Lavine is....

[pipfan]

please vote for the one that fits your feelings towards Zach

[dougthonus]

I think I'm somewhere between #2 and #3 and could be in #5 if there was a good trade for him available, but I don't think there will be a good trade available for him. It's hard to choose #5 without knowing what "sell high" really looks like.

[Fastbrk4brkfast]

Option 2 is the closest. But "soon to be all-star who can be #2 on a contender and is worth trading high on" could also be the case with a new front office.

[League Circles]

5 is the closest to what I think. Basically I think he's a solid 2nd scoring option offensively, but not good enough to be the 2nd best overall player on a really good team.

[FriedRise]

I think he's somewhere in between #2 - #3 right now, but he can solidly be a #2 if the team has more wins. #1 is a long shot given he's mostly average/below average in other things outside of scoring.

I do not think he is a bum that we should immediately trade (good contract, elite scorer, not that bad defensively), but that's something I'd absolutely explore if the potential return is worth it. That probably applies to every player on this team really.

[JohnnyTapwater]

He's definitely a star worth keeping ...

LOVE his skill and work ethic. I LOVE what I've been hearing in the off-season. Because of that, I think he's a budding superstar.

I'm going to speak it into existence.

[nomorezorro]

an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected in the first round of the 2014 NBA draft with the 13th overall pick by the Timberwolves. He is a two-time Slam Dunk Contest champion.

[ZOMG]

... someone whose large trade value is pretty much a fantasy. Sure, a lot of teams might want him... for cheap.

[The Force.]

#5. If he learns to play defense possibly #2.

[bad knees]

He's a 5 for me. Hugely talented offensively, but his bbiq holds him back. I can see him going through his career without making the playoffs until he reaches his 30's and settles for a lesser role.

[ZOMG]

#5. If he learns to play defense possibly #2.

Defense won't make him an All Star in this league. Winning will.

Trouble is, he's not a winning player and everybody knows it.

[nomorezorro]

i've been optimistic about zach ever since he joined the team, but at this point in his career i think his "best case scenario" requires

1) us finding a legitimate #1 option on offense
2) him accepting that, on a great team, he is a complementary player rather than an offensive centerpiece

i don't think zach is a selfish player in the traditional sense — he's shown a willingness to get others involved and seems to be genuinely happy when someone like lauri or coby is rolling and putting up big scoring numbers — but i do think that philosophically he sees himself as The Guy, and i have questions about how well he'd take on a secondary or tertiary role if he was asked to.

still, it's not fair to assume he'd be incapable of it. he has legitimately been the best player on our team ever since he got here. hopefully we get an opportunity to find out what he's like playing next to someone even better!

[kodo]

I'm somewhere between 2/3. He's a #2 on a good team, but not a championship team as those often have 2+ superstars.

I see starting guards on contending teams like Eric Bledsoe and Russell Westbrook play with much worse IQ than Lavine, and their teams still win.

When teams with title aspirations like the Lakers and Brooklyn want to trade for Lavine, the problem probably isn't the player.

[Ugly Duckling]

My prediction is he's going to make another significant jump this yr. He's been going hard already in term of training and hasn't reached his prime. His combination of excellent shooting and elite athleticism is very rare. Name some players like that. I can't think of any right now. Usually elite athletes cap off at above average shooting at best and excellent shooters aren't elite athletes. That's an incredibly useful combo to have in a player. He needs someone to handle the rock and cover up his defensive lapses so he can focus on putting the ball in the hole

[Ebo21]

I think he’s #2. He has all of the offensive ability in the world and I don’t think we lose because he’s necessarily the best option on the team. We lose because we suck and our coaching was terrible. I expect him to improve simply from the coaching change and compounded with his continued hard work on his craft he should take another step.

[drosereturn]

#5. #3 doesnt make any sense since who the hell keeps 20mil guy as your 6th man? your basically admitting he is lou williams except he is twice more pricey.

Bottom line is whether he is all star caliber or not is not very important. He is very expensive (30+) soon, isnt a #1,2, and yet makes it impossible to draft someone like Ball, Young bc Lavine is terrible defensively which forces you to play 2 3&D players with him which limits further playmaking by not playing with a pass first pg.
If Trae young/ MPJ was available, would you draft him knowing your going to give up 150 points? You can have 1 defensively weak player as long as he is so good at the offensive end he makes up for. But 2 is impossible to take cover. Lavine makes going bpa impossible.

[_txchilibowl_]

I miss Jordan is the correct answer.

[cool007]

For me it's easy, #2. He just needs a Kawhi, Doncic, Greek Freak, etc as a 1st option and you will see how good of a #2 option he would be.

And yeah, better coaching and team staying healthy would help greatly. It looks bad because he has been playing next to G-League like players in Payne, Dunn, Harrison, Arci, etc while other talented players are always hurt (Carter, Porter, Lauri, etc). Whenever he played next to a healthy squad, he and the team both performed well (see after the trade for Porter).

[bledredwine]

Always trade high if you aren't going to be in contention soon and said player is not a star/superstar in impact.

I said it with hobbled Jo, I said it with Deng, I said to wait on Mirotic (which obviously backfired on our tank) and I'll say it with Lavine.

That said, our new FO actually seems proactive. Maybe they'll surround him with some good vets to compete for a playoff spot. If you get a couple of good picks though... trade.

[TheSuzerain]

He's a 2nd option scoring wise who needs to be your 4th best player.

Easiest way to fit him in would be as an elite 6th man who you probably do include in your closing lineup when teams mostly go small.