So What are the Expectations with Ian?

[MrChug]

What's the best/worst case scenario at his peak...I know there's upside, but what are we talking about here:

Best case: Samuel Dalembert
Worst case: Johan Petro?

What's the range here??

[RC's Boss]

Splinters in his ass

[Kori Ellis]

Hopefully he matures in Austin and can learn to defend without fouling.

I haven't seen enough of him to know what to expect long term. I can't tell from watching bits and pieces.

[jay014]

4pts 3reb 1a 3to 65 DNP CD

[RC's Boss]

Hopefully he matures in Austin and can learn to defend without fouling.

I haven't seen enough of him to know what to expect long term. I can't tell from watching bits and pieces.
Who's that dude you're kissing in your av? I'm going to tell :p: :drunk

[Mr. Body]

He's not as good as Petro at this point, so immediate expectations have to be low.

[smrattler]

D-league for a few stints. NBA practice and bench the rest of the year. Hopefully he can come back the following year and be a 10th man.

[mattyc]

Development.

[BigBeezie]

He needs to be thrust into playing in the big leagues. It worked with everyone else...why not Ian???

[ChumpDumper]

He needs to be thrust into playing in the big leagues. It worked with everyone else...why not Ian???It worked with one guy on the Spurs.

[timvp]

D-League the next two years. I'd be surprised to see him play more than 20 NBA games before the 2009-10 season. By that point, though, hopefully he's developed into a useful player.

Right now he looks to me like a rawer yet more well built version of Steven Hunter.

[ChumpDumper]

If he puts up Eddy Fobbs-type numbers I'll be happy.

[timvp]

If he puts up Eddy Fobbs-type numbers I'll be happy.If he puts up Amir Johnson numbers, I'd be shocked. Then again, so would the Spurs since they were ready to give up on Mahinmi for Amir.

[ChumpDumper]

Amir Johnson is shooting too high. Maybe Mouhamed Saer Sene....

[Darkwaters]

Amir Johnson is shooting too high. Maybe Mouhamed Saer Sene....

Thats shooting pretty dang low...we don't want to completely wreck his confidence.

[ChumpDumper]

Thats shooting pretty dang low...we don't want to completely wreck his confidence.I'm not expecting 19 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks in his first year in Austin.

[exstatic]

A lot of road time on I35 going north and south.

[timvp]

Amir Johnson is shooting too high. Maybe Mouhamed Saer Sene....If he puts up Matt Haryasz numbers, I'll be happy.

[ChumpDumper]

If he puts up Matt Haryasz numbers, I'll be happy.Spot on. I'd like it if he can play 33 mpg without fouling out.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Practice every day against Tim, go play every night in Austin. Best of both worlds.

Expectations - take the above seriously, work hard, and quit fouling so much.

[ploto]

Fans will expect too much and be disappointed too soon.

[T Park]

Francisco Elson numbers.

I would think a practice dummy could do even that.

[wildbill2u]

Fans will expect too much and be disappointed too soon.
Word! He will have a cult following like ***** *****

[Holt's Cat]

I expect to see images of African-American females in bikinis until I cut turn off signatures in this forum.

[MrChug]

Nice little YouTube clip of Ian (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWyRr_fNJps)

[TDMVPDPOY]

kevin willis type numbers, no not his prime numbers...his numbers when he was at the spurs

[METALMiKE]

Sure he can dunk....but can he SHOOT?

[ChumpDumper]

Sure he can dunk....but can he SHOOT?Nope.

[ggoose25]

He kind of moves like Drob.

[Reckless28]

the old addage is, he is young and he has great upside. to be determined in 2-3 years.

[HighLowLobForBig-50]

first, he better work his ass off wherever he is playing/sitting.
second, everyone here knows the chances of him contributing next season are close to nothing.
lastly, if we signed a non-contributor in ian, either we're not gonna sign anyone better, or we have that much faith in his potential.

[Reckless28]

first, he better work his ass off wherever he is playing/sitting.
second, everyone here knows the chances of him contributing next season are close to nothing.
lastly, if we signed a non-contributor in ian, either we're not gonna sign anyone better, or we have that much faith in his potential.


with that said, does that mean we don't have to worry about the spurs signing greg ostertag?

[ChumpDumper]

Uh, the Spurs bought whole other basketball team for guys like Ian.
either we're not gonna sign anyone betterThe roster is full of vets who aren't going to be dislodged from the rotation. I can't imagine anyone that much better joining the team at this point. I hope they get another young guy to send to Austin.

[genghisrex]

Doughnuts on time and in sufficient quantities.

[The Truth #6]

Yeah he's French so there might be an even higher expectation for quality pastries before shootaround.

[SRJ]

I expect a lot of fouls if he plays any meaningful minutes. If it's garbage time (in other words, the bulk of his Spurs minutes), he'll get away with stuff on the basis of officials wanting to get the game over with.

[urunobili]

he will never make the team... regular rotation NBDL is his fate

[dbestpro]

Everyone knows that he is still in development stage. The question is what will he develop into? He has work ethic and physical skills. I exepct that the Spurs want him to develop into a double digit rebounder. Anything else could just as easiliy be obtained every year via free agency.

[Ocotillo]

Ian Mahinmi!!!!!

[AFBlue]

Set your expectations low....like "out of the NBA in 3 years" low.

The reason is....there's SO MUCH projection when talking about Ian. His basketball skill-level is virtually non-existent. He gets rebounds because he's tall, long, and athletic. He does show good timing in his shot-blocking....but that's about it.

That's not to say that he won't develop his offense and overall skill, which is obviously the purpose of bringing him over, but if you're talking about expectations based on current ability...I would set the bar low.







Still, I can't help but think....Shawn Kemp

[ShoogarBear]

I don't particularly care about next year.

Down the road, he better pan out to be better than Scola, or there will be a lot of 'splaining to do.

[Whisky Dog]

The one that better be better than Scola is Splitter. He's basically Scola's replacement within the organization.

[Strike]

I don't expect anything.

If he washes out, no big deal.

If he develops into a good player, that kicks ass.

[ShoogarBear]

The one that better be better than Scola is Splitter. He's basically Scola's replacement within the organization.Fair enough.

[remingtonbo2001]

I made this point in another thread, and I will state it again....WE HAVE THE BEST SHOOTING COACH IN THE BUSINESS. Now, this may sound extreme, but hear me out. Why not bring him over and teach him how to shoot. Hmmmm....HMMMMMM....

[Hillcrest]

I made this point in another thread, and I will state it again....WE HAVE THE BEST SHOOTING COACH IN THE BUSINESS. Now, this may sound extreme, but hear me out. Why not bring him over and teach him how to shoot. Hmmmm....HMMMMMM....

Mahinmi is obviously a rare physical specimen: tall, fast, quick, agile, leaper, etc.

But what concerns me most from just watching random clips here and there is his overall body control / coordination. More specifically, I'm doubting his ability to put the ball on the floor, to shoot, and to execute low-post footwork. I think this lack of body control explains his being foul-happy also.

Without these things, he can't be much more than an Elson...which is not terrible, but certainly not the "diamond in the rough" high-upside prospect that we could hope for (a la our finals MVP).

A little disappointing to me...cuz he's got ALL the other ingredients...just don't know about that hand-foot-eye coordination...

i guess we'll see.

[ChumpDumper]

I just want him to defend, rebound and block shots. Any offense will be garbage or transition baskets. I'd be more than satisfied with some kind of combination of DeSagana Diop defense and Francisco Elson speed and transition.

[objective]

Pretty much with his physical tools it would be hard to not have an Elson-esque career of being a back-up who is only good for running and finishing off of other players' assists. It's not like Elson sets great picks or rotates awesome on defense or blocks shots at a good clip or anything else.

[BronxCowboy]

Hillcrest, that wiki you link to in your sig is seriously out of date . . . I tried to help a little, but I got tired.

[pad300]

What's the best/worst case scenario at his peak...I know there's upside, but what are we talking about here:

Best case: Samuel Dalembert
Worst case: Johan Petro?

What's the range here??

Just to raise everyone's expectations, because everyone is being depressing.

There is a fellow who only started playing basketball at 15. He was awesomely atheletic. He came to the US from overseas, redshirting his freshman year. He didn't play much in his 2nd year either. At that point he was 19 years old. He got the opportunity to play against and work out with a HOF'er in the summer. He got a lot better, blossoming into a great player at the collegiate level. He went on to become an NBA legend...

1) Who is this fellow?

2) Ian Mahinmi started playing basketball at 15 (IIRC). Ian Mahinmi is awesomely atheletic (although desperately in need of a weight room and a 55 gallon drum of protein shakes). Ian is 20. Ian is about to start working out with and playing against a HOF'er... Will he get a lot better? I don't know...

His upper end is NBA Legend
The lower bound is Eddie Griffin - Yeah, busts can happen to the Spurs as well...

PS. The Answer to 1) is Hakeem.

[BronxCowboy]

His upper end is NBA Legend
The lower bound is Eddie Griffin

:lol Olojuwan as the ceiling, and Eddie Griffin as the floor?!?
Athleticism is one thing, and skills are an entirely different beast.
He could be a lot worse than Eddie. Off the court issues aside, that dude had a skill set that is exceedingly rare.

[Bruno]

Mahinmi could be a big bust or a great player, he is still very young and raw.
He is as old as Marcus Williams who was a college sophomore.

[objective]

he could be a Stromile Swift type, someone who never manages to be anything other than an athlete.

[BronxCowboy]

I would be very happy with Stromile Swift

[SenorSpur]

Nope.

From the clips I've seen, I would agree. He can't shoot. All he can do is dunk. In order for him to stick, he's going to have to develop a shot work on his fundamentals (footwork and post moves) on the block. See Tim Duncan.

[SequSpur]

Ian sucks. What a waste of money.

[ducks]

Ian sucks. What a waste of money.
if you say he sucks he will not and be good
thanks :clap

[spursjustice]

I hope the Spurs don't give up on him like they did to James White. I don't know much about him but he clearly needs to put on a little bulk. What number will he be wearing?

[ChumpDumper]

I hope the Spurs don't give up on him like they did to James White.I hope he makes more progress in a season than James White did.

[AFBlue]

Mahinmi could be a big bust or a great player, he is still very young and raw.
He is as old as Marcus Williams who was a college sophomore.

Of course he COULD be a great player, but the projection to him getting to that point is extreme.

At this point he's much closer to "bust" material than he is to greatness.

Having said that, he has shown enough determination and intensity to warrant the Spurs bringing him in this summer and getting a better read on what they've got.

I hope that work ethic and determination yield positive results and move him further up that ladder towards greatness....

[djohn14]

I say he pulls a James White...yeah I said it...JAMES WHITE...i miss you man

[SsKSpurs21]

I hope the Spurs don't give up on him like they did to James White. I don't know much about him but he clearly needs to put on a little bulk. What number will he be wearing?

James White!

[Bruno]

Of course he COULD be a great player, but the projection to him getting to that point is extreme.

At this point he's much closer to "bust" material than he is to greatness.


I disagree with you.
Mahinmi has a great upside and is still very young. During these last two years, he has shown a lot of very good things but a lot of very bad things too.
Given that, I can't judge him at all : I wouldn't be more surprised to see him being a nba starter quality player than being a big bust.

[timvp]

I'd put the percentages like this for Ian Mahinmi's potential:

Great Player: .01%
Quality Starter: 15%
Passable Starter: 15%
Solid Bench Player: 19%
NBA Scrub: 15.99%
Bust: 35%

With the definitions being:

Great Player: Ben Wallace with offense
Quality Starter: Shorter, Stronger Tyson Chandler
Passable Starter: Poor man's PJ Brown
Solid Bench Player: Thicker Steven Hunter
NBA Scrub: Francisco Elson
Bust: Mamadou N'diaye

[Mr. Body]

I'd put the percentages like this for Ian Mahinmi's potential:

Great Player: .01%
Quality Starter: 15%
Passable Starter: 15%
Solid Bench Player: 19%
NBA Scrub: 15.99%
Bust: 35%

With the definitions being:

Great Player: Ben Wallace with offense
Quality Starter: Shorter, Stronger Tyson Chandler
Passable Starter: Poor man's PJ Brown
Solid Bench Player: Thicker Steven Hunter
NBA Scrub: Francisco Elson
Bust: Mamadou N'diaye

My vote is a Thicker Steven Hunter or a Francisco Elson.

[T Park]

I must be a homer.

I could never envision a 20 year old with his talents and abilities being more of a bust than a quality player.

[T Park]

aww body is still bitter Roberty didn't get signed again :lol

[Mr. Body]

I must be a homer.

I could never envision a 20 year old with his talents and abilities being more of a bust than a quality player.

Because, like your political sensibilities, you have a skewed perception of things? He has moderate talents and pretty solid abilities, that's about it.

And when you get that dumb-ass, fried haired, trailer park skank off your signature will be a happy day. Fuck conservatives.

[Mr. Body]

aww body is still bitter Roberty didn't get signed again :lol

:wtf I don't even know what this means.

[wildbill2u]

It's hard to judge how good a player can become who didn't know what a basketball was until he was of high school age. Comparing him with players who've been playing and honing their skills since they were toddlers is even harder.

We think of Ian as young at 20, but in basketball skills and knowledge, he's behind the average American player by at least 5-10 years.

By the time they are 20, most American players have the physical part of their skillsets--muscles and eye-hand coordination--hardwired into their system. And a lot of their basketball knowledge, especially if they were above average junior players and were coached well, is also hard-wired so they don't have to think about it, just do it.

Elson is one more example of a guy who got started late and finally made the NBA simply because of his size and athleticism. Think what he could have been had he started dribbling and shooting a ball at age 5. Ian is getting a jump on the Elson's time line by being brought into a NBA/NBDL opportunity at a younger age so project him as better than Elson when he reaches 26-28 if he survives.