Max in ESPN The Magazine

[joebodner]

THE HEIGHT OF POWER
 Two Late First Rounders Are Showing That a Little Goes a Long Way

Here's the takeaway from the recently completed summer leagues: small is the new big.
    Of coure, "undersize" rookies Nate Robinson and Jason Maxiell have known this for a while. But by turning there summer runs into personal coming-out parties, they've shown that the conventional wisdom needs to rethink some things.
    Despite being 5'9" - barely - Robinson made himself an early favorite in next February's dunk contest with an array of who-you-calling-Shorty throwdowns. The Knicks' new sparkplug (he was chosen 21st by the Suns and then traded in a package for Kurt Thomas) dropped 1708 ppg in the Reebok Vegas Summer League before being second in assists in the Minnesota Summer League with 508 per. "If he were 6'1" or 6'2", he'd have been a top-five pick," says Knicks GM Isiah Thomas, no giant himself. "People look at his size and son't see how effective he can be. The league has not seen a player as unique as Nate."
    Thomas' former backcourt mate Joe Dumars knows something about small ball too. He says he gives scouts a simple instruction before they go looking for potential Pistions. "Find me crusty players," he says. "Hard-edged types who play with toughness and a chip on their shoulder."
    Maxiell has layers and layers of crust. Although he's wee for a power forward - 6'7", 260 - that nevers seems to matter. It certainly didn't in Vegas, where he went for 15 ppg and 3.6 rpg. He can play above the rim - demonstrated most definitively by a dunk-snuffin he laid on high-flying ex-prepster Gerald Green - and he's strong enough to check Clippers seven-footer Chris Kaman.
    "Everyone can see I don't take off any plays," says Maxiell, the 26th pick in June. "And as for being undersize, I have a 7'3" wingspan. That evens everything out."
    If Robinson and Maxiell can gut out the grind of the regular season, NBA scouts may just start to set their sights lower.


The caption next to Nate's and Max's pics reads: Robinson has the spark and Maxiell has the muscle to demand PT, but with vet-loving Larry Brown in NYC, only one of the might mites may see much action.


Dermarr Johnson is also on the same page under a section titled:

CHEAP LABOR The big names are gone, but there's hones help out there for a fraction of the cost

Dermarr Johnson, G
What you get   Athleticism. DJ shows no ill effect from the car crash of a few years back. He's still youn and always fearless.
Who needs it   Lakers, Rockets, Heat