No Plumlees, no problems?
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Might even argue it's better.
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Garza got drafted...
I like Petrusev as a draft pick. Kid can score and apparently now has developed some consistent three-point range.
The Adriatic League is no joke, and Petrusev dominated it.
Bassey to Philly too, apparently. With Embiid, Bassey, and Petrusev, Dwight Howard's short tenure with the Sixers is probably over.
(I like the 76ers draft a lot.)
maybe Dwight can go back to the Lakers....just looked at their roster, after the Westbrook trade, they will have 4 guys under contract next season....and I assume Gasol is still considering retiring. Then they have Alfonso McKinnie on a non-guaranteed deal. Sure they will bring back Caruso and THT....and maybe do something with Schroder's rights....but they are going to need a lot of cheap labor.
Knicks pick Jericho Sims is a sneaky good choice. He has a real shot to stick with the team all season as a backup.
I'm holding out hope that B-ball Paul can develop into a solid stretch-4. I agree that Dwight probably won't, and shouldn't, be back. The guy had some great games and moments backing up Embiid. But he also, too often, did incredibly dumb things at exactly the wrong time.
Well, I do not hate the Sixers draft. Really like Springer's overall game and both the 2nd-round bigs were productive in college. Petrusev doesn't appear to be a Euro-stash pick, so that's good if he's kept.
Edit: Reports now coming in that Petrusev will be a draft-and-stash. Ick.
Knee-jerk (emphasis on jerk) reactions on draft night:
1. Raptors had an opportunity, then overthought it.
Barnes should be a fine player. Suggs is better at just about everything on the basketball court. He's also a winner and as tough (and clutch) a competitor as you can find. You don't overthink that draft, but they did. Then, to compound matters, they drafted an extreme project (Dalano Banton) who's primary strength seems to be that he's Canadian and David Johnson, who was... fine... as a college player. None of the three of them can shoot much at all. I don't get it.
2. Clippers swung hard... and missed.
Again, in a draft filled with shooter, LA managed to find three non-shooters in Keon Johnson, Jason Preston, and BJ Boston. For a team that knows the importance of shooting well, this draft was shocking.
3. Houston added some big-time upside pieces.
Green might be the best scorer in the draft. Sengun showed the best low-post moves of anyone in the draft and arguably had the greatest season of anyone as well. Garuba might be the best defender. And Christopher might have the most speed from end to end (and is a sneaky great scorer himself). All four have All-Star potential. Really like the depth of quality pieces the Rockets were able to acquire.
4. Nets had low-key solid draft day...
Brooklyn added a whole bunch of help via the Landry Shamet trade, then added Cam Thomas as instant offense off the bench and Day'Ron Sharpe as a PF/C prospect who'll get plenty of minutes. They later added a couple interesting pieces in the second round too-- defense-first Kessler Edwards and MCW's brother (really!) Marcus Zegarowski, a shooter from Creighton with underrated athleticism
5. ... But Detroit had the BEST draft day.
Cade Cunningham is going to be very, very good. He might even be great-- and very soon. Hometown kid Livers, when he gets healthy, is probably a rotational 3 and D guy who might end up an elite shooter. Garza, as everybody's All-American, has already lost a ton of weight and is working on re-making himself as a rotation and glue guy. Guys that smart tend to carve out roles for themselves. The Pistons suddenly have lots of depth and at least a couple of big-time scorers. They might even hit .500 next year.
I'm not very familiar with Mr. Bontemps' work but I like the cut of his jib here:
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/...ld-predictionsQuote:
Bontemps: The Washington Wizards not only moved Russell Westbrook without having to give up a first-round pick, or take on bad money, but also netted a first-rounder in the deal. Just terrific work by general manager Tommy Sheppard, who turned arguably the worst contract in the league right now, John Wall, into long-term flexibility -- and did so without being at a draft-pick deficit. On the other hand for the Lakers, let's just say I don't think this is going to work out, as Westbrook heads to his fourth team in as many seasons.
He use to be with WAPO.....has always had issues with the Lakers. He was a hater when they were winning 20 games a year with Jordan Clarkson, DLo and Randle. Not really related, but he has to go into the podcast HOF for the time he fell asleep on a podcast. He use to be a visiting contributor to Windhorst's ESPN NBA podcast with Pelton and others. Bontemps was in his hotel and literally fell asleep during the podcast....he was snoring to the point where they had the end the podcast.
I expect Westbrook to make a lot of the doubters look silly.
And his need to have the ball in his hands will hurt them.
So will his nonexistent jumper.
Westbrook's going to win the Lakers some games, no doubt.
He'll lose them a few too.
The key is that the latter don't outweigh the former on a consistent basis.
Early in Washington, he was largely trash. Once he figured out how to play with Beal, they went on a monster tear.
He's a Jeckyll and Hyde guy, at this point in his career.
If they can get him to buy-in and wreck havoc without the ball in his hands, this could be great for the Lakers. Effectively, he needs to dial down his offensive usage while keeping his engine running at the same break-neck pace.
He's never done that and has never shown signs of doing anything on offense that doesn't generate stats. He plays bad defense and requires the ball on offense. If they could convince him to move without the basketball and generally de-ephasize scoring, he'd be an incredible No. 3 behind Bron and AD. Folks have been saying this for years though, and he hasn't changed a lick.
Throw in the natural decline--last year, he posted his second lowest WS/48 (rookie season) and his second lowest TS% (last OKC year)-- and the fact that he Lakers also will have absolutely no depth. It's going to be a mess.
My thoughts are the Lakers remaining healthy is far more crucial than the fit issues of Russ. If those 3 can play 70ish games each next season, my worries are significantly less. Also a big key will be what type of player they can get with the TPMLE....they are hoping someone worth far more, and if they can S&T Schroder for something of value.
PG13, Harden and Beal have taken the bulk of the late shots on his most recent teams. Russ doesn't take no shots, but he does try to get the ball to his designated scorer dudes. Teams sometimes try to get Russ to take open deep shots and he falls for it, though sometimes it bites the other team in the ass. Yet I do think he'll lighten the ballhandling load on LeBron and I'd bet the over on AD's scoring totals this season.