Spurs Sign 2nd Round Pick Metu

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Originally Posted by Chinook

As I said, he was the second-worst out of centers that actually got drafted. The combine numbers support that. Constantly using "ignorant" over and over doesn't negate that. Your argument is that he was top-five. But he was top-five out of a pool of six.

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Lol. You are ignorant. https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine/

He is top 4 and top 5 out of 14 center and pf/c combos. Ignorant, ignorant, ignorant.

Edit: looks like 4 guys didn't run. So it was out of 10. But draft analysis of game film suggest he has good footspeed and agility for a center. Today's draft looks a lot different from one 10 years ago so I would say we picked up one heck of a dynamic big.

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Originally Posted by SpursDynasty85

Lol. You are ignorant. https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine/

He is top 4 and top 5 out of 14 center and pf/c combos. Ignorant, ignorant, ignorant.

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Click on the fucking arrow next to the results and see who he's being compared to.

https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-...onYear=2018-19

He beat out guys who didn't stay in the draft because they weren't going to be good picks or guys who were undrafted. He didn't compete at all against guys like Ayton or Bamba.

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Originally Posted by SpursDynasty85

Metu and Poeltl will be our future front court watch. That combo looks great offensively and defensively. I guess you don't trust Metu at all with a jumpshot?

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Stranger things have happened, but I'd be surprised if Metu ever became more than a 4th big and would consider 5th a success (that still means relatively significant minutes throughout the season, especially on this team).

After this season, near future I expect the 4-5 rotation to be as follows: Aldridge, Gay or some other big wing (Aminu?), Poeltl, Bertans.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

Click on the fucking arrow next to the results and see who he's being compared to.

https://stats.nba.com/draft/combine-...onYear=2018-19

He beat out guys who didn't stay in the draft because they weren't going to be good picks or guys who were undrafted. He didn't compete at all against guys like Ayton or Bamba.

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Lol. Still everything you were trying to say was wrong though. He competed against centers and pf/c combos. Finished top 4 out of 10. This proves he is below average agility for NBA centers?

Like I said, today's NBSmA centers: Capela, Adam's, Ibaka, Valaciunas, McGee, Cousins, Gortat, Horford, would do better? Draft analysis clearly puts his agility and footspeed as impressive for his height and position. I'd say it's pretty ignorant to say he is below average. But I digress.

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Originally Posted by TD 21

Stranger things have happened, but I'd be surprised if Metu ever became more than a 4th big and would consider 5th a success (that still means relatively significant minutes throughout the season, especially on this team).

After this season, near future I expect the 4-5 rotation to be as follows: Aldridge, Gay or some other big wing (Aminu?), Poeltl, Bertans.

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Gay and Aldridge will probably be retired after 3 more years
That would leave Poeltl, Bertans, and Metu to carry the torch after. Hopefully we do pick up at least one more front court player by then. I can see Metu playing off the bench but hopefully being the first one off of it.

I don't think the NBA will move past PFs of Metu's size. It's just that if Metu's most intriguing skills were NBA-caliber, he would be an SF. Then that guy and a center would still be considered a small-ball lineup. We're essentially talking about a dude the same size as Kyle Anderson here. If Metu can cut and spot-up, while being a positive defensive presence, he can certainly play next to Poeltl or Aldridge. You don't have to be perfect at guarding wings to be a small-ball PF. You just have to good enough to compliment whatever you supply on the other end.

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Originally Posted by SpursDynasty85

Lol. Still everything you were trying to say was wrong though. He competed against centers and pf/c combos. Finished top 4 out of 10. This proves he is below average agility for NBA centers?

Like I said, today's NBSmA centers: Capela, Adam's, Ibaka, Valaciunas, McGee, Cousins, Gortat, Horford, would do better? Draft analysis clearly puts his agility and footspeed as impressive for his height and position. I'd say it's pretty ignorant to say he is below average. But I digress.

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You consistently fail to acknowledge that everyone below him is not going to be in the NBA next year except for Spellman. It doesn't matter how non-NBA players did against him. Anyway, you keep ignoring that his position is not center in your mind. You are arguing he's a PF who should play more SF than C. But compared to the PFs and SFs in the combine, he showed poorly. His agility is NOT impressive for his height. It is above-average if you compare him exclusively to bigger players and fail to filter out guys who were not drafted. That's intellectually dishonest as shit though.

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Originally Posted by SpursDynasty85

Gay and Aldridge will probably be retired after 3 more years
That would leave Poeltl, Bertans, and Metu to carry the torch after. Hopefully we do pick up at least one more front court player by then. I can see Metu playing off the bench but hopefully being the first one off of it.

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They're only 33 and 32. One is late prime, the other slightly past prime. They both have elite length, so they can slide up a position as they age. They should be able to play a relatively long time, if they so choose. Especially Aldridge, who's similar to Duncan and Gasol, the exact archetype that ages best (long, skilled, below the rim bigs).

Even if both did retire in 3 years, that's plenty of time for things to change. You're only considering what they have in the cupboard today and also not considering the amount of money that would be freed up.

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Originally Posted by TD 21

They're only 33 and 32. One is late prime, the other slightly past prime. They both have elite length, so they can slide up a position as they age. They should be able to play a relatively long time, if they so choose. Especially Aldridge, who's similar to Duncan and Gasol, the exact archetype that ages best (long, skilled, below the rim bigs).

Even if both did retire in 3 years, that's plenty of time for things to change. You're only considering what they have in the cupboard today and also not considering the amount of money that would be freed up.

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No. I get what your saying. I am just a little more high on him than you I guess. Aldridge I definite can see playin past 3 years and yes more at the 5 with limited minutes. Gay is interesting. Even at the 4, his foot speed would attract a lot of guards to switch on him and blow by him so I can see Metu easily out playin Gay by then, maybe before but the way Pop stays loyal Metu may well be just our 4th or 5th big but in some cases he will be bigtime for us on occasions I think.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

You consistently fail to acknowledge that everyone below him is not going to be in the NBA next year except for Spellman. It doesn't matter how non-NBA players did against him. Anyway, you keep ignoring that his position is not center in your mind. You are arguing he's a PF who should play more SF than C. But compared to the PFs and SFs in the combine, he showed poorly. His agility is NOT impressive for his height. It is above-average if you compare him exclusively to bigger players and fail to filter out guys who were not drafted. That's intellectually dishonest as shit though.

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To be fair. I am only high on him at the 3 against certain lineups. I call him a 4. Second, I was refuting your statement on that he is below average agility for an NBA center. Then you point me to draft combine and your main argument is that the best centers didn't even compete in the agility drills. His combine stats prove of the likely centers and pf/c combos that teams wanted to see, he finished at least average to above average. It is poor evidence of your assertion that he is below average agility no matter how you want to twist the numbers. Like I said, most draft analysis likes his foot speed and ability for a big man.

And it is not dishonest. You are trying to compare him to purely the drafted guys? Lol sounds like your comparison is dishonest. Today's young guys in the combine are head and shoulders more agile than most of today's NBA centers. Lol.

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Originally Posted by KDKSpurs24

In his USC highlights he looks huge on court at times. I know it’s college but I think it’s hard to look that tall compared to other players unless you’re around 6’10 in shoes.

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Hopefully he's 6'10" (w/ or w/o shoes).

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Originally Posted by Fusternino

6'8.5" w/o shoes 6'9.5" w/ shoes.

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Sorry I interchanged the two but thanks for this and it's still confusing on which report is the accurate. :lol

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Originally Posted by SpursDynasty85

To be fair. I am only high on him at the 3 against certain lineups. I call him a 4. Second, I was refuting your statement on that he is below average agility for an NBA center. Then you point me to draft combine and your main argument is that the best centers didn't even compete in the agility drills. His combine stats prove of the likely centers and pf/c combos that teams wanted to see, he finished at least average to above average. It is poor evidence of your assertion that he is below average agility no matter how you want to twist the numbers. Like I said, most draft analysis likes his foot speed and ability for a big man.

And it is not dishonest. You are trying to compare him to purely the drafted guys? Lol sounds like your comparison is dishonest. Today's young guys in the combine are head and shoulders more agile than most of today's NBA centers. Lol.

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Yes, I'm trying to compare him to his rookie class, not to guys who dropped out of the draft or who will be playing overseas. Now do I think Metu is faster than the Gasols of the league? Yes. But Metu is INSANELY small for a center. Like there was a two-guard who was bigger than him in the draft. He doesn't have the weight to play center, small-ball or no. Once he adds the 20 pounds to get there, will his average agility numbers still hold up? Probably not. My whole point is that he's not some special athlete where it makes sense to think of him as a forward rather than a big. He has some floor game, but he doesn't have perimeter-level movement. Whether he's slightly above-average or slightly below-average is really unimportant. His feet say he's a big, even if his frame and girth say he's a wing.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

Yes, I'm trying to compare him to his rookie class, not to guys who dropped out of the draft or who will be playing overseas. Now do I think Metu is faster than the Gasols of the league? Yes. But Metu is INSANELY small for a center. Like there was a two-guard who was bigger than him in the draft. He doesn't have the weight to play center, small-ball or no. Once he adds the 20 pounds to get there, will his average agility numbers still hold up? Probably not. My whole point is that he's not some special athlete where it makes sense to think of him as a forward rather than a big. He has some floor game, but he doesn't have perimeter-level movement. Whether he's slightly above-average or slightly below-average is really unimportant. His feet say he's a big, even if his frame and girth say he's a wing.

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We are all really speculating as what kind of player he might become. The point I make however is that the Spurs RARELY ever sign a 2nd rounder that they drafted. The previous occasion was Blair and they played him a lot for the next 3 seasons. That's not typical for a Spurs rookies. The other guy they drafted (and stashed) in the second round is a HOF (i.e. Manu). So I have some trust in the instincts of the PATFO. They had more time and access to evaluate Metu than any of us and apparently they like him enough to lock him up for 3 years.

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Originally Posted by SpursDynasty85

Small ball lineups usually consist of a legit center/of as the 5 with a combination of gaurd and wings at the 1-4. There are obviously some exceptions but ultimately it all comes down to positionless basketball. Even if Metu is the 5 against GS, the biggest weakness for the Spurs is when the center or smaller guy switches onto KD and making sure Klay is chained down. As long as Metu can gaurd KD/Lebron/Harden on switches for few stretches it will give us the best chance to contend for a championship. We really don't care what position you call him. Especially on our roster say you have Aldridge and Gay in there along with Metu for length which of these guys has quicker lateral footspeed? I think most would say Metu.

Circumstantially:

Aldridge
Gay
Metu
DeRozan
White/Murray

For when length and size is needed.

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That lineup is just baffling to me, for a number of reasons.

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Originally Posted by SpursDynasty85

Small ball lineups usually consist of a legit center/of as the 5 with a combination of gaurd and wings at the 1-4. There are obviously some exceptions but ultimately it all comes down to positionless basketball. Even if Metu is the 5 against GS, the biggest weakness for the Spurs is when the center or smaller guy switches onto KD and making sure Klay is chained down. As long as Metu can gaurd KD/Lebron/Harden on switches for few stretches it will give us the best chance to contend for a championship. We really don't care what position you call him. Especially on our roster say you have Aldridge and Gay in there along with Metu for length which of these guys has quicker lateral footspeed? I think most would say Metu.

Circumstantially:

Aldridge
Gay
Metu
DeRozan
White/Murray

For when length and size is needed.

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This could be the best the Spurs can field against a GSW death lineup.

White is bigger than Curry. Ideally though, you want to attack Curry on offense, so every player that Curry switches on to guard should give Curry fits.

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Originally Posted by Chinook

They lost Tony and Manu and replaced them with DeRozan and White. Walker doesn't count, because he's going to play just as much as White (whom you didn't count for last year) did last season. Anderson at least cancels out Beli. Moreover, last year, the team had offensive issues without Kawhi, so merely replacing that output isn't good enough. The offense would have been fine had they had Leonard's scoring and gravity, but this year's team won't get that. When you lose as much D as they did, you can't just tread water offensively.

Even so, last year, the team had White and Murray as PGs behind Parker and Manu. Murray started because Tony was still hurt, but they still had the depth to take two injuries. Now we're expecting every one of the "facilitators" to be in the rotation. If one of them goes down, they aren't being replaced by Murray or White. They are being replaced by Forbes, Pondexter or Cunningham.

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good point. I see the possibility of one of those 2 way deals being a guard, but we shall see. They seem as nervous as fans are about the wing depth and have invested in a lot of marginal vets coming to camp to fill a spot. I would expect them to look at some guards too.

This team is younger but one cannot assume they will be injury free.

I think Forbes has improve his ballhandling enough to help out (more than Danny would have for example), but he's still no more of a PG than Danny was. Forbes really is an undersized wing.

But I'd be totally fine if he proves me wrong bc his lack of contribution in anything other than a few shots last year was actually infuriating in some games.

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Originally Posted by cd021

That lineup is just baffling to me, for a number of reasons.

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it is

Anyone who thinks Metu will ever play the 3 in anything more than spot minutes in some experimental lineup during garbage time just doesn't know basketball.

"As long as Metu can guard KD/LeBron/Kawhi..."

Jesus Christ. Do some of you actually read the drivel you type before you post it? The guy has yet to play an NBA minute and we're already talking about moving him out of position and sticking him in front of the world's best. :lmao Fucking casuals.

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Originally Posted by ceperez

This could be the best the Spurs can field against a GSW death lineup.

White is bigger than Curry. Ideally though, you want to attack Curry on offense, so every player that Curry switches on to guard should give Curry fits.

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Mills, Murray, DDR, Gay, and LMA is the best lineup that the Spurs cam field against GSW and Houston, for better or for worse.

White may end up being a good rotation player, this season, but people are really penciling in Metu and White in a closing unit vs. GSW?

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Originally Posted by cd021

Mills, Murray, DDR, Gay, and LMA is the best lineup that the Spurs cam field against GSW and Houston, for better or for worse.

White may end up being a good rotation player, this season, but people are really penciling in Metu and White in a closing unit vs. GSW?

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For this year, I would not think Metu would be in the rotation against that team but for only about 10 minutes. White I am reserving my judgment on because he looks NBA ready and is 25 years old. Ultimately, we need to put length and physicality to stifen Golden State's offense. Any lineup that does not concentrate on length and physicality will likely fail against GS, even if that means throwing a line up of below average offense. Houston's offense in playoff crunch time was a glorified shoot any 3 that you can and it was VERY ugly. They missed 27 straight 3's yet the Golden State Warriors still needed friendly referee whistles. Ultimately we saw Rockets physicality and length on the defensive end start to wear the Golden State Warriors down and in return their offense looked very worn down. Rockets at that point, instead of jacking up 3's and giving the defense a break,they should've took it to the hole or posted up those skinnier Warriors which their line up was not ready for. With Aldridge, Derozan, and Gay we will have ample assets to slow it down and look for some easy physical buckets.

Warriors throw up points in a blaze but also go through droughts. If we can switch up the rotations and give them some trouble with some length and physical line ups of Metu, Gay, Bertans, Cunningham variant or combination, to throw off those point outburts, we will have a great chance to stay competitive.

Next years' closing line up on the regular I would imagine is:

Aldridge, Gay, Derozan, Belli/Mills/White, Murray

Another thing to consider is if Cousins and Draymond will be in the finsihing line up together along with Durant. Then yes I would vouch for a Aldridge, Metu, Gay, Derozan, White/Murray/Mills line up if it works.

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Originally Posted by cd021

Mills, Murray, DDR, Gay, and LMA is the best lineup that the Spurs cam field against GSW and Houston, for better or for worse.

White may end up being a good rotation player, this season, but people are really penciling in Metu and White in a closing unit vs. GSW?

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I think White is better than Murray. I certainly think he's on par with Patty when factoring in defense. Putting Metu in there is insane. He's not KBD where he just screams "role-player from jump-street". He screams "raw but worth developing". It does say something that Chim got a deal with the big club and that they liked him enough to hide their interest in him before the draft. But they way they used him in the summer league and how long it took them to actually give him his contract suggest that they don't have immediate plans for him the way they did with Kawhi and Blair. They probably view him similar to how they viewed Murray, White and Walker.

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Originally Posted by SAGirl

good point. I see the possibility of one of those 2 way deals being a guard, but we shall see. They seem as nervous as fans are about the wing depth and have invested in a lot of marginal vets coming to camp to fill a spot. I would expect them to look at some guards too.

This team is younger but one cannot assume they will be injury free.

I think Forbes has improve his ballhandling enough to help out (more than Danny would have for example), but he's still no more of a PG than Danny was. Forbes really is an undersized wing.

But I'd be totally fine if he proves me wrong bc his lack of contribution in anything other than a few shots last year was actually infuriating in some games.

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I have to think Forbes is listed as a PG on Pop's depth chart now, along with Patty. That's the only way I can see them re-upping Bryn. That's just strange for a guy who used to have Patty, Cory and Nando behind Tony while still running Neal as the backup point.

Just get the best d-league PG you can to sign a two-way and leave him in Austin to train Walker. Or sign Hanlan to reward him for taking Toros money last year.

Murray White Belinelli Metu Aldridge is probably the Spurs most balanced lineup

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Originally Posted by Chinook

I have to think Forbes is listed as a PG on Pop's depth chart now, along with Patty. That's the only way I can see them re-upping Bryn. That's just strange for a guy who used to have Patty, Cory and Nando behind Tony while still running Neal as the backup point.

Just get the best d-league PG you can to sign a two-way and leave him in Austin to train Walker. Or sign Hanlan to reward him for taking Toros money last year.

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One has to think Pop has a plan bc otherwise, it's thinking he's gone a little bit senile at this point.

He does have a lot of love for Bryn, but didn't he just watch the guy have the lowest assist percentage in the team all year last year? I just looked it up right now and can't believe it.
HIs ast % 7.8
Shooters like Davis have 10.3% and Danny, who's playmaking was nothing to write home about and who nobody would peg as a PG, had 8.9 %. Forbes had almost as many assists as Davis in 500 more minutes, etc. His numbers as a playmaker are worse than I remember.
https://www.basketball-reference.com.../SAS/2018.html

In the Toros his asst % was 13. still very low for a guy who had so many shot opportunities. I'd say playmaking is surely not a strength and he has not looked as PG whenever I have watched him, but whatever Pop. It should still be only in a "break in case of emergency" situation.

White is better then Patty in defense not even close. And I agree White is a better PG then Murray right now.