Around the NBA 11

Post #881 » by **fatlever** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 7:28 pm

As others on Twitter stated...

Mikal perfect role player, elite wing defender, proven at highest level.

Miles might have more upside. But more uncertainty, less defined role.

Market will be similar. Most around league view Mikal as worth more.

Maybe 4/80 on high end
4/70 would be my low end guess.

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Braggins · Post #882 » by **Braggins** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 8:04 pm

Read on Twitter

Post #883 » by **fatlever** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 9:16 pm

But maybe in 6 years Kai Jones will learn how to play basketball....

How we passed on sengun when we needed him so bad, and he was ready day 1 and proven in good pro league. We even saw him in person. But like always got distracted by the falling shiney knife. I bet mitch would have even still picked Kai over sengun if both were on board for our 2nd pick. Because mj saw Kai and thought he could be next giannis.

Bouk and Kai better pan out.

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Roll Tide 09 · Post #884 » by **Roll Tide 09** » Sun Oct 17, 2021 9:36 pm

Jabari Parker is available again.

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Braggins · Post #885 » by **Braggins** » Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:07 am

fatlever wrote:But maybe in 6 years Kai Jones will learn how to play basketball....

How we passed on sengun when we needed him so bad, and he was ready day 1 and proven in good pro league. We even saw him in person. But like always got distracted by the falling shiney knife. I bet mitch would have even still picked Kai over sengun if both were on board for our 2nd pick. Because mj saw Kai and thought he could be next giannis.

Bouk and Kai better pan out.

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Its pretty wild that Sengun is 18 months younger than Kai and 22 months younger than Bouknight. Charlotte wasn't the only team who will regret passing on him, though. He should not have fallen out of the top 10.

Post #886 » by **fatlever** » Mon Oct 18, 2021 5:17 am

for comparison

Read on Twitter

Chapelchilla · Post #887 » by **Chapelchilla** » Mon Oct 18, 2021 1:23 pm

that SGA contract is terrible. He is good but not that good and seems fragile

Post #888 » by **fatlever** » Mon Oct 18, 2021 4:59 pm

Read on Twitter

?t=T6uzAh1xFaUA2r0nBzqllw&s=19

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HornetJail · Post #889 » by **HornetJail** » Mon Oct 18, 2021 6:12 pm

and those two teams cut Iwundu and Aminu

Snidely FC · Post #890 » by **Snidely FC** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 11:51 am

Zack Lowe ranks Hornets #5 on Most Fun to Watch this season:

The algorithm might be as overenthusiastic about the bouncy bugs as Eric Collins, Charlotte's charmingly bombastic play-by-play man, is in screaming about a LaMelo Ball long 2 as if Ball has discovered the cure for the coronavirus.

Charlotte was 33-39 last season with the league's seventh-worst point differential. If everything goes right, they probably top out around .500, and you know what, I don't care, because Ball is going to toss alley-oops to Miles Bridges, and Bridges is going to detonate and Michael Jordan will be grinning while wearing some hat that is a little bit funny if you are being honest with yourself.

Whew. Sorry.

The Hornets move the ball, and use superfun centerless lineups. Those groups ran really small last season with both Devonte' Graham and Terry Rozier, and Charlotte compensated by playing way more zone than anyone -- a nice strategic changeup.

With Graham out and both Gordon Hayward and Kelly Oubre Jr. available, the Hornets have access to bigger and switchier small-ball groups. How about: Ball, Oubre, Hayward, Bridges, and P.J. Washington? Even Rozier -- a crunch time god last season -- has a 6-foot-8 wingspan.

James Borrego faces a testy decision: Either start games centerless, or use one of Hayward, Bridges, and Washington as sixth man. Bridges drained 40% from deep last season, even dabbling in pull-ups, and made huge strides as a playmaker. I can't wait to see how much more he has, especially on defense, and if Washington shows similar all-around growth.

Oubre is always flexing, doing pushups, and punching up in his trash talk. The honeycombed court and striped uniforms stand out, and strike the right balance between Charlotte's classic 1990s look and modern tastes.

The biggest question: How polished of a scorer can Ball become in the half court?

Post #891 » by **fatlever** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 4:57 pm

It was pretty shocking to see Zion Williamson doing a Mountain Dew commercial yesterday. Like seriously dude? Of all the players in the NBA you are probably the last guy who needs to be drinking sugary soft drinks.

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LofJ · Post #892 » by **LofJ** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:15 pm

fatlever wrote:It was pretty shocking to see Zion Williamson doing a Mountain Dew commercial yesterday. Like seriously dude? Of all the players in the NBA you are probably the last guy who needs to be drinking sugary soft drinks.

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We need fat Zion to get in shape so the Pelicans pick will convey.

MasterIchiro · Post #893 » by **MasterIchiro** » Wed Oct 20, 2021 6:08 pm

I had the same thought re: Zion. But his co-star in the Mountain Dew commercial was skinny Zach LaVine, so that makes it okay, especially if LaVine leads the NBA in scoring. Also on Instagram someone asked Rozier his favorite snacks. I was thinking fruits and whatnot. He rattled off a list of forbidden foods for diabetics, everything from gummy life savers to Chips Ahoy cookies. The guy eats like ****. Do the Pelicans even have a nutrition specialist? If not, 2 second rounders await the Hornets.

predators · Post #894 » by **predators** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 2:43 pm

fatlever wrote:It was pretty shocking to see Zion Williamson doing a Mountain Dew commercial yesterday. Like seriously dude? Of all the players in the NBA you are probably the last guy who needs to be drinking sugary soft drinks.

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He reportedly came into training camp at 300lbs.

It really is crazy how athletic he is given how much extra body fat he carries. 6'7" 300lbs is a NFL tackle.

I also can't think of playstyle(for a forward) that's worse to carry that much extra weight. I don't see how his joints/feet hold up long term.

predators · Post #895 » by **predators** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 2:56 pm

fatlever wrote:But maybe in 6 years Kai Jones will learn how to play basketball....

How we passed on sengun when we needed him so bad, and he was ready day 1 and proven in good pro league. We even saw him in person. But like always got distracted by the falling shiney knife. I bet mitch would have even still picked Kai over sengun if both were on board for our 2nd pick. Because mj saw Kai and thought he could be next giannis.

Bouk and Kai better pan out.

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I generally agree. Worth mentioning, Sengun dropped because GM's are scared he's not playable in the Playoffs not because they doubted he would be productive out of the gate. Kanter is kind of a lazy comparison, but Kanter is bigger/a walking double/double when he gets minutes, but isn't playable at times in the playoffs.

I also don't think the odds of Kai working out are very high. I don't know if his "generally looking lost out there" is the kind that's fixable. So I'd prefer Sengun.

Chapelchilla · Post #896 » by **Chapelchilla** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:26 pm

While I would have loved for us to draft Sengun instead of Bouknight, I am not ready to write off him or Jones. I don't think that a year of college ball or whatever is enough to determine whether they can learn to be good pro's after one game in their rookie season. These guys are still kids who should be in school or a D(G) league realistically. We should know who good they can be in 2 years.
Ex-Bridges had 2 years of college ball at a well coached major school and 2 full pro seasons before he looked like a legit player.
Sengun and Ball and even Doncic for that matter, are super high upside teenage marvels who had played pro basketball already. That's a different timeline then our just out of college guys with undeveloped potential.

predators · Post #897 » by **predators** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 4:53 pm

Chapelchilla wrote:While I would have loved for us to draft Sengun instead of Bouknight, I am not ready to write off him or Jones. I don't think that a year of college ball or whatever is enough to determine whether they can learn to be good pro's after one game in their rookie season. These guys are still kids who should be in school or a D(G) league realistically. We should know who good they can be in 2 years.
Ex-Bridges had 2 years of college ball at a well coached major school and 2 full pro seasons before he looked like a legit player.
Sengun and Ball and even Doncic for that matter, are super high upside teenage marvels who had played pro basketball already. That's a different timeline then our just out of college guys with undeveloped potential.

Miles just needed to adjust how he played because the style of play he had in college wasn't going to work at his size in the NBA. He never looked absolutely lost out there.

Kai jones kind of reminds of me of a soccer prospect that has the eyepopping skills and + physical tools at the youth level but for whatever reason just doesn't process information fast enough to be effective at the pro-level when the speed of play greatly increases. I'd be pretty ecstatic if he ends up being Biz that can catch and occasionally hit a 3.

LofJ · Post #898 » by **LofJ** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 5:07 pm

Kai's issue is that he tries to do way too much. He needs to master a simplified, specific role before he is allowed to try to be the unicorn do it all bigman he wants to be.

Chapelchilla · Post #899 » by **Chapelchilla** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 10:02 pm

LofJ wrote:Kai's issue is that he tries to do way too much. He needs to master a simplified, specific role before he is allowed to try to be the unicorn do it all bigman he wants to be.

I agree and figure that is exactly what Kupchak/Borrego are working on with him in practice. He is still a skinny kid too. Needs 2 years to grow and get specific pro skills coaching. Then we can see if he can be a legit NBA player or more.

Post #900 » by **fatlever** » Thu Oct 21, 2021 11:12 pm

predators wrote:
fatlever wrote:But maybe in 6 years Kai Jones will learn how to play basketball....

How we passed on sengun when we needed him so bad, and he was ready day 1 and proven in good pro league. We even saw him in person. But like always got distracted by the falling shiney knife. I bet mitch would have even still picked Kai over sengun if both were on board for our 2nd pick. Because mj saw Kai and thought he could be next giannis.

Bouk and Kai better pan out.

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I generally agree. Worth mentioning, Sengun dropped because GM's are scared he's not playable in the Playoffs not because they doubted he would be productive out of the gate. Kanter is kind of a lazy comparison, but Kanter is bigger/a walking double/double when he gets minutes, but isn't playable at times in the playoffs.

I also don't think the odds of Kai working out are very high. I don't know if his "generally looking lost out there" is the kind that's fixable. So I'd prefer Sengun.

The reports about his defense are the one reason I wasn't screaming louder for us to draft him. I don't really watch college basketball or look at prospects prior to the draft anymore. So I was concerned that he may be a bit of a turnstile on defense.

It took about three minutes of actually watching him play in Summer League to realize that I have zero concerns about his defense. He's just a dude that gets it. He's one of those players that looks like he sees the place happening three or four seconds before everyone else. So while his lateral movement to maybe slow, he will make up for it with anticipation and positioning. Plus it appears he has very quick hands for Steals and blocks.

I remember going to a Bobcats game many years ago and watching an injured and very old Rasheed Wallace completely dominate the Bobcats defensively. He barely moved. But his positioning and anticipation and Leadership were so Elite that it didn't matter. He was always in the exact right spot at the exact right time. It was truly incredible to watch and something that has stuck with me ever since. Smart basketball players make winning plays.

Ever since, I don't get too caught up in whether or not players appear to be athletically able to be at Elite. Sometimes you can just watch a player until they're going to be good because they simply get it.

I watch Kai, and he gives me the opposite feeling. Like, this guy could play basketball every day for the next decade and I'm not sure it would matter much. He seems like a really smart dude so I hope I'm wrong.

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