Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
Lottery pick or not, Shabazz Muhammad is not the prima donna you’re looking for, dear NBA team.
Take this from someone who watches every UCLA game with a mindful eye, someone who’s just as likely to critique this Bruin hoops program as he is to praise it. Take it from someone who’s seen this UCLA team falter and fly, burn or shine.
Shabazz Muhammad, the guy you thought would be the surefire No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft even before he finished his junior year in high school? He’s not worth the headaches you’re likely to experience as a result of choosing him.
We get that the name has some glamor to it, that Muhammad’s likely to earn your middling NBA squad some curious eyeballs, both within your city and outside of it.
We know you need a scorer off the bench, a glue guy, sixth man-type who can act as your thin second unit’s backbone.
We understand that you think he can be a star, a true underdog story that never was. We know you think highly of him.
Don’t pull the trigger. Muhammad’s not worth the problems you’re going to inherit.
OK, let’s clarify this. Muhammad isn’t a locker room killer. He’s not going to destroy your team’s chemistry, and he’s not going to go out in public and berate everyone he associates.
No, the gripe with Muhammad is that he plays like a self-entitled baller, one whose confidence far outweighs his skill-set, and perhaps his talent. His main asset is scoring, and if we’re honest, he doesn’t do that very well. Sure, 17.9 points a tilt off of 44 percent shooting doesn’t look that bad, but consider that he barely scrapes 40 percent in Pac-12 play, while failing to hit the 40 percent mark in his final three games at UCLA, despite the fact that he took a whopping 42 shots during that time.
Despite being just OK efficiency-wise, though, he took the most shots of any team on his squad by far, getting 14.3 attempts a contest, three more than his teammate Jordan Adams (who, to these eyes, was the more efficient scorer of the group).
While that doesn’t say much, the eye test supports the notion that he’s a bit of a ball-hog offensively. Aside from one infamous moment in which Muhammad threw a very childish tantrum in an attempt to get the ball on the final possession against Washington, the kid from Las Vegas saw his selfishness manifest itself in other ways. Oftentimes, Muhammad shot UCLA out of early scoring opportunities in games, attempting to find his own shot at the expense of his teammates. While every scorer forces shots, no one masters this better than Muhammad, who seems content with dribbling around for as long (or not) as he needs to to ensure he’s the one taking the shot he wants.
And this, mind you, isn’t even taking into account his streaky jump-shot.
Aside from his supposed “scoring ability,” though? Aside from his relentlessness and tenacity in regards to shooting the Bruins out of games? He doesn’t do a damn thing well.
What was perhaps most shocking to UCLA fans about Muhammad was that the 2-guard lacked any substantive basketball I.Q. Although his tunnel vision contributes quite a bit to this argument, the fact that he’s a sloppy passer only bolsters it. He can’t seem to put himself in an advantageous position to score consistently and, for a supposed perimeter player, he lacks the consistent ability to create his own shot. Indeed, his ball-handling skills are mediocre; he’s not going to take his defender off the dribble and he lacks creativeness with his hands in tight spaces. He’s a clumsy ball-handler in general and sometimes he’s even painful to watch.
Meanwhile, he seems to lack much awareness defensively and, even in his best efforts to lock down on the opponents’ best player, he seemed rather clueless and even lazy. NBA teams who think he’s got potential to be a lock-down defender at the next level are in for a surprise. Aside from his wingspan, Muhammad has nothing going for him defensively, primarily because he lacks any serious athleticism and defensive prowess or know-how to get him by.
All while, of course, he tells you that he’s a talented player capable of contributing significantly to your NBA team.
Guess his age isn’t the only thing he’ll lie about.
(Relax, this is the first of a two-part series in which we evaluate Muhammad for you. Soon, you’ll see a post discussing why Muhammad is worth the risk attached to selecting him.)