So What are the Expectations with Ian?

[BronxCowboy]

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

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 sop re.

[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

[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 sop re.

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

[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. conservatives.

[Mr. Body]

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

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.