nate33 wrote:The only way I see Bryant being traded is if Okongwu becomes legitimately as good as Adebayo, leaving less than 16 minutes a game for Bryant. But that's going to take a couple of years, if it happens at all. As long as there are 24+ minutes a night available for Bryant, he's staying.
I think you're selling Bryant a bit short. Bryant is only 23 with only a couple of serious years of development in the NBA and his numbers are already quite good. I could easily see teams offering a late 1st given his value.
It's not that I want to trade Bryant, it's that I feel it's a requirement to have a reputable defender on the roster at C. Okongwu/Achiuwa may not be that in year 1 or year 2. If we don't have defensive option at C on the roster then the season is going to go badly. I'm not trying to go all in on a win now solution but I think there's a way to build for the future without constructing the team in such a way where winning in the current is highly unlikely.
WizarDynasty wrote:Dark Faze wrote:He's an SG/SF. Reach isn't everything--90% of defense is effort, being in the right spot, and being quicker to said spot faster than the offensive player, all things which he can excel at.
If you're 6'6 with great lateral speed and great strength then you can guard 3's even with t-rex arms imo.
Yes staying in front of someone helps, but if they can rise and shoot and you aren't long enough to contest, then you are basically relying on the person not having shooting ability. If am drafting a player on their defensive ability, they better have a dimension that can't be taught which is standing reach and excellent defensive movement. I am not drafting a undersized 8'4 standing reach guy to be my full time starter guarding small forwards with a lottery pick. Maybe late in the 1st, but definitely not an entire losing season just to be bring in a guy that doesn't allow me to challenge 3 pointers and post shots without leaving his feet. That's teh real issue with Okoro. He has explosive legs, he just doesn't have that broom for an an arm that you need to throw out at defender without leaving your feet. He is going to have to "always" leave his feet to challenge a shot.
Once you leave your feet, you can't recover.
We'll just have to agree to disagree. The vast majority of wings imo are not going to attempt to shoot over a near perfectly positioned player unless the shot clock is close to zero because its a bad shot. You can contest a shot without a high likely hood of blocking it because your length in combination with positioning can still be enough to augment the shooting form/motion of the shot. Now if the height/length difference is insane, like a PG switching onto a 6'8 wing or higher, then that's another story, but even then do you want Duncan Robinson attempting to iso Kyle Lowry or Fred Van Vleet?
