http://www.courtsidediaries.com/nba-bust-anthony-bennett-obradovics-next-project/The best day of Anthony Bennett’s basketball career was June 27, 2013. It has been downhill ever since.
That was the day when the Cleveland Cavaliers surprisingly selected Bennett with the first overall pick in the NBA draft. Four teams and less than four years later, Bennett is starting over in the Euroleague as another of Željko Obradović’s famed reclamation projects.
The first Canadian ever taken with the top pick, Bennett missed his first 15 shots. It took him 33 games to score in double figures, three times longer than any previous top pick. The critics came out in full force as Bennett was regarded by many as the worst No. 1 pick in recent history. As a rookie, he averaged 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting under 36 percent in 13 minutes over 52 games.
In the summer of 2014, LeBron James returned to Cleveland, and the Cavs sent Bennett and 2014 top overall pick Andrew Wiggins – another Canadian – to the rebuilding Minnesota Timberwolves for Kevin Love. In Minnesota, Bennett was slightly better; he recorded a 20-point game –his career high – and three starts in 57 games, averaging 5.2 points and 3.8 rebounds in just under 16 minutes.
But Bennett was still performing nowhere near the expectations of a top overall pick, and the Timberwolves ate the third year of his rookie contract, waiving him via buyout on Sept. 23, 2015. Waiving a lottery pick before his third year is virtually unheard of, and the Timberwolves (who haven’t been to the playoffs since 2004) did it before taking another look at Bennett in training camp. If you think that was bad, then get ready. This horror story gets worse.
A week after being waived, Bennett signed with the Toronto Raptors, his hometown team. He managed to stick but was collecting DNPs when in December he requested to be sent to the D-League, becoming the first top overall pick to play in the NBA’s minor league. At this stage of his career, Bennett was making Hasheem Thabeet look good. The Raptors waived Bennett on March 1, apparently frustrated with his attitude and his lack of love for the game.
Last summer, Bennett signed with the Brooklyn Nets – also mired in a huge rebuilding project – and many wondered if this was his last chance in the NBA. Bennett certainly didn’t play like he thought it was, though. Nine days after scoring a season-high 12 points against Oklahoma City on Nov. 18, Bennett again was sent to the D-League. On Dec. 3, he made his first start of the season and although he amassed a career-high 14 rebounds, the Nets decided a little over a month later that Bennett hadn’t done enough. He was waived Jan. 9 by the league’s worst team, a clear indicator that his NBA career was over.
However, on Friday the 13th – traditionally a bad luck day – Bennett received what many would consider a golden opportunity. He signed a two-year deal with Turkish club Fenerbahçe, last season’s Euroleague runner-up. In many respects, the deal is perfect for Bennett.
Bennett will get to practice and play under legendary European coach Željko Obradović. The Serbian was recently voted the best coach in Euroleague in the mid-season GM survey. He also is the winningest coach in European club basketball history with over 30 titles, including eight Euroleague titles. Quite simply, the man can coach.
Obradović is also currently getting the most out of two former first-round big man busts – 2010 sixth overall pick Ekpe Udoh and 2011 sixth overall pick Jan Veselý. Under Obradović’s watch, Udoh and Veselý have formed one of the best big man pairings in Europe. Udoh was All-Euroleague Second Team last year, while Veselý was First Team.
Not only will Bennett play for one of Europe’s best coaches, with a reputation for turning busts into big-time players, Udoh and Veselý also will be able to help him adapt to life in Istanbul while sympathizing with his situation and helping him see that the grass may be greener on the European side.
Another way this deal helps Bennett is that he is suited to be a star in Europe. At 6-8 and 235 pounds, Bennett was an undersized power forward and a too-slow small forward in the NBA. In Europe, however, Bennett will be a handful for other fours with his size and athleticism and even has the width to play at the five. Don’t believe me? Look no further than Bennett’s countryman Khem Birch of Olympiacos. Arguably the second-best center in Euroleague this year (behind Udoh), Birch is 6-9 and 220 pounds with a 7-1 wingspan – the same as Bennett’s, who might have slightly better athleticism.
Where Bennett really has Birch beat, though, is skill. Birch has a range of about eight feet, and Olympiacos doesn’t throw him the ball in the post that much. Bennett is capable of way more on the offensive side of the ball. In both college and the NBA, Bennett showcased his ability to score in the post and on the perimeter via isolations or as a shooter.
If you’re looking for more evidence as to why this is a perfect deal for Bennett, compare his pedestrian NBA numbers to his numbers in FIBA-regulated competitions with Canada. In the NBA, Bennett averaged 4.36 points and 3.13 rebounds while shooting 39 percent overall and 26 percent from the arc. In FIBA, Bennett averaged 8.3 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 53 percent overall and – thanks to the shorter international 3-point line – 36 percent from downtown.
There will be a learning curve for Bennett in Europe. Obradovic will definitely require him to become a better passer and defender while demanding maximum effort and concentration at all times, something Bennett has struggled with throughout his career.
Bennett does give Fenerbahçe a plethora of lineup options, however. They could use a five-out lineup of Sloukas-Bogdanović-Datome-Kalinić-Bennett; a super big lineup of Dixon-Bogdanović-Bennett-Veselý-Udoh; a lineup of shooting bigs such as Sloukas-Bogdanović-Nunnally-Antić-Bennett; or many other configurations that I’m sure the brilliant basketball mind of Obradović will come up with.
Like many first-round busts before him, Bennett may have found his ideal professional basketball set-up in Europe’s premier club basketball competition. And maybe things can start looking up again.
şöyle olumlu bi yazı olmuş. kısaca Bennett değerlendirebilirse çok büyük bi fırsat olduğunu yazmış.
