What in the world makes people think that D Angelo Russell can fill Klay Thompson’s shoes

[freethedevil]

Let’s keep in mind that they wouldn’t be a playoff team if they didn’t add Dlo.

They played like the best offense in the league without klay and kd. Why would this be the case?


Anyway, people think that because

a. he's a better ball handler
b. he's a better passer
c. a more versatile scorer
d. is likely to improve

[freethedevil]

Not sure why everyone thinks he is just trade bait. The Warriors core are all around 30 now so it makes sense they have another key player who is a lot younger than them. As others have mentioned he will more than likely play more PG than Steph, and will play part of the role Durant / Iggy / Livingston did as a primary ball carrier. He also gives them an ISO option with the shot clock running down or end of qtr's etc. I actually think he will be a great fit and replace a lot of the roles which some of their departing players played.

It makes sense to get young talent. DLo isn't that talent. Their best case scenario is that he can score at above average efficiency thanks to Curry's gravity. Otherwise he's not even a good stop gap.

Dlo was the engine for a playoff team at 23. Way too early to say what he is and what he's not.

[XxIronChainzxX]

Not sure why everyone thinks he is just trade bait. The Warriors core are all around 30 now so it makes sense they have another key player who is a lot younger than them. As others have mentioned he will more than likely play more PG than Steph, and will play part of the role Durant / Iggy / Livingston did as a primary ball carrier. He also gives them an ISO option with the shot clock running down or end of qtr's etc. I actually think he will be a great fit and replace a lot of the roles which some of their departing players played.

It makes sense to get young talent. DLo isn't that talent. Their best case scenario is that he can score at above average efficiency thanks to Curry's gravity. Otherwise he's not even a good stop gap.

Dlo was the engine for a playoff team at 23. Way too early to say what he is and what he's not.

I refer you to my last post. He got credit for being the "engine" of a playoff team. Parking what achivement that was in the bottom of the East, credit belongs far more to the FO and the supporting cast. They likely don't make it if Russel can't score on high usage at league average efficiency, but that's not being the engine. They won 42 games. That team doesn't make the playoffs in the West and it's not close.

[Danny1616]

Nobody said Russell is filling in for Klay Thompson.

Klay is expected to return around February.

Russell is a very nice and talented piece alongside that core.

[MrDollarBills]

If you can get something like Covington + another rotation player probably the Warriors would be much better.
As they are they don't have neither the top talent they used to have last year nor the depth they had in the 73w season.

I don't think DAR is worth a max slot.

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I can agree with some points you made but is Middleton or Harris worth the contracts they signed? I would argue.. I would argue due to the age and other things who is a better value - D'Angelo or those 2...

Covington + another rotation player is an extreme example. Covington is probably one of the best 3&D guys in the league. Even with that in mind I would keep D'Angelo.

The only problem with Russell is his brain power and that he is not very smart. Trying to sneak weed in a tea can
I hope Green smacks him a couple of times just for the sake of it and guys like Steph and Klay put him in a right place and teach him how to shoot even better and be a better player..
I think he's a good kid and with the guidance of vets he can be become a forth all-star on that rooster and score + 24 points a night.

So you're hoping that Draymond Green assaults him just because he made a mistake? What the hell is wrong with you dude?

Outside of the weed incident, which had no impact on his on court performance by the way, D'Angelo Russell was very mature and professional during his two seasons with the Nets. He also isn't stupid at all.

[MrDollarBills]

There are people out there that are really saying that?

Russel is masssively overrated and wont come close to matching Klay's production. Russel is easily guardable.

Not to mention Klay is an elite defender while Russel probably cant even slow down Raymond Felton

Russell is easily guardable...is that why he averaged 27pts 9asts on 50%FG 39%3PT 58%TS versus the Raptors last season?

[reflex35]

I can agree with some points you made but is Middleton or Harris worth the contracts they signed? I would argue.. I would argue due to the age and other things who is a better value - D'Angelo or those 2...

Covington + another rotation player is an extreme example. Covington is probably one of the best 3&D guys in the league. Even with that in mind I would keep D'Angelo.

The only problem with Russell is his brain power and that he is not very smart. Trying to sneak weed in a tea can
I hope Green smacks him a couple of times just for the sake of it and guys like Steph and Klay put him in a right place and teach him how to shoot even better and be a better player..
I think he's a good kid and with the guidance of vets he can be become a forth all-star on that rooster and score + 24 points a night.

So you're hoping that Draymond Green assaults him just because he made a mistake? What the hell is wrong with you dude?

Outside of the weed incident, which had no impact on his on court performance by the way, D'Angelo Russell was very mature and professional during his two seasons with the Nets. He also isn't stupid at all.

Don't take everything literally and calm down.
Mature and smart players don't bring weed into airports in places which will be checked by security!!!
How's smart is that? It just shows ignorance or being absolutely out of touch with the reality. It does not show that you're smart. That's for sure.

[IQ_baller]

Nobody:

OP: What in the world makes people think that D Angelo Russell can fill Klay Thompson’s shoes

[MindState]

Why all the D’Lo hate?

Didnt he just carry the Nets into the playoffs as their best player last season?

Thats a pretty good accomplishment, being the best player on a playoff team at only 22.

My two cents.

[Jody Smokz]

It's wild the amount of fans on the GB that make posts that generally dont seem to enjoy basketball. They just want to make up topics to trigger and argue with fans.

Who are these "people" you keep referencing?

No one has said these two players are the same. They have different strengths and weaknesses. But you're comparing a 23 year old rising star to a guy who is pushing 30 with a fresh ACL injury. What is the point of this thread. Also, are you related to Klay?

[cupcakesnake]

We have to picture the Warriors rotation without Klay to imagine how many games they're going to win in the first half of the season.

Steph
D-Lo/Alec Burks/Damion Lee
McKinnie/Glenn Robinson
Draymond/Omari Spellman
Looney/WCS
+ some rookies we don't know if they'll be rotation guys or not.

It's tempting to say that D-Lo will be even better this year, with the spacing provided by Steph. But there's not really any good proven shooting on the roster outside Steph, so the power of Steph's gravity will really be on display without Klay out there. McKinnie, Glenn Robinson, Damion Lee, Spellman, Burks are all okay enough shooting the ball. Maybe one of them breaks out. If there isn't spacing, D-Lo might struggle a bit and that will take a lot of the fire away from this roster.

Imo, a healthy Steph and Draymond (with solid role players like Looney) is enough to keep this team afloat and in the thick of the playoff race. An injury to either would be a catastrophe for this paper thin team.

[Lenneth]

People are tagging Warriors to 6th seeds, because Klay is injured and D-Lo is with Warriors. If Klay were healthy and D-Lo isn't a Warrior, people would tag Warriors as one of top 4 teams. Don't think anybody treats D-Lo same as Klay.

[abark]

No ones thinking that.

D-Lo and Klay are two completely different players.

With D-Lo, Steph will get to play off-ball while D-Lo handles and initiates the offense. It’s a much different component than Klay because Russell can actually dribble.

Have you ever seen Klay run point while Steph plays off-ball? No you haven’t. It’s usually Draymond or Iggy who would handle while Steph plays off the ball and the defense never worried about Draymond or Iggy scoring—but with D-Lo handling, it’s a different story.

Once Klay gets back, you also got Steph and Klay playing off-ball while D-Lo handles. The defense has to worry about not just the Splash Brothers, but Russell with the ball as well who can easily score on his own, or set up a big like WCS/Looney, or swing it to Draymond to keep the ball moving, etc.

And yes, the Warriors can play all three of D-Lo, Steph and Klay. People forget they Klay can play SF, and people don’t realize how tall Klay Thompson actually is. Klay is taller than Andre Iguodala—Klay is 6’7”.

Also, aside from those three running together. You’ll also see Steph and D-Lo stagger their minutes throughout games as well. Which means the Warriors will always have someone running the offense on full blast all game.

People tend to automatically think, “Steph is a point. D-Lo is a point. LOL STEVE AND STEPHON KNICKS AGAIN,” and call it a day but really D-Lo adds an intriguing component to the Warriors once you give it some thought.

I agree Klay can play SF, but it does pose a problem on the defensive end. One of the benefits of the Klay/Curry backcourt was that Klay could cover the better offensive guard.

Now you will have a Curry/DLo backcourt, and Klay will likely be stuck guarding a bigger wing that Curry wouldn't be able to handle.

And since Klay is a much more impactful man defender, as opposed to help defender, I just don't see the situation as ideal.

The trio of Curry, Klay, and Draymond have done it before, so having Dlo is a bonus. I just think using him as a trade piece to get a wing and some depth would be more beneficial

[homecourtloss]

DLo won’t provide the same defense, obviously, but the offense will be just fine and maybe even a different type of dynamic with DLo running the ball-screen actions. Curry can score with the ball, off of screens, off of handoffs, spotting up, doesn’t matter. No matter who plays with him, the team has an all time type offense for the past 5 seasons. Look at his two-man lineups from 2019 all the way back to 2014.

2019

2018

2017


The rest

Spoiler:

2016

2015

2014

[Ree4erMadness]

Not sure why everyone thinks he is just trade bait. The Warriors core are all around 30 now so it makes sense they have another key player who is a lot younger than them. As others have mentioned he will more than likely play more PG than Steph, and will play part of the role Durant / Iggy / Livingston did as a primary ball carrier. He also gives them an ISO option with the shot clock running down or end of qtr's etc. I actually think he will be a great fit and replace a lot of the roles which some of their departing players played.

Underrated post. This is actually something the Warriors have never had. A guy who can run the offense AND shoot and score himself, allowing Steph and Klay to play off the ball at the same time. That's a potentially deadly offense. Until now, anybody they had that can actually run the offense successfully other than Steph, like Draymond, Livington, and Iggy, none of those guys can really shoot or is a threat to score themselves. I mean, the owner said he has no plans to trade Russell so for now I'll take him at his words instead of a bunch of people on the forum trying to fulfill their own prophecy that he'll be traded just because thats what they want to see happen.

[Joerezz7]

Let’s keep in mind that they wouldn’t be a playoff team if they didn’t add Dlo.

They played like the best offense in the league without klay and kd. Why would this be the case?


Anyway, people think that because

a. he's a better ball handler
b. he's a better passer
c. a more versatile scorer
d. is likely to improve

If they played like the best offense in the league last year then why did they get dominated by the Raptors in the Finals. Series would’ve been over in 5 games if KD didn’t come back that one game.

Teams have improved too. The Lakers Clippers Utah are a few examples

Warriors without Klay Thompson is not better than Portland either

[freethedevil]

Let’s keep in mind that they wouldn’t be a playoff team if they didn’t add Dlo.

They played like the best offense in the league without klay and kd. Why would this be the case?


Anyway, people think that because

a. he's a better ball handler
b. he's a better passer
c. a more versatile scorer
d. is likely to improve

If they played like the best offense in the league last year then why did they get dominated by the Raptors in the Finals.

The raptors werethe second best modern playoff defense ever. The warriors defense ranked 11th both with and without durant this postseason. Imma let you figure this out.

Series would’ve been over in 5 games if KD didn’t come back that one game.

Huh? Based on what. When KD got injured the warriors lead had been reduced to a one possesion game despite the warriors having unsustainbly hot shooting at the start. In kd's last series, the rockets won two straight with him on the floor. There is zero evidence that kd was essential to their offense. Especially since it was their defense which collapsed.

[Up-And-Coming]

D'Lo plays nothing like Klay. D'Lo reminds me a bit of Manu and a skinnier Harden without the foul shots. If anything he can fill the role of 6th man when Klay comes back.

[RoyceDa59]

Show me proof where people have said this. They're completely different players.

What I think people are sleeping on is that this Golden State team made the finals (and would have made the finals) without KD, and possibly won the chip with a healthy Klay. So now that they've added another dynamic 20 PPG scorer to that same core, they should still be considered favourites to win it all.

[GeorgeMarcus]

Let’s keep in mind that they wouldn’t be a playoff team if they didn’t add Dlo.

"Let's keep in mind this false assumption"