| Light the Lampe (clap, clap, clap! Clap! Clap!) Authored by J.T. Magee - November 1, 2005 - 7:12 am
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There are two kinds of players that get dubbed as having "potential." Potential to become the next great thing. Potential to become a journeymen yet still have a guaranteed paycheck waiting for them from another team. Potential to find a niche, whether it is defense or 3 point shooting or rebounding. But in almost every case, potential gets put only on those players that can become great players.
It may entail future stardom as these ballers show the tools and the game to have them compared to current and past NBA players when they are only playing against lower competition. High school, International Leagues, college, etc. When they get to a bigger stage, they can't become any better and many people that thought they knew who was going to the next Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson or Larry Bird or Isiah Thomas or Wilt Chamberlin find out that it wasn't meant to be. These players fell into a group that just couldn't live up to the hype.
Others dubbed with "potential" follow through on what some people feel they can become. With potential, there is really no in-between. But in some cases, those "potential" superstars just need some time to produce and play. They need some fresh air to breath.
A new chance to show that they are indeed worth that comparison and that they were one of the ballers that followed through and became superstars. In a case like current New Orleans Hornets reserve power forward/center Maciej Lampe, it is the potential that doesn't follow through. Luckily for him, he's in a situation where he's in the NBA's magic year and a place where, with playing time, he can show that there was a legitimate reason some regarded him as a lottery pick in the Year of LeBron.
Before I explain the magic year, there are a few things that need to be cleared to show you why, because of the magic year, Lampe is a candidate to keep a place in the League for a while.
Before the 2003 draft, there was a lot of hype on a few European players due to the fact that some of the younger International players that were drafted in the first round had become something special. Teams wanted to cash in on the next Dirk or Peja. The biggest name was Darko Milicic. I don't think I need to go any farther. The other big name was Polish big man Maciej Lampe. Some scouting sites and draft sites compared him to Dirk Nowitzki. At the time, Dirk was only in his second year of his rise to where he's at now. But he showed tools of having a great outside game for a guy of his size. He has hands for shooting the ball.
He has the agility to succeed. He has "potential." For some, it would be a surprise if a Polish kid was selected in a group including the likes of LeBron James, Darko Milicic, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Kirk Hinrich.
So the NBA invites him to the Green Room, an area at the bottom of Stern's face time: the draft podium. A few days coming into the draft, mock drafts were coming out with him in the Top 10. He could've been that guy. But the team some felt were going to draft him with the ninth pick, New York, opted for undersized power forward Michael Sweetney out of Georgetown. Then news came out on ESPN's coverage of his contract having no buy-out clause. The beginning of the end. One by one, the Green room empties. Last one sitting, the next Dirk. Then that original team some felt were going to draft him did.
It could've been a great situation for Lampe. He could've stayed in Europe for another year or two and honed his skills against better competition than the Junior Leagues he was going up against the season before the draft. Think decent high school competition built more around fundamentals. But Knicks GM Scoot Layden liked him and signed him to a fairly big contract for a 2nd round pick: a 4-year contract. He got lucky. If he had signed a deal like Carlos Boozer's contract, the then-typical two-year deal, he'd be playing in Europe right now. Knicks Head Coach Don Chaney said that he loved his inside game more than his outside game (more on this later). But he never got off the bench for New York. He barely made it off the injured list. For shin splints. Shin splints. Can't say anything else.
Then on December 22nd, Christmas wasn't too kind for both Scott Layden and Lampe. Layden, to the dismay of Knick fans, was canned for former Raptors GM and Pacers Head Coach Isiah Thomas. The NY media claimed that quotes from Thomas directed at Lampe were supposed to inspire him to play to his potential.
Never happened, at least not for New York. Lampe was part of the package that sent Stephon Marbury to New York and himself to Phoenix. But things only got worse. Lampe barely got off the bench for Phoenix until the last month or so, when they were already out of the playoff picture just a year removed from losing to the Spurs in 6 in the first round. His only bright spot of the year was scoring a season, team and career high 17 points in a win over Toronto. Then came season 2. His sophomore season in the League. Even less playing time and a holdout later, Lampe finds himself in New Orleans for Jim Jackson, who helps his 11th team out more than they originally thought he would've. Lampe gets almost no playing time until the last three weeks or so, but had a few, well, two bright spots, finishing with 12 and 8 in one game and
14 in another.
Now comes summer, where he gets another chance--like most young reserves and journeymen--to prove that they are worth the minimum contract to stay on the team and be a practice guy. To prove that they are worth another look in Training Camp. To prove that their "potential" was put on them for a reason. It was this past Summer League season where I got a better chance and deeper look to see if Lampe can play. And the answer is yes, he can, and it's all thanks to the NBA's magic year: number 3.
The third year of a young player's career is the point where they show whether or not they are worth another contract. It just depends on their performance for how much money and for whom. Some improve so much that they leapfrog a veteran and show their team that they are worth locking up for another 5 years and worth the Poison Pill Provision. (The PPP makes it nearly impossible to trade a player with that type of contract. See RealGM's GM Tools and Larry Coon's FAQ's about the CBA for more.) In Lampe's case, it's a chance to prove that, at just 20 years old, younger than 8 of '05's lottery picks, that he is an NBA player.
Back to Summer League. Lampe did not assert himself like he should've but he showed that he can succeed against any competition with respect to Don Chaney's statement regarding his game: “I like his inside game more than his outside game.”
This didn't come to my mind until he scored with ease in the paint and then mixed in shots from outside 15 feet. When he mixed it up, his shot (another reason for the Dirk comparison) fell in more. He still tends to stay out on the perimeter during stretches, which seems very odd considering that he still hasn't proven himself enough to get away from the paint.
In the NBA, a 7 footer is supposed to stay within 15 feet of the basket to protect the rim from offensive rebounds, cuts and easy shots and drives. When he played inside, he was able to do all of this. The main reason he thrives under the basket is because of one the reasons he was compared to Dirk Nowitzki: natural athleticism. He's got natural talent that most of the reserve big men in the league don't have. He took advantage of a lot of opportunities with just his athleticism when he played inside. If he can do this consistently and stop floating on the perimeter, he can get some shine.
At the same time, though, that's his biggest weakness.
He still hasn't figured out that if he plays inside more than outside, he can get meaningful playing time.
If he gets the time but just prefers to play on the outside, then he's done in the League. He should know better than this and I think he does. Once someone tells him on every single play to go for the board or to be more aggressive, he will be somewhat successful.
He won't ever be Dirk, but he can become a good backup that can can score both inside and out as well as rebound the ball. Basically, if he had teammate Jackson Vroman's tenacity and instincts, he would be getting 15-20 mins. a game, putting up around 6 and 6.
New Orleans/Oklahoma City will needs some fresh bodies considering their former All-Star center, Jamaal Magloire, is now a Buck and PJ Brown isn't getting any younger. They re-signed the Birdman (please don't ever be in the Dunk Contest again, even though you got robbed in your first contest on the first dunk), so he is bound to get minutes, as is backup power forward David West. But Lampe still has a chance to get meaningful minutes. Now that the Hornets are rebuilding, Lampe has a chance to prove that he should be a part of the future alongside Chris Paul and J.R.
Smith. He just needs to mix it up with the big boys more.
Look, for some of you that read the article and still don't think that the kid can play, remember this: he's only 20 years old. As old as Andrew Bogut is but with
2 more years of NBA experience. Less gametime experience overall, but more experience in the NBA.
He’s younger than at least 6 of the just drafted Lottery picks, and that’s before the season starts. To put it in perspective against Americans, he'd be a junior in college right now. If he were playing college ball, he already would've been a lottery pick.
Vitale would be screaming, “I really like this Lampe kid. He’s gonna be something special, baby!”
Yes, there was a reason why he wasn't even drafted in the first round, but there was also a reason he was considered a lottery pick. And because of a few things falling into place, Lampe has a chance to chisel away at his "potential." Hope he lives up to it. |
