[EricaLubarsky]

I think there's some evidence that Cousins and Wes eventually got there, although Cousins was re-injured and Wes took one season of rehab and another season to play himself back into shape and he was an overrated 3/D guy anyway. You can't really take reduced roles/stats to mean that he never got back to full.

Klay Thompson and Durant are both aiming to both buck that trend and doctors are optimistic about both.

I'm not saying Powell is guaranteed 100% to be himself from before the injury, but I think it's at least a good chance he comes back to the guy we saw last season (1st in scoring efficiency, best-in-NBA at rolls). It's not like it's NEVER been done.

I am, however, glad that we got WCS back and still have KP/Kleber/Boban, so there's even less pressure for us to play Powell. If Trill can develop the type of roll/screen/off-ball chemistry that Powell had with Doncic while providing his trademark defense, then we may not even need Powell to provide that efficient scoring/spacing and we can be more of a two-way team at center. If WCS can also develop a jumper, then that's just gravy and he could also be a Pick-n-pop threat as well.

I mean I wish Powell well, but if you can get someone who does more things well, you just gotta cheer for them. I’m optimistic about A lot of things this year including Powell’s recovery, but our two-way guys have me most optimistic. WCS, Richardson, Johnson, etc could keep up the league-leading offense while actually getting us some stops. That’s how we become a top team.