feel good article on Chaz from the Freep. One key word, phrase below, bolded by me, can do that in year one??
We are here, however, to remind you that every year a handful of second-round picks hit. Maybe not at a Hall of Fame level like Jokic, but at least at the rotational level — and often better.
========
So, whatever you think of the Pistons’ newest second-round pick, don’t assume he’ll be out of the league in a few years. Then again, the odds suggest that — roughly a quarter of all second-round picks become consistent rotational players, which means three-quarters don’t.
Trajan Langdon thought about getting the Pistons into the first round Wednesday night, but the “asks,” he said, were too high.
As for Lanier? He was the player the Pistons’ president of basketball operations was eyeing all along.
======
To become one of the 25% (approximately) who find their way into an NBA rotation, it helps to have a singular NBA-level skill or physical asset.
Lanier does, and it’s easy to spot.
He can shoot.
From range. From midrange. Off the catch. Even a little off the bounce. His release is rabbit-quick, and he has the ability to set his feet and square up toward the basket as he catches off a dead run.
“He flies off screens,” Langdon said.
That effort — and the willingness demonstrated in a season at Tennessee — should translate to the NBA from the SEC, where