Yes. But Baldwin has come out and admitted to being a prima donna and owned it. Sounds like he learned from his experiences and has grown up.
I know you say dream, but no way either of those trade ideas are even remotely plausible. Might as well form dream a lineup with LeBron listed.
The Love trade could be very realistic. A pick and a young player might be all it takes. The Blazers have been mentioned as a possible trade partner for Cleveland. The Kawhi trade is me hoping that they're not getting good offers because he's basically Paul George 2.0. He says he wants to go to LA. His trade value isn't great. Supposedly the Lakers and Boston won't offer fair value. So CJ could be this years Oladipo.
Remember when McMillan ruined rookies by mandating they develop defense before offense? Shooting was last priority in their minds, so they lost their touch. Olshey and Stotts emphasize offense. The disadvantages are obvious, but no one discusses an advantage: Rookies play confidently, not shyly like Webster, Nolan Smith, etc. It launches their careers soundly, without faltering as some past rookies. Anfernee "Tiny the Kid" Simons looks good in Summer League because 1) The Kid makes his shots and 2) he brings the ball downcourt with adequate proto-PG skills and court vision (McCollum flunked that test in his first Summer League, making it our most confused SL team ever, so that I started posting, "He's no Lillard"). I like what I'm seeing from Tiny, as long as I don't look at his svelte legs and tight shorts. I hereby pin onto his jersey a coveted official jlprk "He Will Be Something Someday" badge.
Yes, I expected the Exception Nitpicker Defense. Did I say "all"? It takes a committed status quo defender to defend the status quo of the previous decade.
When Trent gets the ball in the paint, he's a black hole like McCollum. Tiny shows rudimentary PG skill, but not Trent. He'll look to pass more, I hope.
You offered two players as an example, Webster and Nolan Smith, I offered two players that counters that. Hardly an exception or nitpicking.
So now, I have to go through the McMillan years and post a list of rookies. I checked all his rookies before posting above, but didn't write them down. You want me to go back, write the whole list instead of the sample of 2 I picked to be concise, and make it the thread's new issue. Fuck it, I'm onto other things. The cave rescue is starting. In other news...I'm getting more comfortable with Reddit and have used your recommended thread to watch both Summer League games. Okay, I'm off to my cave.
I was going to bring that up too. He has acknowledged his early attitude issues, and it really appears he has his head on straight. If anything, he's more determined and focused than ever. That's good for Wade and that's good for the Blazers. I think it's a perfect fit and he'll be here a while.
