I wonder about the Cs targeting Noah Vonleh this off-season. Coming off his rookie contract, Vonleh will only be 23 at the beginning of next season. He has always been a very high level rebounder. He is a relatively versatile defender, able to defend the post and on the wing. He is a good screen-setter and has a developing jumpshot (shot 49% from 3 in college and just under 30% during his NBA career).
Maybe CBS could revitalize his career like he has done with so many other players (Turner, Thomas, Larkin, etc.). There's a reason he was rated so highly in his draft. He has talent, size (6'9.5'' with a 7'4'' wingspan), and athleticism.
I could see him developing into a player like Taj Gibson, with an occasional 3 point shot.
I like the idea, but I don't really like your examples. Those players are guards/ball handlers, but it doesn't seem like too many bigs improve under Stevens. In fact, you could say that some have regressed.
I get your point, but it's not like CBS has had opportunity to help many big man projects.
He made Olynyk a lot of money. Sullinger was considered a FA sleeper when he left the Cs because of his advanced stats, but now he is out of the league. Johnson was nearing the end of his career when the Cs signed him, and his advanced stats were high.
Daniel Theis and Aron Baynes have both had the opportunity to prove their worth under CBS. He probably made both of them a good chunk of money, unless they resign for less with the Cs.
Greg Monroe had some good games at the end of the year, and might still develop more if he gets more time around CBS.
CBS has certainly had more success with guards/wings, but he has had good success with off-cast bigs too.
I'm not sure if he made Olynyk a lot of money or Olynyk (as a skilled stretch big) would've done that on his own. In fact, you can argue that he didn't make much, if any, improvement since his rookie season.
Baynes was as productive as he was on previous teams, but did benefit by getting increaed minutes.
Theis was pretty good when I watched him in FIBA, so we really don't know if it's Stevens that helped him or if Theis is just a good player that would've had this type of success on another team. In fact, Stevens is turning Theis into more of a 3pt shooter, but I think his biggest offensive strength is screening and rim running where he can use his mobility, length, athleticism, and soft hands.
Zeller probably had his worst stretch in the NBA under Stevens. He looked better in Brooklyn and in Milwaukee, playoff performance notwithstanding.
Stevens turned Sullinger (before he ate his way out of the league) into a low efficient 3pt shooter. Even though the previous season and as a rookie under Doc, Sullinger shot nearly 50% from the field and was really effective in the low post. That year he only took 5 3's, the next year under Stevens he took 208. So this took 2 of his biggest strengths away, interior scoring and offensive rebounding, as he was now floating much more away from the rim.
He's also seemed to struggle incorporating certain skill-sets into his system (see David Lee, Monroe, Sullinger), so it's all up to Vonleh to either be a good fit or not. If he can hit 3's at a respectable rate, then he'll fit, but I wouldn't expect Stevens to make him better because that's not really what he tends to do for bigs.
