One of the things we talked about in the recap tonight was the up and down game of Martell Webster. He was equal parts invisible and brilliant. I find myself wanting him to come out and dominate in Summer League but I know it's unlikely that he'll do so. Is that because he's not capable or is that because it's not his role?
I was talking to somebody tonight who works with one of the overseas contingents. I asked him what, specifically, he thought of Martell. His answer was long, but basically boiled down to you have to give the guy enough leeway to play and live with his mistakes without coming down on him if you want to see what kind of potential he has. All the gifts are there but they don't have a chance to come out fully the way things are. On the other hand I heard that Nate mentioned in an interview that Martell needs to accept mentoring/instruction/help better, meaning there needs to be more control and guidance, not less.
Frankly I'm not sure which is correct, or whethere each is in its own way. So I thought I'd ask you. Where do you come down on the Martell question and how to handle him. Does he need a lot more rope or a little more rein? Weigh in below.
--Dave