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Kinda hard to enjoy any type of camaraderie with people that fail to acknowledge the inherent evil of racism. People that want to examine and focus on the brand of radio in the car all the while ignoring the gaping hole in the side of the engine block. It turns my stomach, and, for the present time, at least, I don’t want to be here.
There are some things in life that are bigger than basketball.
Dan Favale
August 10, 2017
Not every NBA free agent suffered from this summer’s stifling, 2016-correcting market. For some of them, the offseason was quite nice.
Too nice.
This All-Overpaid free-agency team should not be confused with the league’s absolute worst deals. Some of them are, but that list takes into account contract length. This one will not. It looks at per-year compensation alone, starting with next season, and the likelihood of each recipient producing up to that dollar amount.
Regular All-NBA designations apply. We’re looking for two guards, two forwards and one center—a first-team who’s who of mostly quality players who earned a big “W” at the bargaining table.
Team situations, roles on that squad and age all factor into these predictive outlooks. Was this done to spare us from including Jrue Holiday, whose five-year megadeal is an overpay but also easily justifiable? Maybe. (Yes.) But these handsomely paid players don’t have his—or Otto Porter Jr.’s (d**n you, Brooklyn)— contextual support.
Other situations basically didn’t have viable alternative courses of actions. The teams bankrolling these deals did.
Guard: Tim Hardaway Jr., New York Knicks
Age: 25
2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 14.5 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.2 blocks, 45.5 percent shooting
Contract Value: Four years, $71 million
Yo, can we talk about the New York Knicks’ impressively bad spin job on the Tim Hardaway Jr. contract for a second?
“We felt like there are not that many opportunities in free agency that you have the opportunity to go after a 25-year-old,” team president Steve Mills said, per the New York Daily News’ Daniel Popper. “Most times guys become free, as far as an age standpoint, later in their career. And we made the decision that if you want to pry a restricted free agent away from the incumbent team, you have to be aggressive.”
Ah, yes. The ol’ 25-and-under crutch. Totally valid. Except, typically, these approaches don’t apply to players who will be 26 before next season ends. Maxing out Otto Porter, who turned 24 in June, fits this bill. Hardaway does not.
It gets better. Or rather, worse.
“So we made a decision to be aggressive,” Mills continued, per Popper. “As we look at the numbers, we believe Tim is a starting 2-guard in this league, our trajectory for him is to be a starting 2-guard. [He has] the capability of being a starting 2-guard for the rest of his career. And those guys average 16, 16.5 million dollars in the NBA today.”
Spoken like someone trapped in the summer of 2016.
Give Hardaway this deal last year, and few people choke on exasperation. Lucrative paydays were the standard. But almost everyone misread the salary-cap situation (myself included), and the market began to correct itself in 2017 long before Hardaway put pen to paper.
New York is now footing the bill for one of the 26 highest-paid guards. Hardaway’s performance has yet to sniff that kind of value.
He placed 46th among all guards in box plus-minus last season. He was 31st in win shares per 48 minutes. His defensive stands improved—particularly in isolation, per NBA Math—but he spent a good deal of his court time matching up with second-stringers. That improvement won’t translate to an everyday starting gig.
Everyone on this list is a quality player. Hardaway is no different. He’s a more efficient scorer and facilitator than his first go-round in New York. But this contract was, and still is, and will probably remain, one of this summer’s most egregious overpays.
Guard: George Hill, Sacramento Kings
Age: 31
2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 16.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.0 steals, 0.2 blocks, 47.7 percent shooting
Contract Value: Three years, $57 million ($1 million partial guarantee in 2019-20)
Let’s make one thing clear: I hate myself. After Hardaway, the list of bank-breaking per-year overpays is almost nonexistent. This spot could easily go to Jrue Holiday or Dion Waiters. Darren Collison, too.
Age and team situation tilt the scales in George Hill’s favor.
His contract as a whole isn’t terrible. The Sacramento Kings are overcompensating him until 2019 and can then hit the peace-out button for the cut-rate cost of $1 million. But they’re paying him like a top-eight point guard…at the age of 31…after he missed 33 games last season…and couldn’t finish out the Utah Jazz’s second-round playoff series with the Golden State Warriors.
And you know what? Even that would be fine. Risk, schmisk. Teams invest in franchise point guards. The Kings need one of those.
Oh, wait. Right. They don’t.
De’Aaron Fox owns that honor after being selected with the fifth overall pick. Hill can play next to him, but any time they spend together equates to fewer reps for the Fox-Buddy Hield alliance.
More complicated still, if Hill isn’t interrupting the learning curve for Sacramento’s backcourt of the future, it’s because he’s ceding status and minutes—in which case he’s being paid star-level money to be a backup or quickly yanked starter.
Again: Contracts elsewhere, at other positions, are a lot worse. But the odds of Hill living up to this pay grade, without being traded or without cramping the development of Sacramento’s young guns, aren’t great.
Forward: Serge Ibaka, Toronto Raptors
Age: 27
2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.5 steals, 1.6 blocks, 48.0 percent shooting
Remaining Contract Value: Three years, $65 million
Well, this feels awkward.
Serge Ibaka is the pre-Unicorn Era unicorn. He was swatting shots and swishing threes before it became cool, and then commonplace, for the league’s biglets to do so. Shelling out less than max money for that guy, in the heart of his prime, shouldn’t register as an overpay.
Times change, though. In the NBA specifically, they shift fast. One minute, you’re the crowning example of evolution. The next, you’ve been leapfrogged by another level of progress.
Ibaka’s skill set is no longer unique to his position. Hell, he’s not even playing the right position. Almost 90 percent of his court time came at power forward last season, when really, he should be a full-time center. He doesn’t have the rangy mobility to switch pick-and-rolls or chase around the glorified wings who populate the 4 slot nowadays.
Rival scorers torched him for one point per isolation possession last season (26th percentile). That average fell to 0.80 (61st percentile) during his final year with the Oklahoma City Thunder, but he’s not a volume rotator. His teams cannot leverage him that way—especially at power forward, and infinitely more so when his primary frontcourt partner is Jonas Valanciunas.
To cap it all off, Ibaka is no longer a master at his own craft, as Sam Vecenie outlined for Sporting News:
“Over the last three seasons combined, he’s been league average in terms of scoring efficiency, a sharp drop from his previous five years where he was four points above average in terms of true-shooting percentage. Defensively, Ibaka’s formerly elite shot-blocking ability has declined in each of the previous five years, and his overall rim protection was right around the league-average mark among centers—allowing opponents to shoot nearly 53 percent on contested shots.”
Tack on Ibaka’s lack of progression as an off-the-dribble attacker—he hasn’t averaged more than 0.9 drives per game since 2013-14—and situational passer, and it makes you wonder: Would the Toronto Raptors be more of a threat in the East had they re-signed Patrick Patterson and PJ Tucker instead of him?
Forward: Zach Randolph, Sacramento Kings
Age: 36
2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.5 steals, 0.1 blocks, 44.9 percent shooting
Contract Value: Two years, $24 million
Zach Randolph’s deal is mostly justifiable within the context of what the Sacramento Kings are trying to do—surround their young princes with kings of character (recent arrest for possession of marijuana with intent to sell notwithstanding). But the dollar amount is indefensible when looking at on-court production, and the veteran-presence argument gets harder to prop up when looking at their other moves.
Signing Hill and Vince Carter would have been more than enough. Randolph, at $24 million in guaranteed money, is arguably pointless excess.
Add the $12.3 million he’s making next season to the Kings’ remaining cap space, and they’d be left with close to $16 million in spending power—head room they could be using to take on a crappy contract in exchange for a first-round pick or intriguing rookie-scale prospect.
Slash Randolph’s price in half, and he’s still objectively too expensive. Something in the sub-$5 million range would make the most sense. The Kings have several big-man projects. Any minutes Randolph plays is time lost for Willie Cauley-Stein, Harry Giles, Skal Labissiere and Georgios Papagiannis.
Will the impact Randolph has as a mentor be worth that trade-off? Perhaps. His production sure as heck won’t. He ranked as the Memphis Grizzlies’ least valuable player last season, according to NBA Math, which comes as no surprise. The game has moved in a different direction, largely away from his preferred face-up ground-and-pound style.
Extending Randolph’s range beyond the three-point line would go a long way toward extracting adequate value from his contract. But the Grizzlies already tried that to no avail. Randolph connected on 21 of his 94 long balls (22.3 percent), and their offense consistently pumped in more points per 100 possessions with him on the bench.
Sacramento can forget about him bringing defensive grit. He hasn’t limited opponents to below-average clips within six feet of the hoop since 2013-14, and Cauley-Stein could teach him a thing or 50 about switching. Randolph’s best contributions will be anecdotal. And while storytime with Uncle Z-Bo is no doubt an experience-and-a-half, it’s not worth anywhere near $24 million.
Center: Pau Gasol, San Antonio Spurs
Age: 37
2016-17 Per-Game Stats: 12.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 0.4 steals, 1.1 blocks, 50.2 percent shooting
Contract Value: Three years, $48.8 million ($6.7 million partial guarantee in 2019-20)
Pau Gasol unexpectedly opted out of his contract to, presumably, help the San Antonio Spurs chisel out more cap space.
So, naturally, they ended up signing him to a longer deal that eats into next summer’s flexibility—all without parlaying that additional wiggle room into an impactful signing. (For the record: Rudy Gay doesn’t count. They signed him using the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception, which would have been available to them even if Gasol opted in.)
Look, as far as 37-year-old skyscrapers go, Gasol is a 100 emoji. He’s now the second player to average 17 points, 10 rebounds and three assists per 36 minutes multiple times after his 35th birthday. His company is some dude named Tim Duncan.
Head coach Gregg Popovich even gave Gasol the bright(ish) green light to fire away from downtown. He responded by launching a career-high 104 triples that he drilled at a personal-best 53.8 percent clip.
Bake in that shot distribution, along with his superior presence on the defensive glass, and Gasol might’ve been more valuable to the Spurs than LaMarcus Aldridge. He noticeably outpaced him in NBA Math’s Total Points Added metric, checking in as the second-most valuable San Antonian. Facing off against backups and, again, his defensive rebounding buoys that total, but still: duh-amn.
Under no circumstances, though, should Gasol be getting this much, for this long. A one-year deal? Fine. A two-season flier? Maybe. But three years? That’s overkill.
The partial guarantee in 2019-20 doesn’t help the optics. Paying him nearly $7 million to go away isn’t something the Spurs can just do. That money isn’t chump change. The taxpayer’s mid-level exception isn’t even supposed to reach $6.8 million by then.
Guaranteeing Gasol $16.8 million in 2018-19 may also force the Spurs to table another superstar pursuit. They need to shed the player options for both Aldridge and Gay to have a puncher’s chance of manufacturing max space without renouncing Danny Green or asking him to accept a massive pay cut.
Blindly trusting the Spurs in this situation is fine. They’ve built a dynasty at conventional wisdom’s expense. But things are different now. The Warriors are the overlording standard for all contenders, and the Spurs just substantially overpaid someone who won’t be able to stay on the floor if and when these two superpowers meet.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter (@danfavale) and listen to his Hardwood Knocks podcast co-hosted by B/R’s Andrew Bailey.
Stats courtesy of Basketball Reference or NBA.com. Salary information via Basketball Insiders, Spotrac and RealGM.
Dan Favale
Dallas Mavericks: Nerlens Noel Contract Talks
Nerlens Noel and the Dallas Mavericks remain at an impasse in contract talks, and a resolution isn’t expected anytime soon, according to Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News—which, yikes.
Inching closer to training camp with your center of the future floating around the restricted-free-agent market is light-years from ideal. The Mavericks are rebuilding by their own admission, and the 23-year-old Noel fits perfectly into that timeline—doubly so when Dallas isn’t particularly flush with prospects under the age of 24.
At the same time, Noel’s impending raise doesn’t jibe with that window. Rebuilding squads are usually trying to cut costs and amass rookie-scale deals; they’re not typically getting ready to bankroll a lucrative second contract.
A depressed center market isn’t simplifying matters. No one else is throwing Noel near-max money, and the Mavericks aren’t about to be the first, as The Ringer’s Haley O’Shaughnessy unpacked:
“Had Noel been offered a maximum contract elsewhere, the negotiation would be straightforward: match or lose out. But his selling power was Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’d, which is to say, overestimated, misjudged, and misvalued. There is a short shortlist of teams still able to offer a payday, and with the Nets committing to Allen Crabbe, it’s whittled down to, basically, the Bulls. Without any other suitors holding roses, Dallas can play hardball and try to hold onto future cap space. By offering a shorter deal with a team option, or less overall money, the Mavericks would have more resources to fast-track their rebuild and wouldn’t need to overinvest in potential before it materialized.”
Both sides are right. Noel’s camp shouldn’t bend to the point of breaking before absolutely necessary. The demand for centers who don’t hoist threes isn’t on the cusp of an upswing—not even when said tower switches better on defense than most other skyscrapers. But the Mavericks shouldn’t overpay Noel just to spare his ego. A nightmarish deal clogs up the books and handcuffs their ability to make upgrades in the coming years.
Eventually, though, the relationship between player and team comes into play. Animosity will start to brew if the Mavericks get Noel to sign at what he deems a cut rate, or if he bets on himself and signs the qualifying offer so he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2018. Dallas may be smart to hardball this negotiation, but a good business decision doesn’t always make for the most amicable work environment.
Just sayin’
Seems like every summer somebody gets stuck in RFA purgatory. It was Noel’s turn..gotta have tough skin and accept the business side of the game..
He should accept the QO and move on.
Not a smart move by the Mavs.
Assuming they like Nerlens long term.
He ain’t that great and, if he thinks he is, therein lies the problem.
Yup.
Agreed.
Maybe, Dallas doesn’t want to spend the $$$ to keep him. Maybe a mini poison pill, or a tactical sign and trade involving Xubac, or Clarkson.
By Dan Duangdao
At the 2015 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers selected D’Angelo Russell with the second overall pick. The Ohio State product was viewed as Kobe Bryant’s successor, but after just two seasons, he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for Brook Lopez and Kyle Kuzma.
While there were heated debates about the trade, Brooklyn will provide Russell with a fresh start. In his young career, Russell has shown his scoring abilities but will need to improve the rest of his game. When asked about defense, Russell had the following to say according to Zach Lowe of ESPN:
“I wanted to play defense in L.A.,” Russell said, “but I felt like I had to score every chance I got for us to be relevant.”
It is not an ideal answer from Russell, but it was not a stable environment for him in Los Angeles as well. During Russell’s rookie season, it marked Kobe Bryant’s farewell tour and he was in former head coach Byron Scott’s doghouse. While he showed potential under head coach Luke Walton in his sophomore season, the Lakers acquired a former All-Star center, a stretch-four prospect, and cap space for next year’s free agency.
With Russell no longer with the Lakers, all eyes are on Lonzo Ball, who was named the Las Vegas Summer League Most Valuable Player after averaging a near triple-double. Along with Brandon Ingram, President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka believe there is a path to signing two superstars to surround their young core.
kinda lame.
easy to see why he was traded…
Yep.
I couldn’t care less since he’s not a Laker.
Also, talk is very, very cheap.
Best post.
Aren’t there 2 ends of the court?
Wanting and doing are two different things….”wax on, wax off!!!”
LMFAO
3AM, this morning. Watched a replay of one of the greatest comebacks in NCAA history vs Gonzaga. The 2006 SFs.The UCLA Bruinx trailed the entire game – at times, by double digits. Adam Morrison was playing a monster game, but, in the end, Jordan Farmar, Aaron Aflalo, Luc Mbah a Moute, Darren Collison and Ryan Hollins had Morrison sitting on the floor, literally in tears. With 1.9 seconds left on the clock, UCLA assumed it’s first lead of the game.
Hard to admit it, but those Bruins played tougher defense than most teams in today’s NBA.
Lonzo, KCP, Ingram, Kuzma and Nance = Fire Ball
Lonzo, KCP, Ingram, Randle and Lopez = Dub Killers
Lakers Go Small! That’s going to be my fav lineup.
Kuzma and Nance come in for Randle and Lopez.
It’s the Lakers’ version of the Warriors’ s Death Lineup!
i really keep hoping this team finds it’s own identity.
they can never be any better than fake as the Warriors. i would despise the Lakers really turning into the Fakers. as you say though, there are effective elements to the Warrior’s game that the Lakers should also exploit if they can, since the Warriors are winners. one thing they have above everyone else is shooters. this team probably doesn’t have shooters of that caliber. there are other aspects of the game that are uniquely suited to the guys on this team. i
d like to see those things exploited too.
And we will exploit them, mud. We will build and improve upon thd pace/space approach. We have an awesome amount of firepower and will be unmatched in roster versatility. We will run, run, run. The opposition won’t be able to keep up. And the rebounding, defense and assists advantage will be ours. Transitions, pick and rolls, spot up shooting and attacking the rim. All areas in which we will excell.
i could see this current team being a lot of trouble if they do that.
My hope is that the team performs so well that the FO doesn’t see a need, or have a desire to, add a player that could have a negative effect on the current roster.
I see our roster presenting numerous matchup problems for the opposition.
Agreed, mud … they ain’t gonna be the Dubs, nor should they try to be. Let’s just let ’em form their own identity.
Fake Warriors, mud? LMAO. The Lakers will create their own identity and whether the silly envious and jealous old school Lakers fans who disparage the Warriors like it or not, the new Lakers will look a lot more like the Warriors than any previous Lakers team.
How silly not to want to copy the franchise with the best off court front office and coaching staff as well the on court offense and defense in the entire NBA. The Lakers need a small ball defensive oriented lineup like the Warriors Death Lineup. They need to score more points off screens and cuts like the Warriors. They need to speed up the game like the Warriors. They need to switch on defense like the Warriors. They need to develop a dominating team.
LIKE THE WARRIORS doesn’t mean that it won’t be their own identities, inferior in some ways but better in others. Disrespecting and disparaging the Warriors is stupid. Emulating and copying them is smart.
Tom, i think the Warriors play excellent basketball. period.
it’s when people start claiming that they’re the best ever that i start puking.
THE WARRIORS DIDN’T INVENT GOOD BASKETBALL, NOT ARE THEY DOING ANYTHING THAT IS AMAZINGLY GROUND-BREAKING.
they ARE the best team in the NBA at the moment. that can change at any time.
the Lakers don’t NEED to do anything especially like the Warriors, but they’d be silly not to impliment any part of the game played by the Warriors that they can, since the Warriors strategy is winning right now.
Fair enough, mud. I think the Warriors are the best of this generation. No real way to say they’re the greatest of all time because the game and rules have changed so much. We’ll have to wait until we invent the time machine and have an all time NBA championship series with the best 16 NBA champs all in their prime in one tournament.
If they learn how to play excellent team defense, this squad could surprise everyone. I sure hope we can witness this.
‘Dub Killers’?! Now THAT’S funny. : D
I can’t think of any champion that became a champion by trying to replicate someone else. Champions are born out of aspirations to surpass the best.
A lesson in math. 16>2. Lakers never employed dirty players to enhance their chances of winnjng by deliberately injuring other players (see: Draymond Green and Zaza Pachulia).
Some of my favorite players have played for the Warriors. Wilt, Mullins, Barry, Nate, Guy Rogers, Al Attles.
Don’t forget, the Warriors set the record for futility -- too. Blowing a 3-1 advantage in thr Finals, with HCA, no less.
I take it u’re not a Dubs fan, tate? LOL
No, not a fan, GDUB. Don’t like the way they treated Jackson or Monta Ellis. Don’t like the way Green and Gaga Pickkejuice use cheap shots to gain the advantage. Don’t like Durant abandoning the fans in OKC.
“Wishing Well” was my jam when it came out.
Saw TTD in a standing room only show at the Palladium back when Hardline first came out. Probably in the top 5 live performances I’ve ever seen.
If he wears thin on Kyrie, what would he do to Lonzo, BI, KK, et al.?
Stephen A. Smith says Kyrie Irving wants out of Cleveland because he was tired of being LeBron’s son
by Bob Garcia IV
July 28, 2017
Since Kyrie Irving‘s trade request came to light, there have been many details to emerge concerning the developing situation.
According to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN, Irving isn’t looking to remain in the shadow of LeBron James any longer as the little brother figure in the relationship with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Kyrie isn’t saying he’s better than LeBron and should be seen that way,” a close confidant of Irving’s told me. “He’s saying he’s not about to let LeBron ‘SON’ him … treating him like he’s the child and LeBron’s the father or big brother he’s supposed to look up to.
“Kyrie knows he’s a franchise-caliber talent. He wants to be treated like it. And he’s tired of hearing about what LeBron needs, and he’s d**n sure tired of hearing LeBron sound like he always needs more. As if the crew they have isn’t enough.”
This isn’t a strife against James in any manner, but rather Irving wanting to build his own legacy as the alpha dog of an NBA team and not in the shadow of another superstar player. He has developed into one of the premier point guards in the league over the last three years playing alongside James that has built an even greater internal confidence in the 25-year-old that he can handle that major responsibility.
There are no sour grapes or animosity about this situation stemming from Irving toward James. He just simply feels that it’s time for him to shine as the face of the franchise for an NBA team other than the Cavaliers.
That being said, the longer this lingers this offseason, the worse the internal conflict between Irving and Cleveland will become. It’s now clearer than ever that both sides need to go their separate ways.
Stephen A. Smith says Kyrie Irving wants out of Cleveland because he was tired of being LeBron’s son
Winners?
Teach them how to get to 7 straight Finals?
Gettin’ tired of this saga now, just trade him already. Sheez.
Somebody force him into a long contract or is this a new thing?
Me too, G.
With Lonzo, KCP, BI, Kuzma and Lopez on the floor, I think we can run, knock down 3pters and defend the perimeter, and the rim, with the best of them. Insert Julius , Nance and Clarkson, the p & r is deadly. Any combination, can run with anybody. Spare parts like Matthew, Hart, Bryant and Deng are interchangeable.
We’ve got a great brain trust, now, and the excitement is building.
Soooo….conference finals?
: )
I wouldn’t be surprised, at all. Factor in an injury, suspension or slump on the GSW, SAS, Rockets and it could easily happen. 1-10 we should be able to compete with anybody.
I know it’s way early. What do you think?
My Magic 8 Ball is at the cleaners so I have no clue. But to be honest..I have no idea what KCP can do; didn’t watch much Piston basketball. We have alotta new faces so it’ll probably take a lil time for it all to come together.
Let me know what Uncle Boudreaux’s projections for the team are.
That Boudreaux guy makes some damm good cookies for Pepperidge Farm. : )
Yeah, KCP’s offensive numbers are pretty mediocre, but it’s his talents on the defensive end that have earned him a reputation as a two way player. He averaged 33.3 mpg on a 37-45 Eastern Conference team that had balanced scoring, but played at a more deliberate pace than most NBA teams. For reasons explained better in this link, it seems like he should be a fantastic compliment to Lonzo Ball:
I particularly like this quote from the article:
“While different players stylistically and of course in terms of three-point shooting, Caldwell-Pope compares to Klay Thompson in terms of impact on the game on both sides of the floor. Thompson took a big leap in his age 24 year after similar production we have seen from Caldwell-Pope.”
The article referred to KCP as the Pistons “best player.”
He is in a contract season, so with the up tempo style the Lakers will be playing and an incentive to earn a big multi-year deal, perhaps we’ll have another Klay on our hands. I doubt that, but we can at least get excited about the possibility.
Zactly, MS … just like the past several seasons, patience will be required.
Aloha Tate,
I think Kuzma has the potential to be a good defender but the scouting reports are mixed. He has the tools and I hope he develops sooner then later but he could be a year or two away. When I was in Vegas I caught the Celtics game and he was schooled by Tatum. This is from draft express
On the defensive end, Kuzma shows flashes of versatility, but his effort level is inconsistent and his awareness can be poor. He has shown the potential to switch ball screens using his agility and quickness to contain on the perimeter, but his one on one and team defense remain a work in progress. He lacks the physicality to handle bigs down low, and doesn’t provide much rim protection as a help side defender. He averaged just .8 blocks and .6 steals per 40 minutes, both of which are extremely low numbers for someone with the above average length and athletic ability that he possessesa clear cut red flag. His physical tools give him potential on the defensive end so long as he can buy into competing and playing his role in a team oriented defensive unit, but NBA teams will ask why that didn’t happen at Utah and how much things will change as a 22-year old rookie. -- Source: http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/Kyle-Kuzma-82886/ ©DraftExpress
Watch the Kuzma defensive breakdown below. Pete is mainly concerned about Kuz’s physicality, but otherwise sees a lot of potential with Kuz defensively and he thinks that his minutes will be down mainly because of the learning curve at the defensive end as a rookie. Makes sense.
Yes, Mr. Keen, it does make sense. Kinda hard looking at our guys objectively. As an eternal optimist, I see our roster as superior to a lot of others. As Mongo said, KCP is a key facor that has yet to be completely unwrapped.
We tend to see our scrubs as better than other team’s scrubs, Mr. Tate. That just goes with the territory of being a loyal fan.
Aloha Michael,
Thanks for the feedback. With good one-on-one tutoring from the staff, Deng and Lopez, he just might absorb enough intel to be totally serviceable. I noticed the late season emergence of Brandon Ingram -- hopefully the presence of Lonzo, KCP and Brandon on the floor/sidelines along with LNJr, Magic and Luke, Kuzma can expedite his learning curve.
No need to put excessive pressure on him. Sharp minds think alike. The way KK and Lonzo meshed during S/L, I believe he arises to the level of those around him. Getting schooled by Tatum can turn out to be a good thing. Let KK see where his weaknesses are.
Here’s to hoping for the best.
Aloha Tate
I saw all but the first summer league game and I am excited by Kuzma. I think he probably was a steal at 27. He out preformed many of the highly touted lottery picks. But the whole LA hype machine is a little excessive. Some writers have suggested that Kuzma makes Randle or Nance expendable. I think that’s a bit premature. Like you said no need to put excessive pressure on him.
— Don Drysdale Jr. (@DJ_Drysdale) July 25, 2017
The Phoenix Suns will NOT include Josh Jackson in any trade for Kyrie Irving.
— John Gambadoro (@Gambo987) July 25, 2017
Suns have reassured Jackson of this too https://t.co/vrl5I5Tvpt
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 25, 2017
Fools will be fools. Then again, Kyrie is a free agent in 2019, so maybe I’m the fool. I’m just not that big on crapshoots. I just think that the prospect of a Kyrie/Booker backcourt is awesome and to give up Bledsoe and the next Justise Winslow (IMO) is lopsided in the Suns favor, should Gilbert accept something like that.
Agreed, I make this deal, too. Kyrie and Booker…yikes.
““Way different,” Russell said of the way the Nets handle their players. “The freedom, whatever it may be, I just think in LA it’s not like college. The way that Brooklyn kind of runs things is more college-y, and you have a schedule laid out every day, every time, and you know what it is.
“LA is kinda like that but it’s way different. I don’t want to downgrade any organization or anything but it’s just completely different,” Russell said.
When asked if he thinks the additional structure will help him, Russell’s clearly looking forward to a new routine.
“Obviously. I think, especially when you’re a young player and you have that structure, you definitely thrive in that. It’s what you come from. You come from high school with structure, you come from college with structure, then you got to the NBA and you’ve got no structure. It’s different,” Russell said.
That lack of structure and looming uncertainty is something Russell felt once the Lakers overhauled their front office.
“I didn’t have a clear picture. They didn’t draft me so it’s all different, and you see just around the league when specific GMs don’t draft you they’re ready to get rid of you or use you as a tool. I really didn’t know.
“I had a relationship before Magic was the GM with them, and obviously that changes, but I never knew. I was going in every day just trying to be tunnel vision with it and just work hard, and whatever they decided to do with me was whatever,” Russell said.”
Damm…he sounds so weak-minded in this piece.
Sounds like he needed a year or two more of college for the head to catch up to the body. Which is what it looked like on the court and in interviews.
Yes, but in defense of DAR, think about all those Champ Titles that the Nets have one? Whuuuuuut you say? None. Oops!
Lin says they’re for sure making the playoffs.
I said it after seeing how his dad responded after his infamous ‘ice in my veins’ SL buzzer-beater that the fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree. Pops just doesn’t strike me as the most mature person and D’Lo stated early on that his dad and brother were his primary role models. Someone needs to advise him to just let his play on the court do the talking and be very thoughtful before speaking when being interviewed.
B said he was 19 going on 14 for a reason.
Lol!
It’s true, though. Both coaches stressed the need for him to find a routine. Sounds like they force one on you in Brooklyn. Hearing that kind of thing makes you realize how very different each team is from another and why some guys REALLY like some environments and others do not.
Yup.
Reminds me of my 1st year of college. Coming from a strict Catholic high school where you got detention if you weren’t in your seat when the bell rang, I was ill-prepared for the freedoms of college & dorm life. Damm near washed out before the year was over. But got it together in my 2nd year.
This mofo is in year 3 still needing somebody to hold his hand….
Coulda hired himself a life coach…
MS, your experience reminds me of my college days. I transferred from my local JC to a university 700 miles from home, and recall being grateful I wasn’t a freshman. Took me about 6 months to adjust.
Can you please stop with the DAR posts???
He’s not a Laker.
I don’t care.
Are you kidding? We still get an occasional Dwight Howard post.
: D
So, D’Angelo figured he was being traded…….
He’s no longer a Laker.
…
Wasn’t me. Thank Grumpy Cat.
Not me.
Even in the wake of changing strategies, the ineptness and inconsistently of today’s officiating has hampered the progress and enjoyment of the game. Some buy into the theory that “it all evens out” with regards to bad calls and scheduling agendas, but there’s virtually nothing done to corrdct or prevent their recurrence. The league office sends out a notice that the officials blew a call but, the results of the game still stand. Officials should be held more accountable, even to the degree of fining them for overtly blown calls, or unjustifiable technical fouls.
Sometimes it seems as though there is an attitude of superiority, an authoritarian complex with some of these officials. Hit em in the pocketbook and watch how quickly things change.
I agree 100%, Mr. Tate. More things should be reviewable, including fouls -- including charges vs. blocks. The non-call on moving screens is a tough one to gauge. How difficult or time consuming could it be to reverse something that is plain to the naked eye on television when it happens? It should take a split second from a league official who saw exactly what you and I saw.
They also trot out the same, lame officials every season. There’s a couple good ones, but a lot of them seem to have gone to the WWE school of officiating.
While I don’t know how to fix it, I’m pretty sure challenging a player to a fight should lead to a lifetime ban.
The refs have a collective bargaining agreement just as the players. Alotta that stuff would have to be hammered out at the negotiating table. Yeah. ..I know…let dem mofos walk if they don’t like it…they can be easily replaced! But the NFL found out the hard way that’s easier said than done. I think it would be even worse in the NBA.
I agree that they have too much power.
I think the list of calls that they enforce needs to change.
As others stated in a previous thread, I think that hand checking and physical defense should be allowed again. Today’s NBA has become so soft and phantom calls have significantly exploded as a result. All of these Ricky tack whistles have destroyed the flow of the game and made it less enjoyable to watch. I’m so glad that the invention of the DVR came along at the same time the shift in the softening of the NBA has.
I’m not asking for thug ball, but it would be nice to see a defender be able to actually touch his man and affect him from dribbling all the way to the rack without five whistles being blown.
One could surmise that today’s player doesn’t give much effort on the defensive end beacause he knows that he’s just going to get into foul trouble, playing hard nosed D of yesteryear.
*Ticky Tack
Agree 100%
There should be black/white simplicity to rules and what constitutes a foul/violation. The chargs/block call shouldn’t serve to simply aid one team, or the other. Superstar calls need to go away. People pay to see the players play, not to watch some guy with a complex, and a whistle posture for the 5 seconds that the camera is on him for making an utterly ridiculous call.
It’s not the shortening of length of timeouts, or restricting the number alloted, that will improve the flow of the game, it’s the curtailing of the whistle-blowing on nearly every drive to the basket.
Consistency and objectivity would go a long way towards improving the officiating. And, I agree, replacement refs would be a bad idea. Just raise the standards of the ones we have.
Caliphilosopher, 
GDUBinDC, 
mud, and 4 others are discussing. 
tate793, 
Magicman (Editor), and 3 others are discussing. 
For whom the bell trolls, 
humanomaly, 
keen observer, and 4 others are discussing. 
MongoSlade, and 
mclyne32 (Director) are discussing. 
John M., 
Michael H (Editor), and 2 others are discussing. 
Magic Phil, 
mud 1:27 AM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
racism is bad and evil and has wrecked many.
now what?
evil won’t be erased. it’s not our call. we don’t have to choose to be evil, though.
sorry, i just can’t allow my thoughts to be confined by facebook, cnn, abc, fox, disney or any of the others. i refuse to identify with the box given to me. i’ll take that all in, but i’ll also watch the things i haven’t been told. life is not about what anybody likes, although most get a lot of that, too. this is a Lakers site, so it’s not really appropriate to go to far in explaining one’s real thoughts and feelings about life, the universe, and everything. you can enjoy camaraderie with anyone that you like, including enemies. if they’re enemies, don’t drink to excess, just for safety’s sake.
AK27 4:45 AM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
if they’re enemies, don’t drink to excess, just for safety’s sake.
Lol
What do you think life is about, mud ?
NBA4ever 9:13 AM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Bitterness I’m guessing?
mud 10:37 AM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
AK-i can’t really get into it here. there are too many words to write and they still wouldn’t express my answer properly.
NBA4ever-bitterness? no, it’s not about bitterness, although there is much in life that is VERY bitter. there are many other descriptions of how one feels about life like joyful, sad and scary, amazing and wonderful, too.
i don’t want to pretend that i don’t understand what tate is upset about, or make light of it(although i do prefer jokes to tears much of the time). there’s no reason that people can’t work against wickedness and evil, either. i think we should. hating the mislead and the confused won’t make them get right, though. it’s more like something to work at for each one, personally. it surely won’t be fixed for all times in a Lakers blog. it’s work to do every day. that work can’t be done in slogans or through well-funded organizations, either. it has to be done in day-to-day living, regardless of what others do.
let’s end the rant and get back to bball.
AK27 1:59 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
fair enough, mud… i asked cuz you often drop in bits and pieces of that in conversations anyway…
For whom the bell trolls 12:53 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
History has shown us that racism has been around since the beginning of time. The answer is not easy but violence is always the easy way out. What exactly do the oppressed want to be done non-violent wise to fix the problem or is violence the only recourse?
GDUBinDC 1:55 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Actually, it hasn’t been around since the beginning of time, but it has been around for a long time … far too long, in fact.
mud 2:02 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
about 150-175 years…
hello, Malthus, Galton, Huxley and Darwin!
GDUBinDC 2:09 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Yup, at least that long
For whom the bell trolls 2:57 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
You don’t think in biblical times there wasn’t racism or before? Slavery been around thousands of years was not that racism?
Caliphilosopher 3:13 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
One can have slavery that is not based upon (purported) race. Roman slaves weren’t racialised -- especially since being a Roman was based on citizenship, not race.
Additionally, if you take Quentin Skinner’s line on historiography, then using that kind of retrospective description is incorrect, since the concept of race was nowhere near in existence in the lexicon at the time of roman slavery in the deep historical past. That can be seen as being anachronistic and reading too much into historical phenomena and events.
For whom the bell trolls 4:54 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
Just because there wasn’t a modern word for it didn’t mean the feeling was different. Plus I don’t buy into the concept that slavery wasn’t based on race or if that word wasn’t in their vocabulary, a feeling that they were the superior people.
Magicman (Editor) 5:09 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
What do you think the Hopi Indians being slaves of the Arawak, was about? They both came from the same ancestors.
Civilizations conquer and are then conquered. Much like how the Arawak committed near genocide against smaller tribes, and the Spanish conquering the Hopi ,civilization, Columbus, Pizzaro and Cortes subjugated the Indians, the Aztecs and other civilizations.
It’s a functionality of life. The strong conquer and destroy, within a Civilization is destroyed not from the outside.
Great conversation here.
A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within- Ariel Durant
Caliphilosopher 11:17 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
FWTBT:
One thing to also note: just because we currently have a conception of what slavery is does not mean that it WAS the same or felt the same. It’s a bit of a stretch to apply current concepts to people who are removed from them by millennia. The discussion of whether some types of slavery were based on race (or not) is not just about how it feels -- in US chattel slavery, there are all sorts of types of evidence (legal documents, journals, newspapers, etc.) which clearly showed that slavery was based upon a racialised hierarchy. The evidence from other eras (since the US is a clear cut case) like in Ancient Rome does not match up with that -- there are no reports etc. that include the use of the term “race” or “racism”. If my memory serves me correctly, the term “race” has its earliest evidence of use in the late 1400s.
I take your point that there are other instances of slavery that have happened that ARE based upon racialised hierarchies. I contend that Ancient Rome is not one of them -- especially since Ancient Rome was a “multi-racial” society (as we now use the term).
GDUBinDC 2:01 PM on August 16, 2017 Permalink
Well said, Cali … the concept of race certainly did not exist back then for sure.
AK27 2:02 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
What exactly do the oppressed want to be done
that information isn’t too hard to find….
For whom the bell trolls 4:48 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I don’t think its that simple AK If you turn the government into another system you still have class advantage. It goes so deep, and no matter what the have-nots regardless of what level they are currently at… wants more and that is an ultimate truth.
Magicman (Editor) 5:17 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
We don’t exactly have a caste system Trollman, if we did, the garbageman wouldn’t be allowed to win the Lottery. Lol.
AK27 9:01 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
what does this have to do with TM’s comment ?
Magicman (Editor) 9:38 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
The Bloodline of John Jacob Astor is a deterrent to the argument of class advantage.
The advantage isn’t determined by status of perception, it is determined by wealth.
And the wealthy truly decide who belongs and who doesn’t. Way it has been and the way it will always be.
That’s why they made the Beverly Hillbillies and the fils Giant and There Will be Blood. Because Rubes, Drug Addicts and Despiacble persons can go from nothing to incomprehensible wealth.
So the whole “have-nots” paradigm is pure dog poop to me, JMO.
AK27 10:22 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
some of this makes sense but the point is still unclear…and, unfortunately, i haven’t seen any of those flicks :)
anyway…have you seen this, Sean ?
Magicman (Editor) 10:36 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
Powerful words. I think there’s always a place for that kind of voice in the wilderness.
As a human being, Amit, that impending sense of doom, I feel it to. I mean that, dude. One man to another.
The hatred in the USA, now in Canada in Quebec and the Western provinces. It’s like a crock pot man, it’s just starting to bubble here.
The strife in Venezuela, North Korea all to real.
Honestly feels like some Nostradamus type stuff, dude.
Magicman (Editor) 10:43 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink
Beverly Hillbillies was a TV show about a family of Hicks in the Appalachians who struck Oil and became exceedingly wealthy.
Ditto for Giant, which featured James Deen, Liz Taylor, Rock Hudson (old classy Hollywood) except it was in Texas.
There Will Be Blood is beyond a masterpiece starring Daniel Day-Lewis (now retired) as Daniel Planview, a failed miner who becomes an aloof, insular, despicable, ruthless, cunning, unforgiving Oil Tycoon.
AK27 8:55 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
finding things that the oppressed want , besides violence, isn’t a mystery….getting ’em what they want is the hard part and i never said that was simple
yea, most ppl want more than they have…is that a reason to let unfair/unjust treatment persist ?
Caliphilosopher 3:10 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Gotta go back further than Malthus, Herbert Spencer, Darwin, etc…
Think Kant (Anthropology, History and Education [2007] Louden [ed.] pg. 58-61) , Hegel (Philosophy of Subjective Spirit Vol. 2 -- Anthropology pg. 51-63), Blumenbach (On the Natural Varieties of Mankind [1775])…
mud 5:22 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
yes, you are right, of course. i don’t think it was fully politicized until a little later, though. oh well, no matter. i feel better just knowing that so many other people can read.
AK27 9:05 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
feeling rather lonely in that club before Cali’s comment, were you, mud ? :)
mud 9:28 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
not really lonely, but looking at facebook/twitter/internet chats/etc, concerned…
Caliphilosopher 11:19 PM on August 15, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hi Mud,
Off hand, do you know if Smith or Say had anything to say about the topic?
mud 2:54 AM on August 16, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
no, i’m sorry. i’m not sure which Smith you mean, and i don’t think i know Say. i’m certainly not all-knowing…
Caliphilosopher 8:23 AM on August 16, 2017 Permalink
Adam Smith, and Say (the economist). Apologies for making it ambiguous!
mud 11:52 AM on August 16, 2017 Permalink
no, i don’t know if either said anything directly, but as far as i know, both would be very comfortable with Margaret Sanger’s world of Eugenics.
Caliphilosopher 2:26 PM on August 16, 2017 Permalink
Thanks Mud -- I’ll look into it and report back at a future date. :-)
GDUBinDC 1:57 PM on August 16, 2017 Permalink | Log in to Reply
If ur stomach is turned, how do u think the actual ‘victims’ of racism/white supremacy must feel?