76ciology wrote:stormi wrote:He's an untouchable commodity, but I just saw people on the prior page misprofiling him. A John Collins comparison is wildly disrespectful. Nic Batum is more likewise Lauri Markkanen than John Collins is.
Thats why he’s cheap. If you want someone more like Lauri Markkanen, then that guy is Kelly Olynyk
I've always wanted Olynyk next to Embiid lol.
I think where we've gone wrong squad building wise in previous years is taking a formula that works and rather than focusing on profile upgrades, FO has wildly rearranged the pieces in desperate fashion. Embiid & Simmons saw early success surrounded with Redick, Saric and Covington. You turn Saric and Covington and some assets into Harris and Butler. I somewhat see the vision. Butler as Covington+++ and Harris as the more talented 'jumbo' stretch forward from Dario. That led us to our best team in the past seven seasons.
The next logical leap would have looking at finding a volume shooter to replace JJ that wouldn't get hunted in a playoff setting (Green, KCP type) and/or a lead guard that can score off the dribble and wouldn't turn into a pumpkin in the half court to replace Simmons.
We took a multitude of steps back flipping the board around, congesting space with the inclusion of Horford. Reducing shooting by turning JJ to Richardson. We wasted seasons overcomplicating the solution. Which is why I don't understand your hyperfixation with powerforwards right now and specifically Jerami Grant alongside Tobias Harris and Joel Embiid.
2021 we flip Horford into journeyman shooters it brought colossal relief to Joel Embiid's game. Inching back towards that 2018 formula, but maybe back where we started if not a few stages and draft picks behind. Seth ~= JJ, Green >= Covington.
Long story short, Markkanen is the Saric/Harris upgrade to the greatest extent. That's maximizing that profile. Getting the best shooter of the three by a mile. The best rim protector of the three. The best off ball scorer of the three. He led the NBA in points per touches last season. 25.6 PPG on 64.1 TS%.
Cheaper alternative would be Trey Murphy.
I don't mind OG at all, but I think we'd be lacking scoring.
I think all you have to do is watch Kelly Oubre as an entity and see how comfortably he works off of Embiid, Maxey and Harris. Crashes the glass hard. Makes himself available to shoot. Shoots on volume. Competes defensively. Is Lavine the player you can plug in as the upgrade of that profile?
That's the million dollar question I suppose.