Furthermore, many of their fans wanted head coach Mark Daigneault fired and Shai traded, or they just constantly slandered them. Of course, both Daigneault is recognized as a solid coach and Shai as the MVP/superstar level player he is. But that wasn't always the case. Considering just how incredible Shai is, the slander against him from some of the fans was pretty wild.
Is Shai a little overrated?
He’s the primary option, and still doesn’t seem to have made any improvements in his game and is still pretty passive. I think everyone just needs to be realistic about him. At best, he’s a third option on a championship team. But I don’t think you build the whole enchilada around him when Baze and Dort are outplaying him most nights.
I realize that’s going to be unpopular, but I think it’s gotta become a realization. He’s a good player, but not this franchise-altering guy
I think we can all agree we shouldnt be planning on him being the primary option in the future but he will be a big piece for us and could possibly be a second option. He can come off as a little overrated i guess cause hes our best player and we stan him so much.
Yeah I’m not saying he isn’t part of the puzzle, but people don’t need to act like he’s going to be the savior. He’s not. He’s a secondary option to whoever we draft
He's currently and 18/6 type of guy. We need him to be a 24/8 type guy. Sometimes I feel he's on track and sometimes I feel he's not going to be that guy. Hard to get a read. Fringe All star potential I think. I don't think he'll be superstar level.
That being said, he's not a KD, Harden, Luka type scorer, and probably never will be. The player that I think of most when I watch Shai is Ginobili. Crafty, below the rim playmaker with good court awareness. Capable on a given night of being the best player on the floor. That's probably his ceiling. And if it is (and if he gets there) holy ****, that's incredible. That's a huge piece in building a contending team.
The truth is that even if we hit big on the next couple drafts we're probably still going to be 2-4 years from being a contender.
I like Shai but I still believe Bazley is the player with the most potential. The offense needs to flow through him a little more.Bazley kept us in the game today until later in the 3rd and 4th quarter. The team is still figuring out the dynamics of the offense but Bazley needs to at least be the 2nd option.
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These posts look absolutely ridiculous in hindsight. Nonetheless, the rebuild payed off for them and it's going to pay off for us. Losing and tanking can be absolutely miserable, especially when you get blown out big time. And we've been rebuilding now for more than one season, however at this point, as difficult as it might be for some fans, just have some patience and perspective. We don't have a very good team and even at full health if we experience 1-2 injuries, the team falls apart. We're almost half way through the season and getting closer to the trading deadline. Whether you're all for the tank or not, just remember that:
• we're getting closer to turning the corner (going from suckage to an up-and-coming team with a mid record, just like OKC in 2022-2023 when they finished 40-42)
• that the team has endured endless injuries to our most skilled and important players: rebuilding teams that are decimated by injuries can't really win many games at all, especially when the most talented players aren't playing, leading to huge blow outs
• we have really young and hungry guys who are going to be terrific rotation players and roles players for us, with Mogbo, Battle, Shead and of course Ja'Kobe
• the growth and development of Scottie, Gradey, Ochai, Shead, Battle and Ja'Kobe is really exciting: Scottie's handle looks much better and his mid-range game is coming along very nicely and is on his way to becoming a three-level scorer; Gradey as well looks like he could be a three-level scorer, his conditining is much better but of course he really needs to work on his defensive abilities; Ochai is rounding into a 3&D guy for us, although his defence and half-court offensive contributions need more consistency; Shead and Mogbo are clearly getting better but still need more refinement with the 905; and of course Battle is not only a decent shooter, but very scrappy and hustles hard and you can tell he wants to be better on the defensive end.
• Plus of course RJ. Whatever you may think of RJ, you can't deny that he's a much better player than he was on New York, distributing very effectively and improved efficiency.
• these guys work so hard and are very likeable
And of course Darko. The entire emphasis for this season has been placed on development and rebuilding (and not winning), specifically improving everyone's skillsets and seeing what and where their limitations are. For example this is why we're seeing RJ as a distributor and Scottie playing in more of a wing role at times, in the mid-range area and shooting many threes as opposed to operating in the low post. Darko has done not only a masterful job of developing the players, but also establishing a new culture and identity for the team, in which they work hard, really enjoy playing with one another and never give up. This is such an important step and development for the team, with Nurse abandoning the team in a final miserable season in which his odious and toxic behaviour is not missed.
I can understand why, and I think most people understand why fans can get frustrated. Losing absolutley sucks and obviously is the complete opposite of fun. But just have some patience and perspective. We're in a very similar position to OKC, we have a very competent front office with a clear history and record of drafting very well and we have a very young team that still needs to grow, develop and add substantial talent. Just remember though that there's only another half season or so of this emphasis on development and then next season the priority will switch to winning and competing; obviously not for a championship, but moreso for a playoff seed or even the play-in. And besides, things could be much worse: the Chicago Bulls are in mediocre treadmill hell because their front office continues to procrastinate and hold out hope for some miraculous winning streak; the Sacramento Kings made poor off season moves and appear to be treadmilling badly, while the Indiana Pacers may already have found themselves within the treadmill purgatory. We (finally) made the tough choices and are now in hot pursuit of a top five draft pick in a really exciting draft. The light is definitely there at the end of the tunnel.
