30Q: Is Donte Greene Ready?

Basketball? Not so much.

Donte is ready. Sure he needs to shoot more selectively and use his athleticism as an advantage, but he has all the tools right there. In Summer League he showed flashes of being very good on the defensive end, at times clearly frustrating Anthony Randolph. I like the guy, and hopefully he has a breakout season. What would a breakout season entail? Honestly I don’t know. But he has to show improvement, and I think he will. People with his talent are rare and you can see how good he can be.

Perhaps with actual coaches who know what they’re doing, they’ll be able to bring the best out of him. I think he’s ready for the jump.

the guy has the tools, but he’s only beginning to learn how to use them. He’ll show substantial upside and improvement during the 2nd half of the season – once the coaching staff can crack him

i don’t believe he’s ready yet. I just don’t. He has the potential but isn’t there… yet. I’d love to be proven wrong though

his potential so I have to ask is it based mainly on his size & athleticism? I’m asking because I just haven’t really seen any skill. He can’t shoot the three yet he jacks them up constantly. He doesn’t take it inside or really do anything else. I like the guy I wana believe in him I just can’t find anything basketball wise that stands out.

his first year stats are not so different from Rashard Lewis’. He came from a college program where they teach a very different type of basketball than the one played in the NBA.
He showed a lot of progress in defense and post moves on Summer League and I think he could earn a lot of minutes at 3 and 4 position if he works hard.

Ready to start getting regular minutes? Ready to start fighting for the starters spot? Ready to start his development?

For a guy who everyone including himself believes came out of college at least a year too early, he’s ready to start showing his potential. He came out of college as a tall athletic talent with range on his jumper, but with no consistancy, no defense, & too eager to put up the 3. Well, it’’s year 2 and it’s time to start showing some of the potential that made him a 1st round pick though a very late 1st rounder.

We know he’s worked on his conditioning, maybe more than anyother player from last year. He’s shown improved defense during summer league. And, Spence in a recent interview was impressed by the work he did on his game.

So, I voted yes. He’s ready for more minutes. He’s ready to start living up to his potential. But, he’s going to need 2 more years, so don’t expect too much. The way he’s putting on muscle in the weight room, I don’t think anyones even sure whether he’s going to end up as a SF or PF.

Voted no because he isn’t a starter yet. Definitely not ready to be a star… He is ready to be a rookie that has something to prove. I hope, but even that seems to be in question, to me anyway.

The problem is that Donte’ isn’t ready to be a man yet. He is just an infant, just a kid that needs to grow up.

He doesn’t realize he hasn’t made it yet and that he still has everything to lose. To him, I think he considers that he has made it. He is in the NBA and just high on life. He couldn’t be happier.

Until the realities of him being written off as a no account waste of time occurs I don’t see this kid growing up and doing what he needs to do to buck up and be a man.

It really is a shame because I know he has skills and can do it. BUT it takes more than talent to succeed. It takes drive and initiative which he doesn’t seem to display.

The question is, How bad does he want it? And what he defines “it” to be.

Love him, but he’s not ready yet. Next season, sure. Not yet though.

Are we asking ourselves if he’s ready to be: 1)a starter in the NBA, 2) a super 6th man, 3)a regular rotation guy, 4) the most entertaining bench warmer of the year, or 5) something else?

I think he’s ready to be a better rotation guy (compared to last year), but he hasn’t performed consistently enough to warrant any “should we start Greene over [insert SG/SF]” debates.

I voted no because I’m assuming we’re asking if he’s ready to be dependable in the NBA, and I don’t think he’s quite there yet. But I’d absolutely love for him to prove me wrong.

You hear me DG? Prove me, and many others, wrong damnit.

The confidence is there. He spent that limited time in the D League last year, and came back WANTING to shoot lights out.. He didn’t, but he jacked up enough 3’s to make you believe that he believed he could. The athletisism is there as evident in his warm up dunks. The basketball IQ however, is not there, and that’s whats holding him back.

I could see him, in a few years, as a very VERY good complimentary peice to another superstar, but I wouldn’t go out on a limb at this point in time and say that superstar potential is there.

Get him some more X’s and O’s education, and I could see Donte be a solid contributor though.

because either way – All-Star or Wash out – is his most likely direction.

He is taking a running start uphill after a slow climb last year – either he will hit a peak and have a place at the mountain top or fall over the ledge to obliviion.

I voted no. I think your “visceral feeling” is just gas.

Because in my mind he hasn’t yet even showed signs of putting anything consistant together.
Does he have a chance? Sure, he’s young, he’s tall, he’s quick – but he hasn’t used any of that to his advantage in game minutes yet.
This is an important season for him, both for his and the team’s sake I really hope he shows some signs early that he’s got a future in this league.

Not that he’s shown me any signs of actually realizing his potential, but I like the situation Donte is in now.

Theus was fighting for his job and playing who he thought could make him look good and help him keep his job when he should have been doing that whole developing young talent thing he was supposed to be doing. And Kenny Natt, well, was Kenny Natt.

But now the team’s in a relatively low-pressure situation. Westphal has at least 2 seasons to show what he can do with these young players and with Brad and Salmons gone the youth movement is in full swing so Donte should see some more much needed playing time. The team can’t possibly be any worse than it was last year. And overall this is just a damn likeable team with the potential to sneak up on people outside of the area.

I’m not saying we should think playoffs in any way, but with an extra year of seasoning those flashes of awesome that were all too infrequent last years should begin to appear more often.

I hate using the term chemistry but this team looks like it’s going to have great chemistry. They all seem to like each other and feed off of each other to increase their drive.

Let’s just pray to God Reke can pass the ball.

I think that he is still a year away, but on this team, who knows?

They look so good and can turn you on with just the right look, but you just don’t know if they are going to turn into a raging sex beast under the covers or just lay there waiting for you to be done…

The potential of the sex beast is there. You see it with that look that screams FUCK ME, but then it is gone and what is left leaves you feeling really confused.

So, I guess the question may be whether or not Donte is a sex beast. LOL

Also, I think I’ve decided to be a little more active on these things. I mean I read this site like 200 times in a day, but I never contribute. I’m a soul-less parasite who just takes from everyone else and never gives back. I am Kenny Thomas. Except I’m really not. But how would you know? (woof!)

I voted maybe, and this is probably true for a lot of maybes, because I think the answer is no right now, but I hope it’s a yes.

Whether it begins this year is the big question.

Patience these days runs thin. If he doesn’t utilize the minutes he’s given it may be his swan song.

It’s not a question of whether he is ready, its more a statement of he has to be ready.

I voted yes.

After the body of the question sets up whether or not Donte can still achieve his potential, the actual question seems to ask if he is ready to achieve it this year. I think Donte can be a very good player in this league. I see a bit of a poor man’s Lamar Odom (meant as complement) in him, especially with his length to bother people on D and help inside. However, this year he is only 20 and I am not expecting very much out of him.