Why is everyone so down on Fab Melo?

[kozlodoev]

After Olynyk, Pressey and MAYBE Iverson Fab was easilly thennext best player on the Celtics Summer league squad.  He lacked consistency, but he was actually reasonably productive.

Being the fourth-best player in Summer League behind a rookie, a low second-round pick, and an undrafted FA (total 0 minutes in the pros behind the three of them) is not exactly a sparkling achievement.

It pretty much means he was the "most floating" piece of wood among the flotsam and jetsam that was put together to finish up the SL roster.

[sofutomygaha]

After Olynyk, Pressey and MAYBE Iverson Fab was easilly thennext best player on the Celtics Summer league squad.  He lacked consistency, but he was actually reasonably productive.

Being the fourth-best player in Summer League behind a rookie, a low second-round pick, and an undrafted FA (total 0 minutes in the pros behind the three of them) is not exactly a sparkling achievement.

It pretty much means he was the "most floating" piece of wood among the flotsam and jetsam that was put together to finish up the SL roster.

I wouldn't even agree with this. I think Tony Mitchell had a better summer league than Melo, too.

[ScoobyDoo]

I fall in line with Yogi and Crimson Stallion on Fab.

1. The guy is a seven footer - they take time to develop.
2. The only thing I liked about Perkins his first three years in the league was his physicality. Other than that, he was a walking train wreck as a player.

3. However, Perkins did start lighting it up by the time his fourth season rolled around and he put up 4.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game in 21.9 minutes a game.

4. Of course, we all know that Perkins went on to post hall fame career stats of 6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game to date in 23.2 minutes per game over 12 seasons.

Obviously playing around with the sarcasm here, but my point is that yes, Fab does still look very raw. But the guy had a 16/14/15 game in the d-league. He's eventually worked himself into being considered one of the better defensive players in his league everywhere he's played.

He has a ways to go, but I wouldn't give up too quickly on a guy with his size, length and lateral quickness in the lane on defense.

I think if he were playing 23 minutes a game, he'd be putting up numbers somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 points 5-6 boards and 2-3 blocks - this year.

he will make a "ton" of mistakes. As did Perkins, Jefferson, Sullinger and as do most all other young players. But we're not winning the NBA championship this year. This year is a year to evaluate all of the young talent on our team. I am perfectly fine to go to the lottery for a season if and only if it means it was because we put all our young guys through boot camp for 82 games and let them get punched in the head all season. That's the way to grow the fastest - feet to the fire. 

I'd play him 20-25 minutes per night all season and see how much and how quickly he develops with his feet to the fire.

I'd give Fab a solid three years of development this year and next being years 2 & 3, before I pass any final assessment of him.

I think he'll have a tough year this year but will do a few good things here and there. Year three is the year he will probably start having some meaningful impact on games - I'm willing to wait.

   
 

 

[Monkhouse]

Fab Melo is a bust. That being said, give him 10-15 minutes to see if Stevens can coach him, and if he can learn to thrive under the fast paced NBA style of play.

In final, Melo is terrible, looks awkward, gets a concussion from a door, breaks chairs, screams, "GIVE ME THAT!" Over a charge, is unmotivated, lazy, and didn't have the work ethic to work out as hard as he could in the off season.

Let me just put it this way. Give him 10-15 minutes so he can try to test the waters, and if he sucks at least it'll help us tank. The thing about Melo is all these comparisons from Bradley to Perkins... Guess what? Who cares? Even Steven Adams looks more polished than him... And the problem with Melo... He just is a goofy, and uneducated sort of guy... He doesn't sound intelligent, and doesn't work hard..

If he wanted to really impress Danny Ainge.. Then he'd push himself the hardest like Roy Hibbert, Noah, Bradley, and other great players do in the off season work outs/conditioning...

As far as I'm concerned... Melo is a bust, and I'm saying that now with finality. I was hoping he would do well in SL, but even then... A guy who's been in the league for a few years still can't even put up productive numbers... Also Stevens has already seen the type of performance Melo can put up... I doubt he'll get more than 10 minutes at best.

[Yogi]

Fab Melo is a bust. That being said, give him 10-15 minutes to see if Stevens can coach him, and if he can learn to thrive under the fast paced NBA style of play.

In final, Melo is terrible, looks awkward, gets a concussion from a door, breaks chairs, screams, "GIVE ME THAT!" Over a charge, is unmotivated, lazy, and didn't have the work ethic to work out as hard as he could in the off season.

Let me just put it this way. Give him 10-15 minutes so he can try to test the waters, and if he sucks at least it'll help us tank. The thing about Melo is all these comparisons from Bradley to Perkins... Guess what? Who cares? Even Steven Adams looks more polished than him... And the problem with Melo... He just is a goofy, and uneducated sort of guy... He doesn't sound intelligent, and doesn't work hard..

If he wanted to really impress Danny Ainge.. Then he'd push himself the hardest like Roy Hibbert, Noah, Bradley, and other great players do in the off season work outs/conditioning...

As far as I'm concerned... Melo is a bust, and I'm saying that now with finality. I was hoping he would do well in SL, but even then... A guy who's been in the league for a few years still can't even put up productive numbers... Also Stevens has already seen the type of performance Melo can put up... I doubt he'll get more than 10 minutes at best.

1.  Naturally Fab Melo is a bust.  He has absolutely not lived up to the standard of past 22nd overall picks in a weak draft.  That goes without saying.

2.  "screams "GIVE ME THAT!" over a charge, is unmotivated, lazy"  A guy that gets excited over taking a charge is clearly unmotivated and lazy.  That also goes without saying.

3.  A 7ft who bumps into doors designed for 6ft people?  An NBA center breaks a chair designed for an average human being?  He must be some kind of klutz.  After all, which one of us has bumped into something or broken a chair in our lives?

4.  It is obvious that he has wasted the summer.  Yes, Danny Ainge and others in the organization have constantly said they love his work ethic and he has spent a big part of Summer working out very hard at the Celtics facilites, but what do they know exactly?  We can use our unprofessional eyes to determine exactly how much work he's put in from watching him play 5 summer league games. 

5.  "He just is a goofy, and uneducated sort of guy... He doesn't sound intelligent, and doesn't work hard.."  This should be obvious to everyone.  The guy talks slowly in a foreign language that he only learned in high school.  I mean clearly we are all fluent and razor sharp with the foreign languages we learned in high school.  Anything less would make us "an uneducated sort of guy who doesn't sound intelligent." 

Clearly coming to a different country and becoming a first round pick in the NBA doesn't require any hard work.  Just imagine how easy it would be for one of us to go to Brazil and become a member of the Brazilian Soccer team.  Plus we are all super smart and not goofy sounding at all!

6.  "A guy who's been in the league for a few years still can't even put up productive numbers... "  Ignoring the minor details that Melo has been in the league for ONE year and DID put up productive numbers, this statement sums it all up nicely. 

[McNoob]

is unmotivated, lazy, and didn't have the work ethic to work out as hard as he could in the off season.

How do you know this?

[ScoobyDoo]

He very well could be a bust a complete bust when it's all said and done. To be honest I wanted Ezeli with that pick - I liked his toughness and physicality in the paint.

But I'm trying to remain optimistic with Fab...

What's curious to me is with all the tools they have to evaluate guys, if Fab is a "total" bust, how could they have not seen that and therefore have taken a different player?

I mean there's a huge difference between looking at two guys, choosing one and one turns out to be pretty good and the other is just "average" versus  picking between two guys you think have a shot and you choose a guy who is an absolute, complete and total bust in Fab Melo. How do you miss by "that much" - I find that curious / odd...

I know it happens over and over again but I find it odd that you can miss by that much on a guy, given all the evaluation tools they work with.     

[ScoobyDoo]

Quick follow up to my last post -

My hope is that Ainge & Co. actually "didn't" miss with the Fab pick as badly as it may seem at the moment. My hope is that it just might take a little more time than most of us, including me, would prefer...

I've seen some small improvements, hope to see more this year and then would love to see the day where it just starts clicking in for the kid - and it's instinctual out there - maybe his 3rd or 4th season when he's a grandfather at age 24 or 25 -

[Boris Badenov]

He very well could be a bust a complete bust when it's all said and done. To be honest I wanted Ezeli with that pick - I liked his toughness and physicality in the paint.

But I'm trying to remain optimistic with Fab...

What's curious to me is with all the tools they have to evaluate guys, if Fab is a "total" bust, how could they have not seen that and therefore have taken a different player?

I mean there's a huge difference between looking at two guys, choosing one and one turns out to be pretty good and the other is just "average" versus  picking between two guys you think have a shot and you choose a guy who is an absolute, complete and total bust in Fab Melo. How do you miss by "that much" - I find that curious / odd...

I know it happens over and over again but I find it odd that you can miss by that much on a guy, given all the evaluation tools they work with.   

I'm no expert on the college game but one theory might be that since Syracuse plays a zone, it was very hard to tell how Fab's defense and rebounding would translate to the NBA.

Also, Fab did show improvement from his first to second years at Syracuse, and along with his late start to the game, there was a possibility that he could keep improving.

So, Danny gambled that Fab would be able to adapt to playing NBA defense, and that his weak rebounding numbers were more a function of the system than talent, and that he still had lots of room to develop as a player...and may have lost those gambles. All of them.

[TA9]

Simply because he is bad, and isnt willing to do something about it.
I was surprised when I heard that he had not even worked out prior to the summerleague games. This guy is just a joke, and I also knew that he wouldnt make a impact on this team when we drafted him.

[Yogi]

Simply because he is bad, and isnt willing to do something about it.
I was surprised when I heard that he had not even worked out prior to the summerleague games. This guy is just a joke, and I also knew that he wouldnt make a impact on this team when we drafted him.

I would appreciate a link.  I had heard the exact opposite from Danny Ainge.  Even Faverani stated that Fab was in Boston working out when he visited. 

[Monkhouse]

Fab Melo is a bust. That being said, give him 10-15 minutes to see if Stevens can coach him, and if he can learn to thrive under the fast paced NBA style of play.

In final, Melo is terrible, looks awkward, gets a concussion from a door, breaks chairs, screams, "GIVE ME THAT!" Over a charge, is unmotivated, lazy, and didn't have the work ethic to work out as hard as he could in the off season.

Let me just put it this way. Give him 10-15 minutes so he can try to test the waters, and if he sucks at least it'll help us tank. The thing about Melo is all these comparisons from Bradley to Perkins... Guess what? Who cares? Even Steven Adams looks more polished than him... And the problem with Melo... He just is a goofy, and uneducated sort of guy... He doesn't sound intelligent, and doesn't work hard..

If he wanted to really impress Danny Ainge.. Then he'd push himself the hardest like Roy Hibbert, Noah, Bradley, and other great players do in the off season work outs/conditioning...

As far as I'm concerned... Melo is a bust, and I'm saying that now with finality. I was hoping he would do well in SL, but even then... A guy who's been in the league for a few years still can't even put up productive numbers... Also Stevens has already seen the type of performance Melo can put up... I doubt he'll get more than 10 minutes at best.

1.  Naturally Fab Melo is a bust.  He has absolutely not lived up to the standard of past 22nd overall picks in a weak draft.  That goes without saying.

2.  "screams "GIVE ME THAT!" over a charge, is unmotivated, lazy"  A guy that gets excited over taking a charge is clearly unmotivated and lazy.  That also goes without saying.

3.  A 7ft who bumps into doors designed for 6ft people?  An NBA center breaks a chair designed for an average human being?  He must be some kind of klutz.  After all, which one of us has bumped into something or broken a chair in our lives?

4.  It is obvious that he has wasted the summer.  Yes, Danny Ainge and others in the organization have constantly said they love his work ethic and he has spent a big part of Summer working out very hard at the Celtics facilites, but what do they know exactly?  We can use our unprofessional eyes to determine exactly how much work he's put in from watching him play 5 summer league games. 

5.  "He just is a goofy, and uneducated sort of guy... He doesn't sound intelligent, and doesn't work hard.."  This should be obvious to everyone.  The guy talks slowly in a foreign language that he only learned in high school.  I mean clearly we are all fluent and razor sharp with the foreign languages we learned in high school.  Anything less would make us "an uneducated sort of guy who doesn't sound intelligent." 

Clearly coming to a different country and becoming a first round pick in the NBA doesn't require any hard work.  Just imagine how easy it would be for one of us to go to Brazil and become a member of the Brazilian Soccer team.  Plus we are all super smart and not goofy sounding at all!

6.  "A guy who's been in the league for a few years still can't even put up productive numbers... "  Ignoring the minor details that Melo has been in the league for ONE year and DID put up productive numbers, this statement sums it all up nicely.

1)Yeah yeah we get it. Shouldn't expect much from a weak draft, that typical old excuse that plenty of us have heard.

2) Two completely different things... You didn't even quote the right part of it..

3)He's an klutz... You ever see Yao bump into a door, and get an concussion? Hell, even Yao had to squat, and couldn't fit in one car cause he was so big.

4)Yeah, because Danny is going to tell all of us that he's lazy and doesn't work hard. Of course a GM will call a player out... When Fab got a concussion, there wasn't much motivation for him to get back his spot. He just chilled, sat on the benches, and didn't do anything much.

5) His personality says it all... I agree he won't have the greatest vocabulary in a new country... But are you seriously defending and saying his BBIQ is beyond average? He can't understand plays, hasn't adapted, and can't even make routine defensive rotations.. Yes our system is hard to understand, but so what? Can we stop using the tired excuse that he hasn't played for long? Who's problem is that? Maybe he should've stayed with soccer then..

6)Yeah okay, cause he definitely put up productive numbers.

I'm hoping he proves me wrong.

[TA9]

Simply because he is bad, and isnt willing to do something about it.
I was surprised when I heard that he had not even worked out prior to the summerleague games. This guy is just a joke, and I also knew that he wouldnt make a impact on this team when we drafted him.

I would appreciate a link.  I had heard the exact opposite from Danny Ainge.  Even Faverani stated that Fab was in Boston working out when he visited.

Dont think I can get a link sorry I heard it before one of the summerleague games stating that he had not played basketball in the period between after we were eliminated by the Knicks and before the summerleague practices.
Vitor Faverani wasnt a part of the team before the summerleague games, and I doubt that those two knew each other before Vitor signed here.

[Yogi]

Dont think I can get a link sorry I heard it before one of the summerleague games stating that he had not played basketball in the period between after we were eliminated by the Knicks and before the summerleague practices.
Vitor Faverani wasnt a part of the team before the summerleague games, and I doubt those two knew each other before Vitor signed here.

http://www.celticsspa.es/index.php/celticsusa/118-exclusive-interview-with-your-newest-celtic-vitor-faverani-talks-to-celticsspa

Faverani worked out for Boston before signing his contract.

Melo hasn't played a basketball game.  There are a lot of reasons for this.  The team probably asked him not to so he doesn't pick up bad habits or get injured etc.  Every one that would know has said that not only was Fab at the Celtics facility weeks before summer league, but he was working very hard. 

[Neurotic Guy]

Fab Melo is a bust. That being said, give him 10-15 minutes to see if Stevens can coach him, and if he can learn to thrive under the fast paced NBA style of play.

In final, Melo is terrible, looks awkward, gets a concussion from a door, breaks chairs, screams, "GIVE ME THAT!" Over a charge, is unmotivated, lazy, and didn't have the work ethic to work out as hard as he could in the off season.

Let me just put it this way. Give him 10-15 minutes so he can try to test the waters, and if he sucks at least it'll help us tank. The thing about Melo is all these comparisons from Bradley to Perkins... Guess what? Who cares? Even Steven Adams looks more polished than him... And the problem with Melo... He just is a goofy, and uneducated sort of guy... He doesn't sound intelligent, and doesn't work hard..

If he wanted to really impress Danny Ainge.. Then he'd push himself the hardest like Roy Hibbert, Noah, Bradley, and other great players do in the off season work outs/conditioning...

As far as I'm concerned... Melo is a bust, and I'm saying that now with finality. I was hoping he would do well in SL, but even then... A guy who's been in the league for a few years still can't even put up productive numbers... Also Stevens has already seen the type of performance Melo can put up... I doubt he'll get more than 10 minutes at best.

1.  Naturally Fab Melo is a bust.  He has absolutely not lived up to the standard of past 22nd overall picks in a weak draft.  That goes without saying.

2.  "screams "GIVE ME THAT!" over a charge, is unmotivated, lazy"  A guy that gets excited over taking a charge is clearly unmotivated and lazy.  That also goes without saying.

3.  A 7ft who bumps into doors designed for 6ft people?  An NBA center breaks a chair designed for an average human being?  He must be some kind of klutz.  After all, which one of us has bumped into something or broken a chair in our lives?

4.  It is obvious that he has wasted the summer.  Yes, Danny Ainge and others in the organization have constantly said they love his work ethic and he has spent a big part of Summer working out very hard at the Celtics facilites, but what do they know exactly?  We can use our unprofessional eyes to determine exactly how much work he's put in from watching him play 5 summer league games. 

5.  "He just is a goofy, and uneducated sort of guy... He doesn't sound intelligent, and doesn't work hard.."  This should be obvious to everyone.  The guy talks slowly in a foreign language that he only learned in high school.  I mean clearly we are all fluent and razor sharp with the foreign languages we learned in high school.  Anything less would make us "an uneducated sort of guy who doesn't sound intelligent." 

Clearly coming to a different country and becoming a first round pick in the NBA doesn't require any hard work.  Just imagine how easy it would be for one of us to go to Brazil and become a member of the Brazilian Soccer team.  Plus we are all super smart and not goofy sounding at all!

6.  "A guy who's been in the league for a few years still can't even put up productive numbers... "  Ignoring the minor details that Melo has been in the league for ONE year and DID put up productive numbers, this statement sums it all up nicely.

TP for sustained sarcasm.