Chad Ford Didn't Watch Many SU Games

Chad Ford's latest mock draft has Donte Greene going 15th to the Phoenix Suns - as I noted below, this would be a good match, if Mike D'Antoni was still the coach, because Donte didn't exactly give maximum effort on the defensive end of the floor and defense was never a required class in D'Antoni University (have fun with that Knick fans).

Since mock drafts are only fun when the players in them are fictional I didn't give it a second thought. However, TNIAAM took the time to highlight Ford's comments about Donte - specifically:

The skinny: Greene is a steal if he slips this far. He has the potential to be a Shawn Marion-type combo forward in the pros. While his game is still raw, he has great length and athleticism and an emerging perimeter game.

Now, I like Donte and his game more than most 'cuse fans and I think any notion that the team will be better off without him next year is absurd - but what is almost equally absurd is to state that he has the potential to be a "Shawn Marion" type player. I understand that the comparison was drawn because of Marion's long tenure in Phoenix, but they are totally different players.

For starters, when Marion came in the league he was a freak athletically and a guy who could step in and guard guys at multiple positions, rebound, and he'd worry about getting his offense in transition or on put backs. Over time, he managed to turn an extremely ugly, two handed jump shot into a reliable weapon - mainly on the baseline - and became a dangerous guy on the offensive end of the floor. In fact, in 2005-06 he was the only player in the NBA ranked in the top 20 in points, rebounds, steals, blocks, field goal percentage and minutes (from Wikipedia).

Does any of this sound remotely like Donte Greene? Greene is a guy with a smooth, polished jump shot and while he shot a poor percentage, that had more to do with shot selection than form. He's a guy who is most comfortable on the perimeter, disinterested at best on the defensive end and is does not provide a real presences on the glass.

While that may sound harsh, I believe Greene has [bad buzzword alert] a ton of upside and can have a very good NBA career - but his game in no way, shape or form resembles Shawn Marion and I'd be shocked if it ever did. He's upside is more akin to a Rashard Lewis, a guy who can shoot and will get you 20 a game and maybe 7 boards. On D, you're just hoping he can trip the guy he's guarding 4 or 5 times game and slow him down, because he'll never be a stopper.

So, while we wish Donte the best, let's not get all crazy on the Shawn Marion comparisons - Marion is a complete player and a more complete player than people realize.