Licensed to Il wrote:emunney wrote:Video coordinator needs to be cutting all kinds of Boris Diaw tape for Kuz in case we don't trade him. That's who he should be trying to emulate, not Giannis.
That’s a fun comp, Diaw was a sneaky good athlete (vertically but also strong in the base). Kuz has a bit of that size speed ratio, in lesser amounts. Diaw as I remember was also a creative passer. Not much of the modern NBA game runs through the high post. I guess my blueprint for Kuz would be, maybe Carlos Boozer? Meaning screen and roll, pick and pop, defend adequately and then rebound like a beast, don’t get cute. I feel if Kuz was the modern basketball version of that, he’d be a more valuable contributor. I get weary of the wild drives and weak finishes. Also no excuse for a pro with his body and background to not shoot standstill threes at a higher percentage.
Yeah, Diaw became a stout defender and while Kuz is a pretty good passer overall, Diaw was excellent. He's not going to become Diaw. But I think in shooting for Diaw he could fail into a more respectable role. I've also thought, like, what if he just gave up on skill, trained the **** out of his body, and then went all out as a rebounding specialist? That could be a real path for him. Again, not going to be Rodman, but in attempting to be Rodman he'd be a lot more useful than what he was last year.