Ball Don't Lie: The LaMelo Ball Thread

[DY_nasty]

his shot needs so much work.... becoming an off the dribble premier shooter in the nba is one of the most difficult things to do in sports. it took kemba nearly 5 years to get a jumper - and that was with decent fundamentals to start with and while being one of the hardest working guys in the league.

at the moment lamelo can barely gather the ball while being guarded. you guys are describing a gigantic improvement

Disagree about his ability to gather. His ability to pull up is one of the reasons I'm high on him. I'm more worried about his shot selection while pulling up.

he's got some of the worst footwork and hip control from any shooter in this draft. he pulls up from so far away specifically because knows that shot is vulnerable if anyone gets close and he's not comfortable.

i'm curious though. shot obviously not included - how do you guys compare Ball to SGA?

[James Gatz]

Read on Twitter

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Another article saying how everyone really likes Lamelo. All similar stuff to the athletic one. I really think he's gone by 3.

For all we knew, there would be cameras following us everywhere, every move documented. But when he got here it really opened our eyes to the fact that he was a great guy, just a regular kid who loves playing basketball.

– He was so different to what I was expecting. For someone as famous as he is, I thought he’d be completely different. I thought he might be thinking, Oh well, I’m only here for a little while, and kind of just get in, get his numbers, and get out. But he was completely invested the whole time. He made sure to build relationships with every one of the guys too. He knew everyone’s name from the beginning… players, coaches, staff, everyone. He made everyone feel important. Every time he came into a room, he greeted everyone individually.

SUNDAY DECH – I was expecting him to just come here, play, and go back to his room, that kinda thing. But he loved hanging out with the guys and being part of the group. For someone who is such a rock star, you don’t necessarily expect that.

DAVID “MACCA” MCFARLAND – My first impression was that he was a really good kid and that we had something special on our hands. And having gotten to know him over the season, I can’t speak highly enough of him. We got to know Melo and JJ (Jermaine Jackson, LaMelo’s manager) really well. They were so genuine and caring, just like family.

[DY_nasty]

dude's probably just happy to get any time away from dad tbh

[JMAC3]

LaMelo might not be the best point guard in the league when all is said and done, but I think he will be one that a lot of guys will want to play with. Rubio is a guy that gets glowing remarks from all his teammates and seems like Lonzo is the same.

I am a guy who has played a ton of basketball in my life and I know I always play harder and better when I have somebody on the team that is going to reward for me cutting hard or find me for easy layups when I run the break. Times when I play like I don't care is when I am playing with someone who either wants to score all the points or wants to be the guy to pass it to me only when I can shoot the ball immediately.

PJ and Bridges both seem like guys that would benefit from playing with a really good passer/playmaker.

[James Gatz]

dude's probably just happy to get any time away from dad tbh

Come on man! I know you don't want Ball but there's a chance we get him and it's nice to see how beloved by teammates and coaches he has been at both SPIRE and NBL. I believe his attitude was one of your concerns. Do these reports remedy it all?

[DY_nasty]

dude's probably just happy to get any time away from dad tbh

Come on man! I know you don't want Ball but there's a chance we get him and it's nice to see how beloved by teammates and coaches he has been at both SPIRE and NBL. I believe his attitude was one of your concerns. Do these reports remedy it all?

Nah, that wasn't anything negative at all.

He's probably looking forward to being away from Lavar and its good to see where that influence ends.

[Liver_Pooty]

Assuming we do draft him it'll be interesting to see what we do with Rozier/Graham, especially with Graham eligible for his first extension.

[DY_nasty]

Assuming we do draft him it'll be interesting to see what we do with Rozier/Graham, especially with Graham eligible for his first extension.

All of those guys can or should be able to play the 2 as needed so I wouldn't worry too much about it seeing as Bacon is banished to the shadow realm and Monk loves to get himself benched exactly every 20 minutes.

[Liver_Pooty]

Assuming we do draft him it'll be interesting to see what we do with Rozier/Graham, especially with Graham eligible for his first extension.

All of those guys can or should be able to play the 2 as needed so I wouldn't worry too much about it seeing as Bacon is banished to the shadow realm and Monk loves to get himself benched exactly every 20 minutes.

I just dont see us starting the season with all 3 if them on the roster is all.

[DY_nasty]

Assuming we do draft him it'll be interesting to see what we do with Rozier/Graham, especially with Graham eligible for his first extension.

All of those guys can or should be able to play the 2 as needed so I wouldn't worry too much about it seeing as Bacon is banished to the shadow realm and Monk loves to get himself benched exactly every 20 minutes.

I just dont see us starting the season with all 3 if them on the roster is all.

Its not like we have an abundance of talent anywhere and we were hurting for a 3rd ballhandler bad all of last season as well as Graham and Rozier took turns gassing out. Which was a shame too because both Graham and Rozier's best lineups involved them playing together.

A real 3 guard rotation that isn't dependent on Monk being consistent, Bacon being decent, or Cody Martin ever hitting a shot helps everyone.

Plus its not like any of these rookies will hit the ground running with no summer league or decent camp. There's more than enough space on the court for a rookie at any position for us. We don't 'lose' anything really by inserting someone new.

[Vanderbilt_Grad]

I see no issue with drafting Ball and keeping Terry / Devonte'. The odd man out at that point would probably be Monk.

[JDR720]

I'll call him LaMelo Marshmallow if we draft him.

[JMAC3]

Right now we have 3 guards on the roster.

Graham, Rozier and Monk.

Adding Ball will make for a weird group, but I think there is enough different skills here that it can work for a short time until we figure out what we want to do next.

[JDR720]

He is 6-8, there is no reason he couldn't play SG or SF for short stretches.

Now, him being a 6-8 passing PG who can't shoot gives me MCW flashbacks, so hopefully he is actually good.

[DY_nasty]

If Monk or Bacon could've held down the SG spot, then Graham wouldn't have had to play that position undersized as much as he did. I think he had over 700 minutes at the 2 last year (and he only played 600 total his rookie year).

Plus there is no way a guy like Graham should be playing 35+ minutes per game in the first place. Rozier was playing crazy minutes too. Any additional guard takes a ton of pressure of our entire group.

[BigSlam]

Ball sharing the back court with Tae or Monk would be a disaster IMO - especially with no rim protection behind them bailing them out.

Ball and Terry "might" work, because Terry can at least guard the opposing SG a little - but the average to good SG's would absolutely feast on them.

If think that if we drafted Ball we would have to totally overhaul our roster to accommodate his glaring weaknesses - and getting a well sized defensive guard would be important - as would rim defence.

[JMAC3]

Ball sharing the back court with Tae or Monk would be a disaster IMO - especially with no rim protection behind them bailing them out.

Ball and Terry "might" work, because Terry can at least guard the opposing SG a little - but the average to good SG's would absolutely feast on them.

If think that if we drafted Ball we would have to totally overhaul our roster to accommodate his glaring weaknesses - and getting a well sized defensive guard would be important - as would rim defence.

I agree, but it wouldn't be something we have to figure out day 1. If Ball ends up being the Real Deal Holyfield then having Graham and Rozier as trade pieces would bring us some really good players back.

[DY_nasty]

Ball sharing the back court with Tae or Monk would be a disaster IMO - especially with no rim protection behind them bailing them out.

Ball and Terry "might" work, because Terry can at least guard the opposing SG a little - but the average to good SG's would absolutely feast on them.

If think that if we drafted Ball we would have to totally overhaul our roster to accommodate his glaring weaknesses - and getting a well sized defensive guard would be important - as would rim defence.

Well that's the thing - all those weaknesses are there with or without him. Monk and Graham struggle all the time because their help is straight up bad. Adding Ball just means they can't use exhaustion as an excuse anymore

We've been throwing Cody Martin, Bridges, and Bacon at premier scorers more or less. Can't see much changing next year.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Keeping all 3 probably wouldn't be the longterm plan, but I actually do think Ball's fit is fine with Graham and Rozier. Both of the latter can stretch the floor, Ball has the size to play the 3. Tougher fit may be Bridges.

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[BigSlam]

The pick is in!!

But do we keep LaMelo, or flip him......