2016 Official Speculation Thread

[PennytoShaq]

I'd love to have Noah here. I think he is a real target for us, but it's no guarantee he will not chase a ring somewhere.

[OrlandoNed]

As long as Noah comes at a reasonable price, bring the Gator back home.

[Blue_and_Whte]

People still overreacting to Biyombo. I wouldn't mind him but hes playing over his head right now. Good for him and Toronto though

He is certainly playing amazing basketball right now but this is the first time in his career that it has seemed sustainable. Lets see if can play like this next season. Maybe something finally clicked for him, time will tell.

He's playing in a contract year, like Fournier, so this was inevitable.

[Nyce_1]

initially, i was for strictly letting him come off the bench, but I wouldn't mind him starting next to Vuc.

EP/VO/AG/Vuc/Noah

Then when Evans/Mario sub in, Noah goes out, and we go small ball with AG at PF.

EP/EF/Mario/AG/Vuc

Then bring Noah & PF (Nicholson, #11 pick) back in, Vuc & AG out.

Watson/VO/Mario/PF (Davis)/Noah

[OrlandoNed]

initially, i was for strictly letting him come off the bench, but I wouldn't mind him starting next to Vuc.

EP/VO/AG/Vuc/Noah

Then when Evans/Mario sub in, Noah goes out, and we go small ball with AG at PF.

EP/EF/Mario/AG/Vuc

Then bring Noah & PF (Nicholson, #11 pick) back in, Vuc & AG out.

Watson/VO/Mario/PF (Davis)/Noah

Vuc. Can. Not. Play. Power. Forward. He. Is. Too. Damn. Slow.

[seeingstars]

Lol that t-mac thread killed me.

[seeingstars]

Why did tracy blame us for his shortened career?

[seeingstars]

Unless the price tag made absolutely no sense, I'd overpay a little to sign Noah. He's exactly what this team lacks in multiple categories, including heart, fire, will, heart, drive, desire, heart, effort, intensity and heart. I'd rather add him to this roster than Horford.

Dudes got a lot of heart too!

[Skin]

initially, i was for strictly letting him come off the bench, but I wouldn't mind him starting next to Vuc.

EP/VO/AG/Vuc/Noah

Then when Evans/Mario sub in, Noah goes out, and we go small ball with AG at PF.

EP/EF/Mario/AG/Vuc

Then bring Noah & PF (Nicholson, #11 pick) back in, Vuc & AG out.

Watson/VO/Mario/PF (Davis)/Noah

Vuc. Can. Not. Play. Power. Forward. He. Is. Too. Damn. Slow.

If you look at what Nyce laid out, he didn't have Vuc at PF in a full time capacity. In a certain type of line up, we see coaches get creative to put different looks on the floor all the time. Vuc is no slower than LaMarcus Aldridge.

[OrlandoNed]

initially, i was for strictly letting him come off the bench, but I wouldn't mind him starting next to Vuc.

EP/VO/AG/Vuc/Noah

Then when Evans/Mario sub in, Noah goes out, and we go small ball with AG at PF.

EP/EF/Mario/AG/Vuc

Then bring Noah & PF (Nicholson, #11 pick) back in, Vuc & AG out.

Watson/VO/Mario/PF (Davis)/Noah

Vuc. Can. Not. Play. Power. Forward. He. Is. Too. Damn. Slow.

If you look at what Nyce laid out, he didn't have Vuc at PF in a full time capacity. In a certain type of line up, we see coaches get creative to put different looks on the floor all the time. Vuc is no slower than LaMarcus Aldridge.

Aldridge's all star career has proven that he isn't a liability at PF. Forget about PF, Vucevic hasn't even proven he's not a liability at his natural position at center. Vuc has to learn to walk before he runs.

[yoyojw17]

As long as Noah comes at a reasonable price, bring the Gator back home.

We can obviously both agree with this one! hahahaha

Hope it happens before Coach Donovan tries to meddle with our plans. lol... Yes GO OKC.... because of .... GO GATORS

[Melvinlocker]

initially, i was for strictly letting him come off the bench, but I wouldn't mind him starting next to Vuc.

EP/VO/AG/Vuc/Noah

Then when Evans/Mario sub in, Noah goes out, and we go small ball with AG at PF.

EP/EF/Mario/AG/Vuc

Then bring Noah & PF (Nicholson, #11 pick) back in, Vuc & AG out.

Watson/VO/Mario/PF (Davis)/Noah

Vuc. Can. Not. Play. Power. Forward. He. Is. Too. Damn. Slow.

If you look at what Nyce laid out, he didn't have Vuc at PF in a full time capacity. In a certain type of line up, we see coaches get creative to put different looks on the floor all the time. Vuc is no slower than LaMarcus Aldridge.

If we are talking straight line speed then yes, but LaMarcus covers way more ground on defense. He has better verticality as well.

[Mike1989]

initially, i was for strictly letting him come off the bench, but I wouldn't mind him starting next to Vuc.

EP/VO/AG/Vuc/Noah

Then when Evans/Mario sub in, Noah goes out, and we go small ball with AG at PF.

EP/EF/Mario/AG/Vuc

Then bring Noah & PF (Nicholson, #11 pick) back in, Vuc & AG out.

Watson/VO/Mario/PF (Davis)/Noah

I am not sure I want Noah to be honest. While I feel that Vuc could develop a three point shot to help with floor spacing, the issue with that starting line up is that Payton, Oladipo, Gordon, and Noah are not consistently good shooters. There would be little in the way of floor spacing and teams would simply dare that line up to shoot. If we want to bring in Noah, slide Vuc to power forward, and have Gordon at small forward - then we would need to find a new starting point guard who is a better shooter and start Fournier or Hezonja (if Fournier leaves) at shooting guard, because then that would help give us the shooting and floor spacing needed to pair with that front court. But to be honest, I don't see Noah and Vuc being a good fit, or that starting line up working.

For me, we would need to start Fournier or Hezonja (if Fournier leaves) because that would give us an extra shooter who could help provide some floor spacing, or we may need to consider a new starting point guard who can shoot, if we want to keep Go

Vuc. Can. Not. Play. Power. Forward. He. Is. Too. Damn. Slow.

Perhaps, but if he develops a consistent three point shot to help with spacing the floor, there is no reason why he can't play some power forward if we want to bring in a more athletic center who can upgrade our rim protection (eg Whiteside, Biyombo etc). Vuc does have a lovely touch on his shots and if Al Horford can add a three point shot late in his career, there is no reason why Vuc can't do the same.

Is he too slow? Perhaps, but it depends on what style of team we intend to be. If we want to run a Warriors type system, he is definitely too slow. But if we are going to try to replicate the style of play that Vogel's Pacers played at, or like the Hornets do (they sometimes pair Jefferson and Zeller at their PF and C positions), or Memphis (they have Randolph and Gasol), then in that more defensively orientated system Vuc could play some power forward if we bring in a more athletic center because Vuc has the offensive game to score and be a threat and create mismatches.

[Magic_Kingdom]

Just saw a video on Twitter of players warming up at CAA pro day. Elf is there and dribbles to top of key and pulls up for an awkward jumper that bricks out. His form still looks wrong to me. It's like he's still pulling it from the side of his head instead of squaring up in front of his face, which is what he was working on with that shooting coach.

Somewhere Scott Skiles is laughing.

[woosah]

Just saw a video on Twitter of players warming up at CAA pro day. Elf is there and dribbles to top of key and pulls up for an awkward jumper that bricks out. His form still looks wrong to me. It's like he's still pulling it from the side of his head instead of squaring up in front of his face, which is what he was working on with that shooting coach.

Somewhere Scott Skiles is laughing.

No one cares if that half bipolar dodo laughs. Probably still frowns while he laughs. Rome wasn't built in a day so Elf will be alright.

[Skin]

Just saw a video on Twitter of players warming up at CAA pro day. Elf is there and dribbles to top of key and pulls up for an awkward jumper that bricks out. His form still looks wrong to me. It's like he's still pulling it from the side of his head instead of squaring up in front of his face, which is what he was working on with that shooting coach.

Somewhere Scott Skiles is laughing.

His shot is among the biggest worries this team faces. We cannot ignore PGs in the draft, FA or trade for this reason.

[Skin]

Vuc. Can. Not. Play. Power. Forward. He. Is. Too. Damn. Slow.

If you look at what Nyce laid out, he didn't have Vuc at PF in a full time capacity. In a certain type of line up, we see coaches get creative to put different looks on the floor all the time. Vuc is no slower than LaMarcus Aldridge.

Aldridge's all star career has proven that he isn't a liability at PF. Forget about PF, Vucevic hasn't even proven he's not a liability at his natural position at center. Vuc has to learn to walk before he runs.

Don't get me wrong. I'm the forefront leader of the trade Vuc bandwagon. I'm just trying to salvage any usefulness out of him that I can. ...and even if he remains a defensive liability at PF, that's ok because offensively he is ok there. ...and I'd rather have a weak defender at PF than C. Playing Vuc at PF with a defensive C is a lot better option because Vuc can focus on funneling his guy. Nobody in their right mind is funneling anything to the middle if Vuc is our C.

[Nyce_1]

Twenty-seven is an eerie age for musicians. There are so many rock icons who died right before their 28th birthdays—even an abbreviated list includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse and Jim Morrison—there’s even a name for them. They are The 27 Club.

It turns out 27 is a special age in the NBA, too, except in the opposite way. This is the age when basketball players break through.

It doesn’t matter how old they were when they entered the NBA or how long they have been playing professional basketball by the time they turn 27. It’s increasingly a rule of the NBA that the age of 27 is when stars are finally ready to win titles on teams built around them. That’s how old Isiah Thomas was in 1989, Michael Jordan was in 1991 and LeBron James was in 2012. That was even the age of Stephen Curry last year.

This year’s NBA playoffs have two more players who would add themselves to The 27 Club with their first championships. They are Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and they happen to play for the same team.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-27-is-the-nbas-magic-number-1464044114

If true, and all goes well, we've got about 4 yrs to hit our stride.

[Skin]

Twenty-seven is an eerie age for musicians. There are so many rock icons who died right before their 28th birthdays—even an abbreviated list includes Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse and Jim Morrison—there’s even a name for them. They are The 27 Club.

It turns out 27 is a special age in the NBA, too, except in the opposite way. This is the age when basketball players break through.

It doesn’t matter how old they were when they entered the NBA or how long they have been playing professional basketball by the time they turn 27. It’s increasingly a rule of the NBA that the age of 27 is when stars are finally ready to win titles on teams built around them. That’s how old Isiah Thomas was in 1989, Michael Jordan was in 1991 and LeBron James was in 2012. That was even the age of Stephen Curry last year.

This year’s NBA playoffs have two more players who would add themselves to The 27 Club with their first championships. They are Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and they happen to play for the same team.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/why-27-is-the-nbas-magic-number-1464044114

If true, and all goes well, we've got about 4 yrs to hit our stride.

26/27... That's a prime age for baseball players too. I look at that when I do fantasy baseball drafts.

[Mc-o]

initially, i was for strictly letting him come off the bench, but I wouldn't mind him starting next to Vuc.

EP/VO/AG/Vuc/Noah

Then when Evans/Mario sub in, Noah goes out, and we go small ball with AG at PF.

EP/EF/Mario/AG/Vuc

Then bring Noah & PF (Nicholson, #11 pick) back in, Vuc & AG out.

Watson/VO/Mario/PF (Davis)/Noah

Vuc. Can. Not. Play. Power. Forward. He. Is. Too. Damn. Slow.

not to mention we would be playing two starters out of position because AG is a pf who can play sf but at this point shouldn't start at sf