While Michael Jordan was no longer the dominant MVP that he was in Chicago days, his stint with the Wizards showcased that he still had game, as I detailed on Heavy.com. Jordan became the oldest player (38) to score over 50 points in a game during year one in Washington and became the only player 40 or older to score over 40 in a game during his final season in the league.
Jordan made the All-Star Game during each of his two seasons in Washington but his individual success didn’t translate to the win column, as the club missed the playoffs on both occasions.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Mohamed Bamba has been in the league for two years and the jury remains out on him. One scout tells Josh Robbins of The Athletic that the Magic center’s effort remains a concern. “But the question with Mo, and I think there’s no secret, is there are games when he plays with very low energy,” the scout said. “He just doesn’t seem to be able to turn it up to the level that he needs to consistently and play with a certain amount of energy for a sustained amount of time.”
- Chris Kirschner of The Athletic examines the best draft strategy for the Hawks. The club has been aggressive over the past two drafts, moving around in the top 10 during each event. If Atlanta lands in the top five, as the team is currently projected to do, it may be best served staying put.
- In a separate piece, Kirschner examines Atlanta’s salary cap situation. The Hawks are expected to have the most salary cap room in the NBA when the offseason arrives.
I still really rate the potential on Mo Bamba, he’s just been apart of a below average run team and got given not a hell of a lot of minutes. He’s also had a few injuries.
From 2 years in the league he has only played in 107 games and averages 15 minutes per game putting up 6-5-1 and 1.5 blocks.
He can defend the rim extremely well with his blocking and contesting. He’s also able to hit the 3 ball, with a career average of 33%. He’s got a decent handle which for a big man is rare.
I think on a new team in the right environment he could become a huge 3 and D centre with ball skills. Magic are desperate for a SF
Maybe swap Bamba and a second rounder for Jarrett Culver, or Bamba for Malik Monk, Mo Bamba for Tony Bradley and a second rounder.
Bamba would be a solid back up behind Towns with potentially a similar skill set but better defensively, plus they have a big bunch of SGs already. Bamba could be a future centre for the Hornets who are going younger or he could learn behind Rudy Gobert and eventually succeed him and help SpidaMitchell
Playing behind Towns does not solve the minutes problem though. Career-wise he would be the back up his entire time in Minnie. Houston or GS might match his skill set. He shoots 3s better than Russ.
No it doesn’t given him much of any more minutes but playing behind a star centre with a similar skill set and on a young team could both be positive for him. Both Bamba and KAT are 7 footers that are mobile can knock down the 3 ball and have handles. Obviously KAT is a lot better but potential wise Bamba could be as good and be a lot better defensively. So learning off him would be a bonus.
Plus they teams culture of getting young and more entertaining with DLo, Malik Beasley, a top draft pick, Josh Okogie and a couple other young guys. Whereas in Orlando, they don’t have much young talent aside from Fultz who is trying to refind himself and Jonathan Issac who has no offensive game.
Both players don’t have the biggest personalities maybe he would fair better with the big personalities of KAT and DLo
The Magic’s new FO has done a very good job of changing the “tank” culture that former GM, Rob Hennigan, infected the organization with. They have been a well run organization since Jeff Weltman was hired (May 2017).
Weltman gave the Magic a condition for hire, that they spend heavily to rebuild their infrastructure. The Magic ownership has kept their word and invested heavily on analytics, health, and player development infrastructure + allowed Weltman to carry a high payroll to ensure that the young players develop within a competitive context and solid veterans.
It’s very unlikely that the Magic trade Bamba. Both Clifford and the FO are very high on him. Bamba was picked as a project + his development was interrupted because of injury.
He entered the NBA raw, both physically and from bbIQ/skill perspective. From day 1, the FO and Clifford have preached patience as they were going to bring him along slowly.
As a rookie, his minutes were limited because his conditioning and body were definitely not NBA ready. He suffered a season ending injury halfway through his rookie year. That injury carried over into his first NBA summer, as he missed almost the entire crucial offseason development period. Despite that, he has made a lot of progress this year.
Bamba is a big part of the Magic’s future.
I believe the magic are going to keep mo behind vucevic until he is ready. Business wise it is a smart move because they probably wont have to break the bank for him and sign for a relatively cheap contract(for what he should be worth). I just dont know how that will affect is development. The magic havent given him any time to play through his mistakes, and it doesnt help that he some nights he plays with 0 effort. It’s going to be very interesting to see these next few years what will happen with bamba. I doubt he gets traded because the GM is fascinated with players who have two way potential and long wingspans.