Can Fab Melo be a Deandre Jordan, Hibbert, Perk etc?

[j804]

ok I don't watch any college ball period so don't know nothing about the guy except for him being 7ft

who would he most compare to in the NBA? why what seems like all the hate for him?

[tyrone biggums]

Not Hibbert...Jordan was a bit more athletic

I think best case is Perk...which I'm okay with

[lightspeed5]

he can be better than any of those. his passing is beyond great already, and he's a better post defender than all of them.

[rondohondo]

poor mans anderson varajao?

[theswitch]

poor mans anderson varajao?

I don't know if Melo will be as active as Varejao. I think we'll end up seeing 2012 Perk-like production for a year or two, and then perhaps see him mold into what we all wanted Perk to be down the road: great low post defender who is also a nice help shotblocker and rebounder, except with a little more offensive skill than Perk had. Perkins never developed the shotblocking or offense that I think Melo can get to. I don't know if he's athletic enough to be Jordan or Varejao, though, but that'd be nice.

[Atzar]

He doesn't really compare to any of the three.  Better man-to-man defender than DeAndre, better defender but not as offensively polished as Hibbert, longer and more athletic than Perk (although he'll probably end up doing a lot of the same things).

We'll see.  He has some issues, but he does have a lot of upside.  I don't hate the pick, but I do wish we'd just taken the flyer on Perry Jones III instead.

[fairweatherfan]

Less athletic but (slightly) more skilled than DeAndre.  Could be Perk with a (slightly) better jump shot but less rebounding ability.  Better passer than either one, though.

Honestly I'd say maybe the best comparison in the league is Kwame Brown with a better attitude and better shotblocking.  It doesn't sound like a good comparison but remember Kwame wouldn't remotely be a bust if he was picked #22.

[StarzNBarz]

Yeah maybe DeAndre Jordan.

[tyrone biggums]

Defensively hes fine...a lot of his value will be determined if KG returns...its very possible KG said he was going to retire if he was the Center again next season, hence the Melo pick.

[lightspeed5]

Less athletic but (slightly) more skilled than DeAndre.  Could be Perk with a (slightly) better jump shot but less rebounding ability.  Better passer than either one, though.

Honestly I'd say maybe the best comparison in the league is Kwame Brown with a better attitude and better shotblocking.  It doesn't sound like a good comparison but remember Kwame wouldn't remotely be a bust if he was picked #22.

kwame is a heavy bruiser and a bad passer. i dont see the correlation.

[fairweatherfan]

Less athletic but (slightly) more skilled than DeAndre.  Could be Perk with a (slightly) better jump shot but less rebounding ability.  Better passer than either one, though.

Honestly I'd say maybe the best comparison in the league is Kwame Brown with a better attitude and better shotblocking.  It doesn't sound like a good comparison but remember Kwame wouldn't remotely be a bust if he was picked #22.

kwame is a heavy bruiser and a bad passer. i dont see the correlation.

Melo can be a bruiser too, it's just hard to play that way in a zone.  You're right about the passing though. 

[arambone]

Melo is clearly more coordinated than Perk or Jordan.

Melo won't be a liability offensively within 2 years.

I said last week that Melo is better than Perk now.

I still believe that Melo will have a better season than Perk next year, at a fraction of the cost, if Rivers lets him play through his mistakes.

[chambers]

poor mans anderson varajao?

I don't know if Melo will be as active as Varejao. I think we'll end up seeing 2012 Perk-like production for a year or two, and then perhaps see him mold into what we all wanted Perk to be down the road: great low post defender who is also a nice help shotblocker and rebounder, except with a little more offensive skill than Perk had. Perkins never developed the shotblocking or offense that I think Melo can get to. I don't know if he's athletic enough to be Jordan or Varejao, though, but that'd be nice.

This is about what is say too. Pretty much spot on.
I was very impressed with him after watching the draft combine. He'd lost weight, was hustling hard and was very strong. He was like a man amongst boys in some drills.
His current ceiling is unknown but I'd confidently say he could be a more athletic Perkins without too much worry. Rondo feeding him the ball and kg edging him on is pretty much the best situation he could hope for as far as development goes. We are the beat team for him as a rookie with KG still here. If KG retires It's another story.

[LooseCannon]

nbadraft.net gives his comparison as Dan Gadzuric/Brendan Heywood

Draft Express gives his best case comp as Heywood and worst case as Desagana Diop.

I could certain live with the pick if he spent a couple of years learning before giving six or so seasons of Heywood-level production, then declining with age.

[Army_of_One_Nation]

As long as he doesn't end up like Sam Bowie and Greg Oden.