RedDawg#8

I can dig it. A lot depends on off season moves. But no reason we should not be a top 4 team in the East regardless of what happens to the teams around us. We were basically that this year while dealing with a multitude of injuries and a coaching change. A little stability, chemistry, and playoff experience could bode well for a regular season run if we can stay healthy. Our depth continues to be a major asset when you talk about 82 games.

KD's toe may change the course of history. If the Nets moved on, we definitely had a chance against them, especially with their top guys dealing with injuries too. But let's say they beat us and go on to win it all; the Superteam" narrative gets another victory, and the way teams are built continues to be about having multiple superstars joining forces. Im happy for the Bucks, because it shows you can build the old fashioned way with drafting your own superstar, and making smart roster moves around him. It helps validate our model for sure. As far as the Nets, did we have a chance. Yes. We actually outscored them in the season series: 127 ppg to 124. In our two losses, we were up late and lost the lead to lose by 4 twice. That was very symptomatic of the LP Hawks. In our one win, we dominated them defensively and held them to 96. We played them twice with no Gallo, once with no Bogi, and 3 times with no Lou Will. They played us twice with just Kyrie and KD and once with all 3. Also, all games were under LP. We hadn't discovered how to close games down the stretch, or play solid team defense yet. Not saying we would have swept the Nets, but under Nate, we would not have surrendered those 2 leads. I think this matchup boils down to 2 things: 1) Firepower. As shown by the high scoring games, both teams have a ton of scoring talent. They have 3 guys who can go for over 40 any night. We have 1. But we still have 5 others that can easily get 20+(Kev, Bogi, Dre, Cam, Gallo), not even including JC or Lou who may or may not be back next year. That more than makes ups for lack of super power. 2) Defense. The Nets cannot be a strong defensive team as built. They can be solid at best. They cannot slow us down. We have too many weapons. Our defenders have a much better chance at making life hard for at least two of their big 3. Our core is full of two-way players. We can get stops and put up a ton of points without having to rely on specialists. I think we can hang with those dudes easily.

Cam would Immediately slide in as a starter in this scenario, especially with defense being more of a need. Kev becomes your combo wing off the bench. Maybe even run Dunn as the 4th guard and not just the 3rd PG

Good stuff

I think your offer is even steeper than mine. KAT is an upgrade over Clint, but OO in not an upgrade over JC. When I said "picks" I meant this year and the proposed 2025. The swaps won't materialize and are just stupid filler. For the record, I don't care about KAT, but for the sake of entertaining this fantasy idea, we would have to give up assets to get KAT. Winner or not, his numbers are eye popping for young center. He is an All NBA talent. He is the best player in the trade, therefore we would have to give up more to convince them to let him go. Clint helps them replace KAT now, OO helps them in the long term at that position. They wont have a huge gaping hole at center if they did this. They would want one of our wings but I wouldn't budge on that. On the flip side, we would have a dominant, versatile frontcourt rotation with backup center as the only need.

I think Chelsea Lane is definitely great at what she does, but I don't think what she does impacts us the way some think. She specializes in innovative treatment techniques and over-prioritizes player input and feedback. She is not a magician, she cannot prevent injuries from happening, and she cannot guarantee a player wont get hurt again. She doesn't perform miracle surgeries or anything like that, All she does is instill a bit more positive energy and confidence in to the day to day and rehab processes. She advises them based on their best interest, not hers. Players feel heard and trust her. She is an asset to the organization and locker room culture. There isn't anything she knows that another physician does not know. Our players are still going to receive the best medical treatment money can buy. They may have to establish new rapport with her replacement, but that's really about it. As long as the new medical staff continue to value their input, the players will be fine.

I meant they are NOT practicing with the team

To be fair, the pick swaps would never happen because they would always have the better pick. Even still, Clint, Dre and Onyeka is already a steep price without adding the picks. I'd do Clint, OO and the picks maybe.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/olympics.com/en/news/zion-williamson-trae-young-basketball-olympic-roster Trae was added to the lists of finalists after the initial list came out. He is technically in the pool. I guess what Im saying is that, all 57 of these guys are practicing and going through plays with the team, they are basically just on call. I feel like, at least for this year, they should have utilized the select team to add more guys from the finalists list so that they could be in the building and working out with the team in the event of an emergency call up. They way they do it it now, they only pick 12 guys from the list of finalists, and then go outside the list to find a bunch of lesser players with some promise to fill out the select team. When they had 2 spots to fill they chose Javale from the finalist pool but decided to promote from the select team for the other spot because they liked his chemistry with the team. Imagine if Ja or someone else was practicing with the main group, Im sure they would have liked his chemistry too. It's just poor planning. They never go in to it with the expectation that they would have to use select team players on the main roster but things happen and they have to make due. Pop also chose to promote Derrick White from the select team back in 2019 when they had late scratches. There seems to be some favoritism to go with his guys versus better players they could pull in cold.

Trae had 2 good segments on here, around 3:50 to 5:20 and then in the ending montage

The Brooklyn matchup with Harden is tricky for sure. You cant really hide Trae anywhere. Cam is best on KD but that pulls JC on to a smaller quicker perimeter player. But the thing I forget is that they have to guard us too, and they have nobody who can stay in front of Trae. Then you look at the rest of the wings and realize our guys can play both ends, but theirs really can't. KD is a good defender but he isn't an anchor, and he would likely end up on JC or Dre, which is fine because we still have more firepower than they do defense. Those games were high scoring for a reason. But our defense will actually take a step forward next year. I don't fear that matchup

Trae needs to be paired with a guy who is above average defensively. So no to Llilard, Harden, Doncic, or Jokic. If I have 1 shot to win it all, I need reliable guys who are not injury prone. So, no to AD, Kawhi, or Embiid. That leaves Durant, Giannis and Lebron. I think Lebron would love to have Trae next to him, but I don't like the fit considering they both excel at the same things. Neither are promising as off ball players. Giannis, I love this except for one factor. He kills spacing and can't hit free throws. A tough pass but he would be my runner up. That leaves KD as the last one standing. His game works well with Trae as he can play off the ball if needed, he also provides great spacing and length next to Trae. 1 chance to win it all, I take either of the three, but if you let me pick Im going with KD.

USA basketball really should have thought this through more. In a year coming off a pandemic, the NBA expanded their rosters to 15 plus 2 two-way players prepare for unexpected absences and what not. Now guys are dropping left and right in the safety protocol, and not to mention they are still waiting for the Finals to end to get the rest of their players. Team USA should have expanded their pool of players from 12 to 15 at least. And they should have put more responsibility in to picking the Select team. They always create this huge chasm where the select guys are clearly freshmen league to the Main teams Varsity. Now when they are in a pinch they only feel comfortable promoting guys who have practiced this whole time but a are clearly no where near the best available talent. If the Olympic rules only allowed 12, Team USA should have invited a handful of legit options to fill out the select team in the event Covid, Injury or Personal took out guys from the main roster. If I see Darius Garland or John Jenkins get an opportunity on the National team before they even give Trae, Ja or Zion an invite Im going to be pissed. I'm barely hanging on after Keldon Johnson got promoted.

I've started looking in to this more and more, especially once LP was fired. I 100% get the parallels between the 2 situations based on how it was portrayed by the media. One thing about the Warriors dynasty that never gets mentioned though; Steve Kerr was actually Steph's 4th head coach in the pros. Most people only know of 2 coaches, but that's because there is an entire chapter of Steph's career where he was completely irrelevant and frankly not yet a star. And I use Steph because he was the beginning of their current era. He had Don Nelson as a rookie Keith Smart as a sophmore Warriors got a new GM and then added Mark Jackson for 3 seasons. Mark Jackson's 1st year: Drafted Klay and went 23-43 2nd year: Added Draymond, went (47-35) Won 1 playoff series 3rd year: added Iggy, won 51 games, lost in first round. Then comes in Steve Kerr, and in year 1, they win 67 games and win a title and go to 5 straight finals. Now when compared to us, you could argue our rebuild started with JC, even though Trae is clearly the Steph comparison. But if you go with JC: Bud would be Nelson, the outgoing coach from their prior regime. LP would be Keith Smart, just lost games and couldn't win. Nate would be the Mark Jackson of this thing. Old school coach comes in and teaches our young PG how to be floor general and establishes a defensive mentality among the team that results in wins and gets us in to the playoffs for the first time. Does Nate take us to the promised land is the real question? Who knows. But we are way ahead of schedule based on the comparison. Steph came in at 21 years old after 3 years of college, and got his first title at 26. JC and Trae respectively will be 24 and 23 when the next season starts. What we are doing may actually not have ever been seen before if we can make the jump to champion sooner than later.

Depends on the definition of #2. To me, Hunter (before injury) had the kind of game that best suited him as an "opener" of sorts. He just had easy smooth offense that was consistent right off the bat. We know Trae is our closer. I also think Cam's game translates really well down the stretch, as he has a clutch gene in him too. I think JC's best role has to be as an energy guy. He has to be that player who sets the tone for us with activity and picks us up throughout the game. Dre is steady Eddy, JC has to be the "Aries" of the group. I think Bogi has the ability to be number 2 until Dre and/or Cam assume that role Opening games it's Dre and Bogi, Closing games it's Cam and Trae. The hot hand supersedes everything.

If JC resigns, I think our window starts next year and we enough to take another step. If he doesn't I think we are 2 years away while we wait for continued development from OO and Cam.

Shot selection is the difference maker for Trae. You line him up along the 3 pt line, he can knock down open threes at an above average clip. But his flare for the dramatic leaves him taking the kinds of shots that even good shooters would struggle to make consistently. Part of what makes him special is his "audacity". He makes so many highlight plays because he has the balls to try stuff. Losing that would take away a bit of the edge that separates him from other really talented players. So I guess we have to live with the deep 3's, hand in his face fall aways, crossover step backs, etc...and in turn accept that his percentage will stay in the neighborhood of where it is

Bucks are doing what they did to the Hawks. They are turning up the intensity and pressure. We can say it's size, but it's really their hustle and dog mentality. Giannis is obviously a freak and dominates the paint and the glass, but outside of him 6-5 Pat Connaughton 6-3 Jrue Holiday and 6-7 Middleton are all actually out rebounding their bigs Lopez, Tucker and Portis in this series. It's a total team effort for them. They know Giannis throws up bricks so they are always locked in on the offensive glass to get tip outs and steal a possession. Watching last night, Jrue was the difference maker for them. When he elevates his energy they are a different team. He is making life hard for their ball handlers, and has just enough size, IQ and shooting to punish the Suns defense on the other end no matter how they try and play him. The Bucks have figured out a winning formula that involves Holiday and/or Middleton closing out games due to their shot making ability. Giannis is playing off of them down the stretch.

Several things can be true about someone. LP is a stand up guy, was great in the community, he never did anything as a representative of the team that we wouldn't be proud of. He was also a first time Head Coach, and to Solo's point, had his own learning curve and mistakes to grow from strictly from a Head Coaching perspective. His knowledge of the game has been lauded and applauded as next level. Nate has mentioned that there were thing's we taught under LP that he had never seen or thought of before. He was very impressed by LP. Nate has stated that there are things we still do and will continue to do that were from LP's philosophy. That being said, two things under cut LP. 1) Results. Nothing behind the scenes would have ever mattered if we were producing results. Period. LP had a disconnect of taking his brilliance and getting the players to execute it. part of that reason was because of 2) He lost the locker room. Or enough of the locker room that it began to show on the court. Unfortunately yes, you DO have to appease your star player. That doesn't mean you can't be tough on him or challenge him, but you do have to make sure he knows and believes that you support him on the court and off. And the off the court part is where he lost Trae first. LP used his voice and relationships around the league to try to motivate Trae via tough love. Trae didn't appreciate that. Trae inherited haters around the league from day 1, and the last thing he needed was his coach to let on that any of the noise was justified. He needed LP to stick up for him and shut down all the people that made excuses against Trae. LP chose himself and his pride in that situation. He needed to put his ego down and champion his star and he couldn't do that for fear of being wrong or Trae getting to big he wouldn't want to listen to LP. That was a lesson right there that LP learned. It's never about you in the NBA. Fans come for the player's, not the coaches. The owners will do anything to keep a star player around. The coach is secondary to all of that. If Trae wanted LP, he would still be here. He lost Trae, he lost the team, he lost his job.

The 4 yr 117 mil was based on this this year. Its now 4 yr 120+mil for 21-22

Is it me or does Solo have a soft spot for Cam. He is always pushing Cam's name whenever he can. Like a big brother or guardian angel

Just because he is quiet doesn't hide the fact that Kawhi is low-key toxic. There is no guarantee he can strike lightning again like he did with Toronto. He is injured every year, and he load manages more than any superstar. He doesn't abide by team doctors advice. His teammates resent his special treatment. And for someone who spends so much time unavailable, he doesn't give much in the form of locker room or sideline leadership. Hard pass for me.

Something about that game 4, the entire team came out with an aggressive mindset on defense, like "WE" are going to be the bullies tonight. Guys were physical, active, and everyone was locked in on their man while in perfect position to help. I have not seen team defense like that since Thabo was on the floor with DMC and the gang back in 14-15.

https://thespun.com/more/top-stories/everyones-saying-same-thing-about-trae-young-today

If you google Trae Young, he is getting a ton of social media support today after leaking his frustration yesterday. The general consensus from the public; Trae, Ja or Zion all should have gotten an invite before selecting Keldon Johnson or McGee. My stance is pretty consistent. If Trae is still injured then obviously he needs to get healthy, but outside of that I at least wanted him to have the honor of AN invitation and for him to decide whether he wanted to play or not. This is getting comical at this point