2008 NBA Draft Preview: Robin Lopez

Robin Lopez needs to become a better foul shooter if he expects to see any kind of significant minutes in the NBA. You can't just be a big man and clog up the offense by not being able to make foul shot when you are out there. Every single time Lopez gets the ball a sort of unintentional, intentional fouling will take place. I really do believe Robin could have another year or two to improve on every facet of his game. The fact that Trent Johnson, his head coach, decided to bolt to LSU probably did not help matters. As noted by ESPN Robin Lopez only averaged 10.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. Sure, he's only a sophomore, but these numbers hardly jump off the page at you.

Robin Lopez does average over two blocks a game so we have to give credit where credit is due. I hope I'm wrong about the kid and he makes me eat my words. I hope he does live up to the potential that he has and become a dominant player. However though, as with a lot of people in any draft he is a major project. The Toronto Raptors and some others have expressed interest in drafting Robin Lopez as noted by the National Post. The Raptors may be a good fit for Robin Lopez as many of the Raptors bigger guys have a more perimeter oriented focus. Lopez could be that guy who gets the tough rebounds and make penetrators think twice about coming down the lane. People like Chris Bosh, T.J. Ford and Jason Kapano have been great ambassadors for the game of basketball and they could certainly show Robin Lopez around in what might be a different situation then he is use to, now coming to Toronto.

Robin Lopez isn't projected to go very high in the draft and that is probably a good thing because the guy could be a real boom or a real bust. The option of making a long term investment in Robin Lopez is probably not a wise one. Look for him to go in the middle towards the end of the first round to a team like the Raptors. I think Sam Mitchell would be a good motivator for this kid.

Sources:

ESPN.com Staff. "Robin Lopez Draft Profile." ESPN.com

http://insider.espn.go.com/nbadraft/draft/tracker/player?playerId=19045&draftyear=2008&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fnbadraft%2fdraft%2ftracker%2fplayer%3fplayerId%3d19045%26draftyear%3d2008

Eric Koreen. "Lopez's rebounding skill intriguing for Raptors." The National Post.

http://www.nationalpost.com/sports/story.html?id=563843