Martellevision?

It boils down to basic psychology and personality.

 Obviously for Martell to improve he needs to be able to take correction. But his past behavior shows that he really gets down on himself and lacks the confidence and moxy of a professional athlete. His personality can be hard to coach. A successful shooter in the NBA needs to have above all confidence. If they miss a shot they can't wait to take another one because they know they are going to make it. We all know that he has the body, and the shot mechanics, he just lacks the necessary mental qualities at this time.

For Martell to be successful Nate needs to spoon feed him feedback and definitely focus on the positive. Give him one or two things to focus on at a time as to not overwhelm him. Build him up and build him up so that he thinks he his the baddest shooter who ever walked the planet. Once that is accomplished his skin will most likely be a little bit thicker in regards to his weaknesses.

Should a pro coach have to handle a millionaire like this? Well, you drafted a teenager. If you want to bring out Martell the assassin you just might have to.

because this is not his team.  It's Nate's team.  And as long as Nate has Paul Allen and Kevin Pritchard behind him, it doesn't really matter who's right.  I'm pretty sure there have been players that Jerry Sloan has placed at the end of the bench for little to no reason, and Nate has in the past openly talked about emulating Sloan to some degree.  The key thing is to figure out that hey, it's not working, and to trade Martell, or find some way to make him work.  The Blazers have been slow and patient with this process of figuring out what to do with him.

But it is Martell's fault because if Nate can maximize Zach "no defense" Randolph, that means he is willing to compromise if a player shows skills.  Martell has to help Nate help himself

to be a star on another team. I just don't think he fits in our team.

Last year I kept thinking the Brandon Roy hype was killing Martell's confidence.  Martell was looking forward to having a breakout year, and B-Roy got a bunch of his playing time.  Here are a couple telling answers to questions from Charlie Bury of Draft Express:

http://www.draftexpress.com/viewarticle.php?a=2104

Charlie Bury: Last year the Blazers drafted Brandon Roy. Did you feel at all like you were being passed over before you got a chance to come into your own?

Martell Webster: Definitely you feel that, but I see it as my time to prove to the coaches and the organization that I'm ready for that position. I'm not just thinking that because I'm putting in work, they're going to give it to me, but I have to prove it when I go down there to summer league that I'm definitely ready to take this position. They drafted Brandon and, yes he's a great player, but he's a combo guard. He can play point guard, two guard and the 3. I'm more of a 2-3. He's a great addition to our team; he's a franchise player. I'm just really focused on getting a spot in helping out this team and contributing to this organization.

...

Charlie Bury: Well it had to be amazing coming in at only 18 playing against those guys. What was it like being so young playing a grown man's game?

Martell Webster: It's not really tough physically, but mentally...it definitely takes a toll. Because you want to do right all the time, but you have to realize that you're coming out of high school and not everybody gets it, not everybody is LeBron James. You have to take your time and just have fun and experience the life. Once you get those two years under your belt, that's when you begin to take it serious. Knowing what you have to do during the off-season, taking care of yourself, eating right. All those things fall into place and that's when it becomes very serious, but then at the same time you're still having fun. So that's very important to me.

We may be overanalyzing Martell here.  From what I've seen, he lacks the physical tools to get free of his man.  He's a pretty good leaper, but isn't athletic in the sense of being able to wind through picks and change direction.  He doesn't have the threat of a drive to create that little extra space or twinge of doubt in his defender.  He's locked-up before he even catches the ball.

Beyond this, Martell isn't off his nut the way great shooters seem to be.  A great shooter is surprised when they look at the boxscore and see 4-15.  Martell isn't.

on opinions of whether or not he is a bust.  And I am of course right in the middle.  He never has seemed to have the killer instinct that a deadly shooter has, but maybe he will develop it?  He's still young but in my mind he had plenty of chances last year with Roy out and I can't remember more than about two games that I was anything more than briefly impressed with his game or fire.

Honestly I think that the first 2 months of this next season will be telling.  

This is the time for Martell to make his mark.  If, as planned, Rudy F comes over from Spain and plays close to what he has shown abroad, Martell's future as a Blazer is in serious jeopardy, particularly if the Blazers plan on keeping shooters like Ime and Jame Jones on the roster, who can also contribute to the team in other ways.

Personally, I won't be surprised or disappointed to see him in a packaged deal for another player.  He needs playing time and confidence, and that's going to be tough to get on a loaded Blazer roster, particularly when the Euros start coming over.

I personally think he is not a good fit for this team right now and it seems logical to split ties with him while he still has some trade value.

The best outcome for Martell would be to turn into Ellis, whose jump shot was so smooth and reliable that he made up for his lack of pure athleticism. He had his break-out season with the Sonics in his age 26 season after spending three so-so years with Dallas. (He played here in college at the old Far West Classic, may it rest in peace, and was an incredible shooter.)

http://basketball-reference.com/players/e/ellisda01.
html

Ellis was very intense on the court. That's what Martell hasn't learned,it seems, and that's what nearly all young guys have to learn -- the advantage Boston had last night (on the boards, fewer turnovers, tougher defense) had to do with intensity level.

Are the Blazers willing to keep Martell around, hoping he will blossom when he's 26? I don't think there's a button for Sarge to push now. I bet he's already tried ALL the buttons he could find. Play him the minutes he deserves to play -- that's really the most important thing you can do.

I have a soft spot for shooters, and I think that's led me to cut Martell a lot of slack these past two seasons.  The problem - as several others have noted - is that he hasn't really improved since he was drafted.  This is especially evident on the mental side of the game.  Maybe Nate killed his confidence by frequently yanking him after poor defensive possessions; maybe he feels overshadowed by Roy; or maybe he just has an excess of black bile leading him to take on melancholy humors.  I really don't know.  But what I've noticed in watching him play is that he doesn't know what to do with himself when he's out there.  It reminds me of the way Travis struggled before last season: missed defensive rotations, confusion on offense, extended periods of listlessness.  The common link between the two is that both were drafted out of high school.  If Martell had gone to college for a couple of seasons, I think he would have found a way to minimize his weaknesses by now.  As it is, though, he's a pro and needs to show it (after all, the Blazers offer more coaching and opportunities for improvement than any college program would).  He's had two years to just go out and "have fun" (his words); now is the time to "get serious" (").  I still get the urge to blame his problems on youth, inexperience, and inadequate playing time, but eventually, players with skills need to show those skills in games.  Martell's a shooter.  When he gets shots, he has to knock them down, and this year he figures to get plenty of open looks.  If he can't produce in such a favorable situation, we might as well open up a roster spot for Fernandez and see what the Spaniard can offer (as VegasNed suggested).  I like Martell a lot, but it sounds like he's been a poor student of the game since he's been here.  It was much easier to defend him when I thought he was working hard to improve.

When Portland drafted him, I was sure Martell could turn himself into the next Ray Allen.  Now I just hope he can at least be another Wesley Person.  Ouch.

needs to figure out that he's getting paid millions to learn and grow into a legit NBA player.  Nate (and Bayno) is the man to get him there if Martell will let him.

Someone said this is Nate's team and that is exactly right.  Nate has to be able to shape the players to his (and to a degree KP's and PA's) vision.  It is on Martell and all the players to buy into that vision.  

Nate has changed over the last two seasons and that is in large part due to the fact that the players have changed.  He doesn't have to be the hardass all the time like he did at first.  This coming season I believe he will have to be much less so.

Martell needs to meet him halfway.  He still has a chance but I agree with the poster who said this is the year for that to happen.

As WarEagle pointed out, the common theme among the high schoolers is that in year 3, their respective teams gave Rashard and T-Mac the playing time they needed to develop.  Those teams made a serious commitment to those particular developing players over other players who probably could have been productive, but also had a lower ceiling.

The problem I see with Martell's situation, is that he probably won't see the same minutes on the floor that T-Mac and Rashard saw in year 3.  Martell is going to have show improvement in a much more limited amount of playing time than other players in the same situation.  Martell is part of a handful of other players that need minutes to keep developing.

Barring a trade, coach Mac is going to have the toughest job in the Blazer organization this year as he will be responsible for dividing playing time amongst all the developing players on the roster this year.

Hoopshype posted this today which indicates that Rudy F is getting antsy over in Europe:
Rudy Fernandez: "Barcelona has made me an offer and now I must decide what I want for my future: to play with Barça, with Joventut or to play in the NBA." El Mundo Deportivo

Koponen's coach is also urging the Blazers to take Kopey this year instead of waiting.

Martell seems very tightly wound. He rushed into the NBA and certainly should've progressed with his peers in college ball rather than bucking up against the men in the NBA, but it's too late for that so...

First off, I think he's got all the physical talent to be a very good player in the league. He's a little slow footed but certainly there are examples of people with less physical athletic ability who have done very well.

That means it boils down to mental ability. He plays as if he's thinking of what to do next. In this league you have to be able to "see" what's going to happen, anticipate things, and put yourself in the best position to succeed. For example, barrel around a pick, "know" the ball is going to be there, catch and shoot, not go around the pick, look for the ball, put hands up to signal for the ball, etc. at which point that small window of opportunity has slammed shut.

I believe the over-thinking stems from being too sensitive to criticism and worrying about making mistakes. It'd be great if he just "grew up" and wasn't the way he is, but everybody is different.

I vote for giving him a lot of tether, let him makes tons of mistakes (remembering we're supposed to keep expectations of the team low this year, right?) and give him nothing but positive reinforcement. I think then you'd get your best chance at seeing him develop into an impact player.

Or keep crushing his spirit and chalk him up as a bust, that's always an option, because their'll be more where he came from (see R. Fernandez). After all, he wasn't a Pritchard guy, was he.

Minutes are going to become harder and harder to find as our roster improves. I think that a second PG of quality will soon eat up 20+ backcourt minutes a game, and that JJ will evolve through starting PG/backup SG, then to the third G spot over the next two years. He might be backing up Roy at PG with Fernandez at SG or Sergio/Kopenen alongside Roy.

Right now 1, 2, 4, and 5 have no minutes to give to any of Martell, Trout, Ime, Darius and Jones. I see the SF minutes being divided between a steady hand and sixth man type (Ime, Jones, or a player to be named later) and one project from Martell, Trout and Miles. Personally, I fear all three will fail to grow into a Championship squad caliber starting SF, even where the SF is only a role player among superstars.

Additionally Martell and Nate seem like a bad match. It's Nate's team, and mgmt and the core players are complimentary to his personality and preferred playing style. This is bad for Martell.

Let's dangle him and Frye for the right to deposit Darius' and Raef's salaries for an overpriced, over-the hill 3 and a bag of donuts.

Grant Hill at a stupid salary would've done nicely.

I say give Martell every chance to prove his worth in the next nine days, then trade him.

about the recent history of the organization being a significant part of Web's arrested professional development. Powerful point. And it is hard for me to call a near teenager a bust under any circumstances. However playing defense is part athleticism, which he has, and part effort. Effort at learning technique and mostly effort during games.

It is this lack of effort on defense that I find most damning in ZBo's, Webster's and Sergio's games. I don't see them waking up tomorrow to exhausting themselves physically, and even more mentally, trying to grow into good defenders.

While I don't see Martel as a bust, I see him as a career long seeker of the easy path (mentally more than phisically) and underacheiving.

And there will be 12 to 15 minutes at two not played by Roy no doubt. However, I wonder what gives you reason to say JJ can't be a back up two. Please elaborate.

If you aren't sold on JJ being the championship starter, then perhaps we should trade JJ now if he can't back up both guards. And it was silly of you to interpret my post as saying that Roy would play every minute of every game.  

Having said these things, I still think that you can only groom one project player without compromising development of the so called (undeveloped) sure things.

the hole in his offense, but I still think his pineriding is due to treating defense as a break between offensive opportunities. Ovethinking doesn't stop his slowness to mirror in his consistent man-on lapses. It is good to be sharpening my opinions with all of you. TY

to start getting complacent. We can end up with a roster dotted with guys that may or may not develope. I would say right now that Trout is that guy that we develope. He has that speed and physical presence. Webster can walk with absolutely no talent drain on our team.

Maybe we find a better role player, or savy vet. Someone interested in playing a little D with the streaky shooting. An Ime Udoka.

Re: I am here speculating. This is the fun of it. KP has a passion for this stuff. So do I. I personally have nothing against Webster except that he cannot play. KP has has that ability to find talent so lets parlay Webster into ????

Webster has one week to show professional quality EFFORT on defense. If not, I vote for Trout to get the project's minutes and practice attention.

Roy and that savvy vet/defensive presence eat up most of the SG/SF minutes.

Check out the two articles about Mr. Frye. Sounds like Nate plans to give some SF time to the bigs too.

Fun, fun things to think about.

that in the near future (next year or the year after) we will bring in the last pieces if necessary (sf and/or pg), it seems that the best scenario for now would be that Ime gets a good contract elsewhere, and we give equal time to Travis and Web at the 3. This will help them develop and will show us if either should remain in our long term plans. Both players could also pick up minutes at other positions. I agree w/ previous posters that Fry will probably beat out Travis at the backup 4, and there won't be many minutes at the backup 2 unless Roy becomes the backup 1, which would seriously slow Sergio's development. This is a year for team building, player development, and deciding who is the future. We should enjoy a few more victories this year, but it's not really the main point. When we drafted Martell we admitted it would take time, that it would be a project. Same with Travis. So this year should be partly devoted to those projects.