Knecht doesn't seem like the defensive type of player the Blazers are targeting. Timelord will certainly play if healthy. Yeah he only played 20 games last year - but he was very effective when he played.
Except the players we have aren’t very good. Every season a few pieces get shuffled around, and every season the team is mediocre. Meanwhile, in OKC, where they lost three superstars several years ago, they’ve already rebuilt and become champions.
A lot of those rebuilding pieces were acquired because they had three superstars and not just one. I think we're rushing this rebuild, kind of stopping halfway through but if I remember correctly you're one of the guys on here against tanking. So how in the world are we supposed to get superstars???
develop them..like all small markets. Turn Deni and Tou into superstars. turn Scoot and Shae into them as well.
We got those last two guys by tanking. I was commenting on @Bingo Bango being against tanking before and now he's complaining that we're moving forward with players that he doesn't seem to think can be good enough. I'm ready for our team to go all out all season this upcoming season and see what we've got. I don't love the idea that both Jrue and Jerami could start but that hasn't happened yet so I'm willing to wait and see on that. I'm excited for this season. I really love our young core that you just mentioned of Scoot, Shae, Tou and Deni. I think we've got a really good old school big in Clingan and hey our front office with a guy at assistant GM who previously to coming here was considered one of the best scouts in media, maybe those guys are right about Yang and he'll be a big deal, something we've never seen before. Kind of a confusing time with the acquisition of Jrue and Jerami still being here but it's an exciting time as well. Hell we might not even get to see where Joe is trying to go with all of this if the new owner or ownership group just kick him to the curb as soon as they have control of the team. Interesting stuff but as always GO BLAZERS!!!
Just a cursory glance, but in looking at last season's 3 pt shooting, I noticed Knecht right there with Austin Reeves. And right there with 2pt shooting. Reeves was significantly better at the line and in getting there. Reeves the better playmaker. Knecht did not suck. Knecht has young guy flaws. The Lakers may overvalue Reeves, but he doesn't suck either just because his D has limitations. I like Reeves. For Grant + Murray + Reath = Knecht + Vanderbilt + Vincent (EC) + Kleber (EC) / They have Ayton, so Time Lord is less needed. But I do like RW going to the Lakers. After all the movement this summer, Cronin taking some time with Grant is fine. His p-opt and Holiday's line up nicely. Harsh judgments can wait a bit, IMHO.
Neither deni or tou are ever going to be superstars. Solid supporting roles yes, but people have to be realistic about superstar potential in people whose ceiling is good to great support player, to which there is nothing wrong with that There are no current or future superstar potential players on this team. We are still going to have to find them.
Toumani is 2nd team all NBA Defense as a 2nd year player. It's not wholly unreasonable to think he can become 1st team all NBA Defense ... regularly. Perhaps an all star? Squinting a bit to see all star, admittedly. Toumani has an unknown ceiling as his development at both ends is moving along.
I think Tou can have a season or more where he's the defensive player of the year. If he blows out everyone in the league at forced turnovers (steals+offensive fouls drawn) I would think that would get him the award... I actually guess it's a bit on us as a team. Tou probably would have been first team last season if he was doing what he did on a team that had a good record.
you're right...I fucked up. Here's the correction: that's a lot closer Sharpe vs Tatum: Sharpe vs Jalen Brown (Brown 22 in 3rd season) Sharpe vs Devin Booker: Sharpe's Achilles heel is his three point shooting. Not only the percentage, but he had way too much volume. 10.2 three's a game is way too much; should have been less than half that. That's especially true considering how good he was from two-point range. Notice that he was much better from that range than all those other guys. He really needs to work on his handles, with both hands, and study Derozan's game
The problem is Wemby is gunna be tough to beat for the DPOY. Maybe the minimum games played requirement will disqualify him as SA is usually conservative but he can win the award every year he's healthy
