Haven't followed him that closely. Full MLE seems like a lot for him but people say he's been very good for Brooklyn the last few years.
good for him, he deserves it the way he has fought back from his horrific injury, however that's way too much for the Blazers to pay for a backup PG with other more pressing needs and much cheaper solid options likely available - one of those being MO coming back
Good move by Golden State. One of their biggest holes was backup point guard and Livingston will be tremendous in that role. They can also mix and match Curry, Thompson, Iguodala and Livingston for some interesting lineup options. Of course, Golden State will be betting pretty big on health now with Livingston, Bogut and, to a much lesser extent now, Curry.
I think one of their biggest question marks health-wise is Ezeli. I thought he did amazing work for them in the 2013 playoffs. Has been out this entire season. Livingston is very smart, doesn't make many mistakes, opportunistic. he's able to finish at the rim or score from mid-range. The Nets offense ran much smoother with him than with Derron. He's a team player and a player that makes the team better. Really wanted him for the Blazers.
I like Livingston, but am really interested to see how they use him. Made 1 3 last season, so will have to be primary ball handler when he is in. Maybe that's good to alleviate some of curry pressure I dunno.
They probably can't play him and Iguodala at the same time, that would be murder on their spacing (though, Iguodala was passable from three point range last year). It'll be interesting to see if this moves the needle at all on a Thompson/Lee/whatever deal for Kevin Love. They can play Livingston alongside Curry (or Iguodala if they want Livingston to be on the floor whenever Curry isn't) and the extreme downgrade in shooting from Thompson to Livingston/Iguodala would be made up in the extreme upgrade in shooting from Lee to Love. They'd also have play-making everywhere.
Well that only works if Harrison Barnes is performing at a high level. Otherwise as you noted it would be tough to pair Livingston with Iguodala and maintain spacing. This is especially relevant since Thompson biggest responsibility outside of shooting was to guard the other teams main ball handler and cover up for Curry's embarrassing defense.
Well, Kevin Love is a defense buster. A big who can shoot from outside (especially with a quick release and while his shot is being contested, like Love and Nowitzki can) is brutal for defenses. You could probably play Livingston and Iguodala together if you have Love. But not if you're trotting Lee out there at power forward.
He would certainly make things easier still I think the key cog to making it work would be Barnes. Livingston is such a health risk as is Curry the Warriors need someone they can trust to step up in case of injury. Iggy can cover for either but someone would have to cover for him.
