1- General notes on the player and Profile
Played high-school basketball at Southside HS, Greenville, NC and at Forth Union (Va.) Military Academy…played college basketball at North Carolina University (1994-9…selected in the 1998 NBA Draft by Chicago Bulls (#34)…draft rights traded to Atlanta Hawks…signed for the 1998-99 season by Atlanta Hawks…on March ’99 moved to Turkey, signed by Ulker Istanbul Spor Kulubu Istanbul…signed for the 1999-00 season by Seattle Supersonics…played there till the 2001-02 championship…signed for the 2002-03 season by Boston Celtics…on February ’03, traded to Denver Nuggets…signed for the 2003-04 season by Orlando Magic…on February ’04, traded to New Orleans Hornets…moved to Russia for the 2004-05 season, signed by Unics Kazan…moved to Spain for the 2005-06 season, signed by FC Barcelona.
2- Leadership
Barcelona used to be the top-team in Europe, with Gasol, Bodiroga, And Jasikevicius, but the team was unable to win a title in two years. Shammond is a coach favorite. He is considered as an on-floor leader . He has leaded a veteran team to the finals.
When I have time, I’ll post some of the fans comments taking from the FC Barcelona Forum.
He can play under pressure since he has played in Turkey, where the arenas are more like battle-fields and the fans extremely passionate.
3- Offense
He is a great shooter. Nothing to add. Shoot 66,6 % 2pt – fg; 36,3 % 3pt-FG, 80% FT. in two games against Tau (Vasquez team) and Moscow (the champions). He averaged: 16 pts/game.
4- Creation and play-making
His abilities to create for other are becoming better. His teammates love the way he plays and always looking at him to do something. Everybody, (the coach included) was impressed of his play-making. They did know that he was a scorer, but they didn’t know he was a passer- first and creator. He has improved in that area, but sometimes, he looks like a gunner and shoot too much. Sometimes, he thinks that he can win a game all by himself. Therefore, he looks a little selfish. But he is always motivated to win. He is a competitor.
His stats for the whole Euroleague season:
Accumulated
G.P. Match Min Pts 2FG
M-A 3FG
M-A FT
M-A Rebounds Ast ST TO Bl Fouls Rkg
O D T Cm Rv
25 Totals 687:30 314 62/104 49/120 43/54 10 52 62 107 26 64 0 60 83 337
Average 27:30 12.5 59.6% 40.8% 79.6% 0.4 2.0 2.4 4.2 1.0 2.5 0.0 2.4 3.3 13.4
Compare that to his career stats:
Career Stats
SEASON TEAM G PTS AVG 2FG
M-A % 3FG
M-A % FT
M-A % REB ST AS BL
1994/95 N Carolina 29 48 1,7 6/11 54,5 6/20 30 18/21 85,7 12 7 20 0
1995/96 N Carolina 33 273 8,3 40/73 54,8 46/119 38,7 55/71 77,5 85 16 66 0
1996/97 N Carolina 35 493 14,1 60/140 42,9 95/227 41,9 88/108 81,5 115 31 153 0
1997/98 N Carolina 38 636 16,7 123/213 57,7 86/215 40 132/146 90,4 123 39 161 2
1998/99 Atlanta 2 3 1,5 0/1 0 0/0 0/0 3/4 75 0 0 1 0
Ulker 4 74 18,5 17/27 63 10/20 50 10/15 66,7 17 8 20 0
1999/00 Seattle 43 225 5,2 60/144 41,7 24/81 29,6 33/51 64,7 52 18 78 0
2000/01 Seattle 69 467 6,8 100/235 42,6 61/133 45,9 84/96 87,5 132 31 190 4
2001/02 Seattle 50 221 4,4 53/118 44,9 28/75 37,3 31/39 79,5 63 21 83 2
2002/03 Bos-Den 78 627 8 135/318 42,5 93/261 35,6 78/102 76,5 171 77 266 6
2003/04 Orl-N.O. 53 255 4,8 57/132 43,2 30/100 30 51/58 87,9 60 37 116 2
2004/05 Unics 39 675 17,3 121/247 49 91/205 44,4 160/193 82,9 165 56 217 2
2005/06 Barcelona 38 480 12,6 91/192 47,4 75/177 42,4 73/89 82 97 52 199 2
EUROLEAGUE
2005/06 Barcelona 25 314 12,6 62/104 59,6 49/120 40,8 43/54 79,6 62 26 107 0
5-Defense
“Defense” is not Shammond’s main quality. Every report I have seen (in English, French a little Spanish) stated his floor talents, his decision-making and his offense.
Sometimes they stated the zone –defense, and team-defense, in which Shammond played well as he is a very clever player. But nothing on his man-defense. He is not a stopper! He is not a great pick-pocket ; his steal avg is not high.
His defense is average, maybe not as bad as people remember from his days with the Celtics.
Bottom-line:
Is he ready to be a starter for the Lakers?
Maybe not. We never know how Phil will use him.
In my opinion, he will be a nice back-up to Smush and can help Farmer to Develop.
Is he ready to be a decision maker?
Yes, he can be a clutch player during the Money time. He can win a game almost by himself if I ever got hot; especially if Kobe is being double-teamed. According to every specialist, he was the main reason why Barcelona reached the Final four as he improved his game from round to round.
He will add depth to the Lakers backcourt. I can play both point guard and shooting guard. Phil will love him because he has the reputation of being a coach-favorite. He is not a big guard like Phil loves.
Is he ready to play with Kobe?
My answer is yes. Barcelona has a lot of stars: Basile, (bleep), Navarro, and Marconato. Those guys need the ball in their hands, Shammond was able to lead them and set them up for good looks as he consistently improved his assist numbers. He always looks to learn from his mistakes and try to get to know his teammates and opponents. In My opinion, Kobe will love that.
His experience in various FIBA-teams will help him to add something new to the NBA and the Lakers.
And my guess is that Vlade Divac has something to see with the acquisition. But it’s just a guess! Take it for what it worth.
Grade: B+
the + : Good player. Coach Player. Known as a good play-maker. Knows the game. Has great court vision. Vet player. Teach and learn quickly.
The - : we needed a defense-first PG a la Marcus Banks or Lindsey Hunter. Shammond is not one.
My references:
http://www.euroleague.net/teams
http://www.fcbarcelona.com/eng/equipos/winterthur_fc_barcelona_lista_total.shtml
http://www.euroleague.net/noticia.jsp?temporada=E05&jornada=25&id=904
http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/2006/04/03/baloncesto/1144070966.html