True, but what's the difference between playing Fes and taking a flier on a DL scrub? From what we've seen, even this summer, not much.
The difference between Fez and a DL scrub, TinyPeter, is that Fesenko has experience neutralizing the starting center for the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs, as a well as a few other NBA centers for a few minutes at a time. Not dominating, not shutting down; just
neutralizing--but it's better than what the other Jazz options could do.
Another difference is that Fes is legitimately 7 feet-plus--unlike NBDL season BP48 leader Greg Stiemsma or runner-up Kurt Looby or Rod Benson or most of the other D-league players who haven't been sent down from NBA teams.
Thirdly, Fes has OK agility for his size. Not great; but OK. When he gets beaten it seems to be on the basis of lack of experience, not lack of agility, most of the time.
I'm sick and tired of watching someone blessed with his physical attributes piss it all away. It's disgusting and pathetic.
Yes, and it's pathetic that Sloan didn't try harder to get him minutes, even when the outcome of game wasn't in question or when Okur or Millsap wasn't getting it done. Fes would have been more effective than a neutralizer if he had received significantly more experience. In three years, Fesenko has had about as much PT as Ostertag had in his first season. You're not gonna develop--especially as a big man-- if you average a mere 3 or 4 minutes per available game.
This is an opportunity to tie up Fesenko for two or three years. At 2 or 3 million per, it's a reasonable price for a second-string or even third-string center.