The FA that no one is talking about

[TheHartBreakKid]

Kemba walker is averaging 31.5 points on 61% TS to start the season.


I know, I know. Kemba Walker....yuck...gross...ew....

Kemba is a shoot first pg who can't play the defense. That's still very true. But so was Kyrie who Lebron won a ring with, and so is Lillard who many are easily willing to trade Lonzo for....but unlike Lillard, Kemba can be had easily, in Free Agency.

Now don't get me wrong, our top FA this summer should still be KL...and after that by some long shot, Durant. But other than those two, the FA market isn't looking all that great. Cousins is/will be a huge question mark. Kyrie is staying in Boston. and I have a feeling Jimmy Butler is going to get traded for a team that'll easily be the favorites to resign him. That doesn't leave much left out there.


Regarding basketball fit....on the surface a point guard is the last thing we need. But see the thing is, a half court playmaker/scorer is exactly what we need. Lonzo is at his best setting everything up early or running the break. He isn't the half court playmaker that you need to succeedin this league, and he probably never will be. The thing is, we don't need him to be. Lonzo is an amazing off the ball defender, but chasing point guards around..he isn't exactly Pat bevrely. He controls the game defensively off the ball with his awareness, instincts, using size, etc. The one area he actually might struggle at is one on one point guard defense. Why? Because he's freaking 6;6 and has SG level foot quickness. Lonzo, on the defensive end, would still be as good, if not better, guarding 2s, which he often does right now anyways. On offense, Lonzo would still do whatever he is doing now, and do it well, if he had a scoring ball dominant player like Kemba next to him. My point is this...a Lonzo/Kemba backcourt FITS PERFECTLY offensively, and is far from the worst fit on the defensive end.



We would be foolish to go after Kemba if we can get Leonard, KD, and maybe even Butler...sure. But those guys are all on teams that they very well may resign at (or will be traded to a team that they will be likely to resign at). Even if they hit free agency, teams like the Clippers and NY will be major competitors for them. We realistically can have Kemba if we want him. He sure as hell isn't staying in Charlotte, and we make the the most sense for him in FA...IF we want him.


Rondo, with all his short comings, is our best on ball half court perimeter player right now other than Lebron. Kemba would be an upgrade inthat area due to his scoring ability, and his shooting would make him a way better fit off the ball. With the way Hart is playing, we won't need KCP/stephenson....we would probably need a guard rather than a wing. Of course we need a better backup center, but if we can resign Mcgee for cheap, we are also ok in the front court.


Leonard/KD/Butler would be great, and if we can get them, we obviously should. But if we strike out, which is very likely, I would rather sign someone like Kemba than give up one or more young pieces get this second star that we desperately want/need.



Improved Lonzo/ Vet point guard/ FRP
Kemba/ Improved Hart
Improved BI/ Improved Hart
Lebron/ improved Kuz
Mcgee/ Vet backup center, Wagner if he works out


is a team that we can easily assemble, and imo, is a team that can content, especially if Durant goes east for whatever reason. And it's a damn decent consolation price if we strike out on the bigger names.


I like chasing the AD dream as much as the next guy, and if magic/co decide to save capspace for AD leverage if we strike out next year on KL/KD/Butler, I'll be cautiously ok with that, knowing the Rich Paul connection. but TLDR, I would much rather sign Kemba next year than give up Lonzo or BI to get, say, Lillard.

[TyCobb]

Kemba to NY, Durant to LA.

[dockingsched]

Feels like everyone talks about Kemba, specially on twitter.

[Michael Lucky]

Kemba was brought up quite a few times in trade scenarios over the last summer.

[iamworthy]

I don't understand the kemba talk with lonzo being here. Anyhow, we should all be pulling for the warriors to win it all so Durant can come here next year. I think he comes if he and LeBron both hav 3 rings...... They can them win a couple more together. I don't think Durant wants to end his career with less rings than LeBron.

[Sedale Threatt]

I don't understand the kemba talk with lonzo being here. Anyhow, we should all be pulling for the warriors to win it all so Durant can come here next year. I think he comes if he and LeBron both hav 3 rings...... They can them win a couple more together. I don't think Durant wants to end his career with less rings than LeBron.

If we can't get Kawhi or some other top-tier stud, we've got to spend that money on somebody. And Kemba is playing out of his mind, and has proven he can hit the 3. We'll see if he can keep it up, but even if he can't he's still an All-Star caliber player.

[iamworthy]

I don't understand the kemba talk with lonzo being here. Anyhow, we should all be pulling for the warriors to win it all so Durant can come here next year. I think he comes if he and LeBron both hav 3 rings...... They can them win a couple more together. I don't think Durant wants to end his career with less rings than LeBron.

If we can't get Kawhi or some other top-tier stud, we've got to spend that money on somebody. And Kemba is playing out of his mind, and has proven he can hit the 3. We'll see if he can keep it up, but even if he can't he's still an All-Star caliber player.

Oh for sure. I'm not down on kemba. I'm just wondering where that leaves lonzo. I don't think magic will ever trade the first person he's ever drafted.

[Sedale Threatt]

I don't understand the kemba talk with lonzo being here. Anyhow, we should all be pulling for the warriors to win it all so Durant can come here next year. I think he comes if he and LeBron both hav 3 rings...... They can them win a couple more together. I don't think Durant wants to end his career with less rings than LeBron.

If we can't get Kawhi or some other top-tier stud, we've got to spend that money on somebody. And Kemba is playing out of his mind, and has proven he can hit the 3. We'll see if he can keep it up, but even if he can't he's still an All-Star caliber player.

Oh for sure. I'm not down on kemba. I'm just wondering where that leaves lonzo. I don't think magic will ever trade the first person he's ever drafted.

Yeah, who knows. Rondo's gone next season, so it's not like we're averse to having two rotation-worthy point guards. Obviously, Kemba is a different story.

But KCP is also gone, leaving us down a shooting guard, and with Lonzo's size, and Kemba's focus on shooting over playmaking, we could easily pair the two in the same backcourt, just like how the Sixers did with Iverson and Eric Snow.

With the way the NBA is played now, positions don't really mean a whole lot.

I'm just preparing myself for disappointment, given the news out of Leonard's camp, that we're going to have to look at second options, and from what I can see he's just about the best one out there.

[snaquille oatmeal]

I don't understand the kemba talk with lonzo being here. Anyhow, we should all be pulling for the warriors to win it all so Durant can come here next year. I think he comes if he and LeBron both hav 3 rings...... They can them win a couple more together. I don't think Durant wants to end his career with less rings than LeBron.

What are you saying? That if the Warriors lose KD will flee to whatever team beats them! Nah KD wouldn’t do that....oh wait never mind

[hermes]

and here i thought this was going to be about spencer dinwiddie

[kblo247]

I don't understand the kemba talk with lonzo being here. Anyhow, we should all be pulling for the warriors to win it all so Durant can come here next year. I think he comes if he and LeBron both hav 3 rings...... They can them win a couple more together. I don't think Durant wants to end his career with less rings than LeBron.

What are you saying? That if the Warriors lose KD will flee to whatever team beats them! Nah KD wouldn’t do that....oh wait never mind

If the warriors win it all I can see him coming here especially if he beats LA in the playoffs.

KDs legacy would be set if he helps the warriors 3 peat and get 3 finals mvps in a row. There’s no argument about lebron ever being better than him if he beats lebron a third time and outplays him again.

And that little glimmer of an argument is squashed if he beats his ass and says I’ll lead you and the lakers back to glory lebron by making you a champion again and the pippen to my mj. Because if he came here that is what happens, he’s the best player and lebron is the Wade of the scenario

[Spens1]

I'd talk about him but it feels like he is about to get paid by the Hornets.

Top priority should be Leonard (i don't think king snake is leaving the warriors, he'd actually have to put in effort down here).

[Sedale Threatt]

I don't understand the kemba talk with lonzo being here. Anyhow, we should all be pulling for the warriors to win it all so Durant can come here next year. I think he comes if he and LeBron both hav 3 rings...... They can them win a couple more together. I don't think Durant wants to end his career with less rings than LeBron.

What are you saying? That if the Warriors lose KD will flee to whatever team beats them! Nah KD wouldn’t do that....oh wait never mind

If the warriors win it all I can see him coming here especially if he beats LA in the playoffs.

KDs legacy would be set if he helps the warriors 3 peat and get 3 finals mvps in a row. There’s no argument about lebron ever being better than him if he beats lebron a third time and outplays him again.

And that little glimmer of an argument is squashed if he beats his ass and says I’ll lead you and the lakers back to glory lebron by making you a champion again and the pippen to my mj. Because if he came here that is what happens, he’s the best player and lebron is the Wade of the scenario

I seriously doubt anybody's going to look at it that way. A lot of people already discount Durant's championships -- unfairly, in my opinion -- given the nature of the team he joined. Kevin is a GREAT player, one of the handful of best scoring machines we've ever seen. But most serious observers would never put him over LeBron, especially based on a few playoff series in which he was on clearly superior teams.

[kblo247]

What are you saying? That if the Warriors lose KD will flee to whatever team beats them! Nah KD wouldn’t do that....oh wait never mind

If the warriors win it all I can see him coming here especially if he beats LA in the playoffs.

KDs legacy would be set if he helps the warriors 3 peat and get 3 finals mvps in a row. There’s no argument about lebron ever being better than him if he beats lebron a third time and outplays him again.

And that little glimmer of an argument is squashed if he beats his ass and says I’ll lead you and the lakers back to glory lebron by making you a champion again and the pippen to my mj. Because if he came here that is what happens, he’s the best player and lebron is the Wade of the scenario

I seriously doubt anybody's going to look at it that way. A lot of people already discount Durant's championships -- unfairly, in my opinion -- given the nature of the team he joined. Kevin is a GREAT player, one of the handful of best scoring machines we've ever seen. But most serious observers would never put him over LeBron, especially based on a few playoff series in which he was on clearly superior teams.

Most would see KD 3 peating after beating Bron 3 straight times as hard to ignore. Then if he left golden state, went to la and goes on to lead lebron who has a losing finals record and vs golden state to beating curry wearing a lakers uniform to a title it would be hard to argue he’s not better, not more of a killer, not more of a winner than lebron. Lebron fans have no legs to stand on, warriors fans have no legs to stand on, and no one could ever say KD ain’t the cold bloodiest mf to ever play in his era.

[RamonSessions7]

If the warriors win it all I can see him coming here especially if he beats LA in the playoffs.

KDs legacy would be set if he helps the warriors 3 peat and get 3 finals mvps in a row. There’s no argument about lebron ever being better than him if he beats lebron a third time and outplays him again.

And that little glimmer of an argument is squashed if he beats his ass and says I’ll lead you and the lakers back to glory lebron by making you a champion again and the pippen to my mj. Because if he came here that is what happens, he’s the best player and lebron is the Wade of the scenario

I seriously doubt anybody's going to look at it that way. A lot of people already discount Durant's championships -- unfairly, in my opinion -- given the nature of the team he joined. Kevin is a GREAT player, one of the handful of best scoring machines we've ever seen. But most serious observers would never put him over LeBron, especially based on a few playoff series in which he was on clearly superior teams.

Most would see KD 3 peating after beating Bron 3 straight times as hard to ignore. Then if he left golden state, went to la and goes on to lead LeBron who has a losing finals record and vs golden state to beating curry wearing a lakers uniform to a title it would be hard to argue he’s not better, not more of a killer, not more of a winner than LeBron. LeBron fans have no legs to stand on, warriors fans have no legs to stand on, and no one could ever say KD ain’t the cold bloodiest mf to ever play in his era.

Meh. I still would. A lot of those points don't do it for me. Still joined a pre-made already-champion, record best regular season in NBA history team for those foundation rings. LeBron having a finals losing record is the lamest narrative in basketball, he made it further constantly than most. Losing after winning early>losing early. Whether he's better or whatever than LeBron, only people who strictly ring count would better their opinion at this point. We've seen/are seeing both of their peaks and Durant was never better than LeBron. LeBron leading the Cavs to the win over the GSW will top any title earned by KD in terms of difficulty and having to be the difference. And Warriors fans' legs would be just fine as they were a recurring Finals team before the guy, and beat the guy on his team down 1-3 the year prior. Assuming our team and young players develop and LeBron doesn't cliff dive, coming here to win would not be exactly the biggest mountain to climb for a MVP, which is why I see us as having a good chance at him coming here (being one to choose the easy road to winning over being the cold bloodest anything).

Though now that I think of it, there's a good chance Durant is reading this and logging in to some burner account to defend his online rep, so... Come to LA, KD, you're the best.

EDIT: and now I see I've made the FA no one is talking about thread into the FA everyone is talking about, but I guess there is a reason why. Kemba is a 2nd tier option and has been not at all linked to us, so only reason to discuss him is a deep dive on next year's FA.

[Sedale Threatt]

If the warriors win it all I can see him coming here especially if he beats LA in the playoffs.

KDs legacy would be set if he helps the warriors 3 peat and get 3 finals mvps in a row. There’s no argument about lebron ever being better than him if he beats lebron a third time and outplays him again.

And that little glimmer of an argument is squashed if he beats his ass and says I’ll lead you and the lakers back to glory lebron by making you a champion again and the pippen to my mj. Because if he came here that is what happens, he’s the best player and lebron is the Wade of the scenario

I seriously doubt anybody's going to look at it that way. A lot of people already discount Durant's championships -- unfairly, in my opinion -- given the nature of the team he joined. Kevin is a GREAT player, one of the handful of best scoring machines we've ever seen. But most serious observers would never put him over LeBron, especially based on a few playoff series in which he was on clearly superior teams.

Most would see KD 3 peating after beating Bron 3 straight times as hard to ignore. Then if he left golden state, went to la and goes on to lead lebron who has a losing finals record and vs golden state to beating curry wearing a lakers uniform to a title it would be hard to argue he’s not better, not more of a killer, not more of a winner than lebron. Lebron fans have no legs to stand on, warriors fans have no legs to stand on, and no one could ever say KD ain’t the cold bloodiest mf to ever play in his era.

I'd love it if he came here -- beyond him being one of the best players of all time, Durant is one of my favorite non-Lakers ever -- but this is pure narrative that nobody outside of the Skip Baylesses of the world would subscribe to.

In terms of stuff we can actually measure and analyze, there's just nothing -- not a single thing -- that puts Durant ahead of LeBron. Advanced stats, box score stats, you name it. Not PER, not WS/48, not even career scoring average. That's the strength of Durant's game, and LeBron still has an identical average on slightly worse efficiency in nearly 400 more career games.

And the kicker: In the 11 seasons they've been in the league together that we have data -- this year isn't up yet -- Durant has never posted a better RAPM. Not a single time.

I know you put some stock in these types of measures, and you can't just throw them out the window whenever you see fit.

[stan francisco]

No defense, no Lakers uniform. We score enough. Let’s return to not talking about Kemba.

[karkinos]

love kembas heart. dude also is like never injured. but yeah, he's not a defender and he's not going to spread the floor like we need.

klay is still the ideal option. would kill to be in klay thompson's shoes. curry, kd, and lebron all wanting you to play on their team.