Pointgod wrote:kblo247 wrote:stan francisco wrote:Ingram and Lonzo are both defensive stars. Elite. Kobe broke out in his third year. I expect both Lonzo and Ingram to blow up on the league this fall.
Ask Lillard and McCollum what happens in the playoffs to guards who don’t play defense.
No to no-defense and ball-hog Kyrie.
If we have a Ball, Leonard, Ingram as our frontline defense, watch out. Add Nurkic/McGee and LBJ can slack on defense for the first 60 games. We’ll still run the break into a 2-3 seed for the post season.
Kobe was an all star in year 2 at 19, Ingram is 4th year trying to break out and Ball 3rd year trying to play enough games to equate to two seasons with shooting splits that make Fisher at the same stage of his career cringe. And to be clear at their age Kobe was a multiple time all sad, on way to being a champion, an all nba player both ways, and out played shaq in game 7. That's a laughable comparison to make because if you set the bar at Kobe, they should have made an all star team already and BI should be competing for all nba by now at this age instead of one of the worst RPMs there are out there for starters
Ask Ball and Ingram how to win games with guards who can't make free throws or shoot threes and stay hurt .. Oh yeah you the team end up in the lotto like they have been every year of their career and them in trade talks.
Ingram is not even elite defensively. No statistic shows him as an elite defender, it's laughable. He's not Tayshaun Prince. He should try to be but he gets his ass it up regularly. Butler is still better than him both ways and has been the past two years, and will be the next 2. A better defender and scorer. A better playmaker too
And do not compare CJ and Dame to Kyrie. Dame has been swept out the playoffs for a reason. He's a loser like a modern day Van Exel. He can show flashes versus a dummy Westbrook. But versus a real talent who is smarter than him, sees a play better, and can get in his head he's going to piss on himself which is what happened vs Curry and Rondo. Hell Rondo schooled him this past season here too while Dame kicked Zo's ass. Dame reminds me of Nick vs Stockton, a choker and front runner whose bravado goes away. Kyrie on the other hand has irrational confidence and does **** like he did to GS in the finals and game 7. Yeah Boston was a bad look, but Stevens should wear the majority of that blame because he could not coach talent or ego
Your horrible take on Dame aside. With all this being said about Ingram and Ball, what’s the incentive for other teams to give up allstars for them? At this point I think they can be very good complimentary players like Draymond Green but are they the guys you want to build your franchise around?
My take on Dame is he chokes when he’s in a series with a pg with IQ. Rondo and curry played checkers vs him and he looked like he was trying to figure out chess. He’s choked horribly in the sweeps. You can’t even say he was comparable to Steph or Rondo. Same thing happened when Van Exel played Stockton in the 90s, all that swagger, all that talk went in the closet and he got embarrassed.
Where did I say give up an all star for Ingram or Ball? I said getting rid of them both for cap space and picks would be a blessing if you know Kyrie and Jimmy want to sign as free agents this summer. I never said they would get you an all star, they aren’t worth it for any team without cash, picks, and other players attached.
If there is even a hint behind closed doors where they tell you hey we will come if you open up the most possible for both of us, do it. You are upgrading two positions then if you get that word. Straight up start calling Phoenix and Chicago in those situations to give them away for picks with no regrets. Hell you cut bait on Bullocks cap hold, and Bonga too if they tell you we will come but want the most possible you can give the two of us. It’s not even a thing you question in the scenario because Kuz and Hart are on such cheap contracts and ready to be the starting 4 and sixth man. Just retain Wagner and offer Caruso a min nba contract and renew Williams two way deal. You then have your exemption to use for a big or McGee.
Kyrie / Caruso
Butler / Hart / Kyrie
Lebron / Hart / Butler
Kuzma / Lebron
McGee / Williams / Wagner / Kuzma
Is a better rotation than last year. The free throw shooting alone wins you at least 5 more games
