The 1984 Browns: A Bridge Between Eras
November 7, 2014
Kids and Kitchens and Cavaliers – WFNY Podcast – 2014-11-07
November 7, 2014We all know that Anthony Bennett dealt with weight issues during his rookie season with the Cleveland Cavaliers. What you may have not known was that some of these issues were rooted in a breathing problem that was fixed this past offseason. But what you more than likely didn’t know was that in addition to said weight and breathing issues, Bennett, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, also could not see.
In a feature written by Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix, it’s unveiled that Bennett also had LASIK surgery this past summer and eliminated what was apparently a pretty sizable hurdle.
Bennett has never worn contacts. Can’t put them in his eyes. How bad was his vision before?
“You see that white board?” Bennett said recently, pointing to a board no more than 10 feet away. “Last year, I couldn’t read the writing on it.”
And during games?
“Anything far, I couldn’t really see,” Bennett said. “I couldn’t see the people in the stands. Now I can see the scoreboard. I can see what plays coach wants to run.” […]
“Last year I felt like I was always playing catch-up,” Bennett said. “This year, it feels a lot different.”
During his first year in the league, Bennett produced an abysmal season that was marred with inconsistent playing time and oftentimes incredulous shot selection. He converted on just 35.6 percent of his attempts from the from the field (unheard of from a power forward) and just 24.5 percent from 3-point range. This now makes much more sense considering that he couldn’t even see people in the stands and, you know, what plays to run.
Since being a part of trade that sent him to Minnesota for Kevin Love, Bennett appears to have transformed himself into a moldable reserve big man with the Timberwolves. Head coach Flip Saunders has kept him entrenched at power forward (whereas Mike Brown tinkered with the idea of having Bennett play the three), and has told him that the whole three-point-launching thing has to come to an end. Per Dan Devine at Yahoo!’s Ball Don’t Lie, we’re made aware that not only is he shooting better, he’s pulling down 23.4 percent of available defensive rebounds when on the floor.
If you’re wondering why Bennett didn’t get his breathing and vision fixed before entering the NBA, well—you’re not alone. Good news is that regardless of his struggles and having his name mentioned along with some of the league’s biggest busts, the Cavaliers were still able to achieve something in the way of value for him as opposed to from him.
20 Comments
If that’s true – screw him for not doing anything about it when he was THE TOP PICK IN THE DRAFT. Did he bring it up? “Uh, coach, I’ve got a small problem here – I can’t see.” Wear glasses. Something.
Haven’t we solved this issue before?
Couldn’t he have borrowed Rick Vaughn’s glasses? Or Horace Grant’s Rec-Specs?
so, on the past few year Cavs teams we have had highly drafted players who:
(1) didn’t know if he was right-handed or left-handed and went back and forth about it
(2) showed up his rookie year extremely out of shape and overweight despite being a high pick and going to be relied on to score points.
(3) oh, and another one who showed up his rookie year extremely out of shape and overweight despite being a high pick and going to be relied on to score points
(4) and now apparently was blind and couldn’t see far distances despite attempting to make himself a 3point marksmen and ignore his abilities in the paint
(5) players who didn’t bother to play defense (pretty much all of them)
(6) players who couldn’t stay healthy (hmmm, not all but many)
(7) and I could go on….
Wouldn’t part of an NBA pre draft fitness exam include a vision test? How does a team not know about asthma and blindness?
So, the Cavs didn’t do due diligence, or they just thought since he was Canadian, he automatically qualified for excellent health care?
don’t forget sleep apnea
never trust a Canadian
“I don’t trust any country that looks around a continent and says, ‘Hey, I’ll take the frozen part.'” —jon stewart
How do you spell Canada?
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Answer: C-Eh!-N-Eh!-D-Eh!
Great scouting!
And we thought the Indians drafted badly!
Or foodacandria!
http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/rdlol.gif
So we drafted a guy #1 overall who:
1. Couldn’t see
2. Couldn’t breathe
3. Couldn’t sleep
4. Was out of shape
This is not making me feel good about our scouting department.
How dumb can you be…SMH
So why the dude jack up so many 3 pointers then?
not anymore!
you know what else he couldn’t see? Any minutes tonight. BUST.
yeah – maybe he didn’t know that he didn’t have to pay for them himself.
Makes Mike Lombardi and Mel Kiper look good.
he must have thought he was closer.