Luol Deng is ...

[ALL HAIL]

... the closest damn thing to Draymond Green in this league.

Think about that.

[ALL HAIL]

I'm not changing it, let the shots fire.

[larry14r]

I think he's more of Luke's version of Iggy in GS you know the stable vet.

[WVlakerfan]

... the closest damn thing to Draymond Green in this league.

Think about that.

Honestly after watching the olympics I think you could have replaced green with Deng and gsw wins the finals. Mainly because dengs not getting suspended and allowing cleaveland to take game 5 and build momentum.

I know ppl are extremely high on draymond but I think he is more a product of the system.

[crazyeights]

I know ppl are extremely high on draymond but I think he is more a product of the system.

The product of the system argument is always interesting. By that token, isn't the system also a product of Draymond's game? The fact is Kerr and his staff figured out a way to maximize a 2nd round pick's skill-set in order for him to be a top 10 player.

As for Deng, is he really the play-maker that Draymond is? He's only ever averaged 3.0 assists per game once. Yes, he's spent most of his career on Chicago teams with anemic offenses, but I'd be curious to see how Luke utilizes him.

One thing's for sure, if we're going to have a system remotely like GSW, we're going to need Deng and Mozgov to have historic years in assists if they're going to match Bogut/Iggy. And Randle/Nance are going to have to realize some of their promise to make up the difference for Draymond.

A tall order.

One good thing is that Clarkson and Russell are much more capable than we got to see last year of facilitating.

It's really going to have to be a team effort.

[dockingsched]

There isn't a system in the world that can by itself get a player to be the type of player maker, 3 pt shooter, pick n roll defender, and post defender that Draymond is. Not giving the player credit is just unfair.

[MrWaffles]

He's still an NBA player, that can be productive. I sort of think he's crazy for turning down other offers on playoffs teams.. but i guess who can turn down 74 million? haha.

Honestly i see him having good games here and there, but at this point, he just needs to be teaching Ingram the game and letting Ingram handle the majority of the minutes. We're in no position to make the playoffs, might as well develop the kids while their young.

[Jody Smokz]

The TS is wilding out. Same guy that thinks Evan Turner would be a good starting PG for a team. Luol Deng regardless of system has never played on the level Draymond has.

There isn't a system in the world that can by itself get a player to be the type of player maker, 3 pt shooter, pick n roll defender, and post defender that Draymond is. Not giving the player credit is just unfair.

[Jhoby]

I actually agree.

Their skill sets are very similar. I liked everything about the Yi signing except for the fact that it makes it seem like they're gonna start Luol at the 3. He's a 4 now. As far as I'm concerned, our depth chart looks like this...

Dlo/Calderon/Huertes
Clarkson/Lou
Ingram/Nance/Brown
Deng/Randle/Nance
Mozgov/Yi/Nance/Black/Zubac

[TKainZero]

... A small ball PF

It just stinks that we have young guys who needs mins in randle and nance.

[Jody Smokz]

Similar does not mean the same exactly. Luol Deng at this stage doesnt even come close to impacting the game the way Green does. You might as well say Derrick Williams is similar to Green. Just b/c they both function as small ball 4's does not make them the same or even really similar. Prepare to be disappointed if you think we have our Draymond Green lite in Deng

[cambomvmt]

isn't Giannis the closest thing to Draymond?

[Jody Smokz]

No lol. Draymond is Draymond. He's a pretty unique player in what he does for his team. Not everything needs and can be compared.

isn't Giannis the closest thing to Draymond?

[Sofa King]

lol... Lulu

[RingsDontLie]

I don't think he's as strong as Draymond. He plays good hard defense however, and can score pretty good as well.

[XtotheDeezy]

Deng is the closest guy to Luke's age in the locker room. He's gonna be a lot more useful as a mentor and someone Luke can just "shoot the poop" with in the back office during the trying times, rather than a contributor on the court. I want him to start though until we ease Ingram into the mix.

[Slava]

Deng is the closest guy to Luke's age in the locker room. He's gonna be a lot more useful as a mentor and someone Luke can just "shoot the poop" with in the back office during the trying times, rather than a contributor on the court. I want him to start though until we ease Ingram into the mix.

Calderon and Huertas are both older.

[Jody Smokz]

Deng is 31 and still a productive player. He isn't filling the Ron Artest role of last year.

Deng is the closest guy to Luke's age in the locker room. He's gonna be a lot more useful as a mentor and someone Luke can just "shoot the poop" with in the back office during the trying times, rather than a contributor on the court. I want him to start though until we ease Ingram into the mix.

[TylersLakers]

To be fair, All Hail never said Deng is better than Green. He said he was the closest to Green.

And I would say it's a fair discussion and AH shouldn't be blasted at all. I would love for Deng to start at PF next to Ingram, but then you're sending Randle to the bench and for his development, I'm not sure that's the greatest. And yes, he still gets the same minutes, but does it do anything to his confidence or how effective his game is? That's the million dollar question.

PG: D'Angelo Russell [22]/ Clarkson [12]/ Calderon [14]
SG: Jordan Clarkson [22]/ Russell [10]/ Williams [16]
SF: Brandon Ingram [26]/ Nance [12]/ Deng [10]
PF: Luol Deng [14]/ Randle [22]/ Nance [10]
C: Timofey Mozgov [24]/ Randle [10]/ Jianlian [14]

I could see this line-up working, however I don't think it will be initially. We'll go with Deng as a starter at SF to start the season and Ingram coming off the bench.

[Jody Smokz]

The statement is still terrible. You might as well say DLo is the closest thing to Steph Curry on the team. They aren't teh same. Why wasn't Deng considered Draymond like on the Heat last year? Played his best at the 4. No one made that comparison then.

To be fair, All Hail never said Deng is better than Green. He said he was the closest to Green.

And I would say it's a fair discussion and AH shouldn't be blasted at all. I would love for Deng to start at PF next to Ingram, but then you're sending Randle to the bench and for his development, I'm not sure that's the greatest. And yes, he still gets the same minutes, but does it do anything to his confidence or how effective his game is? That's the million dollar question.

PG: D'Angelo Russell [22]/ Clarkson [12]/ Calderon [14]
SG: Jordan Clarkson [22]/ Russell [10]/ Williams [16]
SF: Brandon Ingram [26]/ Nance [12]/ Deng [10]
PF: Luol Deng [14]/ Randle [22]/ Nance [10]
C: Timofey Mozgov [24]/ Randle [10]/ Jianlian [14]

I could see this line-up working, however I don't think it will be initially. We'll go with Deng as a starter at SF to start the season and Ingram coming off the bench.