pepe1991 wrote:JF5 wrote:pepe1991 wrote:When i was proposing Mitchell trade majority thought he was overrated and that Gobert is better than him... oh well...
There were 3 things about this.
1. Magic had to figure out what they had first before tossing all their assets to get him. So if Paolo didnt look like what he did now and looked like Jabari Smith you'd put yourself back into a situation where a 2nd Option on a Contending team without the proper accommodations is your best player AND you don't have X-amount of assets for the future to make your team better.
2. Mitchell has several massive warts as an offensive and defensive player you have to accommodate. Great scorer but he gives it up defensively and is an average to below average playmaker.
3. He's in the perfect situation in Cleveland which caters to all of his strengths and weaknesses. In Orlando you'd still have to shuffle pieces as their not as strong defensively and playmaking wise as Garland is a top tier passer.
- Also, there might be a few guys who are available during this offseason they'll covet more. We'll see what happens.
Or
4) most people didn't watch him enough to figure how good he is.
5) Gobert is such a collosal liability on offense that nobody wanted to acknowledge, they penalized Jazz shortcommings on Mitchell's account, never taking in considirations that Gobert has stone hands, can't make FTs, at times is awful at screening, does incredible amount of dumb stuff in playoff games and can still be exposed on defense.
Gobert was coming off a season where his true shooting was 73.2%. I'd hardly call that a liability on offense.
Gobert also generally leads the league in Screen assists, seems like he and Sabonis are always 1/2
Gobert's biggest strength has always been how he impacts the other teams' efficiency, specifically perimeter players. I'd argue that he's "just" above average defending centers, he's gotten cooked by Jokic and Embiid a bit. It's being able to change the behavior of the perimeter players that has made him such an asset. I am not some Gobert apologist, I said at the time I would never sign him to a max deal, and thought the Minnesota trade was awful
The reason the Minnesota trade has been so awful has been the fit in Minnesota, it was clear at the time, and even clearer now. You don't waste two roster spots on centers. Minnesota had an offensive advantage with KATs skills at the 5, even with the liability of the other end. Effectively they shoe-horned Gobert into their lineup, and are losing offensive skill and taking away touches from a more skilled player in KAT.
Gobert would be perfectly fine just about every where as the sole big. He's overpaid by a good bit, only the truly best/complete centers are worth $35M+, and Minnesota way overpaid for him in a trade and were completely wrong about their team build.
The Minnesota GM has to be pretty committed to the Gobert experience at this time, seems like a huge admittance of negligence if they tried to move him for a fraction of what they paid. I do wonder if they might choose to move KAT to try and build a better team. It's kind of where the Bulls find themselves, they probably need to move Vucevic, but the rumors of his value are a package of 2nds, maybe a late 1st. Are Chicago fans going to be forgiving given what the GM gave up for him, and seeing his actual trade value?
