Leap Year - The Kemba Walker Thread III

[JDR720]

we are basically a treadmill until we either pull an ATL or get a star. we dont have "that guy" yet.

we have a great supporting cast that could go deep in the playoffs if we had a true star

-MKG can lockdown anyone
-Kemba is clutch as hell
-Bis is a great rim protector
-Zeller and Vonleh should be a killer PF duo

maybe we finally find that star scorer, maybe its in this draft like Oubre or Hezonja or we get lucky and win the thing and get Okafor or Towns

[fatlever]

Sure, of course.
But we don't have a single player worth building around if we are trying to win a ring. Until we have a player worth building around for a ring, we have to have some kind of plan, right? Currently our plan seems to be, having no plan at all.

Maybe the plan should be, blow it up and start all over again.

MKG is the perfect player to build around, people don't think of defense as worth building around but it could work, since we are supposedly a defensive team.

He's had 4 separate injuries this year. Not a chance. Hes great when he plays, but he isn't going to have a long career at this rate.

4 this year and 7 separate injuries in 3 years, all of which caused him to miss multiple games or disappear for stretches of the season. It certainly is a valid concern at this point, just like it was with Crash.

[Liver_Pooty]

I gotta disagree with you Sik. I love MKG to death, but as of right now you can't build around him with the way his offense still is. Can't finish with his left hand, can't hit a three. Hes still young as hell, and may prove me wrong and he is a hell of a player, but he is not the kind of player you build around right now.

everyone thinks offense, hand the keys to MKG, tell him it's his team, get him shooters and defenders and watch magic happen.

MKG doesn't need to score 20ppg to have a major impact on the game, give him the players he needs and let him fulfill his potential.

This sounds weird but... I kind of agree.

I trust MKG's finishing, growth rate over the years, injury history (nothing like Kemba's knee stuff tbh), and slashing over Kemba's at this point. MKG with spacing > Kemba with spacing. And he doesn't need the ball either.

Its kind of a stretch, and hard to really imagine, and I'm not even sure I fully agree - but I can definitely understand where this thought process comes from.

Hell, I even trust MKG in the open court on a fastbreak more than Kemba these days.

You must trust MKG a lot in the open court because half the time its a charge or he gets stripped.

That being said Walker is just as bad.

He has no idea how to use his left hand. May as well chop that damn thing off.

[DY_nasty]

MKG is the perfect player to build around, people don't think of defense as worth building around but it could work, since we are supposedly a defensive team.

I gotta disagree with you Sik. I love MKG to death, but as of right now you can't build around him with the way his offense still is. Can't finish with his left hand, can't hit a three. Hes still young as hell, and may prove me wrong and he is a hell of a player, but he is not the kind of player you build around right now.

Can't hit a 3? ****, can't shoot a 3, hasn't shot a 3. You don't see that kind of centerpiece on any contender now and any in history unless we are talking about Hakeem Olajouwon or a center. There is no centerpiece wing who won't take a 3 on any contender now or ever in history. That doesn't make MKG special, it makes him guesswork at best. There is no precedent. Guesswork.

Should he take bad shots like Josh Smith? I don't get how you can hold that against him. MKG's made literal breakthrough type progress hitting 18-20ft shots and that's already helped him a ton.

I challenge everyone here to think of a time that MKG took 2 bad shots in a game.



word?

okay - now think of a game where Kemba ONLY took two bad shots.

(but seriously, our offense doesn't suffer with MKG on the court - the exact opposite actually. so you have no argument)

[Diop]

I like MKG as a piece of this team. I wouldn't "build around him" but I would also hate to see him go.

[catch20two]

we are basically a treadmill until we either pull an ATL or get a star. we dont have "that guy" yet.

we have a great supporting cast that could go deep in the playoffs if we had a true star

-MKG can lockdown anyone
-Kemba is clutch as hell
-Bis is a great rim protector
-Zeller and Vonleh should be a killer PF duo

maybe we finally find that star scorer, maybe its in this draft like Oubre or Hezonja or we get lucky and win the thing and get Okafor or Towns

You said it. Wise comments quoted from a decent man.

[Liver_Pooty]

I like MKG as a piece of this team. I wouldn't "build around him" but I would also hate to see him go.

MKG is not going anywhere, but shaping a roster around him just isn't smart.

[James Gatz]

We can't blow it up, because whatever sliver of chance we had at attracting Davis/Curry goes out the window.

Davis is never coming here guys. Not sure why people keep talking like there's a chance. Before the draft he said he hoped Charlotte got the first pick but he hasn't demonstrated in anyway if he were to leave that we would be his first choice.


In terms of Kemba I am a bit frustrated. I hope Jefferson leaves this off season and we find better guys to put next to Kemba. He really needs to become a better 3 PT shooter if he wants to elevate his game. When he's on it's lots of fun to watch him but the 3/16 shooting nights are getting harder and harder to watch.

[Liver_Pooty]

We can take this to the draft thread, but Kelly Oubre as a "Star scorer" might be one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on here.

[Braggins]

Kemba is not a good enough player to change an entire roster for. Hes not a Westbrook or Chris Paul.

When is the last time a team centered and built around a PG won a title? Magic Johnson? Lol even he had Kareem, Worthy, etc. You cannot shape a team around a point guard. Changing everything for Walker would be such a monumental mistake its insane.

Sure, of course.
But we don't have a single player worth building around if we are trying to win a ring. Until we have a player worth building around for a ring, we have to have some kind of plan, right? Currently our plan seems to be, having no plan at all.

Maybe the plan should be, blow it up and start all over again.

MKG is the perfect player to build around, people don't think of defense as worth building around but it could work, since we are supposedly a defensive team.

So I'm biased and delusional for saying Kemba is better than Al, but you think MKG is, and I quote, "the perfect player to build around". No offense to MKG, he has the highest ceiling on our team and is arguably our best player already, but that seems like a bit of a stretch.

[DY_nasty]

everyone thinks offense, hand the keys to MKG, tell him it's his team, get him shooters and defenders and watch magic happen.

MKG doesn't need to score 20ppg to have a major impact on the game, give him the players he needs and let him fulfill his potential.

This sounds weird but... I kind of agree.

I trust MKG's finishing, growth rate over the years, injury history (nothing like Kemba's knee stuff tbh), and slashing over Kemba's at this point. MKG with spacing > Kemba with spacing. And he doesn't need the ball either.

Its kind of a stretch, and hard to really imagine, and I'm not even sure I fully agree - but I can definitely understand where this thought process comes from.

Hell, I even trust MKG in the open court on a fastbreak more than Kemba these days.

You must trust MKG a lot in the open court because half the time its a charge or he gets stripped.

That being said Walker is just as bad.

He has no idea how to use his left hand. May as well chop that damn thing off.

MKG can fix that jumper so I've got no reason that he can't improve on the easy stuff like going up stronger or going up with two in the future... and he's actually added the eurostep (though he's fallen in love with it).

Still, not 100% sure how I feel about that yet but its a thought.

Kemba in the open court though its bad enough that he feels that the only way the ball is getting up the court is if he takes it himself, but his finishing on fastbreaks has been exceptionally terrible his entire career. I don't know if he needs to work on his core strength or what but if he can't finish then he's going to be in much worse spot career wise since he's going to need the ball in his hands to maintain his value.

[Diop]

I like MKG as a piece of this team. I wouldn't "build around him" but I would also hate to see him go.

MKG is not going anywhere, but shaping a roster around him just isn't smart.

not as the centrepiece but you should consider him when building your roster. he is a worthy starter and the player I would least like to lose on our current roster.

[catch20two]

seriously, our offense doesn't suffer with MKG on the court - the exact opposite actually. so you have no argument)

Lol. Oh so you just gonna ignore MKG's man totally ignoring him to make a case that's fiction. We suffer offensively with MKG on the court but we suffer more when he's off it because our defense totally go to sh*t while our offense can't make up the ground. The only way MKG won't hurt us as much on the floor offensvely will be the day we get a SG that can score and legitimately stretch the floor.

[Liver_Pooty]

I like MKG as a piece of this team. I wouldn't "build around him" but I would also hate to see him go.

MKG is not going anywhere, but shaping a roster around him just isn't smart.

not as the centrepiece but you should consider him when building your roster. he is a worthy starter and the player I would least like to lose on our current roster.

I can agree with that. I just don't like to see MKG labeled as a "franchise" type. Hes not there, yet. Neither is no one on our roster.

[Braggins]

I gotta disagree with you Sik. I love MKG to death, but as of right now you can't build around him with the way his offense still is. Can't finish with his left hand, can't hit a three. Hes still young as hell, and may prove me wrong and he is a hell of a player, but he is not the kind of player you build around right now.

Can't hit a 3? ****, can't shoot a 3, hasn't shot a 3. You don't see that kind of centerpiece on any contender now and any in history unless we are talking about Hakeem Olajouwon or a center. There is no centerpiece wing who won't take a 3 on any contender now or ever in history. That doesn't make MKG special, it makes him guesswork at best. There is no precedent. Guesswork.

Should he take bad shots like Josh Smith? I don't get how you can hold that against him. MKG's made literal breakthrough type progress hitting 18-20ft shots and that's already helped him a ton.

I challenge everyone here to think of a time that MKG took 2 bad shots in a game.



word?

okay - now think of a game where Kemba ONLY took two bad shots.

(but seriously, our offense doesn't suffer with MKG on the court - the exact opposite actually. so you have no argument)

Kemba takes like two end of quarter full court heaves a game. I wish he would stop shooting those since people freak out so much over a couple percentage points.

[fatlever]

I like MKG as a piece of this team. I wouldn't "build around him" but I would also hate to see him go.

MKG is not going anywhere, but shaping a roster around him just isn't smart.

To be fair, MKG is an even bigger enigma than Kemba (Jefferson also an enormous enigma).

Due to his liabilities offense and strengths on defense you have to design a roster around MKG if you want him in your starting lineup. Doesnt mean you are building the team around him, but you surely cant ignore it.

Seriously, all 3 players are very unique talents and not really players that are ideally suited to be dropped into any lineup and expect that lineup to function at a high level.

You cant have 3 special case players in the same lineup. Its crazy (not that you were advocating it - Im just further ranting about how ridiculous our roster is).

It all goes back to the fact that our front office doesnt have a clear plan or vision (or has failed miserably in executing their vision).

[Eoghan]

I'd much rather build around Kemba than Al. Al needs 3&D players at practically every position. Kemba just needs an off-guard with decent size for defensive purposes, an excellent outside shot and is comfortable letting Kemba dribble the ball incessantly.

Kemba gonna be Kemba but it would be much more tolerable if his starting SG wasn't Gerald Henderson, Jr, Kobe impersonator extraordinaire.

[MasterIchiro]

I gotta disagree with you Sik. I love MKG to death, but as of right now you can't build around him with the way his offense still is. Can't finish with his left hand, can't hit a three. Hes still young as hell, and may prove me wrong and he is a hell of a player, but he is not the kind of player you build around right now.

Can't hit a 3? ****, can't shoot a 3, hasn't shot a 3. You don't see that kind of centerpiece on any contender now and any in history unless we are talking about Hakeem Olajouwon or a center. There is no centerpiece wing who won't take a 3 on any contender now or ever in history. That doesn't make MKG special, it makes him guesswork at best. There is no precedent. Guesswork.

Should he take bad shots like Josh Smith? I don't get how you can hold that against him. MKG's made literal breakthrough type progress hitting 18-20ft shots and that's already helped him a ton.

I challenge everyone here to think of a time that MKG took 2 bad shots in a game.



word?

okay - now think of a game where Kemba ONLY took two bad shots.

(but seriously, our offense doesn't suffer with MKG on the court - the exact opposite actually. so you have no argument)

No argument except historical precedent and all of NBA history past and present. MKG is no centerpiece. Ship out Kemba immediately and MKG's no centerpiece. If you lock up Kemba for life then MKG's still no centerpiece. No team has ever and will ever build around a wing who won't shoot a 3. The guy bricks set shots from 15 feet. You don't see that on the BENCH of a contender, let alone a max contract player centerpiece player. What wing in the NBA has a max contract who hasn't shot a 3 in a full season?

[fatlever]

anyway, great talk tonight fellas... I am exhausted. crazy busy day at work today and tomorrow. my hands are numb from being on a computer for 14 hours straight. gots to go to bed.

keep it civil while I am away.

[Elden Payton]

Let Mike have the keys to this team.

People think centrepiece only in terms of offense, but we have a defensive superstar, build around him in the sense of adding players that maximise MKG's strengths is all I'm saying.

Give him shooters and defenders to allow him some freedom to operate on both sides of the court.

I'm not saying lets have MKG shoot 16 shots a game.

Anthony Davis and John Calipari both said that their 2012 Kentucky team was MKG's.

MKG is the sort of leader that would think of ways that he can maximise his team mates abilities.

Instead of building around offense (Kemba/Al) with defensive role players, how about we build around defense with offensive role players?

A change is as good as a holiday.