Stash the Stache

Coming off one mediocre season and missing what was supposed to be the sophomore year where he would redeem himself, this Gonzaga standout looks to make up for lost time. The longtime rival of J.J. Redick is back, hopefully with a vengeance to fall in the range of the fantasy radar once more. FantasyTank goes in depth with another Charlotte Bobcat looking to earn the respect of a No. 3 pick that he was: Adam Morrison.

* Adam Morrison
* #35
* Guard-Forward
* Charlotte Bobcats
* Height: 6-8
* Weight: 205

Why you should get him:
Larry Brown's system - With Coach Brown calling the reins, Morrison may struggle to get his minutes initially, as his mentor has a notorious reputation for choosing not to play young stalwarts (for reference, see the screw-up that was the 2004 Olympics). However, Coach Broown carries with him a defensive mentality, and we quote from his NBA.com Coach File: "You’ve got to share the ball, or play unselfishly. You’ve got to try to guard, make an effort to defend to the best of your ability. You have to rebound the ball, which was an area that was so critical. And they wanted you to play smart and have fun. I’ve tried to let our people understand those are the most important things that I could possibly tell them." With this mantra, expect Morrison to play harder into order to stay on the court. Hopefully, harder translates into more rebounds, assists, and steals.

Mike Miller potential - Morrison has never been labeled as an athletic player, and his knee injury will further hampen his lateral movement, as well as his to do sharp cuts towards the hoop and stop-and-starts. With this deficiency, he should be able to primarily focus on becoming a set shooter and trust on Raymond Felton to develop under Coach Brown's tutelage. Once Morrison regains trust in his stroke, look for a spike in his scoring. Tip: watch Mike Miller's highlights and see the ceiling of what Adam Morrison can actualize himself to be.

Why you shouldn't get him:
Percentages - In the same light that it is a possible positive, the reality is that Morrison came out of the gates on the wrong foot, leaving a negative impression upon the GM's who were constantly tracking his progress. In his rookie season, Morrison was forced to create his own shot, resulting in a dismal 37.6 FG% and a mortal 33.7 3Pt%. You would wish that his free throw shooting would compensate, but he only knocks down 7 out of every 10.

Useless hustle numbers - He averages less than half a steal and practically no blocks per game, to add to his paltry line of three rebounds. If Morrison hopes to give GM's any value for next year, he should improve his defensive prowess and hope to be more alert when it comes to guarding his opponents. GM's hope Coach Brown does something about Morrison's "laziness" on the defensive end.

Projected 08-09 statistics:
GP: 57
Ppg: 12.5
Rpg: 3.9
Apg: 3.7
Spg: 0.6
Bpg: 0.2
TOs: 1.9
FG%: 42.4
3sM: 1.8
FT%: 77.6



Verdict:
Methinks that Adam Morrison will be selected in the middle 14th round in 15-20 team leagues and go undrafted in smaller leagues. Expect him to be a picked up when he starts going on a scoring streak, but eventually dropped when he resumes his slumping ways.

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

P.S. Today's blog was originally supposed to be about Shareef Abdur-Rahim, who only played a total of six games last season. However, in an ironic and timely twist of fate, he stole my thunder by retiring.