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I would hope so, but to me Pop can get rather particular about changing his rotations drastically through the middle of the season. Perhaps he is more open to change compared to all the years past.
Yeah, I agree with that. Not everyone is a star and he has the potential to be a solid three-point threat.
I would hope so, but to me Pop can get rather particular about changing his rotations drastically through the middle of the season. Perhaps he is more open to change compared to all the years past.
I would do no more then the vet min on him. Dont even know why he got his last contract as high as he did. dont think any other teams were interested in him. your back end bench players should be making the minimum not 4-5 mil.
"Positionaless basketball", but within' reason. Johnson was drafted just over 1.5 years ago as a 2.5. Asking him to be a virtually exclusive 4 long term would likely lead to diminishing returns. He should be a starting 3, who plays the nominal 4 as matchups dictate.
The only other teams starting about as small, are the Celtics (when their big 4 are available), Timberwolves (for now) and Jazz. The Celtics and Jazz are win now teams, doing it to accomodate entrenched core pieces and the Timberwolves are overloaded at the 2/3 and bereft a starting caliber 4.
Last edited by TD 21; 02-14-2021 at 04:31 PM.
Draymond Green plays full time 4, part time 5.
I think Rockets, Wiz with Hachi at 4, PHX, Hornets, Thunder, Cleveland belong in this category, too. Are we looking at overall team height or just the height of the second big that teams play? We have the same view on Keldon, I just don't think there's as few teams that play small (or at least start small) than you realize. I mean, there could be a couple debatable ones where it's just a couple inches advantage but then their frame is so tiny that their height "advantage" might as well not exist.
Green is both stronger and significantly longer and they've always limited his minutes at the 5.
Tucker and Crowder (no longer starting, but still their primary 4), despite being short, outweigh Johnson by 15-20 pounds and their skillset is more in line with that of a modern 4.
Hachimura, Washington and Nance (until he got injured, he was a placeholder for Love), all have both the physical profiles and skillsets of modern 4's.
Bazley, fair enough. He's at least more in line with the height/length of a modern 4, just needs to get considerably stronger.
Last edited by TD 21; 02-14-2021 at 05:23 PM.
The reneging of the asshole Marcus Morris left the Spurs with a big hole to fill at the 4 (they had also traded away the much vaunted Davis Bertans), so they scooped up Trey as a last minute move/reclamation project.
Obviously, you know he played a significant - though ill - fitting - role last year and was on a roll before COVID caused the shutdown in March.
I still think he can match similar level of play of last season (10 & 5 in February, 14 & 6 in March), but in a reduced bench role.
I'm hopeful he's the next flame out/"bust" to arrive in SA, find a niche or role and extend his NBA career to double digit years.
If we can get him for the vet min, great... But I suspect he'll get more than that. Seriously, his time with the spurs has been a step up from his time in Denver and Utah.
Highlights of his 11 FGs. He's got a Kirelenko game.
I hope he cleans up his act. Maybe he's just young and immature. Not even from a team perspective - who wants to play with a griping, petulant little - but from a personal one. He's not going to get the looks he's getting in G-League, much less be able to get the inside stuff off, so how does he react when things don't go his way and he can't wave people off?
If only he had Kirilenko D.
Yeah, there’s nothing Kirilenko about his game. AK47 drastically affected games without the ball in his hands Samanic is lost and ineffective without it.
There really isn’t a smart comparison out there for Luka. He’s too distinctive from an athletic and skill set perspective. That said, Luka has a range of potential outcomes ranging from all star (not super likely, but possible) to solid overall role player with a slightly higher ceiling than Bertans. His work ethic and ability to learn as a help defender will really determine where he lands. Luka has always been a plus on ball defender, and I don’t think he lacks compe ive drive or has “motor” issues as a general rule. That 3 point close out he had in the 2nd game in the 4th quarter is not new stuff from Luka. He did that several times last season and even had a block or two on similar plays. His overall understanding of help defense in North America is lacking, and he’s being forced to learn by the Spurs coaching staff. We’ll see how much he is able to pick it up as time goes on.
I think he’s made some tangible improvements in this area this season, although they have been more noticeable at the NBA level than the G League level where he does seem to save some energy for offense. His offense is coming along pretty nicely, but he still needs to improve his consistency on his 3 point jumper and refine his ball handling skills. It’s looking promising.
Kirilenko has 7’4 wingspan which he used effectively swatting shots. Our Luka has 6’10.5 which is relatively short, but could be remedied with better motor which he sometimes lack.
A poor mans Dirk?
More like a poor man's Detlef Schremph
Detlet Shremph wasn't bad. His outside shots were money and he was a pretty clutch. But I think Luka has better inside presence than him. Already Luka is showing his big men game, with his back behind the basket, and not shying from contact. I think he will improve more. He has guard's handles also and with high bball IQ. The only thing I can't ignore is his 6'10.5 wingspan. I doubt if he'll become a great defender, much less a shotblocker.
He's an outside shooter, and hopefully a poor version of Peja Stojakovic? Damn that would be great.
I'm not knocking Detlef... if Luka becomes him we will all be pleased..
Looks like he's only going to improve. Look at the moves in this game: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkrh2EbH27M
Some good highlights. He's looking more physically mature. Definitely better handles and ability to drive the ball than Bertans ever had. As others have said, a lot will depend on his work ethic and willingness to defend.
Yeah can't really compare him to AK as he just turned 21 years old give him four or five years and then you can make that comparison. I think he can be a big plus on offense but on defense I agree he is going to be much better on the outside guarding guards then he would in the inside vs Centers or Tall PF.
Yep
You are right
At this point he’s a homeless Detlef
But a Jeff Bezos Ryan Richards!
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