Pistons sign Mohammed

Guys which other half decent center was available that could provide starting minutes? I doubt Davis could start for a whole season.

This may not be as bad as we think it is. Nazr tied alot of his career highs in individual games last year, when allowed to stay on the floor.

Personally, I think Pistons fans might end up being surprised at how effective Nazr can be, a real center, rather than a power forward filling the gap on effort and athleticism that is sure to be declining.

The only frustrating part is that the MLE is gone now.

Who's left out there that may settle for the Biannual?

Can I sign up for a Mil and change? I can ride the pine with the best of them.

Re: [Nazr Mohammed] Cornrows or Afro?

I keep reading this... but here is a scouting report on Nazr from a few years ago:

...What might be Mohammed's strongest point are his hands. You throw it to him and you're pretty much guaranteed he's going to catch it. Defensively, Mohammed gets good position and gets his share of blocks. By simply being big, he's able to get rebounding position and body out his defender. In general, Mohammed has a terrific attitude -- his work ethic to improve his game and his treatment of coming off the bench early in the season are testaments to it.

http://www.ibiblio.org/craig/draft/1998_draft/Players/mohammed.htm

Re: [Nazr Mohammed] Cornrows or Afro?

"Mohammed's poor hands made him turnover-prone, particularly when trying to catch dump-off passes from Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. He also sometimes tested coach Gregg Popovich's patience by being out of position defensively."

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA070106.1C.BKNspurs.center.16d674f.html

That depends on if your real name is Ronald Murray or Marcus Banks.

Re: [Nazr Mohammed] Cornrows or Afro?

Some positives from the article:

Still, when given consistent minutes, Mohammed usually produced. He's an effective rebounder and underrated scorer. In an important late-season game against Phoenix, he scored a career-high 30 points and took 16 rebounds. He also improved his free-throw shooting to a career-best 78.5 percent. Among the Spurs, only Michael Finley shot better from the line.

aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...said the recluse.

Hoopshype player profile:

6’ 10” 250 lbs

A physically gifted player... Excellent offensive rebounder. … Very good mobility…Has improved his offensive game… injury prone.

I was shocked to see Nazr go to Detroit He is one guy I think lacks Piston DNA. Hope I'm wrong, but Pop had a reason for letting him go, not fighting to keep him, and also letting Rasho go. So right now we are without a C, but looking for Tim Duncan fill in C position. Kinda like no Center is better than what we had. Actually, Nazr made more playing for Spurs (5.5 mil) and getting 5mil in Detroit. Maybe I read it wrong.

I think we looked at Joel Pzilla(?) guy, but he wanted 5 years. The guys left in the pool have either already reached their potential or are projects, according to Spurs.

So, still hoping for Piston Spurs rematch....in my lifetime

San Antoine, that is what I have been saying loud and hard: Nasr is not Piston's DNA as you put it. He is not in our athletic mold. Right, I watched you guys a lot this year as I expected a re-match. As you say, Pop was not happy with either of your centers.

I too hope for a re-match but it could be a while now. You guys still have those top three guys but you have to get younger with the rest of the team.

meh. dunno why we needed to give him 4 years. i think he'll be better than most people are expecting, and better than if przy came here.

most likely Mason had input into the decision, as there is no effective way to yell out joel przybilla's name, but NAZ-EEEE is quite fun and you can do a lot with it.

me neither, should have been two years max if we are embarking upon a blowup and rebuild

He'll be a favorite whipping boy for this board I can tell already. Because he's NOT Ben. I think that's unfair. Really unfair.

I agree. This is why I feel Joe should take a long hard look at Marcus Banks for backup point duties. Banks' weaknesses may be hidden in Flips system, where any point guard stepping in should have an improved assist/turnover ratio.

What I like about him is his quickness and on ball defense, and his ability to penetrate. All things that the Pistons need.

I've been doing a little research on Mohammed and actually some of it is very encouraging. This is an autobiographical sketch I ran across:


"As far as actually playing basketball, I have played a lot more one on one vs. 5 on 5. Not bad actually. As far as 5 on 5, years of a couple times a week for a couple of hours of five on five during the winters in school gyms reserved by a group of guys. For a couple of years I lived in Kentucky where I played 6 hours of basketball every day of the year. About three hours of that was 5 on 5. One hour was cut throat as we awaited enough players to show up. Two hours was just me practicing. How good was I. I was always the captain of one of the teams, as the best players were the captains. Back then, about age 25, I had not developed any post up skills nor did I have a decent jump shot. But I could hit a set shot from half court. Regularly. I had to be guarded as soon as I crossed midcourt. What made me the best player out there was my defense. At 6-10 and able to run well for hours at a time, I was simply a pest to whoever their best player was. Constant practice made my never coached shooting pretty good. Again, no decent jumper, so if a decent player guarded me I could not get a shot off. However, in rebounding situations, or if I could lose my guy on a pick, I never missed. From under the basket, to way out, I never missed shots. I practiced those shots a lot."