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Bad BBIQ. Also might have a really poor personality. There were some bad rumors floating out from his workouts.
Whitmores flage were more than just medical.
Bad BBIQ. Also might have a really poor personality. There were some bad rumors floating out from his workouts.
Rockets have some choices coming up. FVV helps this team a great deal. They actually have a semblance of a working offense. Jalen Green ain't that guy. Tunnel vision to the extreme. Just don't think he'll ever get it. Jabari Smith is pretty good, but both he and Green are on very expensive rookie salary scales. You can tell there are players Udoka will like (FVV, Landale, Sengun, Eason, etc.) and those he won't.
The reason Charlotte might have a shot at the playoffs is Mark Williams.
i really dont see the writing off of Jalen Green. he's 21 years old, uber athletic talent, and has shown he knows how to score in the league. he obviously has things he needs to put together, but they have also been a rudderless ship since he's been there... not really the environment where you'd expect 19 and 20 year olds to be able to develop well
FVV only has 2 years guaranteed on his deal (3rd year is club option). it is during that 3rd year where Sengun/Green would be under new contracts, so they have some flexibility there. i think they only want FVV while Amen develops, and that 3rd year club option is a hedge in case that goes poorly.
dillon brooks is the albatross piece imo, on a 4 year fully guaranteed deal, albeit with declining salaries
i also dont know how they protect the rim with Sengun/Smith at the big spots, even though they're both talented players
I never believed in Jalen Green. He has that haughty "AAU god" personality. He'll need to be broken down at some point but I don't see it happening. He'll have games where he goes off but he doesn't do anything else and is a net negative overall because he doesn't understand basketball. Reminds me of another previous high flier who eventually settled on being a role-player: Gerald Green. Jalen is a #2 pick and so will be horrendously expensive before long.
Smith was supposed to be a shotblocker, but he's too slight and smallish. He's also not much of a rebounder. Very very expensive as a #3 pick.
Anecdotally the Pelicans have not looked good this preseason so far. Not sure what the issue is. They're running starters and Zion but they aren't playing well or cohesively.
BI and Zion don’t work together
That may play a role, and they're missing Murphy and that little defensive starting guard, but there's something deflated about the team. Chemistry problems or walling off the coach. Just no energy.
Portland -- assuming they move Brogdan, and they should. They might be my vote for the worst team in the league. They're not scaring anybody on offense and their defense is terrible. Bad coach, too.
Utah -- went 37-45 last season and I'm not sure they improve on that mark. Well-coached team but the front office seems to be developing slowly for the future hoping those Minnesota and Cleveland picks hit.
The interesting thing to me is that Smith got off to a very slow start in his career, while Banchero seemed to adapt more easily out of the gate-- but even with this being the case, Smith still averaged more rebounds and blocks per minute and per game than him. I think this season could see the gap between them close. Banchero was an understandable pick for ROY in a weak year, but I think lots of people are overhyping him. His rebounding & block #s are anemic and don't look like they're going to change much going forward, whereas I think Smith's will jump dramatically this year.
I think Holmgren would have won ROY if hadn’t been injured.
Charlotte looks alright. LaMello changes everything for them and big Mark Williams is a great anchor. I don't think Ball is disciplined enough to win playoff series. They have enough assorted other parts they could sneak into the play-in range in the east, including Brandon Miller, who will be good but I think wildly overrated (for a #2 pick).
The possibilty of the Spurs getting three picks in the mid-to-late teens in this draft would be hilarious. What then?
the west is going to be interesting... at first glance you think man, this is a gauntlet. with all these good teams, how could a surprise team like the spurs even get into the picture. but on that same token, with it being such a slugfest, its pretty unlikely that any one team gets 55+ wins and you might see a fairly compressed final standings. the difference between the 13th spot and 6th spot (clinching a playoff birth and missing the play-in altogether) might only be 5 or less games
I don‘t even think there are a lot of good teams in the west. Only the Nuggets and Suns are real contenders. The middle of the pack teams like the Warriors, Lakers, Clippers are old and can fall off anytime. Especially with their injury prone top players in their late 30s. The Mavs don’t have bigs or defense. Utah and the Blazers are trash. The T-Wolves 2 big pairing doesn’t work. New Orleans roster is also really questionable as is Zions availability. Memphis is probably the 3rd best team in the west, but Ja is missing at least 25 games.
The top 4 looks like Nuggets, Suns, Grizzlies, Kings. Everything after that is up for grabs
Just more random thoughts on preseason games involving teams that will be important to the Spurs, mostly due to standings:
Houston Rockets. They were missing Jalen Green, a highly important scorer. Otherwise, FVV seemed the only player they could run plays through. Once the Spurs blunted his attack, it was hard going. Missed Tari Eason, who is a playmaker of another kind, and he would have impacted the game.
I believe they should pull Amen Thompson into the starting unit, but Udoka probably wants a playmaker off the bench. Jabari Smith struggled... I want to say 'against the size of Zach Collins,' but Zach ain't even that big. Sengun can be a productive hub on offense but the Spurs collapsed on him extremely well.
In retrospect, throwing a wad at Van Vleet wasn't a bad decision. They don't need to pay their draft picks big money for another few years and they'd be lost without him. Udoka can whip them into some defensive shape. Still seems like a mismatched roster with less talent than advertised, but some of these guys like Amen might start popping. I think overall it's going to be a rough year.
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