Lauri:' I can make the comeback'

[coldfish]

I have brought up Korver multiple times. We are looking there at a guy who runs his ass off in game off ball and is one of the best shooters of all time. Despite that, he really never got a lot of shots per game. Its really, really hard for a guy who can't create his own shot to get a lot of FGA.

Lauri has really become a black hole. As the posters above have said, he seems to think he is entitled (as a 35% 3p shooter) to get a massive volume of shots. Whenever he touches the ball nowadays, it goes up most of the time.

I really wish someone would get into his head and convince him that its his job to create offense, not field goal attempts. Regardless, its to the point where when he isn't on shooting he hurts the team on both defense AND offense.

[TankForAyton]

I have brought up Korver multiple times. We are looking there at a guy who runs his ass off in game off ball and is one of the best shooters of all time. Despite that, he really never got a lot of shots per game. Its really, really hard for a guy who can't create his own shot to get a lot of FGA.

Lauri has really become a black hole. As the posters above have said, he seems to think he is entitled (as a 35% 3p shooter) to get a massive volume of shots. Whenever he touches the ball nowadays, it goes up most of the time.

I really wish someone would get into his head and convince him that its his job to create offense, not field goal attempts. Regardless, its to the point where when he isn't on shooting he hurts the team on both defense AND offense.

This about sums it up.

So, again, it’s painfully obvious his future is on another team .. why is he still on the team?

I understand the wait and see approach with the new regime on a lot of our players - but with Lauri I think he was a guy they needed to make a decision on and trade in the draft for anything.

Nothing worse than drafting a player high for a rebuild - still being stuck in the gutter of the rebuild & watching a high lottery pick walk for nothing. I can’t envision a scenario where he resigns here / has any future on this team.

[GoBlue72391]

I think we all just need to pump the breaks. Not just on Lauri and WCJ, but on everyone and everything. It's been 2 preseason games and a week and some change of this team practicing/playing together after not doing so for over 9 months...with an entirely new coaching staff and offensive and defensive system... It's WAY too early to make any kind of assumption about anything based off what we've seen so far.

WCJ has been dreadful so far. That is absolutely true. But the sample size is 2 preseason games and around a week's worth of full team practices playing a new role in a new system under a new coaching staff. So yeah, he's played like ass but...I don't care?

The same goes for Lauri. I thought he was perfectly fine the first game. He showed a well rounded game, scoring 3 times on drives he created for himself (one was negated by a BS flop from Boogie Cousins, and he brought back the drag step which we very rarely saw last season), he shot 3-5 from 3, his on-ball D was really solid, and most importantly he looked engaged out there. His stat line from the 2nd game was incredibly ugly and he lazily settled for 3s far too often, but he had a very nice lob to WCJ off a 4/5 P&R (something I want to see a lot more of) and his on-ball defense and energy level was again very solid. If he makes a couple of those 3s then there would be a lot less of "the sky is falling" comments right now.

Most importantly, he looks more active and engaged, and unless my eyes are playing tricks on me, he also looks slimmer and quicker, kind of like he did during his first 2 seasons.

Better for the guys to work through their issues now rather than when the games actually matter. Now I'm not saying EVERYTHING will be straightened out by the time the regular season stats, but we can't go all schizo and flip flop on our perspective of a player from game to game. What happens if he goes out and drops 25 and 12 next game? Then he's a lock for Most Improved Player, one game after being labeled a poor man's Ryan Anderson, right?

We all knew this was going to be a wait-and-see/evaluation year, so I suggest we all do just that. If they're still playing like this a month from now then we can start to freak out.

Sent from my SM-S757BL using RealGM mobile app

[ImSlower]

I think we have almost universally bagged on him so much, that he'll come out and drop 28 or something the first game. Which would be great. It would be a great problem for the Bulls if he stays hot the first two months of the season. We all keep labelling him as a streaky shooter; come on Lauri, give us a nice hot streak to open the season.

[dougthonus]

I have brought up Korver multiple times. We are looking there at a guy who runs his ass off in game off ball and is one of the best shooters of all time. Despite that, he really never got a lot of shots per game. Its really, really hard for a guy who can't create his own shot to get a lot of FGA.

Lauri has really become a black hole. As the posters above have said, he seems to think he is entitled (as a 35% 3p shooter) to get a massive volume of shots. Whenever he touches the ball nowadays, it goes up most of the time.

I really wish someone would get into his head and convince him that its his job to create offense, not field goal attempts. Regardless, its to the point where when he isn't on shooting he hurts the team on both defense AND offense.

I've said it before, but Lauri is Luol Deng without the defense. That's at most a low rung starting caliber player, maybe the 5th or 6th best player on a title team. He could maybe be the 3rd or 4th best scorer, but because he adds so little else, his total impact would be less.

What's that worth? Certainly not more than 15M per year and possibly closer to the 10M per year range IMO. I'm sure he will probably get more than 10M, but then let that be from some other team. No need to clog your cap with one dimensional role players when you are in the bottom 20% of the league in terms of talent. That's something you do when you are close to getting somewhere. On the Bucks, maybe he'd be worth 15M, but we aren't the Bucks.

[coldfish]

I have brought up Korver multiple times. We are looking there at a guy who runs his ass off in game off ball and is one of the best shooters of all time. Despite that, he really never got a lot of shots per game. Its really, really hard for a guy who can't create his own shot to get a lot of FGA.

Lauri has really become a black hole. As the posters above have said, he seems to think he is entitled (as a 35% 3p shooter) to get a massive volume of shots. Whenever he touches the ball nowadays, it goes up most of the time.

I really wish someone would get into his head and convince him that its his job to create offense, not field goal attempts. Regardless, its to the point where when he isn't on shooting he hurts the team on both defense AND offense.

I've said it before, but Lauri is Luol Deng without the defense. That's at most a low rung starting caliber player, maybe the 5th or 6th best player on a title team. He could maybe be the 3rd or 4th best scorer, but because he adds so little else, his total impact would be less.

What's that worth? Certainly not more than 15M per year and possibly closer to the 10M per year range IMO. I'm sure he will probably get more than 10M, but then let that be from some other team. No need to clog your cap with one dimensional role players when you are in the bottom 20% of the league in terms of talent. That's something you do when you are close to getting somewhere. On the Bucks, maybe he'd be worth 15M, but we aren't the Bucks.

Agreed on a lot of counts. I'll point out that Mirotic bounced around and ended up in Milwaukee. He did OK during the regular season but his last two playoff games were 9 minutes and a DNP. He was really struggling. So . . . . I'm not even sure this type of guy works for the Bucks.

It would be an interesting thread to compare Mirotic and Lauri. Statistically, I think Mirotic has the better numbers.

[MGB8]

I have brought up Korver multiple times. We are looking there at a guy who runs his ass off in game off ball and is one of the best shooters of all time. Despite that, he really never got a lot of shots per game. Its really, really hard for a guy who can't create his own shot to get a lot of FGA.

Lauri has really become a black hole. As the posters above have said, he seems to think he is entitled (as a 35% 3p shooter) to get a massive volume of shots. Whenever he touches the ball nowadays, it goes up most of the time.

I really wish someone would get into his head and convince him that its his job to create offense, not field goal attempts. Regardless, its to the point where when he isn't on shooting he hurts the team on both defense AND offense.

I've said it before, but Lauri is Luol Deng without the defense. That's at most a low rung starting caliber player, maybe the 5th or 6th best player on a title team. He could maybe be the 3rd or 4th best scorer, but because he adds so little else, his total impact would be less.

What's that worth? Certainly not more than 15M per year and possibly closer to the 10M per year range IMO. I'm sure he will probably get more than 10M, but then let that be from some other team. No need to clog your cap with one dimensional role players when you are in the bottom 20% of the league in terms of talent. That's something you do when you are close to getting somewhere. On the Bucks, maybe he'd be worth 15M, but we aren't the Bucks.

That's a really interesting comparison - but I don't think it's accurate. For one, it took years for Deng to develop a semi-reliable 3; Lauri walked in with one. Secondly, while Lauri may not be some great creator, he has a significantly better handle than Deng did. At the same time, Deng probably had better touch around the basket and had a higher offensive BBall IQ - not to mention a much higher defensive basketball IQ.

Cold's comparison to Mirotic is more apt - but Niko also had a better basketball IQ and had more touch and toughness inside. Lauri I think still has an edge in terms of attacking the basket.

If you want a blast from the past, Noccioni might be the guy who Lauri should be modelling his offensive game after. He also was a lot tougher on both ends - and he was more frenetic (sometimes out of control) - but Lauri really could use increased toughness / aggression / energy. When he plays with energy, he plays so much better.

Right now, the best case for Lauri seems to be a sort of a poor man's / post-injury Gallinari - which is still an above average starter. But that's best case. We'll see how much Donovan and other staff can help him. But, frankly, he seems "too nice," and not tough enough mentally. And in the modern NBA, I'm not sure that he has the defensive quickness to play the 4. He could be a small-ball, offensive 5 (no paint game other than finishing - modestly above average rebounder and very mild rim defense coupled with range and offensive versatility) - but that would have its own issues.

I'd honestly be fine with a "pump and dump" with him, maybe for a 3&D type wing, allowing Williams to play more "4."

[chefo]

I have brought up Korver multiple times. We are looking there at a guy who runs his ass off in game off ball and is one of the best shooters of all time. Despite that, he really never got a lot of shots per game. Its really, really hard for a guy who can't create his own shot to get a lot of FGA.

Lauri has really become a black hole. As the posters above have said, he seems to think he is entitled (as a 35% 3p shooter) to get a massive volume of shots. Whenever he touches the ball nowadays, it goes up most of the time.

I really wish someone would get into his head and convince him that its his job to create offense, not field goal attempts. Regardless, its to the point where when he isn't on shooting he hurts the team on both defense AND offense.

I've said it before, but Lauri is Luol Deng without the defense. That's at most a low rung starting caliber player, maybe the 5th or 6th best player on a title team. He could maybe be the 3rd or 4th best scorer, but because he adds so little else, his total impact would be less.

What's that worth? Certainly not more than 15M per year and possibly closer to the 10M per year range IMO. I'm sure he will probably get more than 10M, but then let that be from some other team. No need to clog your cap with one dimensional role players when you are in the bottom 20% of the league in terms of talent. That's something you do when you are close to getting somewhere. On the Bucks, maybe he'd be worth 15M, but we aren't the Bucks.

That's a really interesting comparison - but I don't think it's accurate. For one, it took years for Deng to develop a semi-reliable 3; Lauri walked in with one. Secondly, while Lauri may not be some great creator, he has a significantly better handle than Deng did. At the same time, Deng probably had better touch around the basket and had a higher offensive BBall IQ - not to mention a much higher defensive basketball IQ.

Cold's comparison to Mirotic is more apt - but Niko also had a better basketball IQ and had more touch and toughness inside. Lauri I think still has an edge in terms of attacking the basket.

If you want a blast from the past, Noccioni might be the guy who Lauri should be modelling his offensive game after. He also was a lot tougher on both ends - and he was more frenetic (sometimes out of control) - but Lauri really could use increased toughness / aggression / energy. When he plays with energy, he plays so much better.

Right now, the best case for Lauri seems to be a sort of a poor man's / post-injury Gallinari - which is still an above average starter. But that's best case. We'll see how much Donovan and other staff can help him. But, frankly, he seems "too nice," and not tough enough mentally. And in the modern NBA, I'm not sure that he has the defensive quickness to play the 4. He could be a small-ball, offensive 5 (no paint game other than finishing - modestly above average rebounder and very mild rim defense coupled with range and offensive versatility) - but that would have its own issues.

I'd honestly be fine with a "pump and dump" with him, maybe for a 3&D type wing, allowing Williams to play more "4."

I'd be ecstatic if Lauri becomes a 7' Miro, but he's not and will probably never get there. Mirotic was the biggest victim of Bulls' circumstance over the last 10 years. Got drafted, Thibs did not want to play him much, as he had Jo, Taj and Gasol ahead of him. When everybody went down and Thibs HAD to play rookie Miro, he kicked butt, and not because he was super hot from 3. The next year rather than reward him, the Bulls drafted Bobby to play 20 min at his exact position, while still having Taj, Jo and Pau.

Miro had some of the most consistent splits on the entire team--you knew he'd give you 19/9 per 36 on 36-37% from 3. His final year here where he destroyed the tank, he was a 22PER and at 24/9 per 36. That's ALL-NBA, if given time and opportunity... which the Bulls had no intention of giving him, as we now know.

To add to that, Miro was a VASTLY better team defender than Lauri. They are not in the same Zip code in terms of defensive awareness, and that's despite being quite a bit smaller than Lauri.

Overall, Miro was always a big net plus player--whether on good teams, bad teams, mediocre teams, etc.

I wish Lauri had Niko's aggression and ball awareness--he'd be an all-star candidate year-in and out.

In terms of physical traits, Niko had much more nimble feet on O and on D, and may actually have been longer, despite his shorter stature. Miro was nowhere near as athletic vertically as Lauri, or as fast in a straight line. The point being, they were vastly different players, with pretty much their common denominator being that they are both tall PFs from Europe that can shoot high volume of 3s.

Lauri needs to be aggressive and look to score when he's in because otherwise there's no effin' point of having him eat up 30 min /game.

[sco]

I have brought up Korver multiple times. We are looking there at a guy who runs his ass off in game off ball and is one of the best shooters of all time. Despite that, he really never got a lot of shots per game. Its really, really hard for a guy who can't create his own shot to get a lot of FGA.

Lauri has really become a black hole. As the posters above have said, he seems to think he is entitled (as a 35% 3p shooter) to get a massive volume of shots. Whenever he touches the ball nowadays, it goes up most of the time.

I really wish someone would get into his head and convince him that its his job to create offense, not field goal attempts. Regardless, its to the point where when he isn't on shooting he hurts the team on both defense AND offense.

I've said it before, but Lauri is Luol Deng without the defense. That's at most a low rung starting caliber player, maybe the 5th or 6th best player on a title team. He could maybe be the 3rd or 4th best scorer, but because he adds so little else, his total impact would be less.

What's that worth? Certainly not more than 15M per year and possibly closer to the 10M per year range IMO. I'm sure he will probably get more than 10M, but then let that be from some other team. No need to clog your cap with one dimensional role players when you are in the bottom 20% of the league in terms of talent. That's something you do when you are close to getting somewhere. On the Bucks, maybe he'd be worth 15M, but we aren't the Bucks.

That's a really interesting comparison - but I don't think it's accurate. For one, it took years for Deng to develop a semi-reliable 3; Lauri walked in with one. Secondly, while Lauri may not be some great creator, he has a significantly better handle than Deng did. At the same time, Deng probably had better touch around the basket and had a higher offensive BBall IQ - not to mention a much higher defensive basketball IQ.

Cold's comparison to Mirotic is more apt - but Niko also had a better basketball IQ and had more touch and toughness inside. Lauri I think still has an edge in terms of attacking the basket.

If you want a blast from the past, Noccioni might be the guy who Lauri should be modelling his offensive game after. He also was a lot tougher on both ends - and he was more frenetic (sometimes out of control) - but Lauri really could use increased toughness / aggression / energy. When he plays with energy, he plays so much better.

Right now, the best case for Lauri seems to be a sort of a poor man's / post-injury Gallinari - which is still an above average starter. But that's best case. We'll see how much Donovan and other staff can help him. But, frankly, he seems "too nice," and not tough enough mentally. And in the modern NBA, I'm not sure that he has the defensive quickness to play the 4. He could be a small-ball, offensive 5 (no paint game other than finishing - modestly above average rebounder and very mild rim defense coupled with range and offensive versatility) - but that would have its own issues.

I'd honestly be fine with a "pump and dump" with him, maybe for a 3&D type wing, allowing Williams to play more "4."

You bring up a great question. If we get rid of Lauri, what would we replace him with?

Rightly or wrongly, I will assume Lauri is gone too and one of our forwards is PWill. I don't want to label him, but let's say he becomes a guy who can be a playmaking forward who is an average 3pt shooter and capable in the mid-range and the paint, and a very good defender who can guard opponents best forward. If we have 2 guards who are capable ball handlers and 3pt shooters and a below-average 3pt shooting C, what are we looking for from that other forward?

I guess the answer would be a more perimeter oriented scoring guy but probably more of a lower volume shooter, who is an above average, but not necessarily elite defender. Ironically, that sounds like Otto. That said, our primary objective needs to be to find an allstar player and just upgrade our overall talent.

[dougthonus]

That's a really interesting comparison - but I don't think it's accurate. For one, it took years for Deng to develop a semi-reliable 3; Lauri walked in with one. Secondly, while Lauri may not be some great creator, he has a significantly better handle than Deng did. At the same time, Deng probably had better touch around the basket and had a higher offensive BBall IQ - not to mention a much higher defensive basketball IQ.

I really only meant to compare the impact of their offense. They are both guys that primarily shoot jumpers and attack closeouts occasionally. They can get you points in volume but they don't create their own shots, so the value of that offense is much lower. You saw it completely disappear when the Bulls played Miami and needed a secondary shot creator next to Rose. Lauri is that type of scorer.

People often accuse Zach of being empty calories, but Zach actually creates a lot of offense. Lauri is true empty calories in that he only takes the shot, but also needs someone else to do at least half the work in creating the opportunity for him.

You mentioned Noc later, but one thing that struck me about both Noc and Deng is that both these guys complained about the team being too selfish even though they had the lowest assist rates on the team. That was because both guys relied on other people to do the work and get them the ball in position to score to get their offense going. Neither of these guys was moving the ball much either, but they were end points for shots / attacks, not starting points that could get other guys going.

We often talk about players as being 3 level scorers (3 point, mid range, at the rim) and Lauri is a 3 level scoring end point. That's what separates him from a pure catch and shoot guy. He still can attack a close out or pull up from mid range and that's why he can get some volume to his points without the creation aspect.

However, when looking at value, the fact that he can't create for himself or for others means that his value as an offensive cog is somewhat limited to 3rd option, because you need at least two options that can create for themselves and create for others first.

[sco]

That's a really interesting comparison - but I don't think it's accurate. For one, it took years for Deng to develop a semi-reliable 3; Lauri walked in with one. Secondly, while Lauri may not be some great creator, he has a significantly better handle than Deng did. At the same time, Deng probably had better touch around the basket and had a higher offensive BBall IQ - not to mention a much higher defensive basketball IQ.

I really only meant to compare the impact of their offense. They are both guys that primarily shoot jumpers and attack closeouts occasionally. They can get you points in volume but they don't create their own shots, so the value of that offense is much lower. You saw it completely disappear when the Bulls played Miami and needed a secondary shot creator next to Rose. Lauri is that type of scorer.

People often accuse Zach of being empty calories, but Zach actually creates a lot of offense. Lauri is true empty calories in that he only takes the shot, but also needs someone else to do at least half the work in creating the opportunity for him.

You mentioned Noc later, but one thing that struck me about both Noc and Deng is that both these guys complained about the team being too selfish even though they had the lowest assist rates on the team. That was because both guys relied on other people to do the work and get them the ball in position to score to get their offense going. Neither of these guys was moving the ball much either, but they were end points for shots / attacks, not starting points that could get other guys going.

We often talk about players as being 3 level scorers (3 point, mid range, at the rim) and Lauri is a 3 level scoring end point. That's what separates him from a pure catch and shoot guy. He still can attack a close out or pull up from mid range and that's why he can get some volume to his points without the creation aspect.

However, when looking at value, the fact that he can't create for himself or for others means that his value as an offensive cog is somewhat limited to 3rd option, because you need at least two options that can create for themselves and create for others first.

I would think the logical comparison is McDermott. A supposed 3pt shooter without much ability to generate his own shot, and just a mediocre 3pt shooter his first few years in the league, and a guy that is a negative on the defensive end. Now McDermott eventually developed his 3pt shot, but is now largely a role player.

[Louri]

And here we have Mirotic comparison again.. I think only reason why there is so many Finnish peeps here defending Lauri is fact that he is still raw player. Mirotic was 23 years old at his rookie year. Before Bulls he was Spanish league MVP, Spanis cup and supercup winner, all-euroleague second team, spanish league domestic player of the year, 2x EUROLEAGUE rising star.... Then we have Lauri who played really nice rookie year and even better 2nd year.. and his background is finnish 2nd league and 1 year in Arizona. That's why I don't even know why they are still mentioned in same sentence when you look their potential and ceiling. I think Donovan might finally make Lauri bloom. If they choose to let go and trade Lauri, that's fine too. I've heard there is some good teams interested already.

[dougthonus]

I would think the logical comparison is McDermott. A supposed 3pt shooter without much ability to generate his own shot, and just a mediocre 3pt shooter his first few years in the league, and a guy that is a negative on the defensive end. Now McDermott eventually developed his 3pt shot, but is now largely a role player.

The difference to me, in Lauri's favor, is that I don't think McDermott is really a three level scoring end point. I don't think he's a great job to attack a closeout like Lauri is. However, he projected as a much better shooter too.

[DroseReturnChi]

his on-ball D was really solid, and most importantly he looked engaged out there. His stat line from the 2nd game was incredibly ugly and he lazily settled for 3s far too often, but he had a very nice lob to WCJ off a 4/5 P&R (something I want to see a lot more of) and his on-ball defense and energy level was again very solid. If he makes a couple of those 3s then there would be a lot less of "the sky is falling" comments right now.

Just stop it. Most view Lauri as below average defender and worse than Lavine so I guess they are right from majority vote.

[dougthonus]

And here we have Mirotic comparison again.. I think only reason why there is so many Finnish peeps here defending Lauri is fact that he is still raw player. Mirotic was 23 years old at his rookie year. Before Bulls he was Spanish league MVP, Spanis cup and supercup winner, all-euroleague second team, spanish league domestic player of the year, 2x EUROLEAGUE rising star.... Then we have Lauri who played really nice rookie year and even better 2nd year.. and his background is finnish 2nd league and 1 year in Arizona. That's why I don't even know why they are still mentioned in same sentence when you look their potential and ceiling. I think Donovan might finally make Lauri bloom. If they choose to let go and trade Lauri, that's fine too. I've heard there is some good teams interested already.

Similarities between the two:
1: Tall PFs expected to be stretch fours
2: Both disappointed as 3 point shooters
3: Both excelled attacking closeouts instead
4: Neither can create shots off the dribble effectively

Differences:
1: Lauri's a little taller
2: Mirotic was a better fundamental defender (though had more experience)

[DroseReturnChi]

People often accuse Zach of being empty calories, but Zach actually creates a lot of offense. Lauri is true empty calories in that he only takes the shot, but also needs someone else to do at least half the work in creating the opportunity for him.

Woah there. theres a thing called guard and bigs and WCJ would not look human to you according to your logic.
Lauri is the guy that wants to play GS style offense but the rest is holding him back. Go check his national team highlights.

[dougthonus]

Woah there. theres a thing called guard and bigs and WCJ would not look human to you according to your logic.

I have no idea what it means that WCJ would not look human to me.

Lauri is the guy that wants to play GS style offense but the rest is holding him back. Go check his national team highlights.

If you mean play next to two to three superstar level offensive players? Yeah, he'd be fine as the fourth/fifth option on the floor. Not sure how that contradicts anything he said. Not sure what his national team highlights are going to indicate, they are irrelevant as there's 2 seasons of NBA tape on him.

[Louri]

And here we have Mirotic comparison again.. I think only reason why there is so many Finnish peeps here defending Lauri is fact that he is still raw player. Mirotic was 23 years old at his rookie year. Before Bulls he was Spanish league MVP, Spanis cup and supercup winner, all-euroleague second team, spanish league domestic player of the year, 2x EUROLEAGUE rising star.... Then we have Lauri who played really nice rookie year and even better 2nd year.. and his background is finnish 2nd league and 1 year in Arizona. That's why I don't even know why they are still mentioned in same sentence when you look their potential and ceiling. I think Donovan might finally make Lauri bloom. If they choose to let go and trade Lauri, that's fine too. I've heard there is some good teams interested already.

Similarities between the two:
1: Tall PFs expected to be stretch fours
2: Both disappointed as 3 point shooters
3: Both excelled attacking closeouts instead
4: Neither can create shots off the dribble effectively

Differences:
1: Lauri's a little taller
2: Mirotic was a better fundamental defender (though had more experience)

It's all about talent and ceiling. If Lauri would have those trophies in Europe and would be 26 years old now like Mirotic at his 4th year, then it would be totally different situation. Prob AK and crew have already seen potential and will base extension on that. If they see that higher ceiling and potential to crow.. if they think they can release that full potential, then they will pay enough. If not, then they will let Lauri walk.

[GoBlue72391]

his on-ball D was really solid, and most importantly he looked engaged out there. His stat line from the 2nd game was incredibly ugly and he lazily settled for 3s far too often, but he had a very nice lob to WCJ off a 4/5 P&R (something I want to see a lot more of) and his on-ball defense and energy level was again very solid. If he makes a couple of those 3s then there would be a lot less of "the sky is falling" comments right now.

Just stop it. Most view Lauri as below average defender and worse than Lavine so I guess they are right from majority vote.

Stop what? I never said Lauri is an above average defender and I never said anything about Zach at all. I don't care about the "majority vote." Consensus opinion is hardly infallible.

Lauri's help defense and overall defensive IQ leaves a lot to be desired, but his on-ball defense is more than acceptable for his size and position. He looks far more active and engaged on that end of the floor so far this preseason. I'm confident he can eventually become at least a neutral defender, which I think he mostly already was prior to last season when he seemed less mobile.

He won't ever protect the rim or shut anyone down, but he can get to a level where he won't kill his team on that end of the court either. That's good enough if he's able to reach his offensive potential or anywhere close to it.

Sent from my SM-S757BL using RealGM mobile app

[RoseTheFuture22]

Of the 'core' guys he is the one I am easily the most concerned about right now. Coming out of college he was billed as a flamethrower with a quick release who shot 40% from 3. While I am glad that there are other parts of his offensive game aside from shooting, like others have mentioned 35%-36% isn't going to cut it especially on mostly open shots.

If he can't get the 3 point percentage up as a 4 he doesn't offer much else as a playmaker or a defender which screams bench player to me. Unless they start playing him as more of a 5