Official Mavs 2020 Draft/Free Agency Thread - Page 53 - Dallas-Mavs.com Forums

GQ2003 · 11-25-2020, 12:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Don't be sorry. He had a great game vs Lebron, but I can show you a few Vids where Lebron obliterates James Johnson. Also a video where Luka blocks Lebron 2x in one posession. You can find dfs defensive highlight videos too. You can argue until you're blue in the face about who starts but if you've been a Mav fan since Rick has been around, you should know what to expect.

You can look for as long as you want and you will not find a 3 minute highlight of DFS shutting down one of the best players in the game. Finding a 10 second highlight of Luka blocking Lebron twice in a possession or of Lebron dunking on Johnson on one play during Johnson's rookie year isn't the same as a three minute highlight all from the same game of Johnson repeatedly giving Lebron issues.

Rick is going to be Rick and there is nothing I can do about that just as I couldn't do anything when I was screaming for the mavs to draft Eric Paschall only for them to trade back and take Isaiah Roby or when I was screaming again for them to draft Saddiq Bey only to hear Josh Green's name be called. All I'm saying is that this year's team(on paper) is much better than either of the two teams Luka has played on and DFS has had a starting role on. We have better options than what we've rolled out these last couple years and we should act accordingly.

I'll just throw this in here too for good measure:

https://youtu.be/DyyGMRPj358

tap2390 · 11-25-2020, 12:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ2003

You can look for as long as you want and you will not find a 3 minute highlight of DFS shutting down one of the best players in the game. Finding a 10 second highlight of Luka blocking Lebron twice in a possession or of Lebron dunking on Johnson on one play during Johnson's rookie year isn't the same as a three minute highlight all from the same game of Johnson repeatedly giving Lebron issues.

Rick is going to be Rick and there is nothing I can do about that just as I couldn't do anything when I was screaming for the mavs to draft Eric Paschall only for them to trade back and take Isaiah Roby or when I was screaming again for them to draft Saddiq Bey only to hear Josh Green's name be called. All I'm saying is that this year's team(on paper) is much better than either of the two teams Luka has played on and DFS has had a starting role on. We have better options than what we've rolled out these last couple years and we should act accordingly.

I'll just throw this in here too for good measure:

https://youtu.be/DyyGMRPj358

Fuck man this whole time we’ve been rolling with our experienced GM who executed deals to get us Luka and Porzingis and our championship coach who led the most efficient offense in NBA history when we should’ve handed the reigns to you!

SMC0007 · 11-25-2020, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ2003

You can look for as long as you want and you will not find a 3 minute highlight of DFS shutting down one of the best players in the game. Finding a 10 second highlight of Luka blocking Lebron twice in a possession or of Lebron dunking on Johnson on one play during Johnson's rookie year isn't the same as a three minute highlight all from the same game of Johnson repeatedly giving Lebron issues.

Rick is going to be Rick and there is nothing I can do about that just as I couldn't do anything when I was screaming for the mavs to draft Eric Paschall only for them to trade back and take Isaiah Roby or when I was screaming again for them to draft Saddiq Bey only to hear Josh Green's name be called. All I'm saying is that this year's team(on paper) is much better than either of the two teams Luka has played on and DFS has had a starting role on. We have better options than what we've rolled out these last couple years and we should act accordingly.

I'll just throw this in here too for good measure:

https://youtu.be/DyyGMRPj358

Again with the video clips...from 2017 no less.

Josh green or sadiqq bey haven't played a single game. There is no data to back any claim that it was a bad call. Give it some time.

I've said I don't hate Johnson starting personally but you know what to expect here. Its too early to be arguing and whining about opinions of what Rick should do when we really just don't know. Hell,he may not even know yet. We may not even have the same roster to start season.

GQ2003 · 11-25-2020, 01:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tap2390

Fuck man this whole time we’ve been rolling with our experienced GM who executed deals to get us Luka and Porzingis and our championship coach who led the most efficient offense in NBA history when we should’ve handed the reigns to you!

You guys are funny. So I guess because they were able to take advantage of the ineptitude of franchises like the NY Knicks, the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns and the Atlanta Hawks that our experienced GM is beyond criticism. How many drafts have the mavs completely bombed while teams like SA, Miami, GS and Toronto find and develop diamonds in the rough while drafting after us more often than not? I guess you were happy with them blowing up the championship team AND passing on the likes of Giannis/Gobert so that we could draft Shane "the next JJ Barea" Larkin and chase after Deron Williams and Dwight Howard? Or wasting away all of Dirk's years after the championship? They get credit for doing what it took to grab Luka and KP but forgive me for not throwing blind trust into a front office that constructed a team that brought the franchise its first title in 30 yrs only to immediately blow it up before they even had a chance to defend it.

GQ2003 · 11-25-2020, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Again with the video clips...from 2017 no less.

Josh green or sadiqq bey haven't played a single game. There is no data to back any claim that it was a bad call. Give it some time.

I've said I don't hate Johnson starting personally but you know what to expect here. Its too early to be arguing and whining about opinions of what Rick should do when we really just don't know. Hell,he may not even know yet. We may not even have the same roster to start season.

I just posted that video because I figured mavs fans could all enjoy watching Marcus Morris get dunked on by a current maverick. As for Bey vs Green, I only brought that up to highlight how I don't have control over what they do no matter how strongly I feel about it.

There's no arguments or fighting coming from me. This is a discussion board and I have enjoyed the back and forth banter. At the end of the day, I'm excited about the roster and I see some pieces(Richardson & Johnson) that could make a major impact. The talent on this team has been upgraded in a major way and I think this team could realistically make it to the WCF as currently constructed (provided KP and the team stays relatively healthy).

Dtownsfinest · 11-25-2020, 01:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ2003

You guys are funny. So I guess because they were able to take advantage of the ineptitude of franchises like the NY Knicks, the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns and the Atlanta Hawks that our experienced GM is beyond criticism. How many drafts have the mavs completely bombed while teams like SA, Miami, GS and Toronto find and develop diamonds in the rough while drafting after us more often than not? I guess you were happy with them blowing up the championship team AND passing on the likes of Giannis/Gobert so that we could draft Shane "the next JJ Barea" Larkin and chase after Deron Williams and Dwight Howard? Or wasting away all of Dirk's years after the championship? They get credit for doing what it took to grab Luka and KP but forgive me for not throwing blind trust into a front office that constructed a team that brought the franchise its first title in 30 yrs only to immediately blow it up before they even had a chance to defend it.

Yeah I wouldn't necessarily say it took the skill of Donnie Nelson to get Luka. For as long as Donnie has been on the job.......there's been a lot of bad starting with his lack of valuing draft picks. To me that's what separates a good GM from a bad one. Can you still build a team with young cheap prospects? I saw the Spurs and Thunder do it regardless of where they drafted.

Thespiralgoeson · 11-25-2020, 03:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ2003

You guys are funny. So I guess because they were able to take advantage of the ineptitude of franchises like the NY Knicks, the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns and the Atlanta Hawks that our experienced GM is beyond criticism. How many drafts have the mavs completely bombed while teams like SA, Miami, GS and Toronto find and develop diamonds in the rough while drafting after us more often than not? I guess you were happy with them blowing up the championship team AND passing on the likes of Giannis/Gobert so that we could draft Shane "the next JJ Barea" Larkin and chase after Deron Williams and Dwight Howard? Or wasting away all of Dirk's years after the championship? They get credit for doing what it took to grab Luka and KP but forgive me for not throwing blind trust into a front office that constructed a team that brought the franchise its first title in 30 yrs only to immediately blow it up before they even had a chance to defend it.

Who exactly said Donnie Nelson was beyond criticism? I've been here almost as long as you- going on 16 years- I've seen no shortage of disdain for the Cuban/Nelson brain trust over the years, for all of the reasons you just mentioned, plus several more.

The general consensus about Donnie Nelson seems to be that he's great at trades, awful at free agency, and average to mediocre at drafting. Specifically, he has a great eye for European talent, but not so much with everyone else, and more importantly that he and Cuban have wasted a lot of potentially good years by not valuing the draft as a whole, and consistently trading away picks for washed up veterans.

In Donnie's 20+ years, I'd probably give him about a B+. There's been a lot of success, but some pretty glaring failures too. The B+ is probably a bit generous, but I'm giving him some leeway because the future looks pretty bright right now.

EDIT: as for passing on Giannis, blame Cuban for that one, not Donnie. Donnie was extremely high on Giannis and lobbied Cuban hard to pick him. Cuban overruled Donnie on that one, and that was a far worse mistake than "blowing up the championship team" as far as I'm concerned.

On that note though, people say the Mavs "blew up the championship team" a lot, but that line has always struck me as slightly revisionist.

Letting Tyson Chandler go =/= "blowing up the championship team." The Mavs kept the 2011 roster largely intact, and indeed, the 2012 roster-on paper at least- was really, really good. If Lamar Odom didn't turn out to be a washed up crackhead, they might well have made a deep run that year. They didn't lose Tyson Chandler and bring back nothing in return. They replaced him with the reigning sixth man of the year, and also added a still very productive Vince Carter. But unfortunately, Odom did turn out to be a washed up crackhead, and it destroyed their season. After that, the team blew itself up because they were old as f***ing dirt.

I'm not saying letting Chandler walk was a good decision. It wasn't. But the "blew up the championship team" thing is a big overstatement.

Heezzi · 11-25-2020, 07:56 AM

People hated that Odom was brought on in the first PLACE. That Rondo trade was equally terrible.

SMC0007 · 11-25-2020, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ2003

I just posted that video because I figured mavs fans could all enjoy watching Marcus Morris get dunked on by a current maverick. As for Bey vs Green, I only brought that up to highlight how I don't have control over what they do no matter how strongly I feel about it.

There's no arguments or fighting coming from me. This is a discussion board and I have enjoyed the back and forth banter. At the end of the day, I'm excited about the roster and I see some pieces(Richardson & Johnson) that could make a major impact. The talent on this team has been upgraded in a major way and I think this team could realistically make it to the WCF as currently constructed (provided KP and the team stays relatively healthy).

Maybe they can get to WCF. I still think we need a clear upgrade at the 4 spot. Whether thats JJ or simply an improved DFS or via trade idk. WCS improving could be huge for us, but I'd be surprised to see Rick run him with KP as often as many of us would like.

Rick has lots of new toys to play with and most of them are 2 way players or project to be. So I think the lineups will be more fluid even in this odd season coming.

Dtownsfinest · 11-25-2020, 08:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heezzi

People hated that Odom was brought on in the first PLACE. That Rondo trade was equally terrible.

We got Powell out of it.....he swung and missed but I think we did get the best player out of the deal.

tap2390 · 11-25-2020, 09:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ2003

You guys are funny. So I guess because they were able to take advantage of the ineptitude of franchises like the NY Knicks, the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns and the Atlanta Hawks that our experienced GM is beyond criticism. How many drafts have the mavs completely bombed while teams like SA, Miami, GS and Toronto find and develop diamonds in the rough while drafting after us more often than not? I guess you were happy with them blowing up the championship team AND passing on the likes of Giannis/Gobert so that we could draft Shane "the next JJ Barea" Larkin and chase after Deron Williams and Dwight Howard? Or wasting away all of Dirk's years after the championship? They get credit for doing what it took to grab Luka and KP but forgive me for not throwing blind trust into a front office that constructed a team that brought the franchise its first title in 30 yrs only to immediately blow it up before they even had a chance to defend it.

Got it, every successful move is a result of others' ineptitude. Every bad move is a result of ours. I suppose if you were the GM you'd have a 100% hit on every single move.

Dallas41 · 11-25-2020, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SMC0007

Maybe they can get to WCF. I still think we need a clear upgrade at the 4 spot. Whether thats JJ or simply an improved DFS or via trade idk. WCS improving could be huge for us, but I'd be surprised to see Rick run him with KP as often as many of us would like.

Rick has lots of new toys to play with and most of them are 2 way players or project to be. So I think the lineups will be more fluid even in this odd season coming.

That's the million dollar question...

After watching the Lakers get to the finals playing AD often at PF next to Dwight or McGee as a 2nd rim protector on the floor. It always makes me wonder why WCS and KP don't at least play 10-12 MPG up front together.

Seems like they could duplicate some of those same things the Lakers bigs were able bring to table together.

I mean Dwight and Javale aren't stretch bigs and it didn't seem to effect the spacing on offense for AD and they were tough to score inside on defensively.

Thespiralgoeson · 11-25-2020, 09:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heezzi

People hated that Odom was brought on in the first PLACE. That Rondo trade was equally terrible.

Who's "people?" You? I remember both moves like they were yesterday. They were both popular at the time.

Dallas41 · 11-25-2020, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ2003

You guys are funny. So I guess because they were able to take advantage of the ineptitude of franchises like the NY Knicks, the Sacramento Kings, the Phoenix Suns and the Atlanta Hawks that our experienced GM is beyond criticism. How many drafts have the mavs completely bombed while teams like SA, Miami, GS and Toronto find and develop diamonds in the rough while drafting after us more often than not? I guess you were happy with them blowing up the championship team AND passing on the likes of Giannis/Gobert so that we could draft Shane "the next JJ Barea" Larkin and chase after Deron Williams and Dwight Howard? Or wasting away all of Dirk's years after the championship? They get credit for doing what it took to grab Luka and KP but forgive me for not throwing blind trust into a front office that constructed a team that brought the franchise its first title in 30 yrs only to immediately blow it up before they even had a chance to defend it.

I'm with you on the title team....

I don't ever a recall a championship team in any sport willingly blowing it up after they just won it all.

Most of the times those teams get picked apart by free agency unable to retain their key players because they didn't have the cap space.

Look at Miami this year they brought back basically everyone including Myles Freakin Leonard. They wanted to really keep Crowder but the Suns just had a better offer.

I personally think had the Mavs kept TC and still added VC that year they would have made another deep playoff run.

Dallas41 · 11-25-2020, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Who's "people?" You? I remember both moves like they were yesterday. They were both popular at the time.

I didn't want Odom because he was part of that thug score losing Lakers team that cheap shotted JJB after the Mavs were blowing them out in the Playoffs.

I despised him and Andrew Bynum.

Dtownsfinest · 11-25-2020, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Who's "people?" You? I remember both moves like they were yesterday. They were both popular at the time.

Yeah I don’t care what no one says everyone felt the Odom and Rondi moves were great. People are revising history. I’ll admit I hated the move in hindsight but those moves made sense when you were trying to put pieces around Dirk.

Dtownsfinest · 11-25-2020, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dallas41

I didn't want Odom because he was part of that thug score losing Lakers team that cheap shotted JJB after the Mavs were blowing them out in the Playoffs.

I despised him and Andrew Bynum.

I don’t recall Odom being apart of that just Bynum. Either way Mavs swept them
And won a ring. I didn’t even think about the Lakers at that time.

Bryan_Wilson · 11-25-2020, 10:14 AM

https://twitter.com/THEwillieCS15/st...87515346030594

Zaknaf3in · 11-25-2020, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

https://twitter.com/THEwillieCS15/st...87515346030594

Also this, from a livestream yesterday - talking about his signing and stance on it.

https://youtu.be/PAhn20_c9QY?t=565

GQ2003 · 11-25-2020, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tap2390

Got it, every successful move is a result of others' ineptitude. Every bad move is a result of ours. I suppose if you were the GM you'd have a 100% hit on every single move.

Are the Knicks, Hawks, Kings & Suns not looked at as inept franchises? Both the Suns and Kings GMs were let go over passing on Luka. You don't get it and that's fine. As I said before, they get credit for taking advantage of those franchise's ineptitude when others could've done it but didn't. I didn't bring up every move that didn't work out but some made sense but watching the mavs finally get over the hump and win the NBA title only to not see that team get to defend it should have bothered every Mavs fan in real time.

Us being bad and winding up in the lottery only to come away with someone our front office tried to sell as "the next JJ Barea" was also stupid in real time especially when you consider the original JJ Barea wasn't drafted at all. No team should be looking for the next JJ Barea with a lottery pick and that should've been apparent to everyone in real time. Or trading a 1st round pick for Rudy Fernandez and then turning around and trading Rudy Fernandez for a 2nd round pick before he even played a game is another move that was awful the moment it was announced. It's not hindsight and nitpicking bad moves after the fact. These were all bad moves that set Dallas back. We lucked into Luka and we're back now but the front office is going to have to do much better than they did from 2012-2017 or else Luka will be playing home games in Los Angeles or Miami in the not too distant future.

GQ2003 · 11-25-2020, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dtownsfinest

I don’t recall Odom being apart of that just Bynum. Either way Mavs swept them
And won a ring. I didn’t even think about the Lakers at that time.

Yeah, Odom was a part of it as he cheap shotted Dirk a few minutes before Bynum did what he did. That Lakers team quit in that game so it shouldn't have been a surprise when Odom and Fisher quit mid-season playing for the mavs.

DevinHarriswillstart · 11-25-2020, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaknaf3in

Also this, from a livestream yesterday - talking about his signing and stance on it.

https://youtu.be/PAhn20_c9QY?t=565

Man, how could anyone not like WCS? Really hope he starts the season with KP out.

DevinHarriswillstart · 11-25-2020, 01:25 PM

Hmm, maybe something actually there about Giannis...

https://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...dan-Bogdanovic

DevinHarriswillstart · 11-25-2020, 01:25 PM

Hmm, maybe something actually there about Giannis...

https://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...dan-Bogdanovic

Melonhead · 11-25-2020, 05:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaknaf3in

Also this, from a livestream yesterday - talking about his signing and stance on it.

https://youtu.be/PAhn20_c9QY?t=565

Hell yeah that was a solid interview.

Dtownsfinest · 11-25-2020, 11:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DevinHarriswillstart

Hmm, maybe something actually there about Giannis...

https://basketball.realgm.com/wireta...dan-Bogdanovic

Man there is nothing special about Bogdan to me this is just Giannis and his team coming up with a excuse for when he dips. They got Jrue Holiday for Eric Bledsoe who's one of the worst point guards I saw in the bubble last season. That's a hell of a upgrade.

NeedlesKane · 11-26-2020, 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zaknaf3in

Also this, from a livestream yesterday - talking about his signing and stance on it.

https://youtu.be/PAhn20_c9QY?t=565

Thank you for sharing. I absolutely love it. Amazing how anyone could think he's inactive and 15th overall on the roster. Like... really?!

Bryan_Wilson · 11-26-2020, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeedlesKane

Thank you for sharing. I absolutely love it. Amazing how anyone could think he's inactive and 15th overall on the roster. Like... really?!

When everyone is healthy a big will get dnp'd. And it will most likely be WCS or Boban. Powell is basically the most efficient roll man in the nba so unless he is drastically worse because of injury he's not getting dnp'd. KP and Kleber obviously won't unless injured.

We will not have DP/KP/Kleber/WCS/Boban all active at once very often if at all. One of them gets dnp'd when they are all healthy.

GQ2003 · 11-26-2020, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan_Wilson

When everyone is healthy a big will get dnp'd. And it will most likely be WCS or Boban. Powell is basically the most efficient roll man in the nba so unless he is drastically worse because of injury he's not getting dnp'd. KP and Kleber obviously won't unless injured.

We will not have DP/KP/Kleber/WCS/Boban all active at once very often if at all. One of them gets dnp'd when they are all healthy.

I think we should all temper our expectations when it comes to DP. It's highly unlikely he comes back with the same level of athleticism as before.

Thespiralgoeson · 11-26-2020, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GQ2003

I think we should all temper our expectations when it comes to DP. It's highly unlikely he comes back with the same level of athleticism as before.

Agreed. Honestly I'm thinking he's likely to be trade fodder this season.

EricaLubarsky · 11-27-2020, 12:37 AM

I’d give DP a 60% chance of coming back on par with where he was before

Maybe he developed a jumper too

That’s also means 40% chance he’s at least somewhat diminished and even a small drop in athleticism could be enough to make him unplayable, particularly with how slow he already was laterally and how it already hurt his ability to slide to defend.

He could either be the Powell that most here hate, but I value for who he is, or he could be a borderline unplayable guy with 2/19 left on his deal.

EricaLubarsky · 11-27-2020, 02:04 AM

I’d give DP a 60% chance of coming back on par with where he was before

Maybe he developed a jumper too

That’s also means 40% chance he’s at least somewhat diminished and even a small drop in athleticism could be enough to make him unplayable, particularly with how slow he already was laterally and how it already hurt his ability to slide to defend.

He could either be the Powell that most here hate, but I value for who he is, or he could be a borderline unplayable guy with 2/19 left on his deal.

sefant77 · 11-27-2020, 09:11 AM

There is no coming back at par after an Achilles tear...

Dallas41 · 11-27-2020, 11:08 AM

Lots of optimism for Powell's ability to comeback from a injury that a very small percentage of players have ever done.

In fact the last guy I can even recall that came back from an Achilles injury like that and played close to his old self was Dominque Wilkins.

We waited on Wesley Matthews to recover and we kept hearing how he would be better and close to his pre injury form year after year and he never got back to that level of play from his Portland years.

Powell relies on athleticism to catch those lobs as a rim runner. Other than that he doesn't play much defense and he's not a good rebounder. I really find it hard to believe that he's going to have that explosive lift this year or be able to move laterally on defense.

If he bounces back great for him but I'd suspect that would be in year or two from now.

WCS is cheaper but he's also longer, more Atheletic and obviously more skilled than Powell in terms of rim protection and rebounding. Neither one of them are any good at shooting 3's.

To me WCS just makes so much more sense than Powell at this point but I know based on RC's history with Powell the same as it was with Matthews he'll continue to force feed unproductive minutes to him.

Dallas41 · 11-27-2020, 11:08 AM

Lots of optimism for Powell's ability to comeback from an injury that a very small percentage of players have ever done.

In fact the last guy I can even recall that came back from an Achilles injury like that and played close to his old self was Dominque Wilkins.

The Mavs gambled and waited on Wesley Matthews to recover and we kept hearing how he would be better and close to his pre injury form year after year and he never got back to that level of play from his Portland years.

Powell relies on athleticism to catch those lobs as a rim runner. Other than that he doesn't play much defense and he's not a good rebounder. I find it hard to believe that he's going to have that explosive lift this year or be able to move laterally on defense.

If he bounces back great for him but I'd suspect that would be a year or two from now.

WCS is cheaper but he's also longer, more Atheletic and obviously more skilled than Powell in terms of rim protection and rebounding. Neither one of them are any good at shooting 3's.

To me WCS just makes so much more sense than Powell at this point but I know based on RC's history with Powell the same as it was with Matthews he'll continue to force feed unproductive minutes to him.

Thespiralgoeson · 11-27-2020, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dallas41

Lots of optimism for Powell's ability to comeback from a injury that a very small percentage of players have ever done.

In fact the last guy I can even recall that came back from an Achilles injury like that and played close to his old self was Dominque Wilkins.

Nique wasn't just the last guy to come back from that injury and be close to his old self. To my knowledge he's the only one in NBA history.

Dallas41 · 11-27-2020, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thespiralgoeson

Nique wasn't just the last guy to come back from that injury and be close to his old self. To my knowledge he's the only one in NBA history.

you are correct and he was such a freak of nature.....

Modern Medicine has greatly improved so there's a slim chance Powell can do it but I wouldn't bet any money on it.

EricaLubarsky · 11-27-2020, 01:31 PM

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.

Dtownsfinest · 11-27-2020, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sefant77

There is no coming back at par after an Achilles tear...

The Nets sure better hope this isn't true with what they gave Kevin Durant.......

BPo001 · 11-27-2020, 08:04 PM

Kevin Garnett earned a reputation over his career as a world-class trash talker, but according to Kenyon Martin, the Hall of Famer was all bark and no bite.

Martin, in an op-ed he wrote for Basketball News which criticized the lack of physicality and enforcers in today’s NBA, listed players from his era whom he respected that were physical and “wanted the smoke.”

These players, such as Derrick Coleman, Zach Randolph, David West, Antonio Davis, Dale Davis and Kurt Thomas, were “guard dogs.” Martin lamented in the current NBA there are too many “poodles” and named Garnett as someone who was a “poodle” from his era.

Meet Douglas.
“Kevin Garnett was a porch puppy,” Martin wrote. “A miniature chihuahua in a Dobermann’s body. I told him to his face, ‘You’re a porch puppy. All you do is bark.’ He never wanted smoke from me. I told him straight up, ‘You better take you’re a—back to your huddle before I get mad.’ Dahntay Jones heard it; you can ask him.”

Martin’s critique of Garnett was a microcosm of his larger point – that the NBA has gotten too soft.

Martin, who played 15 seasons in the NBA from 2001-15, said he began to notice in the final three seasons a shift to a softer game when he thought what were hard fouls were being called Flagrant 1s.

“If I played in today’s NBA, I would probably lead the league in ejections,” Martin wrote.

“In today’s NBA, there are no enforcers,” he added. “You can’t be an enforcer these days; the league won’t allow it. You’ll just get ejected. Also, there aren’t really hard fouls anymore and nobody is fighting, so you don’t need an enforcer to run in and stand up for your guys. The NBA’s evolution made the enforcer go extinct. They simply aren’t needed.”

Martin does believe there are still some players who “want the smoke.” He said James Johnson is a “maniac and a black belt” while the Morris twins are “always looking for problems.”

Martin said his approach was always that he would not start a fight, but he would finish a problem – especially if a player was being disrespectful on the court.

“I don’t tolerate disrespect. And I’m kinda f—king crazy,” Martin said. “Here’s the beauty of it: Once everyone knew that I was down to fight and didn’t take any s—t, I didn’t have to fight anyone. The threat alone was enough…and I would warn them too.”

By no means does Martin want to see the NBA turn into wrestling, but he believes that the physicality he thrived on can still coexist with the softer style of play.

“If another Shaquille O’Neal showed up today with that same ability to dominate the block, are you telling me there’s no place for that player in today’s NBA?” he asked. “That’s really hard for me to believe. I think in the future, we’ll see the league shift back to using big men more – those bigs will just have a jump shot in their arsenal, too.”