Anthony Edwards Thread: Part Two (Read First Post)

[shrink]

I love how Ant is so happy when his teammates succeed.

Read on Twitter

[kidfozzy]

I love how Ant is so happy when his teammates succeed.

Read on Twitter

ANT’s Filipino accent is niceee.

[younggunsmn]

Good post, but notice the word superstars plural. I disagree with you that KAT's potentially being a superstar is long gone. There are lots of talented teams but we have more than most if not all those other teams. We can do big things. I still see Rudy returning to DPoY form or close to it. Maybe McDaniel's wins the DPoY.

i don't see KAT returning to even what he was 3 years ago while playing next to Rudy, there just isn't enough space, on the floor or in the offense.

I think to be a superstar you have to effect the game on both ends, and KAT after all these years is still a minus defensively.

The defense tool is one thing that is going to get Ant a ton more respect around the league.
If we develop a 2nd superstar, I think the guy with the best chance is Jaden.

[KGdaBom]

Good post, but notice the word superstars plural. I disagree with you that KAT's potentially being a superstar is long gone. There are lots of talented teams but we have more than most if not all those other teams. We can do big things. I still see Rudy returning to DPoY form or close to it. Maybe McDaniel's wins the DPoY.

i don't see KAT returning to even what he was 3 years ago while playing next to Rudy, there just isn't enough space, on the floor or in the offense.

I think to be a superstar you have to effect the game on both ends, and KAT after all these years is still a minus defensively.

The defense tool is one thing that is going to get Ant a ton more respect around the league.
If we develop a 2nd superstar, I think the guy with the best chance is Jaden.

Most people don't think of Superstar for defense. Kat will score minimum of 23 per game with 10 rebounds a few assists. The stats will be there. If Jaden can become a Pippen that would be awesome, but I doubt he ever in his career will average 20 PPG. He is more our Rodman for defense. Hopefully Rudy can return to form. Maybe he can't and we traded for him right when he fell off the face of the earth. We are probably the most talented team in the NBA. I hope we can live up to the talent level.

[frankenwolf]

Good post, but notice the word superstars plural. I disagree with you that KAT's potentially being a superstar is long gone. There are lots of talented teams but we have more than most if not all those other teams. We can do big things. I still see Rudy returning to DPoY form or close to it. Maybe McDaniel's wins the DPoY.

i don't see KAT returning to even what he was 3 years ago while playing next to Rudy, there just isn't enough space, on the floor or in the offense.

I think to be a superstar you have to effect the game on both ends, and KAT after all these years is still a minus defensively.

The defense tool is one thing that is going to get Ant a ton more respect around the league.
If we develop a 2nd superstar, I think the guy with the best chance is Jaden.

Most people don't think of Superstar for defense. Kat will score minimum of 23 per game with 10 rebounds a few assists. The stats will be there. If Jaden can become a Pippen that would be awesome, but I doubt he ever in his career will average 20 PPG. He is more our Rodman for defense. Hopefully Rudy can return to form. Maybe he can't and we traded for him right when he fell off the face of the earth. We are probably the most talented team in the NBA. I hope we can live up to the talent level.

IDK KG, I think that Jaden CAN score 20 ppg. The thing is, he doesn't have to with this team set up. If the Timberwolves move on from Gobert or KAT and move Jaden to PF, I think he automatically becomes the second leading scorer on the team, ala Pippen. Or, we can play Jaden like KD and see how that turns out.

[minimus]

i don't see KAT returning to even what he was 3 years ago while playing next to Rudy, there just isn't enough space, on the floor or in the offense.

I think to be a superstar you have to effect the game on both ends, and KAT after all these years is still a minus defensively.

The defense tool is one thing that is going to get Ant a ton more respect around the league.
If we develop a 2nd superstar, I think the guy with the best chance is Jaden.

Most people don't think of Superstar for defense. Kat will score minimum of 23 per game with 10 rebounds a few assists. The stats will be there. If Jaden can become a Pippen that would be awesome, but I doubt he ever in his career will average 20 PPG. He is more our Rodman for defense. Hopefully Rudy can return to form. Maybe he can't and we traded for him right when he fell off the face of the earth. We are probably the most talented team in the NBA. I hope we can live up to the talent level.

IDK KG, I think that Jaden CAN score 20 ppg. The thing is, he doesn't have to with this team set up. If the Timberwolves move on from Gobert or KAT and move Jaden to PF, I think he automatically becomes the second leading scorer on the team, ala Pippen. Or, we can play Jaden like KD and see how that turns out.

Another big factor in McDaniels development is NAW (and hopefully Troy Brown and little bit Conley) sharing duties as PoA defenders. This way Jaden can play more as help defender, last season too often Finch had to bench him early when he had quick fouls in first half of the game because he was our only reliable PoA defender. He might save more energy for offense and play more as creator.

[KGdaBom]

Most people don't think of Superstar for defense. Kat will score minimum of 23 per game with 10 rebounds a few assists. The stats will be there. If Jaden can become a Pippen that would be awesome, but I doubt he ever in his career will average 20 PPG. He is more our Rodman for defense. Hopefully Rudy can return to form. Maybe he can't and we traded for him right when he fell off the face of the earth. We are probably the most talented team in the NBA. I hope we can live up to the talent level.

IDK KG, I think that Jaden CAN score 20 ppg. The thing is, he doesn't have to with this team set up. If the Timberwolves move on from Gobert or KAT and move Jaden to PF, I think he automatically becomes the second leading scorer on the team, ala Pippen. Or, we can play Jaden like KD and see how that turns out.

Another big factor in McDaniels development is NAW (and hopefully Troy Brown and little bit Conley) sharing duties as PoA defenders. This way Jaden can play more as help defender, last season too often Finch had to bench him early when he had quick fouls in first half of the game because he was our only reliable PoA defender. He might save more energy for offense and play more as creator.

It would be awesome if he becomes Pippen. No way in hell that happens IMO.

[BlacJacMac]

I don't think he'll ever be the ballhandler/creator that Pippen was, but McDaniels has been making huge strides in those developments each year. And I think he still has some serious unlocked potential in those areas.

He's a better scorer than Pippen was at 22, and looks to already be a better shooter than Scottie ever was.

[thinktank]

Most people don't think of Superstar for defense. Kat will score minimum of 23 per game with 10 rebounds a few assists. The stats will be there. If Jaden can become a Pippen that would be awesome, but I doubt he ever in his career will average 20 PPG. He is more our Rodman for defense. Hopefully Rudy can return to form. Maybe he can't and we traded for him right when he fell off the face of the earth. We are probably the most talented team in the NBA. I hope we can live up to the talent level.

IDK KG, I think that Jaden CAN score 20 ppg. The thing is, he doesn't have to with this team set up. If the Timberwolves move on from Gobert or KAT and move Jaden to PF, I think he automatically becomes the second leading scorer on the team, ala Pippen. Or, we can play Jaden like KD and see how that turns out.

Another big factor in McDaniels development is NAW (and hopefully Troy Brown and little bit Conley) sharing duties as PoA defenders. This way Jaden can play more as help defender, last season too often Finch had to bench him early when he had quick fouls in first half of the game because he was our only reliable PoA defender. He might save more energy for offense and play more as creator.

I wouldn’t expect Troy Brown to be a serviceable point of attack defender. Over his career he hasn’t been a positive defender and that’s been mostly against bench units.

[minimus]

IDK KG, I think that Jaden CAN score 20 ppg. The thing is, he doesn't have to with this team set up. If the Timberwolves move on from Gobert or KAT and move Jaden to PF, I think he automatically becomes the second leading scorer on the team, ala Pippen. Or, we can play Jaden like KD and see how that turns out.

Another big factor in McDaniels development is NAW (and hopefully Troy Brown and little bit Conley) sharing duties as PoA defenders. This way Jaden can play more as help defender, last season too often Finch had to bench him early when he had quick fouls in first half of the game because he was our only reliable PoA defender. He might save more energy for offense and play more as creator.

I wouldn’t expect Troy Brown to be a serviceable point of attack defender. Over his career he hasn’t been a positive defender and that’s been mostly against bench units.

Maybe I should word it better, but being a PoA defender against bench player after NAW is exactly what I want from Brown. Prince was an active but bad defender in MIN. He fouled too much, he didn't contribute on defensive glass and he was not a positive help defender. If Brown can hit 38% three point shots and let say don't foul as much as Prince while being PoA defender and get some rebounds, he will be a huge upgrade for our bench.

[younggunsmn]

Good post, but notice the word superstars plural. I disagree with you that KAT's potentially being a superstar is long gone. There are lots of talented teams but we have more than most if not all those other teams. We can do big things. I still see Rudy returning to DPoY form or close to it. Maybe McDaniel's wins the DPoY.

i don't see KAT returning to even what he was 3 years ago while playing next to Rudy, there just isn't enough space, on the floor or in the offense.

I think to be a superstar you have to effect the game on both ends, and KAT after all these years is still a minus defensively.

The defense tool is one thing that is going to get Ant a ton more respect around the league.
If we develop a 2nd superstar, I think the guy with the best chance is Jaden.

Most people don't think of Superstar for defense. Kat will score minimum of 23 per game with 10 rebounds a few assists. The stats will be there. If Jaden can become a Pippen that would be awesome, but I doubt he ever in his career will average 20 PPG. He is more our Rodman for defense. Hopefully Rudy can return to form. Maybe he can't and we traded for him right when he fell off the face of the earth. We are probably the most talented team in the NBA. I hope we can live up to the talent level.

I think there's a lot of untapped potential with Jaden offensively. He has such a smooth shot and great length and quickness combo, was an effective rim attacker at times last year.
He also seems to have a bit of ice in his veins in big moments.

I don't think he's any less talented than say Andrew Wiggins offensively, and Andrew was a 25PPG scorer on a bad team.
He just expends so much energy on defense and had 3 very ball dominant teammates plus trying to force offensive chemistry with Rudy last year. Maybe the change in PG from D-Lo to Conley will allow him more shots this year.
If Finch wants to ease him into a bigger role, running some plays for him with the 2nd unit would be a good start, but the foul trouble makes that hard to do consistently.

These are the big decisions the front office has to make over the next 12 months as they make big decisions on trades and contracts, whose star will rise and whose will fall.
Difficult to see the future is.
I don't think it's at all out of the question that he's seen as our 2nd best player/valuable asset/part of the future by next offseason.

[thinktank]

Another big factor in McDaniels development is NAW (and hopefully Troy Brown and little bit Conley) sharing duties as PoA defenders. This way Jaden can play more as help defender, last season too often Finch had to bench him early when he had quick fouls in first half of the game because he was our only reliable PoA defender. He might save more energy for offense and play more as creator.

I wouldn’t expect Troy Brown to be a serviceable point of attack defender. Over his career he hasn’t been a positive defender and that’s been mostly against bench units.

Maybe I should word it better, but being a PoA defender against bench player after NAW is exactly what I want from Brown. Prince was an active but bad defender in MIN. He fouled too much, he didn't contribute on defensive glass and he was not a positive help defender. If Brown can hit 38% three point shots and let say don't foul as much as Prince while being PoA defender and get some rebounds, he will be a huge upgrade for our bench.

I’m high on Brown, but I’m conscious of the gripes of Lakers fans about his D.

[Klomp]

I wouldn’t expect Troy Brown to be a serviceable point of attack defender. Over his career he hasn’t been a positive defender and that’s been mostly against bench units.

Maybe I should word it better, but being a PoA defender against bench player after NAW is exactly what I want from Brown. Prince was an active but bad defender in MIN. He fouled too much, he didn't contribute on defensive glass and he was not a positive help defender. If Brown can hit 38% three point shots and let say don't foul as much as Prince while being PoA defender and get some rebounds, he will be a huge upgrade for our bench.

I’m high on Brown, but I’m conscious of the gripes of Lakers fans about his D.

Brown is probably a little better off-ball than on-ball, but he's not a negative POA defender in my mind. And remember, he's essentially our third-team POA defender at best, when you consider that McDaniels and NAW (and possibly Edwards) are ahead of him in that assignment's pecking order.

I thought this was interesting (I believe the post was made in late January): https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/10jwfoo/troy_brown_jr_on_defense/

TBJ quietly has a better Defensive Rating(111.9) than these other forwards this season so far:

PJ Tucker(112.3)
Jimmy Butler(112.2)
OG Anunoby(112.4)
Lebron (112.5)
Gary Trent Jr. (113)
Mikal Bridges(113.7)
Pascal Siakam(113.7)

Defensive Box Plus/Minus wise, he's a 0.4 rating which he sits #62 in the top 100 players league-wide and other solid defenders with the same DBPM rating? It's reassuring:

Jayson Tatum
Marcus Smart
OG Anunoby
Dejounte Murray
Torrey Craig

We should be throwing him at the other teams best scorer every night, unless it's a bigman. Dude's earned his minutes, doesn't shoot unless he's open and slashes the open lane offensively.

[shrink]

One of the worst Anthony Edwards threads I’ve ever read

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2319406

[Klomp]

One of the worst Anthony Edwards threads I’ve ever read

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2319406

Yikes

[Calinks]

Laker fans are so delusional they really think they got a max contract-worthy top 5 SG willing to sign with them for peanuts just to have the honor of coming off their bench.

[TimberKat]

One of the worst Anthony Edwards threads I’ve ever read

https://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=2319406

Yikes

I posted this in the thread:

The poll basically saying we prefer player with higher efficiency over a player who scores a few more points when all things are equal. However, as many posters had pointed out most things aren’t equal (there is a lot more context, dimensions, and vector to a player that those stats). If you are the GM of the Lakers and David Khan offers to trade you Ant for Reaves + a future #1, how may people would say “No” to that? Is Ant or Reaves going to give Lakers a better chance to win a title?

Reaves is a good player and I don’t know if he ever going to be an NBA all star. I think he is going to be somewhere between Buddy Hield and Steve Nash (not using Klay Thompson as ceiling as I don’t think Reaves will ever be a good defender).

Ant is not an efficient player right now (he is also only 21, two years younger than Reaves). He definitely needs to improve in efficiency, see the floor at the macro level, and contribute without the ball on offense. He is operating at a level higher than Reaves right now.

The FIBA stats is misleading when used to conclude one player is better than another. There is a reason why Ant plays 36 mins per game vs Reaves’ 28.8, why Ant is selected to all star team, and why Ant avg 24.6 vs Reaves 13.0 besides taking more shots.
Using the same “extrapolation” and assumption method, looking at Craig Hodges’ stats from 1984-1989, you can conclude he is a better player than Michael Jordan when scale up his minute to Jordan’s level (don’t take this one literally, I didn’t bother to do the math). Using Derrick Williams’ college stats vs Ant’s college stats, you can conclude Williams will be a better NBA Pro than Ant. So, eye test is important in basketball to ensure we don’t miss use stats. While Reaves is a good and efficient player, he still has a long way to go to be able to carry a team.

[shrink]

Nice, and I loved the Craig Hodges reference!

No doubt Reaves is a decent player, but what annoys me is that, like Hodges, his high FG% is only possible because defenses are geared to stop the better players, which may get him some open looks.

[Calinks]

Nice, and I loved the Craig Hodges reference!

No doubt Reaves is a decent player, but what annoys me is that, like Hodges, his high FG% is only possible because defenses are geared to stop the better players, and may get him some open looks.

This is one of the main reasons why I always hated the "Empty stats" derogatory term that gets thrown at star players on bad teams so often. I agree that certain players can inflate their numbers on bad teams to degrees and I agree that some players are more impactful than others but a players putting up big numbers, regardless of the team, is still doing an impressive feat.

You can say those are empty stats because the team they are on sucks or they are a ball hog, or whatever, but at the same time, every team in the league knows, that players is going to taking those shots, every team is gameplaning to stop that player from taking those shots, and they can't.

People said it about Love, they are saying it about Towns, they say it about Westbrook now too. You may not like those players for whatever reason but you can't deny that they are gifted players who at one time carried an entire offense on their backs.

[KGdaBom]

Nice, and I loved the Craig Hodges reference!

No doubt Reaves is a decent player, but what annoys me is that, like Hodges, his high FG% is only possible because defenses are geared to stop the better players, and may get him some open looks.

This is one of the main reasons why I always hated the "Empty stats" derogatory term that gets thrown at star players on bad teams so often. I agree that certain players can inflate their numbers on bad teams to degrees and I agree that some players are more impactful than others but a players putting up big numbers, regardless of the team, is still doing an impressive feat.

You can say those are empty stats because the team they are on sucks or they are a ball hog, or whatever, but at the same time, every team in the league knows, that players is going to taking those shots, every team is gameplaning to stop that player from taking those shots, and they can't.

People said it about Love, they are saying it about Towns, they say it about Westbrook now too. You may not like those players for whatever reason but you can't deny that they are gifted players who at one time carried an entire offense on their backs.

Bringing up the old empty stats argument. No such thing. Every basket scored is two points. Every rebound ends an opponents possession or extends your own. Every steal, assist they all matter. The team that wins the game is the team that aggregates the most stats.