DeJuan Blair Career Trend Question

[colingrant2]

Blair was waived by Phoenix recently and from what I've read, it was expected following the approved transaction from Washington. I haven't followed his career closely since being traded from the Spurs. His playing role with the Wizards was so insignificant, I forgot he was even on the roster even though I live here DC. I Googled back stories and couldn't come up with anything.

Question: Can someone provide a factual or informed reason(s) concerning the decline of his career, which at 26 years old appears premature and somewhat peculiar. On the surface he appears to have lost the zest to play.

Note: Please exclude opinions similar to that of "he's 6'6" and that's too small in the NBA etc." I prefer insightful, knowledgeable info.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

Blair was waived by Phoenix recently and from what I've read, it was expected following the approved transaction from Washington. I haven't followed his career closely since being traded from the Spurs. His playing role with the Wizards was so insignificant, I forgot he was even on the roster even though I live here DC. I Googled back stories and couldn't come up with anything.

Question: Can someone provide a factual or informed reason(s) concerning the decline of his career, which at 26 years old appears premature and somewhat peculiar. On the surface he appears to have lost the zest to play.

Note: Please exclude opinions similar to that of "he's 6'6" and that's too small in the NBA etc." I prefer insightful, knowledgeable info.

6'6" Centers don't work very often..unless you develop a skill set which makes you a mismatch- great handle, mid-long range shooting game.
Fella hasn't developed those skills...his an undersized post player who's game is in the paint almost entirely.

Which means he's an instant mismatch advantage for every opponent for every minute he's on the floor...which is why he's not getting that time.

If you're someone like Draymond Green..you have ALOT of value to teams.

 

[KiwiJeff]

6'6" Centers don't work very often..unless you develop a skill set which makes you a mismatch- great handle, mid-long range shooting game.
Fella hasn't developed those skills...his an undersized post player who's game is in the paint almost entirely.

Which means he's an instant mismatch advantage for every opponent for every minute he's on the floor...which is why he's not getting that time.

If you're someone like Draymond Green..you have ALOT of value to teams.

NBA centers routinely have a jump shot or can dribble. They typically can shoot over him and go around him. It's mostly his defense. He still rebounds ok for his size, but you can get much more from a taller guy.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

NBA centers routinely have a jump shot or can dribble. They typically can shoot over him and go around him. It's mostly his defense. He still rebounds ok for his size, but you can get much more from a taller guy.

yeah..he's always been an average at best defender..even in college.

 

[Ski11585]

6'6" Centers don't work very often..unless you develop a skill set which makes you a mismatch- great handle, mid-long range shooting game.
Fella hasn't developed those skills...his an undersized post player who's game is in the paint almost entirely.

Which means he's an instant mismatch advantage for every opponent for every minute he's on the floor...which is why he's not getting that time.

If you're someone like Draymond Green..you have ALOT of value to teams.

Yup. He and Green are about the same size. Blair, going back to his time in SA, didn't stay in shape and, based on that, I'm going to guess he didn't do much to develop his game. Green, on the other hand, has worked his ass off to develop a skill set that makes him one of the best players in the league.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

He was an interesting 2nd Round idea/project and did OK for awhile but never developed any kind of offensive game and was just too short to stay in the league on rebounding alone.

 

[TIGER-PAUL]

Too short, can only play 5. Might be it and overseas for him. Made over 8mil.

 

[colingrant2]

Any original, insightful offerings?

Santonio Holmes was washed up 3 years ago at the age of 28, and 3-4 years removed from a Superbowl MVP performance. Something happened. Wasn't age, league suspension or health. He just seemed to lose his desire. Happens at times, Barry Foster............

I know basketball pretty well. Reasons above are ones novice basketball followers can come up with in less than 2 seconds.

Harve........ have you heard anything?

 

[recruitsreadtheseboards]

He managed to somehow get paid for 5 years at an NBA salary as a 6'6" Center with no jump shot whatsoever.

I think he has done well and pretty much maxed out what he can do. He is only approaching his late 20's. I would love to be 26 with over a million dollars in the bank.

 

[noelr]

No jump shot

 

[Pitt79]

He should go to Europe. He could probably play well in Greece or Spain and make more money than he does now.

 

[anon_d97v9o3a8b6xr]

I know basketball pretty well. Reasons above are ones novice basketball followers can come up with in less than 2 seconds.

Do you really need anymore information than what others provided. Sounds pretty much on target.
He's overweight, two bad knees, he's 6 feet 6 inches tall, he can't shoot, and every other player is taller and more athletic and can contribute in every needed way.

Rebounding is no longer all you need from a player, you need rebounding, shooting, and defending. You need fitness and healthy knees. He doesn't have those things.

Sometimes the most reasonable and best answer is the most obvious.

 

[JS School]

I thought one of the reasons he left Pitt early (besides money, obviously) was that he only had about five years left to play because his knees were deteriorating.

 

[PittPoker]

He should come back to Pitt to teach these "new" players Jamie has been recruiting the art of toughness.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

He should come back to Pitt to teach these "new" players Jamie has been recruiting the art of toughness.

He can teach the art of rebounding.

His defense was never tough.

Tenacious rebounder..but, that's about it.

 

[PittPoker]

He can teach the art of rebounding.

His defense was never tough.

Tenacious rebounder..but, that's about it.

Well compared to this current bunch he would "out tough" almost all of them. but yeah, he could teach how to box out for starters.

 

[thebadby2]

6'6" Centers don't work very often..unless you develop a skill set which makes you a mismatch- great handle, mid-long range shooting game.
Fella hasn't developed those skills...his an undersized post player who's game is in the paint almost entirely.

Which means he's an instant mismatch advantage for every opponent for every minute he's on the floor...which is why he's not getting that time.

If you're someone like Draymond Green..you have ALOT of value to teams.

This. he was a marginal NBA player to begin with. He didn't really have enough of a career to have a "decline".

 

[thebadby2]

He can teach the art of rebounding.

His defense was never tough.

Tenacious rebounder..but, that's about it.

I thought he was plenty good defensively at Pitt. He mixed it up with opposing bigs, pushed them around, got them outside their comfort zones, had active hands and long arms. He was the most physical center I can remember at Pitt and yes, that includes Chevy. After he learned to stop leaving his feet on every up fake, he was effective defensively.

 

[KiwiJeff]

Do you really need anymore information than what others provided. Sounds pretty much on target.
He's overweight, two bad knees, he's 6 feet 6 inches tall, he can't shoot, and every other player is taller and more athletic and can contribute in every needed way.

Rebounding is no longer all you need from a player, you need rebounding, shooting, and defending. You need fitness and healthy knees. He doesn't have those things.

Sometimes the most reasonable and best answer is the most obvious.

Yeah, I'm not sure what more in depth analysis could be done. Repeatedly beaten on pick and roll? I've seen him get rebounded over when it would have been over the back, had he been taller and/or could jump. The other guy could just reach over his head. Not very useful at that level.

 

[DT_PITT]

Any original, insightful offerings?

Santonio Holmes was washed up 3 years ago at the age of 28, and 3-4 years removed from a Superbowl MVP performance. Something happened. Wasn't age, league suspension or health. He just seemed to lose his desire. Happens at times, Barry Foster............

I know basketball pretty well. Reasons above are ones novice basketball followers can come up with in less than 2 seconds.

Harve........ have you heard anything?

It was rumored in San Antonio that Pop was never satisfied with his work ethic.

 

[yourhired]

DeJuan was in the best situation in San Antonio but somewhere it went south. Phoenix is a mess right now so DeJuan may have asked to be released I don't follow the NBA on a day to day basis but around trade dealines I get interested. Players get traded then they get released something involving the salary cap so this may be the case. He will get one more chance and that will most likely be it but he's hopefully set for life and he can find something else basketball related to do.

 

[SoufOaklin4Life]

I thought he was plenty good defensively at Pitt. He mixed it up with opposing bigs, pushed them around, got them outside their comfort zones, had active hands and long arms. He was the most physical center I can remember at Pitt and yes, that includes Chevy. After he learned to stop leaving his feet on every up fake, he was effective defensively.

Our defense sucks this year..we all agree.

Our effective opponent FG % this season is 50%. (Ranked #118)
In our Elite 8 Year it was 46.5% (ranked #57)

I'm not saying he was a poor defender...he just wasn't a good defender. He was maybe above average.

As a point of comparison...the year Steve Adams (a defensive stud) played in the post for Pitt.
Pitt's opponent FG% was 44.6% (Ranked #31).

 

[Harve74]

Any original, insightful offerings?

Santonio Holmes was washed up 3 years ago at the age of 28, and 3-4 years removed from a Superbowl MVP performance. Something happened. Wasn't age, league suspension or health. He just seemed to lose his desire. Happens at times, Barry Foster............

I know basketball pretty well. Reasons above are ones novice basketball followers can come up with in less than 2 seconds.

Harve........ have you heard anything?

Nothing more than Souf and Kiwi have stated. He had some off-court issues at San Antonio that got him on Pop's bad side. Too heavy, and the team had to bail him out over non-payment on jewelry for a GF. But really, they could get exactly the sane positives from the 7-footer Splitter as the much shorter Blair. And as their system evolved to the rapid ball-movement the past couple years I think they even parted with Splitter.

He did OK at Dallas but was moved on to DC, were he never really got on the court. I really think he just never developed the skill-set needed at his height. Old style back to the basket Center is pretty obsolete in the NBA even at 6-10-7 ft. You gotta be mobile today. His game is still about 6 feet from the basket and the league has moved on.

There may have been other internal issues wth the Wizards, but frankly, I don't really follow them. I haven't heard anything about how his knees are holding up. I know that was a concern when he came into the league. He really has to have a team with a niche need for what he is and that may be non-existent today.

 

[Chaos]

does the NBA have a pension if players play a certain amount of seasons? If so, did you qualify for it? Thanks.

 

[Ski11585]

does the NBA have a pension if players play a certain amount of seasons? If so, did you qualify for it? Thanks.

I believe it's three seasons.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I know basketball pretty well. Reasons above are ones novice basketball followers can come up with in less than 2 seconds.

You know basketball pretty well, but you immediately reject the obvious and correct answer in search of some deeper meaning. Blair's problem, even when he was in San Antonio, is that he is a 6-6 guy who doesn't have great hops, can't play on offense further than about six feet from the basket, can't defend on the perimeter, and has trouble defending in the post because he is frequently a half a foot shorter than the guy he is attempting to guard. His obvious physical limitations have held him back since day one.

Sometimes the obvious answer actually is the correct answer.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I believe it's three seasons.

It is.

 

[big marty]

He made in the NBA. So few can say the same. He is a great guy. Nothing to be critical of.

 

[BFo8]

You know basketball pretty well, but you immediately reject the obvious and correct answer in search of some deeper meaning. Blair's problem, even when he was in San Antonio, is that he is a 6-6 guy who doesn't have great hops, can't play on offense further than about six feet from the basket, can't defend on the perimeter, and has trouble defending in the post because he is frequently a half a foot shorter than the guy he is attempting to guard. His obvious physical limitations have held him back since day one.

Sometimes the obvious answer actually is the correct answer.

This is pretty much it in a nutshell. Blair's defensive liabilities are greater than the other things he brings to the table. There is no smoking gun. As another poster mentioned his defense of the pick and roll is horrible.

 

[thirteenNINE]

By the numbers DeJuan was always a surprisingly game and largely average defender over his career in spite of his height. He wasn't of much use as a rim protector and as he got out of shape he was worse in the pick and roll but he was still pretty savvy and rotated well.

Sadly his knees just aren't holding up at all as his physical conditioning worsens and as his athleticism goes he has gone from a useful bench piece and one of the best rebounders in the game to a guy who really isn't worth the roster spot.

 

[Harve74]

By the numbers DeJuan was always a surprisingly game and largely average defender over his career in spite of his height. He wasn't of much use as a rim protector and as he got out of shape he was worse in the pick and roll but he was still pretty savvy and rotated well.

Sadly his knees just aren't holding up at all as his physical conditioning worsens and as his athleticism goes he has gone from a useful bench piece and one of the best rebounders in the game to a guy who really isn't worth the roster spot.

Thanks.I suspected his knees were likely a big part of the problem. Hey, that was probably wat dropped him in the draft in the first place.