What to think about Shabazz Muhammad

Rumors came out of the NBA Combine this week that Shabazz Muhammad's draft stock was falling, and falling fast. Once thought to be a potential target for the top pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, many experts have Muhammad going outside the top 10, some even questioning his status as a lottery pick.

One analyst mentioned that the only thing keeping Muhammad at the top of the draft was his name, which has been hyped since he was a high school superstar, drawing comparisons to a young Kobe Bryant. Across basketball circles, one train of thought is that based upon Muhammad's year at UCLA, he has not actually done much to deserve the high selection many predict he will receive.

However, I disagree with way of thinking.

Let's flashback to last NBA season. Entering the year, Harrison Barnes was the odds-on favorite to be the number one overall pick after he returned to UNC for his sophomore year, even though he was likely to be a top-5 pick. Barnes did not have a bad year, but he did not blow anyone away like many expected. Essentially, Barnes failed to meet unrealistic expectations for the season and experts dismissed him as overrated, backing away from him as an potentially elite NBA player.

The problem with phenoms like Barnes and Shabazz is that we expect every great high school player to be the next Kevin Durant or Lebron James, and if they fall short of those high expectations they are failures. That isn't logical at all.

Shabazz Muhammad has the potential to be a very productive NBA player, but he needs to in the right situation and he cannot be forced to be "the guy." If you are drafting Shabazz to carry your franchise on his back to a title, you are doing it wrong.

Here is how Shabazz helps you as a team, or specifically, how he helps the Cavs:

At 20 years old, he already has an NBA frame at 6'6, 221 pounds with a 6'11 wingspan. He has a tireless work ethic. Stories developed out of UCLA that Muhammad constantly pushed his teammates, and had no issue with calling out guys who were taking shortcuts. He excels in catch and shoot situations. He also moves very well off the ball

The knock on him offensively is that he cannot create his own offense. But if you are the Cavs, you should not care if he can create his own offense, because as long as Kyrie and Dion are on your team, you should not need to rely on Muhammad to run the offense or create off the dribble.

So in essence, his weakness will be hidden by our other young talent. Finding fits like this and gathering complementary talent is exactly how success is achieved by winning teams.

His defense was cause for concern at times while at UCLA, but it was not for lack of talent. At times he appeared to disappear on that end of the floor. That is on coaching, and Ben Howland got fired for a reason.

Muhammad was cited as one of the most impressive players at the combine during defensive drills. In a healthy organization, character issues can be masked. And under a defensive-minded coach like Mike Brown, young players will learn the importance of playing with intensity on that end of the floor.

So, does this mean I would take him over Nerlens Noel or Otto Porter? Probably not. But if the ping-pong balls don't bounce our way on Tuesday and we end up at 5 or 6, I think there is a strong case for Shabazz as our pick.