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Never would have happened with Leonard and Parker healthy.
Never would have happened with Leonard and Parker healthy.
That's true... but still, he's earned his playing time time. It could have just as well gone to Davis Bertans, who has so many championing his case, or to rook Derrick white, if matchups weren't favorable for Davis. Credit must be given to Paul.
This is probably one of those blessing in disguise situations... I think as he continues to get more familiar, he could be a big part of the rotation as the season progresses. Glad Pop was able to see a lot of him this early on. His IQ, defense and of course shooting make him super valuable to this team.
Wow another gem
I really like this guy so far just based on his defense alone.
The only thing I want to know is can he dribble the ball with proficiency? Is he a decent ball handler? I haven't seen much of that aspect of his game. I thought I read that he's played some PG?
Paul returned home to Illinois with an NBA deal in hand after playing just three summer league games with the Cavaliers in Las Vegas. He was told to keep the deal quiet until the Spurs released it, but he did tell his mom, Lynda, when she picked him up from the airport in Chicago after an unexpected short trip to Las Vegas. The Spurs announced it July 14.
“It was definitely an emotional time for me. I teared up again when I told my mom because the Spurs are her favorite team. That was icing on the cake as well,” Paul said.
Soon afterward, Paul headed to San Antonio to begin preparing for the 2017-18 NBA season. He says he will never forget his first day at work with the Spurs, who immediately made him feel welcome.
“It took weeks for it to [set in]. This was crazy,” Paul said. “I wasn’t supposed to meet ‘Pop’ [Popovich] yet. He was there when I walked in, and I said, ‘What’s up?’ to him. He gave me a hug. I met with R.C. and he gave me a hug. It was surreal then, and it still is for me.”
Great article...
https://www.theringer.com/nba/2017/1...players-europe
“I played in three different leagues in three countries, and they are all different in their own ways. It’s a different paced game. There are different rules. You get used to the difference,” Paul told me after a shootaround in Dallas two weeks ago.
Experience helps a player transition into the NBA. The best seasons of a player’s career are typically in their mid-to-late 20s, when they are in the narrow window where their knowledge of the game has increased and their athleticism has yet to decline. The problem for teams trying to fill out their rosters is that established NBA players in that window are typically fairly expensive. If a team is over the salary cap and can only offer contracts near the league minimum, they are usually choosing between players near the beginning or the end of their careers. They have to get lucky to find a quality player at that price, either an older guy who declines slower than expected or a younger guy who develops quicker. Signing players from Europe is a way around that dilemma. Guys in their mid-20s who have spent the past few years overseas don’t represent the same trade-off between basketball IQ and athleticism.Brandon Paul is the player the Nuggets want Malik Beasley to become. Every team in the NBA needs guys like him. At 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, he spaces the floor and defends players at three positions. Paul has already earned a spot in the Spurs rotation, and he’s part of a deep bench that has helped San Antonio survive without Kawhi Leonard. He is an intelligent player who plays within himself and understands his role on the team.
A good 3-and-D player is the glue that holds lineups together. Paul’s defensive versatility allows Gregg Popovich to cover for many more offensively minded players. He can guard 3s, play with two smaller guards like Bryn Forbes and Patty Mills, and defend point guards when Manu Ginobili runs the offense. Paul matches up with players from speed demons like Yogi Ferrell to supersized wings like Jaylen Brown. He defends like he has something to prove, sacrificing his body and rarely giving up on plays.
Last edited by SAGirl; 11-28-2017 at 02:01 PM.
He's been out of the rotation lately. The rotation won't be set until MArch at the earliest. I expect it will take longer with 2 starters missing a quarter of the season.
This is typical Pop though. New guy plays great, then sits out the rotation for weeks for no reason other than Pop still hasn't gotten over himself.
Tired of Pops shtick.
Honestly I would play Paul over Forbes and I like Baby Face.
Last edited by tonight...you; 11-28-2017 at 05:59 PM. Reason: got rid of commas
It was set in the off season . . .
Bigs: Aldridge, Gasol, Gay, Anderson
Wings: Leonard, Green, Anderson, Ginobili
Points: Parker, Mills
Think it's more situational: Depth of size = Lauvergne. Depth of perimeter (super)stars = Paul. Lack of depth of perimeter (super)stars and/or in need of quick strike offense = Forbes or Bertans.
And in the end, none of it matters because in the playoffs, Pop will revert back to only Manu Mills Gasoline because "dammit, Manu can have 50 turnovers, I'm still playing him because I love him. And mills can go 0-for and be a constant liability on defense, but he's gonna earn those overpaid 50mil we gave him. And Gasol finally picked us two years too late, but he also gonna earn his overpaid loyalty salary. And if we lose, we lose playing guys I love and don't have to coach."
Pop just don't have the fight left I'm him anymore. Sure he screams at refs but it's all a show at this point.
It's not him, he has Yes-Men around him now.
Who argues with him, on the staff?
I saw more convos between Ettore and that guy from Miami than any Pop has had, except for a few with Ime last year, than any he has had with anybody, including players.
Of course it won't matter (much, at least): they're all vying for spot minutes in what will mostly be a 9 man rotation, particularly in the playoffs.
He'll never entirely go away from Ginobili, but I could see him further reducing his minutes, either in ultra big lineups with Leonard or Anderson playing as the nominal SG at times or by just giving more minutes to Forbes or Paul. Duncan was more injury related, but still, if he was willing to do that with him, then he'll damn sure be willing to do it with Ginobili.
Can we stop comparing this dude to Simmons? You racist mother ers only did it because they're 6'5 and dark skin.
Theres a reason he's been cut from every team he's been in, that includes some place named Instanbul
Brandon Paul isn’t a tenth the player Simmons is.
Brandon Paul just isn’t very good at all.
He’s a good defender; offense will come hopefully.
I've seen enough. He's cheaper than Simmons, that's about the only thing that I give him.
I thought he might be a more versatile player than Simmons, as in, I thought he might be able to handle the ball better and make some plays off the dribble, and I also thought he might be a better shooter. His ball handling looks shaky, certainly no better than Simmons', and it's debatable if he's a better shooter or not. He may have just had a hot start to the season shooting wise and now we might be seeing regression to the mean in regard to his shooting.
Last edited by Ice009; 12-04-2017 at 01:07 AM.
Jury is still out on Brandon Paul IMO
He and Simmons are completely different players. Paul’s defense is light years ahead of where Simmons’ was at this point in their tenure with the Spurs. Offensively, he’s got a lot of work to do but you’re all comparing him to the Simmons we saw at the end of his two years in SA.
Would I take Simmons over Paul for the same dollars? Yes. But that’s not the option they were presented with. Yes, I know they wasted that same money on Patty.
Why are you even talking about money? A lot of people here thought he'd get way more than he got. I was worried about giving Simmons 10+ million, but for anything in the 6-9M range, I easily would have had him back. For his current price, which is the lower end of the scale (lower than I expected him to get), I'd take that over Paul's current price tag too.
All Pop had to do is tell him he would start out ahead of Manu in the rotation and be given every opportunity to keep that spot. Very ing shortsighted of Pop to rely on Manu at his current age. I still love Manu, but I don't know if he can hold up all season in a critical rotation role that we need from him to compete for the Championship. I hope he can.
Definitely has fallen off since the beginning of the season tbh
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