Dallas Mavericks’ Mark Cuban calls Al-Farouq Aminu a ‘stud’ defensively
By Bryan Rose
When Al-Farouq Aminu entered the NBA he looked to be the all-around small forward that so many covet. Sadly, Aminu never received much time off the bench for the then New Orleans Hornets (now Pelicans) and what floor time he did see, he wasn’t overly productive.
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Aminu’s offensive skill-set appeared to regress from his collegiate game though he’s always garnered a reputation as a top-notch defender. That’s a sentiment Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban agrees with and is much of the reason he was brought to Big D this offseason.
Speaking about his small forward on 105.3 The FAN, Cuban said Al-Farouq Aminu is a “young stud defensively“.
More than just being talented guarding the opposition, Aminu can also rebound at a very high level for a small forward though did struggle at times last season in a man-to-man situation and was often beat off the dribble. Might that have been due to injury or a lack of interest given his low playing time? Difficult to tell, though it didn’t concern the Dallas Mavericks who believe he can be the defensive stopper they need on the perimeter.
The lone problem for Al-Farouq Aminu will be his lack of offensive game, though given the weapons currently employed by the Dallas Mavericks (Dirk Nowtizki, Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons) there’s not any reason the Mavs would need Aminu to be relied on from an offensive standpoint (barring injury).
He was by no stretch a big name signing, however Al-Farouq could end up being one of the most impact additions during free agency.