Position: guard
Height: 6-4
Weight: 194
College: North Carolina
Born: March 23, 1981
Opening day (2002) age: 21
Drafted: 2001, first round, pick 21, Boston
NBA exerience: One year (zero with Sonics)
Hand: Right
Acquired: Traded by Boston Celtics on July 22, 2002 with guard Kenny Anderson and center Vitaly Potapenko for guard Shammond Williams and forward Vin Baker.
Contract status: Signed through 2003-04 season with team option for 2004-05
2001-02 in Review: Joseph Forte was the 21st pick in last summer's NBA draft by the Boston Celtics after a stellar two-year collegiate career at the University of North Carolina (UNC). His two years at the ACC powerhouse were marked by tremendous achievement including a selection as National Freshman of the Year by the Columbus, Ohio Touchdown Club and ACC Rookie of the Year while becoming the first freshman to lead UNC in scoring since freshmen became eligible to play in 1972-73. As a sophomore, Forte was even better, garnering First Team All-America by The Associated Press, NABC, USBWA, The Sporting News and ESPN, a feat accomplished by only four other North Carolina sophomores. Additionally, Forte was named both Co-Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year with Duke's Shane Battier and ESPN's Co-Shooting Guard of the Year with Stanford's Casey Jacobsen. Despite his impressive resume, Forte was not a lottery pick because scouts questioned whether he had the size to play shooting guard in the pros. Count the Celtics amongst the non-believers; despite an impressive summer league showing at the two, they spent the season trying to teach Forte how to play the point. This, combined with Boston’s deep veteran backcourt, kept Forte on the bench for all but 39 minutes last season as the Celtics were surprise contenders.
Shooting/Scoring: Forte came out of the University of North Carolina a very accomplished scorer. His mid-range game offensive game is fantastic and this off-season during summer league action he was able to show extended range out to the three point line on his jump shot. However, Forte is not a tremendous athlete and that fact combined with his smallish stature has many NBA scouts questioning whether or not he will be able to get his shot off in the NBA when he is defended closely. In a motion-based offense that utilizes picks and screens to free up shooters, Forte may excel as the system should free him up for open looks that he will knock down.
Grade: B-
Floor Game: Forte spent some time in his sophomore year of college and his entire rookie campaign learning how to run a team from the point guard position. Because of his size, many NBA scouts including the Celtics coaching staff and front office felt that Forte would be better served if he could learn how to play the point. He has above average ball-handling skills but needs to improve in this capacity in order to handle on the ball pressure effectively. Forte has a very high basketball IQ and understands how to free up teammates for open looks by drawing defenders to him, a necessary skill of an accomplished point guard. He has above average passing skills and can run the fast break exceptionally well given his lack of formal training in that capacity. Forte moves well without the ball. In fact, he is fundamentally sound in all aspects of the offensive game.
Grade: B-
Rebounding: For a 6-3 guard, Forte possesses excellent rebounding ability. Again, he has a very high basketball IQ and a nose for the ball and those two traits help his rebound much better than his position and size would warrant. Forte excelled as a rebounding guard at the University of North Carolina and showed the same rebounding traits in the few games he played in last preseason and season.
Grade: B
Defense: Forte is a fundamentally sound defensive player but he lacks strength to compete with the bigger shooting guards and he may not be quick enough to handle the quicker point guards. It has been stressed to him that he spend a lot of time in the weight room to add some size to his frame and towards the end of last season had added 5-8 pounds of muscle. Forte has quick hands and plays passing lanes very well.
Grade: C
Intangibles: Forte was not a model teammate last season. He showed some immaturity in the locker room which may have been borne out of his frustration at not getting any playing time. Coming out of college as a First Team All-American, Forte had high expectations of himself and when those expectations were not met, he struggled. At one point during the season, Forte was taken to task in the locker room by several of his teammates when he wore a Los Angeles Lakers Magic Johnson replica jersey after a particularly frustrating loss.
Grade: D
Overall: It was a trying rookie season for Forte, but at 21 he still has plenty of time left to develop into a quality NBA player. In fact, there is a school of thought that Forte is ready to contribute at shooting guard even if he’d be undersized at the position. While playing the two during summer-league ball, Forte has been extremely effective. It’s playing the point -- and NBA-caliber competition -- that has given him problems. The Celtics clearly saw him as a point guard, but their opinion no longer matters after Forte was a throw-in in this summer’s blockbuster trade that sent Vin Baker and Shammond Williams to Boston and Forte, Kenny Anderson, and Vitaly Potapenko to Seattle. What the Sonics plan for Forte is unknown at this point, but it seems likely that they will develop him as a combo guard capable of playing either position off the bench. With a talented and experienced Seattle backcourt of Gary Payton, Brent Barry, and Anderson, if Forte plays regularly this season it will probably be the result of an injury. He should top last year’s minutes total, however, and a role with the Sonics may not be far off. Payton and Anderson are free agents after the season and, with the latter not expected back, Forte may step into the role of third guard playing 20 or so minutes a night in time for the 2003-04 season.
Grade: C-
Thanks to Hoopsworld.com’s Ravi Singh for writing much of this scouting report.