Hasheem Thabeet sent to D League

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Hasheem Thabeet seemed to be taking the news quite well. The Memphis Grizzlies, an NBA team in case you didn’t know, are sending the number two pick from last year’s draft to the NBDL or ‘D’ League to gain more experience. Hasheem had dropped to 3rd string for the Grizzlies and was not seeing much playing time. In the NBA if you don’t see the court it is hard to improve due to the lack of intense practice time during the season.

Thabeet will meet the Dakota Wizards in Pennsylvania on Friday morning. Fellow rookie Lester Hudson will join the Wizards after the weekend. Players can only be assigned to D-League duty by their NBA teams during their first two NBA seasons.

Thabeet, a 7-footer out of Connecticut, had just been demoted to third string at center behind Marc Gasol and Hamed Haddadi.

Before Wednesday’s victory over Washington, Thabeet seemed unfazed by his benching.

“Me being the No. 2 pick doesn’t mean I have to go and contribute right away,” Thabeet said. “There’s a reason they drafted me. I just have to work hard, get better and then one day be able to answer the call.”
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At the end of the game Hasheem Thabeet is still 7 foot 3 inches tall

The real problem for Hasheem Thabeet is the improvement of fellow big man on the Memphis Grizzlies, Hamed Haddadi. This put Hasheem behind both Marc Gasol and Hamed Haddadi. Just when was he going to play?

The reward has been another opportunity, and Haddadi is taking advantage. On Wednesday, he finished with eight points and eight rebounds – both career-highs – in the Grizzlies’ 99-94 victory over the Washington Wizards. And over the past three games, having supplanted Thabeet as the team’s backup center behind Marc Gasol, Haddadi is averaging 5.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in 14 minutes.
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Hasheem Thabeet played against my MSU Spartans in the NCAA playoffs last year and demonstrated that he was more than just size at 7’3″ and 265 pounds. He could move and play defense and put the ball in the hole. My Spartans prevailed in that game by running the Huskies, especially the lumbering Thabeet into the ground.

Morgan stripped Austrie and dished to Draymond Green, who lumbered down the floor for an easy layup. Austrie missed a shot at the other end. Lucas — generously listed at 6-feet — grabbed the rebound and sprinted upcourt, splitting two Connecticut defenders with a shake-and-shimmy that gave him a wide-open layup. Wide open because those two defenders didn’t have any help. Thabeet didn’t even bother to run up the court to play defense, gasping for air with his hands on his hips.
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Hasheem Thabeet has a future in the NBA but may not ever justify the number two pick that the Memphis Grizzlies used on him.

Image: Zuma Press

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