Leap Year - The Kemba Walker Thread III

[fatlever]

Posting my thoughts on Kemba, carryover from the Boston gamethread

1st thought -

We talked about this alot when Kemba was having his nice run at the end of December. If you really want to feature Kemba as your PG, your best bet would be to build a team similar to the early 00s Sixers.

Kemba thrives as the #1 option on offense, the guy with the ball in his hands, probing defenses, looking for space to get his shot off or cracks to get to the rim and if that falls, hopefully finding some guys for assists. Lets be clear, that is usually the order in which Kemba wants to play 1) shoot jumper 2) attack rim 3) pass hoping to get ball back 4) pass to open teammate standing near him 5) look for foul and complain to ref if not given 6) take bailout shot at end of shot clock.

So anyway, back to the 00 Sixers (which is a terrible way to play in this current landscape btw)
1) play great defense - MKG, Hendo, Biz, Zeller - grind out wins with defense and an inefficient offense that scores just enough
2) Tons of screens for Kemba to get him some cracks to work with
3) Lots of mid-range jumpers or drives to the rim, looking for FTs (something Kemba doesnt do well enough - also doesn't get enough respect, unfortunately)
4) Rebound
5) Hope Kemba gets hot in the 4th and carries the offense enough to win

This is how we played in late December and it was fairly successful, albeit against a weak schedule and also probably not sustainable.

2nd thought

To those saying Kemba is better off as a #3 option, lets talk about that scenario for a minute. Sure, lets say Kemba is the clear #3 option on a team. Maybe he has a 25ppg power forward and 20ppg small forward next to him. Is Kemba really the ideal guard for that team? Would you be better off with one of these types of guards
1) A bigger defensive guard, who can lock down the perimeter
2) A great 3 point shooter, to help create space for options #1 and #2
3) A playmaker, to get options #1 and #2 easy buckets

I put playmaker 3rd, because, lets face it, if you have guys who can get 20-25ppg, you hope they are also good enough to get others open shots as a result of the attention they get from defenses, making a playmaking guard less important.

Kemba, for all his great traits, isn't really any of those 3 things that most teams with two better offensive options would want in a complimentary guard.

Sure, Kemba could function next to two better players and they could still probably win a lot of games, but he definitely would not be the ideal guard in that scenario.

Long post, summary, Kemba is an enigma as a player. There aren't many guys in the league like him and he isn't exactly the easiest type of guard to build around or use to compliment better players. But, he is still a good player and even more importantly a great teammate and great person.

None of this is to say he sucks or isnt a good player and anyone who takes these comments as such, well, I don't really have the time or energy to engage in conversation with you, so you will be ignored.

[Elden Payton]

Good post fats, claiming that Kemba doesn't suit our team is not akin to claiming he sucks.

Kemba is a good player at a position full of very good ones, by definition this makes Kemba an average PG imo.

[Liver_Pooty]

Posting my thoughts on Kemba, carryover from the Boston gamethread

1st thought -

We talked about this alot when Kemba was having his nice run at the end of December. If you really want to feature Kemba as your PG, your best bet would be to build a team similar to the early 00s Sixers.

Kemba thrives as the #1 option on offense, the guy with the ball in his hands, probing defenses, looking for space to get his shot off or cracks to get to the rim and if that falls, hopefully finding some guys for assists. Lets be clear, that is usually the order in which Kemba wants to play 1) shoot jumper 2) attack rim 3) pass hoping to get ball back 4) pass to open teammate standing near him 5) look for foul and complain to ref if not given 6) take bailout shot at end of shot clock.

So anyway, back to the 00 Sixers (which is a terrible way to play in this current landscape btw)
1) play great defense - MKG, Hendo, Biz, Zeller - grind out wins with defense and an inefficient offense that scores just enough
2) Tons of screens for Kemba to get him some cracks to work with
3) Lots of mid-range jumpers or drives to the rim, looking for FTs (something Kemba doesnt do well enough - also doesn't get enough respect, unfortunately)
4) Rebound
5) Hope Kemba gets hot in the 4th and carries the offense enough to win

This is how we played in late December and it was fairly successful, albeit against a weak schedule and also probably not sustainable.

2nd thought

To those saying Kemba is better off as a #3 option, lets talk about that scenario for a minute. Sure, lets say Kemba is the clear #3 option on a team. Maybe he has a 25ppg power forward and 20ppg small forward next to him. Is Kemba really the ideal guard for that team? Would you be better off with one of these types of guards
1) A bigger defensive guard, who can lock down the perimeter
2) A great 3 point shooter, to help create space for options #1 and #2
3) A playmaker, to get options #1 and #2 easy buckets

I put playmaker 3rd, because, lets face it, if you have guys who can get 20-25ppg, you hope they are also good enough to get others open shots as a result of the attention they get from defenses, making a playmaking guard less important.

Kemba, for all his great traits, isn't really any of those 3 things that most teams with two better offensive options would want in a complimentary guard.

Sure, Kemba could function next to two better players and they could still probably win a lot of games, but he definitely would not be the ideal guard in that scenario.

Long post, summary, Kemba is an enigma as a player. There aren't many guys in the league like him and he isn't exactly the easiest type of guard to build around or use to compliment better players. But, he is still a good player and even more importantly a great teammate and great person.

None of this is to say he sucks or isnt a good player and anyone who takes these comments as such, well, I don't really have the time or energy to engage in conversation with you, so you will be ignored.

Great post.

To sum it up he is a poor mans Iverson, very poor mans Iverson. Thats what I got from it anyway, and I would agree with that.

Kemba has his qualities. Heart, grit, tough, just like Iverson. Too bad he can't drive and finish at the rim like Iverson though. Hell, hardly anyone can.

[DY_nasty]

I still think he should be running like a Tony Parker or Jeff Teague instead of relying on his on shot most of the time... He takes care of the ball and already splits traps at an exceptional level. He really just needs a system to take advantage of that. His strengths aren't what he thinks they are.

[catch20two]

Good post fats, claiming that Kemba doesn't suit our team is not akin to claiming he sucks.

But I thought this team was tailor made and built around Kemba?

[Diop]

If the team did decide to go another direction who do we get to replace him?

[Elden Payton]

Good post fats, claiming that Kemba doesn't suit our team is not akin to claiming he sucks.

But I thought this team was tailor made and built around Kemba?

This team was built with Kemba in mind as the centerpiece, but it turns out that Kemba has barely improved in 4 seasons and we're about to move past him.

MKG will be the centerpiece imo.

If Kemba doesn't improve then he will be irrelevant by the time his new contract expires.

[catch20two]

If the team did decide to go another direction who do we get to replace him?

Obviously Mo Williams.

But I guess Darren Collison, Jeremy Lin, or one of them will do.

[Elden Payton]

If the team did decide to go another direction who do we get to replace him?

I'd love Jeff Teague but it will never happen.

Trade Kemba in the offseason and have Mo re-sign for 4m, draft a replacement (Kris Dunn/tyus Jones)

[fatlever]

I still think he should be running like a Tony Parker or Jeff Teague instead of relying on his on shot most of the time... He takes care of the ball and already splits traps at an exceptional level. He really just needs a system to take advantage of that. His strengths aren't what he thinks they are.

A system like that would certainly help. Dunlap's system was a much better fit for Kemba. Like I said earlier, Kemba and Jefferson are like peanut butter and ketchup, they don't work well together. You can design an offense that gets the best out of both players. It is impossible.

The front office has to decide, Kemba or Jefferson. You cant go any further in the playoffs featuring both.

But if you get rid of Jefferson, which should be step 1, do you try to build a team around Kemba? The gist of my post is that I think to get the best out of Kemba you have to commit to building an offense around him. And if you do that, can you really win enough games to make it worthwhile?

And If Kemba ends up as our 3rd best offensive option one day, due to the miracle of the gods who bless us with luck, then I'd be on the phones trying to trade him for a better fit.

He's an enigma. That's really the only way I know how to describe him. Hopefully there are much smarter basketball minds than us in our front office that can solve this puzzle once and for all.

[Elden Payton]

If the team did decide to go another direction who do we get to replace him?

Obviously Mo Williams.

But I guess Darren Collison, Jeremy Lin, or one of them will do.

Honestly how good do you think Kemba is?

He's more on tier with those players than any PG of note.

[catch20two]

Good post fats, claiming that Kemba doesn't suit our team is not akin to claiming he sucks.

But I thought this team was tailor made and built around Kemba?

This team was built with Kemba in mind as the centerpiece, but it turns out that Kemba has barely improved in 4 seasons and we're about to move past him.

MKG will be the centerpiece imo.

If Kemba doesn't improve then he will be irrelevant by the time his new contract expires.

The team was built with Kemba in mind but incorrectly? I don't know where that make sense except that you're just trying to drive home a silly point that's totally false. Nothing about this team was built with Kemba in mind the same way nothing about this team was built with MKG in mind except for a rim protector in Biz that can run the floor and I guess Zeller but Zeller/Biz isn't a good starting duo.

[catch20two]

I still think he should be running like a Tony Parker or Jeff Teague instead of relying on his on shot most of the time... He takes care of the ball and already splits traps at an exceptional level. He really just needs a system to take advantage of that. His strengths aren't what he thinks they are.

A system like that would certainly help. Dunlap's system was a much better fit for Kemba. Like I said earlier, Kemba and Jefferson are like peanut butter and ketchup, they don't work well together. You can design an offense that gets the best out of both players. It is impossible.

The front office has to decide, Kemba or Jefferson. You cant go any further in the playoffs featuring both.

But if you get rid of Jefferson, which should be step 1, do you try to build a team around Kemba? The gist of my post is that I think to get the best out of Kemba you have to commit to building an offense around him. And if you do that, can you really win enough games to make it worthwhile?

And If Kemba ends up as our 3rd best offensive option one day, due to the miracle of the gods who bless us with luck, then I'd be on the phones trying to trade him for a better fit.

He's an enigma. That's really the only way I know how to describe him. Hopefully there are much smarter basketball minds than us in our front office that can solve this puzzle once and for all.

I was told that Al and Kemba are more or so peanut butter and jelly together on molded bread. They said that Al is the perfect compliment for Kemba but Kemba just isn't good enough.

[fatlever]

If the team did decide to go another direction who do we get to replace him?

Well that depends a lot on if they decide to keep trying to foolishly build around Jefferson. To be clear, I would much prefer they built around Kemba and MKG, until a better option comes along in the draft or free-agency. Considering Kemba's new deal, I don't see him as being a guy we can trade at least for another 1-2 years, which the new salary cap hits. Even then, I think it will be really hard to find a team that would give up good value for Kemba. There's just too many good PGs out there right now.

I would not be opposed to drafting a PG in the 1st round this year and grooming that player to be Kemba's backup for a couple of years. But that player better have some damn size and preferably a 3pt shot.

[fatlever]

I was told that Al and Kemba are more or so peanut butter and jelly together on molded bread. They said that Al is the perfect compliment for Kemba but Kemba just isn't good enough.

Let it go Catch. Let's move on with some solid discussion and less baiting and mocking.

[catch20two]

If the team did decide to go another direction who do we get to replace him?

Obviously Mo Williams.

But I guess Darren Collison, Jeremy Lin, or one of them will do.

Honestly how good do you think Kemba is?

He's more on tier with those players than any PG of note.

I think he's currently middle of the pack PG that's improving. Better than Lowry at this point in his career and comparable to Conley so I'm expecting him to groom into their territory in a few years which will make for a decent contract. I honestly don't see nothing wrong with his contract now since we gotta pay somebody unless you wanna throw Marv and Hendo a few extra mil.

Kemba isn't on no Lin/Collison tier. Compare them and you'd look just as silly as these arguments you keep making. Silly, silly, silly.

[fatlever]

Sik, I think you are giving our front office too much credit if you think they built this team around Kemba. I don't think we have ever had a plan other than Cho trying to acquire what he felt were assets, that he would figure out later. The problem was that we never expected to land Jefferson and everything changed when we did sign him, except we all all these "assets" that made no sense together.

[Elden Payton]

Obviously Mo Williams.

But I guess Darren Collison, Jeremy Lin, or one of them will do.

Honestly how good do you think Kemba is?

He's more on tier with those players than any PG of note.

I think he's currently middle of the pack PG that's improving. Better than Lowry at this point in his career and comparable to Conley so I'm expecting him to groom into their territory in a few years which will make for a decent contract. I honestly don't see nothing wrong with his contract now since we gotta pay somebody unless you wanna throw Marv and Hendo a few extra mil.

Kemba isn't on no Lin/Collison tier. Compare them and you'd look just as silly as these arguments you keep making. Silly, silly, silly.

Kemba is nowhere near Lowry's level and Lowry has been playing crap since all-star.

Conley is so far better than Kemba you'd have to be joking surely?

WOW.

[Liver_Pooty]

Kemba is ranked 23rd in the league for PG's in FG%. Right below him is Michael Carter freaking Williams.

Its an issue folks. Its an issue.

Edit: Lol and right above Kemba at 22 is Mo Williams. He must have sucked a fat one with Minnesota. Roberts didn't even make the list of course. Hard to win when your point guards can't shoot worth a **** unless you have John Stockton.

[MasterIchiro]

I was told that Al and Kemba are more or so peanut butter and jelly together on molded bread. They said that Al is the perfect compliment for Kemba but Kemba just isn't good enough.

Let it go Catch. Let's move on with some solid discussion and less baiting and mocking.

No, the narrative shifts to make Kemba look bad and ignores where he is being shorthanded.