Wish list for next year

[floppymoose]

Wish list: ship out all the vets for bad players + good picks. Sign JK to lead the tank.

Step 2: ?


Step 3: profit

[SpreeS]

N.Hayesas-Davisas Final4 MVP

[Onus]

I think okc is proving that you don’t necessarily need bigs to have a great defense. Yes we need another defensive big other than dray to replace looney but you can have an elite defense with length, smarts, activity from the perimeter. They swarm and attack the ball handler causing a bunch of turnovers. We really need to replace gp2, he just doesn’t have the defensive juice anymore.

[Impuniti]

So the guy Draymond defended last series is no longer dominating like he did. But when he played against Dray, he had his best PS series of his career and completely dominated him. If he can't defend his guy, what is the actual purpose that he's going to bring?

[Onus]

So the guy Draymond defended last series is no longer dominating like he did. But when he played against Dray, he had his best PS series of his career and completely dominated him. If he can't defend his guy, what is the actual purpose that he's going to bring?

But Dray wasn't really guarding Randle. He was guarding Rudy. TJD started on Randle. TJD couldn't guard randle. Jimmy wanted no part of Randle. Yes I know Dray said that Randle won the matchup against him, but it wasn't like he was guarding randle and had no answers for him. Dray was our best defender on Randle and our only rim protector, but he couldn't do both at the same time.

Part of the issue moving forward is that Jimmy can't guard bigger physical pfs. He couldn't guard Paolo, he couldn't guard JJJ, he didn't want to guard Randle. So if we have to put Dray on those guys then we're going to need another way to protect the rim, which Jimmy wasn't able to do against Ant. It's crazy how versatile of a defender Caruso is that he's guarding Randle, Jokic, and Ant.

[Crazy-Canuck]

I think okc is proving that you don’t necessarily need bigs to have a great defense. Yes we need another defensive big other than dray to replace looney but you can have an elite defense with length, smarts, activity from the perimeter. They swarm and attack the ball handler causing a bunch of turnovers. We really need to replace gp2, he just doesn’t have the defensive juice anymore.

They are just running the 2022 blueprint. Switching wings that can play up and shoot.
Dray is essentially wing size, but could defend 1 through 5.

After brown left, we ignored the wing position and went all in on guards.

[Onus]

I think okc is proving that you don’t necessarily need bigs to have a great defense. Yes we need another defensive big other than dray to replace looney but you can have an elite defense with length, smarts, activity from the perimeter. They swarm and attack the ball handler causing a bunch of turnovers. We really need to replace gp2, he just doesn’t have the defensive juice anymore.

They are just running the 2022 blueprint. Switching wings that can play up and shoot.
Dray is essentially wing size, but could defend 1 through 5.

After brown left, we ignored the wing position and went all in on guards.

Their "wings" aren't even really "wing sized." They're all 6'6'' or under.

The only players in their rotation above 6'6'' is Kenrich Williams, I Hart, Jaylin Williams, and Chet. Caruso being such a versatile defender at 6'5'' has been amazing.

I think we are missing a real poa defender, which GP2 has been but has fallen off dramatically

[vvoland]

Jaylin Williams would be a nice stealthy acquisition - I could see him slotting in as our starting center next year, and the team taking a huge jump as a result.

We saw what happened when Post offered some spacing next to Draymond and Butler - the offense was pretty magical. Williams is better than Post, particularly defensively.

OKC also has a roster crunch, with all of the good players they have, and the mountain of draft picks coming up. They’re going to have to consolidate or defer more picks to the future. So Williams (Jaylin, not Jalen) might be obtainable if we can offer them a future pick or, more likely, a swap or two.

That's a pretty decent idea for a cheap option at the 5 next year. He's a bit small for that role full time but we have enough people that he can split time with and, as alwasy, we'll likely close with Dray at 5.

[jozef]

I think okc is proving that you don’t necessarily need bigs to have a great defense.

Holmgren is 7-1

[Old_Blue]

I think okc is proving that you don’t necessarily need bigs to have a great defense.

Holmgren is 7-1

And Hartenstein is 7'0" / 250. So, I don't know what Onus is talking about.

[Onus]

I think okc is proving that you don’t necessarily need bigs to have a great defense.

Holmgren is 7-1

And Hartenstein is 7'0" / 250. So, I don't know what Onus is talking about.

Great so they have 2 players that are 7'. The rest of the roster (outside of 2 others in the rotation (6'8'' and 6'7'') is 6'6'' and under essentially. Hell the thunder played large chunks of the season without either of them. They even played in spurts without either of them against the Twolves in the last game.

[jozef]

Their "wings" aren't even really "wing sized." They're all 6'6'' or under.
The only players in their rotation above 6'6'' is Kenrich Williams, I Hart, Jaylin Williams, and Chet. Caruso being such a versatile defender at 6'5'' has been amazing.
I think we are missing a real poa defender, which GP2 has been but has fallen off dramatically

Hartenstein and Holmgren fill big man roles. The rest of the roster is really athletic and young. BTW Jaylen Williams has 7-2.25 wingspan. Only Moody and Kuminga are similar athletes.

[vvoland]

Holmgren is 7-1

And Hartenstein is 7'0" / 250. So, I don't know what Onus is talking about.

Great so they have 2 players that are 7'. The rest of the roster (outside of 2 others in the rotation (6'8'' and 6'7'') is 6'6'' and under essentially. Hell the thunder played large chunks of the season without either of them. They even played in spurts without either of them against the Twolves in the last game.

The point you're trying to make, which I'm not sure why blue and co isn't accepting, is that lou dort plays like he's 7ft tall and podz plays like he's 5 ft tall, despite being the same size. At least, when it comes to defense. On the glass, they're about the same height.

I would also argue, like Onus, that OKC's defense isn't because of the 7footers they deploy but because of all the guys they have under 6'6" that make it a nightmare to dribble against OKC. Caruso, Jdub, Wallace, Dort, Shai and co are the engine of that defense. Chet and Hartenstein are the players that make their defense go from 'great' to 'all time'

Does anyone really think that defense wouldn't be this good if they had an average center in Chet's place (e.g. Capela or Horford or Gafford)? Sure, their offense would suffer but would the be worse defensively? Probably not.

[Impuniti]

So the guy Draymond defended last series is no longer dominating like he did. But when he played against Dray, he had his best PS series of his career and completely dominated him. If he can't defend his guy, what is the actual purpose that he's going to bring?

But Dray wasn't really guarding Randle. He was guarding Rudy. TJD started on Randle. TJD couldn't guard randle. Jimmy wanted no part of Randle. Yes I know Dray said that Randle won the matchup against him, but it wasn't like he was guarding randle and had no answers for him. Dray was our best defender on Randle and our only rim protector, but he couldn't do both at the same time.

Part of the issue moving forward is that Jimmy can't guard bigger physical pfs. He couldn't guard Paolo, he couldn't guard JJJ, he didn't want to guard Randle. So if we have to put Dray on those guys then we're going to need another way to protect the rim, which Jimmy wasn't able to do against Ant. It's crazy how versatile of a defender Caruso is that he's guarding Randle, Jokic, and Ant.

That is not true. Sure a lot of the times, Dray was on "Rudy", but a lot of that was so he could get switched onto players with more offensive firepower. To WB the defense. A lot of that time that meant him switching to defend Randle, who absolutely embarrassed him over and over again. Now Randle is looking like NY Randle in the playoffs.

[Onus]

So the guy Draymond defended last series is no longer dominating like he did. But when he played against Dray, he had his best PS series of his career and completely dominated him. If he can't defend his guy, what is the actual purpose that he's going to bring?

But Dray wasn't really guarding Randle. He was guarding Rudy. TJD started on Randle. TJD couldn't guard randle. Jimmy wanted no part of Randle. Yes I know Dray said that Randle won the matchup against him, but it wasn't like he was guarding randle and had no answers for him. Dray was our best defender on Randle and our only rim protector, but he couldn't do both at the same time.

Part of the issue moving forward is that Jimmy can't guard bigger physical pfs. He couldn't guard Paolo, he couldn't guard JJJ, he didn't want to guard Randle. So if we have to put Dray on those guys then we're going to need another way to protect the rim, which Jimmy wasn't able to do against Ant. It's crazy how versatile of a defender Caruso is that he's guarding Randle, Jokic, and Ant.

That is not true. Sure a lot of the times, Dray was on "Rudy", but a lot of that was so he could get switched onto players with more offensive firepower. To WB the defense. A lot of that time that meant him switching to defend Randle, who absolutely embarrassed him over and over again. Now Randle is looking like NY Randle in the playoffs.

Yes dray was on Randle at times. But this was after he was in a groove and in rhythm. The bigger issue was that there was no one else on the team that could guard Randle at all other than dray.

[Impuniti]

But Dray wasn't really guarding Randle. He was guarding Rudy. TJD started on Randle. TJD couldn't guard randle. Jimmy wanted no part of Randle. Yes I know Dray said that Randle won the matchup against him, but it wasn't like he was guarding randle and had no answers for him. Dray was our best defender on Randle and our only rim protector, but he couldn't do both at the same time.

Part of the issue moving forward is that Jimmy can't guard bigger physical pfs. He couldn't guard Paolo, he couldn't guard JJJ, he didn't want to guard Randle. So if we have to put Dray on those guys then we're going to need another way to protect the rim, which Jimmy wasn't able to do against Ant. It's crazy how versatile of a defender Caruso is that he's guarding Randle, Jokic, and Ant.

That is not true. Sure a lot of the times, Dray was on "Rudy", but a lot of that was so he could get switched onto players with more offensive firepower. To WB the defense. A lot of that time that meant him switching to defend Randle, who absolutely embarrassed him over and over again. Now Randle is looking like NY Randle in the playoffs.

Yes dray was on Randle at times. But this was after he was in a groove and in rhythm. The bigger issue was that there was no one else on the team that could guard Randle at all other than dray.

Except that Dray could also not defend him. Nobody could, that's why Randle had the best PS series of his career and all of the sudden looks like a complete fraud only days later. Stop making excuses for Draymond, he was objectively garbage defensively in the Minny series. If he played to the standards we expect from him, the series goes at least to 6 and who knows what Steph we get back.

I have been all about keeping Draymond with the Warriors despite his issues, but this PS showed that's he's not worth 25m/year. Especially since Jimmy can do his 4v3 playmaker role once Steph gets doubled at half court.

[whatisacenter]

That is not true. Sure a lot of the times, Dray was on "Rudy", but a lot of that was so he could get switched onto players with more offensive firepower. To WB the defense. A lot of that time that meant him switching to defend Randle, who absolutely embarrassed him over and over again. Now Randle is looking like NY Randle in the playoffs.

Yes dray was on Randle at times. But this was after he was in a groove and in rhythm. The bigger issue was that there was no one else on the team that could guard Randle at all other than dray.

Except that Dray could also not defend him. Nobody could, that's why Randle had the best PS series of his career and all of the sudden looks like a complete fraud only days later. Stop making excuses for Draymond, he was objectively garbage defensively in the Minny series. If he played to the standards we expect from him, the series goes at least to 6 and who knows what Steph we get back.

I have been all about keeping Draymond with the Warriors despite his issues, but this PS showed that's he's not worth 25m/year. Especially since Jimmy can do his 4v3 playmaker role once Steph gets doubled at half court.

Dray is not a 25m/year player and Jimmy is not a 54m/year player.

[vvoland]

Yes dray was on Randle at times. But this was after he was in a groove and in rhythm. The bigger issue was that there was no one else on the team that could guard Randle at all other than dray.

Except that Dray could also not defend him. Nobody could, that's why Randle had the best PS series of his career and all of the sudden looks like a complete fraud only days later. Stop making excuses for Draymond, he was objectively garbage defensively in the Minny series. If he played to the standards we expect from him, the series goes at least to 6 and who knows what Steph we get back.

I have been all about keeping Draymond with the Warriors despite his issues, but this PS showed that's he's not worth 25m/year. Especially since Jimmy can do his 4v3 playmaker role once Steph gets doubled at half court.

Dray is not a 25m/year player and Jimmy is not a 54m/year player.

Jimmy certainly looked like one since he got to GS and stopped looking like it once he broke half his ass. Coincidence? I think not.

Dray can look like a 25M/yr player. In fact, he did look even more valuable than that in the Hou series, for long stretches, if not all 7 games. He did not look like that against the Wolves but I'm not yet willing to write him off.

[whatisacenter]

Except that Dray could also not defend him. Nobody could, that's why Randle had the best PS series of his career and all of the sudden looks like a complete fraud only days later. Stop making excuses for Draymond, he was objectively garbage defensively in the Minny series. If he played to the standards we expect from him, the series goes at least to 6 and who knows what Steph we get back.

I have been all about keeping Draymond with the Warriors despite his issues, but this PS showed that's he's not worth 25m/year. Especially since Jimmy can do his 4v3 playmaker role once Steph gets doubled at half court.

Dray is not a 25m/year player and Jimmy is not a 54m/year player.

Jimmy certainly looked like one since he got to GS and stopped looking like it once he broke half his ass. Coincidence? I think not.

Dray can look like a 25M/yr player. In fact, he did look even more valuable than that in the Hou series, for long stretches, if not all 7 games. He did not look like that against the Wolves but I'm not yet willing to write him off.

I'm not using Jimmy's tailbone bruise as an excuse against the Wolves. He looked like he had lost a step(explosion/burst) since he got to the Warriors.

Once defenders stopped biting at his pump fakes he became less impactful.

[vvoland]

Dray is not a 25m/year player and Jimmy is not a 54m/year player.

Jimmy certainly looked like one since he got to GS and stopped looking like it once he broke half his ass. Coincidence? I think not.

Dray can look like a 25M/yr player. In fact, he did look even more valuable than that in the Hou series, for long stretches, if not all 7 games. He did not look like that against the Wolves but I'm not yet willing to write him off.

I'm not using Jimmy's tailbone bruise as an excuse against the Wolves. He looked like he had lost a step(explosion/burst) since he got to the Warriors.

Once defenders stopped biting at his pump fakes he became less impactful.

The last 3 games before the injury, he really turned it on and became playoff jimmy. He put up shots, points, rebounds, assists and anything else you would want as we went 2-1 vs clippers, memphis, hou to end the season/start the playoffs. He then gets undercut (not an age or usage injury), breaks his ass, and never looks the same again. If you were expecting prime Butler, sure, he lost a step. I'll be happy with the guy that was putting up 30/9/6 on great efficiency and a ton of FTs against good teams.

So defenders were biting on his pump fake the first 14 years of his career and then learned to stay down in the spring of '25?