esqtvd wrote:Clemenza wrote:esqtvd wrote:Settle down, Mike Smith. I
t's just that putting up some numbers in a lopsided game for a bad team because of injury isn't anywhere near the goalposts. Remember, this is another two-way guy, which means the whole league PASSED on him. He's still undersized at 6'9" and never developed a 3-ball. In his place, everybody was going apespit for 6'11" Kai Jones, who, BTW, is not really playable at this point.
10/09/2024
Jones posted 13 points (6-8 FG, 1-2 FT), five rebounds and a blocked shot across 22 minutes in Tuesday's 115-106 win over the Nets.
10/12/2024
Kai Jones had FIVE BLOCKS and the GAME-WINNING alley-oop with 2.2 seconds left to give the @laclippers the 101-99 win! He finished with 8 PTS, 6 REB, 5 BLK, 2 STL, and 4 dunks off the bench.
[img]
Its not that the entire league passed on him, its that the league is packed to the rafters with players and access to players like never before. Back during Lob City Era we were dying for a wing player, any kind of wing player. in 2024 we can filter through, tryout, acquire 15-20 wing players without even making a trade or a draft. All these teams with a boatload of 1st round picks are dumping players they just drafted a year or two ago because they'll have 3 more picks in the next draft, six players to give a tryout to from the G League, and five players to scout from Europe, S. America, and Africa.
No picks but yet we can still get Bones, Kai, Moussa, BBJ, Miller, KPJ, Coffey, etc. for almost nothing. That was far from the case when we had CP3, Blake, and DJ. So its not "the whole league passed on him" scenario anymore, its a glut of players to sift through now. Moussa is on a two-way because the majority of teams already had a starting PF/Center, two 6'9" guys on the bench, and four more on their G League team. The same with BBJ.The Spurs have 6-7 wings players and have to develop the kid out of UConn, Castle. Its hard to make a NBA roster now if you don't have the hype or Bron isn't your father.
And what does Kai Jones have to do with this conversation? Absolutely nothing
Because Diabate is not a wing, he's a big. And at 6-9, not a very big one because he can't spread the floor---he's got no 3-ball. And the league DID pass on him, just like they passed on BBJ. And Kai IS a big. 6-11. Obviously the Clips chose him over Diabate and that's what he has to do with it.
The problem with almost all the other people you mentioned is they're not NBA wings either. They're tweeners, and the world is full of them. Coffey gets minutes because he's 6-7 and Mann has been ass so far. KPJ gets minutes because he put up 19.3/5.3/5.7 at age 22 and is only four months older than Jordan and Kobe. At 6-6, BBJ does check the boxes, but the Clippers have said defense is paramount in their new philosophy and BBJ doesn't check that particular box.
The goalpost is playing rotation minutes fulltime somewhere. PLAYOFF rotation minutes at that. Or if it's a crummy team, starting. I think that's a fair standard. So let's see, shall we?
When I say wings I mean the 6'5"-6'9" who can play either the 2 or 3 positions and sometimes the 4. Tweeners, wings, small forwards, etc. And I'll include Kai in this convo but you can't use his numbers to discredit Moussa, that's my beef and goal post moving claims. And technically Bamba is supposed to be Zu's backup. And its too easy and post moving to say he played against a "bad team" when 90% of the East is .500 or below. Your Sixers are 2-9 for chr*st's sake. We can do that type of thing all day, but at point something has to stick or be acknowledged for what it is. I get it.. for example if a young player does well, "Oh that was a Summer League game", next, "That was a G League game", next level, "They have injuries", even further, "That team is terrible". I'll to do at times myself, but there has to be a limit somewhere.
And I'll still stand by a limited number of roster spots instead of saying everyone passed on a player like BBJ or Moussa. Technically yes they passed on them, but in reality they already had that position filled. Just like us, we could use a point guard or another big but we're tweener-winged to death. I was just looking at fit more than anything and we could even cut Moussa game total in half from 12 points, 15 rebounds, 1 block to 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 1 block and that would be great backing up Zu!
The game and acquiring younger talent has changed drastically. Mossa and BBJ would've been godsends for a Lob City team, but in 2024 we can safely waive them with no problem and then add Kai Jones, KPJ, Cam Christie, and Trentyn Flowers? That's unthinkable 4-5 years ago. That's why -OKC owning our picks and all- I still think we can navigate through this because its easy to get 2nd chance first round talent now. Your guy Markelle Fultz isn't even on a team. Lonnie Walker is going to Europe. Its hard to make this league now and find an open roster spot somewhere period.
