Ran into a certain Nuggets executive at the Pepsi Center on Tuesday, whereupon I informed him that drafting Salim Stoudamire wouldn’t be an altogether bad idea.
“OK,” he said, “we’ll keep that in mind.”
Translation: If we’re that hard up for an opinion, we’ll ask the janitor.
Granted, Stoudamire isn’t the second coming of Allen Iverson. He isn’t a perennial all- star-in-waiting like, oh, just to pull a name out of the sky, Amare Stoudemire. But then the Nuggets wouldn’t have to use a lottery pick to get him. They select 20th and 22nd in the first round.
Make no doubt, there’s a definite down side to the kid. He isn’t European, for one thing, and didn’t blow off college. Not only that, he has been known to cop an attitude and isn’t 6-feet-1, as they listed him at Arizona. He admits to 6 feet and looks more like 5-11. By draft day, he could fit in Earl Boy- kins’ suitcase.
Does any of that mean Stoudamire won’t make it in the NBA? No. When you shoot it like he does, you can’t help but make it. The only thing that could stop him is a blindfold.
Stoudamire is hands down the best shooter in the draft. How do we know? For one thing, we have his word on it.
“It’s all about putting the ball in the hole,” he said. “The numbers don’t lie.”
Ah, yes, the numbers. He shot 50.4 percent last season at the U of A – 50.4 percent inside the 3-point arc, 50.4 percent outside it. And before you ask, more than a few were from NBA 3-point territory.
“A lot of them,” Stoudamire said. “It was very rare that I got an open shot, so I had to stretch myself out farther. I feel like, in the NBA, I’ll get a lot more wide-open shots because they won’t do a box-and-one or something of that nature. In college, that’s all I ever saw. Every game there was a guy face- guarding me, so I had to work hard to get open.”
He was an All-American at an elite program and says his shooting range is “probably about 34” feet, give or take a few football fields. So why would he last until the 20th or 22nd pick, if not later?
Three reasons. First, he played four years in college. According to the NBA’s unwritten bylaws, that’s three or four too many. If he were, say, 19 and playing two minutes a night in the Italian pro league, he would be a lock for the lottery. But being an over-the-hill senior drops you at least a dozen notches in the draft.
Second, you have the attitude issue. Stoudamire not only shares the same last name as his cousin, Jail Blazers bad boy Damon Stoudamire, he has been living with him in Houston. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s headed for trouble, too.
“I’m a perfectionist and I’m hard on myself,” he said. “In the past when things weren’t going well, I started having a scowl on my face or looked like I was upset. People were just misreading my image. Unfortunately a lot of people judge a book by its cover. It’s unfair, but that’s the way it is. If they get to know me, they’ll find out I don’t have an attitude.”
Or a position. In the end, that’s Stoudamire’s biggest problem. He’s your classic ‘tweener, a shooting guard trapped in a point guard’s body. And an undersized point guard at that, one who will have to do considerably more running and less gunning after arriving in the NBA.
Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe has seen the likes of Stoudamire before: a college two guard who will have to make the transition to the point in the NBA.
“Jason Terry, for example,” Vandeweghe said. “He certainly developed into a very good point guard. Earl was known as a scorer, too. A lot of guys coming out of college are known just as scorers and two guards. I could name 15 of them. A lot of them have great careers.”
Stoudamire could be a litmus test of sorts for Vandeweghe. If Stoudamire doesn’t get past the Nuggets’ background check, that’s one thing. If he does, Vandeweghe, an out-of-the-box thinker who doesn’t get hung up on size or positions (witness the $15 million he gave Boy- kins), would loom as a perfect candidate to take a chance on Stoudamire.
All we can be certain of is this: Stoudamire’s greatest strength is the Nuggets’ biggest weakness. If their two playoff appearances during Vande- weghe’s stewardship prove anything, it’s that the Nuggets need to improve their half-court offense.
Specifically, they need to create space for Carmelo Anthony, who disappeared in each series.
How best to do it? They have to improve their perimeter jump-shooting.
OK, so Stoudamire will have to make the transition to the point. All right, so he might have some off-court issues. Tell you what. Find me a better shooter and we’ll talk. But don’t bother looking on the Nuggets’ roster. They don’t have anyone who can shoot from downtown with this kid.
It’s not like Vandeweghe would be getting a complete player. Then again, this is the 20th or 22nd pick we’re talking about. And it’s not like Vande- weghe hasn’t employed designated shooters before. What, you thought Voshon Lenard and Jon Barry were out there for their defense?
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM, and tonight on Fox Sports Net’s “Insider Edition.” He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
