

The ceiling isn’t high. He isn’t going to magically go from horrible hands and no offensive game to Dwight Howard. That is not going to happen. The hope that one can have is that he will learn to play defense (not just block shots to appease the stupid who that is the entirety of defense in the NBA), cut down on the fouls (something Amir Johnson never has), and just not kill them by dropping wide open dump off passes that hit him right in the hands (ala Omer Asik). I have no problem with anyone being excited about Biyombo if they just say that they want Ekpe Udoh 2.0. He will be big, try hard, block a few shots. That is fine, but he need to be protected by his coach against bigger, stronger, and more skilled players. Even then, he’ll still be a negative on offense and limited in his minutes because of excessive fouling. If that gets you excited, if that is what the Biyombo bandwagon is all about, then I’m cool with it. That isn’t what it is about.

"how he is a gym rat that wants to be great."

Does the desire to be great include catching passes and making seven foot shots in a 1-on-0 setting? He had more than a month to work on that.

"Anyone that has read anything about this kids background knows that this kid is a Winner."

What part of walking out on his team to play in a high school All-Star game and then going to court in order to avoid playing again to avoid exposing his flaws before the draft speak to this "winner" persona?

"If this kid turns out to be a Bust it wont be for lack of effort."

Yes, it will because he has no offensive skills, can’t catch passes, and cannot avoid committing fouls and putting himself out of position when trying to block shots. That is the bust potential of Biyombo, not the age or effort. The higher he goes and the higher slotted pay he gets, the less likely it is that the team who drafts him will be patient if he struggles early on. Hasheem Thabeet was out of Memphis in a year-and-a-half not because he is without potential, it was because he was an expensive project. The same can be said of Earl Clark and Alexis Ajinca. If Biyombo learns that there is more to defense than trying to block shots, if he learns to avoid fouling, and if he learns to catch the ball when a pass hits him in the hands, then he can have a long career. Not that of Dwight Howard or Ben Wallace, but long nonetheless.

Ben Wallace never had problems with fouling, and the guy was not just a shot blocker. The guy was a great positional defender who was always among the league’s leaders in charges drawn in addition to being an elite shot blocker. Even then, even with a completely developed defensive game, he still needed to have Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Rasheed Wallace around him to handle to offensive load that came as part of the Ben Wallace package. His legendary status died in Chicago when Billups, Hamilton, Prince, and Rasheed became Duhon, Gordon, Deng, and Nocioni. He didn’t get old overnight, the situation in Chicago exposed his flaws more.

http://www.marca.com/2011/04/15/baloncesto/acb/1302878146.html

http://www.tubasket.com/noticia/Bismack-Biyombo-se-acoge-al-Decreto-1.006-y-ya-es-libre-de-fichar-por-el-equipo-que-quiera/234324/84

It had nothing to do with Biyombo getting paid.

Who would have guessed that quitting on a team is not the best way to negotiate a buy out with a team that only elevated the quitter because they were short on money?

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2011/07/stray-thoughts-on-lockout-etc.html

"– Some of you have asked me what’s the significance of FIBA not clearing Bismack Biyombo to sign an NBA contract. It’s about money and leverage. That Spanish team doesn’t mind losing Biyombo to the Charlotte Bobcats, but they want every bit of a buyout of about $1.4 million to release him.

The Spanish Federation and, by extension, FIBA is backing the team. So Biyombo and the Bobcats will eventually have to pay up to get this resolved."

Who would have guessed that quitting on a team is not the best way to negotiate a buy out with a team that only elevated the quitter because they were short on money?

http://blogs.charlotte.com/inside_the_nba/2011/07/stray-thoughts-on-lockout-etc.html

"– Some of you have asked me what’s the significance of FIBA not clearing Bismack Biyombo to sign an NBA contract. It’s about money and leverage. That Spanish team doesn’t mind losing Biyombo to the Charlotte Bobcats, but they want every bit of a buyout of about $1.4 million to release him.

The Spanish Federation and, by extension, FIBA is backing the team. So Biyombo and the Bobcats will eventually have to pay up to get this resolved."

Nobody, AT ALL, has compared this kid to Dwight Howard. At all. And so what if he’s not the next Dwight Howard? Nobody else in the league is. And so what if he’s not the next Ben Wallace, a 4x-Defensive Player of the Year. The dude may just be your average good defensive center.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Biyombo-110614

"Is Biyombo — a 6-foot-9 big man with crazy-long arms, an NBA body and bouncy springs — the next Dwight Howard? The next Mouhamed Saer Sene? Or is he someone in between like Ben Wallace?"

Nobody, AT ALL, has compared this kid to Dwight Howard. At all. And so what if he’s not the next Dwight Howard? Nobody else in the league is. And so what if he’s not the next Ben Wallace, a 4x-Defensive Player of the Year. The dude may just be your average good defensive center.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/draft2011/columns/story?columnist=ford_chad&page=Biyombo-110614

"Is Biyombo — a 6-foot-9 big man with crazy-long arms, an NBA body and bouncy springs — the next Dwight Howard? The next Mouhamed Saer Sene? Or is he someone in between like Ben Wallace?"

"Chief among them was Biyombo, who exploited his 7-7 wingspan and the most NBA-ready body on the floor. After a disappointing first quarter, the visitors adapted as Biyombo asserted himself defensively and Polish guard Mateusz Ponitka (who scored a team-leading 17 points) attacked the basket. ‘He runs the floor, he defends and he’s cat-quick,’ said an NBA scout of Biyombo. ‘His offensive skills need to be developed, but his athleticism screams out.’

‘He’s Ben Wallace, basically,’ said another NBA executive."

sportsillustrated dot cnn dot com slash 2011 slash writers slash ian_thomsen slash 04 slash 10 slash nike dot hoop dot summit slash index dot html

"Chief among them was Biyombo, who exploited his 7-7 wingspan and the most NBA-ready body on the floor. After a disappointing first quarter, the visitors adapted as Biyombo asserted himself defensively and Polish guard Mateusz Ponitka (who scored a team-leading 17 points) attacked the basket. ‘He runs the floor, he defends and he’s cat-quick,’ said an NBA scout of Biyombo. ‘His offensive skills need to be developed, but his athleticism screams out.’

‘He’s Ben Wallace, basically,’ said another NBA executive."

sportsillustrated dot cnn dot com slash 2011 slash writers slash ian_thomsen slash 04 slash 10 slash nike dot hoop dot summit slash index dot html

from rotoworld’s bismack biyombo page

Biyombo will be a gritty player and a fierce defensive presence, but don’t expect him to score double-digit points. He’s been compared to Joel Anthony and DraftExpress writes that in a best-case scenario he may resemble "a 6’9" Dwight Howard."

from rotoworld’s bismack biyombo page

Biyombo will be a gritty player and a fierce defensive presence, but don’t expect him to score double-digit points. He’s been compared to Joel Anthony and DraftExpress writes that in a best-case scenario he may resemble "a 6’9" Dwight Howard."

Not to mention there is a thread on this site entitled, "Bismack Biyombo = Ben Wallace" so these absurd comparisons over a 14-game playing raw, foul prone, turnover prone backup shotblocking quitter who was only elevated to the ACB because of the need to sell off Esteban Batista exist. And now he is on a team with a roster that makes the Minnesota Timberwolves look like the Miami Heat. Because the lottery needs of a team like Charlotte were clearly someone who at best is a one way player. The poor people of Charlotte better hope the top pick in the 2012 Draft is worth the 60+ loss season they are in for.

Not to mention there is a thread on this site entitled, "Bismack Biyombo = Ben Wallace" so these absurd comparisons over a 14-game playing raw, foul prone, turnover prone backup shotblocking quitter who was only elevated to the ACB because of the need to sell off Esteban Batista exist. And now he is on a team with a roster that makes the Minnesota Timberwolves look like the Miami Heat. Because the lottery needs of a team like Charlotte were clearly someone who at best is a one way player. The poor people of Charlotte better hope the top pick in the 2012 Draft is worth the 60+ loss season they are in for.

No, I acknowledge the existence of the nonsense.

All you have to do is scroll up to see that I have no problem if Biyombo if all a person expects is a Ekpe Udoh-type player (obviously Biyombo is even less polished offensively). It isn’t going to mean a thing for a team as bad as Charlotte will be, and the hope for Charlotte’s 2011 Draft is that the team is bad enough so that the 2012 and 2013 drafts get them real lottery talents.

The nonsense that came about after the Nike Hoop Summit should have set up huge red flags. He quit on his team. After which, he ran and hid out. That isn’t an opinion, it is a fact. FIBA made that clear when they declared he has to pay Fuenlabrada the buyout. 

No, I acknowledge the existence of the nonsense.

All you have to do is scroll up to see that I have no problem if Biyombo if all a person expects is a Ekpe Udoh-type player (obviously Biyombo is even less polished offensively). It isn’t going to mean a thing for a team as bad as Charlotte will be, and the hope for Charlotte’s 2011 Draft is that the team is bad enough so that the 2012 and 2013 drafts get them real lottery talents.

The nonsense that came about after the Nike Hoop Summit should have set up huge red flags. He quit on his team. After which, he ran and hid out. That isn’t an opinion, it is a fact. FIBA made that clear when they declared he has to pay Fuenlabrada the buyout. 

This is a great day for clubs that feel a player quitting on his team in order to play in a meaningless high school all-star game does not constitute a breach on contract on their part. 

Biyombo’s handlers have to be fired, right? I tend to believe Rich Cho should as well, but I’ll hold off on that one until he throws money at comeback kid Saer Sene next July.

http://www.fibaeurope.com/cid_KNce8jInH7Qj1EsyH5rjn2.gameID_8595-A-11-6.compID_BYg5Rb55Jw-G5I3MZ6JB01.season_2012.roundID_8595.teamID_.html

Sene vs. Majok… bad basketball at its best.