2021 NBA Offseason Thread

[natedagg]

I hate calling a guy's career this early but Cam Reddish is SO damn bad that it's almost impossible to imagine him ever being anything more than a damn near end of the bench player.

7th or 8th man looks like a ceiling if all goes right from here on out.

He's fucking dreadful.

I dont watch a ton of b-ball and TV but yeah, he won’t even have a long career. He kinda flew “over the radar” in a way where somehow he was considered a top prospect. I feel like his agent was an expert in pre-draft hype and no substance. Didn’t he have like one great shooting workout (or maybe it was a video? Or maybe a gif?) and then he shut it down? I can’t even say I am surprised.
Sure Garland had even more limited tape/film/etc., but Garland had/has a chance... Reddish really doesn’t.

 

[Jstock12]

I don't follow the Hawks at all aside from some Trae highlights. Is Reddish really THAT bad? He's still only 20 and has good size.

 

[Muffinalt]

I don't follow the Hawks at all aside from some Trae highlights. Is Reddish really THAT bad? He's still only 20 and has good size.

Yeah that's why people like him. He looks like he should be a dominant player, great size, good athleticism, nice stroke. But then he plays and everyone sees that he just can't put any of it together and utilize even a little of his gifts. Ok fine he's young and he at least has the potential right? But he doesn't seem to be improving as time goes on and so nothing is left to fall back on and excuse him. Consensus image shifts and he's valued proportionately to his on court play (bad).

We are not at the last step yet to be fair because he only played half a season and he really is young. But I fully expect to be there in another year. Someone who hasn't shown the brains all this time isn't going to magically discover it.

Next up is Wiseman with this same whole cycle imo.

 

[Rich]

Yeah that's why people like him. He looks like he should be a dominant player, great size, good athleticism, nice stroke. But then he plays and everyone sees that he just can't put any of it together and utilize even a little of his gifts. Ok fine he's young and he at least has the potential right? But he doesn't seem to be improving as time goes on and so nothing is left to fall back on and excuse him. Consensus image shifts and he's valued proportionately to his on court play (bad).

We are not at the last step yet to be fair because he only played half a season and he really is young. But I fully expect to be there in another year. Someone who hasn't shown the brains all this time isn't going to magically discover it.

Next up is Wiseman with this same whole cycle imo.

But at least Wiseman showed some real skill in his few college games. This Reddish is the same one we saw at Duke. Just...doesnt really do anything.

 

[Derek]

I don't follow the Hawks at all aside from some Trae highlights. Is Reddish really THAT bad? He's still only 20 and has good size.

he's horrendous

 

[Rich]

Yea, he's...man is he bad. The Hawks weren't supposed to be this awful. I imagine their message boards and local beat reporters sound as bad or worse than our

 

[cavsfever]

If this little Michael Porter Jr. run is the real deal and he's an immediate stud then...yea. I'm gonna need Koby to go hit a homerun real fast or see a new GM sooner rather than later.

Yes will MPJr be the latest entry on the “Cavs could have had him” all star team? It’s a star-studded team for sure.

Griffin wasn’t great but since he left it’s pretty much been a cluster fuck, not one decent move except maybe snagging Kevin Porter and jury is still out on that one...

 

[KevinLoveFan]

Love the way OKC is playing. I was huge on SGA after his playoff performance with LAC and was so happy when OKC got him. Of course, Paul can still ball, and Gallo has been a nice fit there, too. I've even grown to like Schröder. He's a better decision maker here than he was in ATL. Still has his moments, but he's a big spark most of the time.

 

[Cavatt]

Love the way OKC is playing. I was huge on SGA after his playoff performance with LAC and was so happy when OKC got him. Of course, Paul can still ball, and Gallo has been a nice fit there, too. I've even grown to like Schröder. He's a better decision maker here than he was in ATL. Still has his moments, but he's a big spark most of the time.

Shroeder is a true Cav killer. Hits threes and just destroys the cavs every time. Always thought he was great because Cavs can never guard him

 

[cavsfever]

Very striking from Zach Lowe on how helpless the Lakers are when Lebron sits:

Lowe: Ten NBA things I like and don't like, including the Lakers without LeBron

We turn the spotlight to LeBron's supporting cast, the Drummond conundrum and a way to make Trae Young matter more.

www.espn.com

1. Some precarious Lakers minutes

It's really the only blemish on an otherwise dominant season: The Lakers average 100.5 points per 100 possessions with LeBron James on the bench -- three points worse than the league's clankiest offense. It's all shooting: The Lakers with LeBron sitting don't get nearly as many profitable shots -- corner 3s and attempts in the restricted area -- and they brick away from just about everywhere.

The Lakers shoot 70% at the rim with LeBron on the floor -- a number that would lead all teams -- and a middling 63% when he sits, per Cleaning the Glass. The drop-off on corner 3s is just as severe. Their expected effective field goal percentage with LeBron -- based on shot location, the identity of the shooter, and the proximity of defenders -- would top the league, but drops to around average without him, per Second Spectrum.

Some of this is bad luck, but most is shaky process. The Lakers have no identity when LeBron sits. Rajon Rondo and Alex Caruso dribble, dribble, dribble, but don't really get anywhere because defenders duck every pick. Someone burps up a contested jumper. Sometimes, the Lakers play these minutes with Anthony Davis at center. Sometimes, they pair Davis and Dwight Howard. Weirdly, they have tread water in the Davis-Howard minutes and hemorrhaged points when Davis mans the middle sans LeBron, per NBA.com. Sometimes they go wild and play without both LeBron and Davis.

It feels weird to say a dose of ballhandling would help, given both Rondo and Caruso are capable. But Caruso isn't a possession organizer, and late-career Rondo is hit-or-miss in that role against top defenses. He has been better as a connector -- a cutter and extra pass guy -- in the middle of possessions than as initiator. (Rondo got a "like" in this space for his connector role last month.)

The Lakers know this. They are looking. They will also ramp up LeBron's playing time in the postseason; there might be only five or six non-LeBron minutes in the highest-stakes games. Davis on his own should win some of those stretches. But entire quarters -- and then games, then series -- can be lost in those segments.

Late-career Lebron is an amazing facilitator. He is becoming more like Magic Johnson rather than more like Karl Malone. The dude is just a genius in how he is lifting up this Lakers team. HE is putting up an incredible +14.7 on-off ratio -- when he is off court the Lakers are not even a playoff team, when he is on they are the second best team in the league! (With Lebron off court the Lakers have a -2.6 plus-minus, similar to the Pistons or the Kings, and that is mostly playing against second units and with AD when LBJ is off!). As I emphasized in my posts before the season started the Lakers lineup after Lebron and AD absolutely SUCKS; I thought that would make them overall a mediocre team that would squeak into the playoffs, because I was assuming we would see last year's Lebron. But this Lebron is brilliant -- I wonder how much of it is finally getting the full summer off.

But this is a problem for the Lakers because they are going to be afraid to sit him at all this regular season, and they need him to play 40+ MPG in the playoffs. He has started 36 out of 37 games for them, but if they want to have a hope in the playoffs I think that he needs to sit out like a dozen games in the second half of the season and just rest.

I'll be honest, I wish this organization could have kept him

 

[cavsfever]

Also, is anyone following Kendrick Perkins on Twitter? He just called out Durant for "the weakest move in NBA history" in joining the Warriors! Love to see it.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EN5AySVX0AURw-E.jpg:large

 

[Pioneer10]

Very striking from Zach Lowe on how helpless the Lakers are when Lebron sits:

Lowe: Ten NBA things I like and don't like, including the Lakers without LeBron

We turn the spotlight to LeBron's supporting cast, the Drummond conundrum and a way to make Trae Young matter more.

www.espn.com

Late-career Lebron is an amazing facilitator. He is becoming more like Magic Johnson rather than more like Karl Malone. The dude is just a genius in how he is lifting up this Lakers team. HE is putting up an incredible +14.7 on-off ratio -- when he is off court the Lakers are not even a playoff team, when he is on they are the second best team in the league! (With Lebron off court the Lakers have a -2.6 plus-minus, similar to the Pistons or the Kings, and that is mostly playing against second units and with AD when he is off!!). As I emphasized in my posts before the season started the Lakers lineup after Lebron and AD absolutely SUCKS; I thought that would make them overall a mediocre team that would squeak into the playoffs, because I was assuming we would see last year's Lebron. But this Lebron is brilliant -- I wonder how much of it is finally getting the full summer off.

But this is a problem for the Lakers because they are going to be afraid to sit him at all this regular season, and they need him to play 40+ MPG in the playoffs. He has started 36 out of 37 games for them, but if they want to have a hope in the playoffs I think that he needs to sit out like a dozen games in the second half of the season and just rest.

I'll be honest, I wish this organization could have kept him

The problem mostly has been Rondo: the other Lakers roleplayers have been decent to playing above expectations (KCP and Caruso). While Kuzma hasn't shined he's hasn't been a negative. Rondo OTOH has been god awful and Vogel has been afraid to sit him

 

[Muffinalt]

Also, is anyone following Kendrick Perkins on Twitter? He just called out Durant for "the weakest move in NBA history" in joining the Warriors! Love to see it.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EN5AySVX0AURw-E.jpg:large

Jesus christ Durant really is the biggest POS.

 

[cavsfever]

The problem mostly has been Rondo: the other Lakers roleplayers have been decent to playing above expectations (KCP and Caruso). While Kuzma hasn't shined he's hasn't been a negative. Rondo OTOH has been god awful and Vogel has been afraid to sit him

true but even when the other guys are "playing above expectations" they are still mediocre role players who absolutely cannot be playmakers or on their own create problems a defense has to solve. Without AD five of those guys playing together are almost a G-league team.

Rondo is a guy who could once elevate an offense single handedly, so his expectations / hopes were highest and his problems are most glaring. It's not that Vogel is afraid to sit Rondo; Vogel doesn't sit him because based on his history Rondo is the only guy on that team who could ever have a hope of being a real playmaker on his own, so they are hoping he somehow magically becomes the old Rondo.

 

[Pioneer10]

true but even when the other guys are "playing above expectations" they are still mediocre role players who absolutely cannot be playmakers or on their own create problems a defense has to solve. Without AD five of those guys playing together are almost a G-league team.

Rondo is a guy who could once elevate an offense single handedly, so his expectations / hopes were highest and his problems are most glaring. It's not that Vogel is afraid to sit Rondo; Vogel doesn't sit him because based on his history Rondo is the only guy on that team who could ever have a hope of being a real playmaker on his own, so they are hoping he somehow magically becomes the old Rondo.

Vogel has shown he tends to give a long leash before giving up on a player. KCP who was horrifically bad to start the season but Vogel kept giving him chances and he's become very good both offensively and defensively for them over the last 2 months. Just because they're not playmakers does not mean they are mediocre: KCP and Caruso have been downright very good particularly when you look at defense along with offense. They're playing like smarter versions of JR and Shumpert right now

They value chemistry a lot and so I think what he's doing is essentially giving him enough rope to hang himself (fairly obvious that they're going to make a big push to get Collison and the way other guys are playing it's going to be Rondo's minutes whose going to be taken away). The Lakers are very dependent on the combo of AD and Lebron but with a few tweaks like Collison they are going to create that really fits well together with their identity (defense plus ball movement initiated by Lebron)