If he's the only max level player willing to sign here I'd much rather bring him in than dumpster dive for Ian Mahinmi and Cole Aldrich. He's probably third after Horford and Howard for me though.
I have to agree with this. He's had 1 year of showing anything consistent, and even that wasn't super consistent. He's 27 and this is his first year of being good and he's going to get super max or whatever the hell its called? Call me cynical, but as much as Dwight Howard can be a diva, he's a proven diva.
All these meetings are crazy. We had it last year when LaSoftie met with us, LA, SA, PHX, NY, TOR, MIA... fucker. (Sidebar, I fucking hate Pat Riley for suggesting that he sign a one year deal elsewhere and sign with MIA a year later. Slimy POS). KD is doing the same now. Does this guy really need his ego stroked by 20% of the league? Make a legit list of a few teams and have your free dinner. No need for song a dance from teams that absolutely have no chance or have no capspace.
I never realized how similar KD and LMA are. Obviously KD is a better player, but.... Both came from Texas U. Both picked #2 overall. Both long, lanky, stretch fours. Both seem reserved and introverted. Both are more talented than their guard counterpart, but do not really have leadership qualities. And now it seems like both will seek the ego stroke of free agency, only to leave their team.
KD isn't meeting with the Knicks or his hometown Wizards so that is a pretty good start. He is meeting with 6 teams and the only team I don't think he will even consider basketball-wise is the Clippers. So that is 5 teams out of 6 that I think have an at least .05% shot (which is of course not much but this is one of the top 3 players in the NBA and only 1 team can get him. If we had that shot I would take it).
KD is a superstar. He was a former MVP. And I'm not sure I've ever seen his leadership questioned. He was a quarter away from his second trip to the finals and has multiple WCF runs, while Aldridge had only once gotten out of the first round. There definitely are a lot of similarities, but when it comes to bball success, not really.
Does SA even have capspace? He beat this team and now he's gonna jump ship to go there? GS won't have capspace unless they let multiple FAs go. Both seem like a waste of time. Clips... same thing. No capspace, bad bball fit. MIA and BOS -- fine, but they are worse teams than OKC. All just seems like a waste of time.
SA can only create up to 15 MIL last I looked so you are probably right there. But of course if Durant said he is coming (to our team even) they/we would move multiple players in a heartbeat to make it happen.
Well obviously KD is the far better player.... although I would say that Aldridge proved he had the talent. He could hang with just about anyone for a few years there. I just don't see the same kind of fiery personality in KD that I see in a LeBron or Dame. He's more reserved. He reminds me of Aldridge. I never really thought about it though until this free agency period coming up.
KD is far more efficient as a player in comparison to LA. Reserved or not, I would love to have KD on our team in a heartbeat!
I'd just go after Horford hard. Whiteside seems like a volatile dude, and his defensive impact might be overstated. This is our one true and probably last shot at a top level free agent. To go after a guy with this many question marks... meh. After that, I'd look at Mahinmi and try to go on our cheap route.
I love Durants game, and he's the 2nd best player in the nba. But I actually don't like him as a player/person. He quit in the WCF.
I think the love comes from the perception that he is the best player available that fits a need AND that we have a legitimate chance of actually getting. We understand his limitations, but who would you rather go for? Hoopshype lists him as the 4th best free agent after Lebron, Durrant and Drummond. Two of those, and probably all three are not changing teams. So in reality he is basically the #1 free agent on the market this year. Other than Horford, who else would you want? We have the cap space, and we have a history of not landing big name free agents. The chances of getting Whiteside are still less than not getting him.....when you figure how many teams are after him. But again he is one of the best rim protectors in the game, so I can see where the love comes from. Will he be vastly over paid.......no doubt in my mind. But we don't really have a choice if we want to get a top free agent. Getting him will also give us the opportunity to trade some of our other bigs, so it gives us some additional flexibility.
Hence the miracle, maybe Olshey can get them to come cheaper, or for Howard to take less so he can sign Williams....though I'd rather not get Howard....man
Just watching him. However, +/- stats show it as well 73 games and had a positive +/- in a little over half of them (39) He's an inconsistent guy. He's a decent defender. He's a fantastic shot blocker though. Read a multitude of articles from analysts and fans about his maturity and consistency. I realize he may be a Blazer, so saying anything negative about him may offend people, but oh well
I am curious what the same stats would say for someone like Dwight Howard. Not saying you have to do the work but I would guess all players (except for the true studs) are in-consistent.
Howard played 71 games and only had 34 games in the + Miami was a better team, better coached, so if you take that, they are almost the same. Al Horford, for example played 82 games and only had 44 + games. Looking at those numbers shows you may be right about only star players. But regardless, he is inconsistent when watching him and when you read from the fan base and "experts"
I watched a few regular season game and the playoffs before he got hurt. Dudes were legitimately scared off from going in the paint and challenging him. Like DeAndre Jordan, just his presence along completely changes your defense for the better. I don't how people can find much fault with a player that grabs 23% of available rebounds (slight better than Jordan) and blocks 10% of the 2 point shots (almost double Jordan). There is no question he's worth a max deal for that production.
