RedDawg#8

Whats the goal post, is it that he is a 6th man on a real contender masquerading as a starter for us? Because thats a different argument than if he is worth a near max level extension. You say Josh but what about Joe, what about Al Horford? All of those guys got theirs too and turned out that they were nothing more than role players on TRUE contenders. So why keep referencing Josh in the scenario? That entire era proved to be pretenders ultimately. So honestly, why pay anyone, ever, if that's the case? This is business at the end of the day. Acquiring assets is only one part of the equation. You have to secure them or flip them. Or both. JC can net us something of value but we still need to secure him to do so. His value is only being driven down by those who are trying poach him from us later. That's it. Everybody wants JC, even according to your guy. They all want us to fumble his negotiations so they can slide in. If we low ball him, somebody will pay him more. Watch. JC is getting 20mil per AT WORST from somebody, no matter how you feel about it.

1. I really hate the Josh Smith comparisons Supes. Maturity and Professionalism are miles apart when you compare the 2. JC is a smart player who only comes across as limited to guys like you because he knows how maximize his strengths and not do too much unlike JSmoove who tried to do too much despite putting in half the work as a guy like Collins. 2. By the winning logic, max players like Devin Booker, Brandon Ingram, and eventually our very own Trae Young didnt/dont deserve max deals because their bloated stats come on losing teams. 3. Whether its counting stats or analytics, JC is a pure stud. You simply cant discount his level of production AND efficiency, despite not having to demand the ball. That is exactly the kind of player that you NEED. You dont find that everyday. 4. Everything is about Trae at the end of the day. Trae should be highest paid on this roster, Trae should have most years in his deal. BUT that doesn't mean JC cant still get his. A 4 year deal just south of 25 per is what he has earned and what his value is. 5. Market is circumstantial. Teams are strapped for cash and the league is losing money, which means they are not as willing to bank on growing salary caps to cover up for contract mistakes. Teams are being more judicious in overall spending and the guys who would normally get over paid are joining contenders for a discount and keeping it moving. That does not define the true value of a player. Thats just the marketplace, today. If John signs for 24 mil a year, that would be big in todays marketplace but his value would still hold over the next 4 years. 3rd contract is where you have to be scared. Thats true for every player.

Correct, the Kings didnt match not because we offered Bogi some crazy large contract our of their reach. Its was affordable and they has the money to match. They didnt because it did not make financial sense due to the players/contracts they already committed to at overlapping positions as well as a new front office regime and those dynamics. We are in a different position to match another teams offer than they were.

I agree with this. When people say we need to improve defensively they are glazing over a lot of components. 1. Turnovers. You touched on it a little. If we can protect the ball on offense and limit our turnovers, that reduces the amount of easy scoring opportunities for the opponent. That to me is a huge contributing factor to our poor/porous defense. We are on our heels a lot chasing down fast breaks due to bad turnovers. Protect the ball, make the opponents have to face a set defense. 2. Transition defense. This is an area LP specifically called out ahead of this season. Even if we protect the ball, if we miss our shot on offense, the opposition has transition opportunities now. We have to do a better job on the run of stopping the ball and getting to a man. We still struggle at this IMO based on the first 2 games. We allow the ball handler to get to the paint in transition far too often. If we manage to stop the ball, we leave deadly shooters wide open. This takes the most awareness and BBIQ if you ask me, and its where we have the biggest learning curve at the moment. Contain the ball handler, protect the lane, find the shooters, make them set up their offense. 3. Half court Defense, I see us being much better in this area overall if we can figure out #1 & #2. 4. Rebounding. Last year was a problem. This year I think we are going to be a problem for other teams. We out rebounded the Magic in both our win and our loss. I see us being much improved. The defensive possession is not over until you secure the Rebound. You can make a team shoot 30% but if they are getting 2nd and 3rd chances they are going to make up for poor shooting with pure volume alone. Again, I feel a lot better about us this year based on what I have seen so far.

Our entire division is going to be in the mix this year as we are all on equal footing besides Miami who is deservedly overrated. Id say the entire Southeast Division is a rivalry right now.

Collins has to work on his discipline defensively. Pump fakes are his kryponite. Anderson's slow poke and methodical style just might have JC in foul trouble early again if he can't stay patient and keep his feet on the ground.

You aint lying lol https://www.google.com/amp/s/syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/720325-shaquille-oneal-the-top-10-nicknames-belonging-to-the-nbas-former-big-man.amp.html Shaq Diesel Superman Shaq-tus (like Cactus, from when he was with Suns lol) The Big Shamrock Shaq is a fool man.

It was right there for the taking too

Dwight stole Superman from Shaq before he had even retired lol I agree though

We finally agree on something lol Bout time!

I called that one out from the jump. I only recently even entertained the idea of him actually leaving Milwaukee. I always saw him as a guy that would stay put.

More than that, teams are going to focus on keeping their guys now that he is off the table. They wont need the cap room anymore. Domino effect that will further dry up the pool. This may effect us and Collins negotiations too. Less suitors could mean John goes ahead and signs his deal.

There is no 2021 FA that we are missing out on. Trade market is going to be where its at if we want to add another big piece.

Another one bites the dust. 2021 looking like 2020 right now. If Leonard opts out it will only be to resign back in LA with the Lakers. Paul isnt opting out. The rest of the names are like, ehh, just names.

These additions only work if Trae is aggressive as a scorer. He must keep the killer instinct so that things open up for everyone else. He can still set the stage for his teammates, but he needs to force the opponent to adjust to him first and foremost. If he starts self checking himself by getting rid of the ball early just so the other 4 guys can play hot potato with the ball, then we aren't scaring anybody on the court. Make them respect option #1 and then go from there.

Here to say that I stand corrected on this. "Big O" it is for the kid. Makes more sense for a F/C to be Big O than a guard. But I'm guessing Oscar was called Big O because his game made you feel that way when you saw him play hahaha!

Same reason Collins never shot 3's either I'd imagine. College and Pro's have much different ideologies when it comes to their big men.

Exactly, the Westbrook comps sell him short as a shooter. He is actually more comparable to Dame Lillard when you compare their rookie numbers, especially the shooting efficiency. Morant is a bit bigger and explosive, Dame has longer range, but they are very comparable from a numbers standpoint. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/l/lillada01.html https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/moranja01.html

https://throughthelens.com/packet/2/episodes?episodeId=16 The kid's got spunk lol

Solid debut from the 2020 class so far

Do you tune in to hear Nique teach you about shot selection? Does his opinion of a good or bad shot effect your own judgment? If the answer is no, then why does it bother you? I notice the same things about his commentary, and it goes in one ear and out the other. He is an OG, he has a storied basketball past. He has nuggets of really cool insight, sandwiched between light and meaningless banter. All you have to do is filter it, take it for what its worth, and dont let it ruin your day. I'd rather listen to Nique be a homer and sound out of touch and Hawks biased, when there are guys like Paul Pierce employed and making the dumbest, most blatantly Celts biased hot takes on a national platform. Its good every now and then to have a voice that others HAVE to listen to say nice things about our team from a deeply nostalgic and personal perspective. We can go literally anywhere else for something "neutral" aka "Atlanta Hate" .

He balled out. Random thought to keep an eye on, but are y'all noticing all of a sudden shooting isn't so premium to being successful anymore? Simmons, Zion recently, now Ball, Edwards and Okoro. Each of them (except Simmons) CAN shoot but its not their marketable trait. Is the NBA making another shift back to driving, fast breaks, and athleticism, after realizing there are only so many Steph Curry types in a generation? Lol A lot of these young guys are the break you down and meet me at the rim type players. Maybe explains why they would rather market a Morant than Trae.

Melo's passing might be better than Lonzo's already. That transition, behind the back kick AHEAD, on the run, at full speed and on target, was the best pass I have seen in a very long time. How is it that neither of the (good) Ball brothers can shoot and still be top picks, meanwhile Liangelo is the best pure shooter of the 3 and can barely get an opportunity to prove himself? Lol

Lamelo Ball.... might be nice. I must admit, I didn't think he had NBA athleticism, but he looks plenty fast enough for the league. Kid is going to make our lives harder in the division.

Exactly. He is a natural at the game. His body is still developing underneath his head