I dont think he is done learning SF, not even close. I love Markk for making the sacrifice. But learning to play wing when he has played as a big his whole career is not easy, he is basically a rookie all over again, it will take him a couple of seasons to truly get it down. I am not sure he will play there that long the majority of his time as I would love to find a SF with more playmaking, but I couldnt be happier with Lauri, he is way better than I expected at SF and I loved the move.
With that in mind, if he is doing this well already the last month, just wait until he gets even more comfortable next year. Maybe my focus on SF is wrong, and we need to find another backup PG who can also play SG and has some length like Rubio did for us. I doubt we keep all 3 draft picks, but since both our 1nd rounders are early 2nd, atleast one pick should be a backup pg.
i hear this and I also don't hear this.
I can appreciate Lauri's trying to stay in front of some of the quicker wings, but Basketball isn't like baseball or football. It's not like we just asked a former 5 star safety to learn how to play left guard. The NBA has been moving to position-less basketball since, what? Magic? Garnett? LeBron?
He's still spotting up as the outlet 3-ball shooter, he still occasionally will drive when he gets an angle, he still will shoot a fadeaway on a 6'5" or under guy with so-so results, he still struggles to defend at the rim.
He's turning in the same season he turns in every year. Gonna get you 12-16 PPG and occasionally have a big game (as well as one where he's MIA), get 4-9 rebounds, and be tantalizing as a 3 point shooter but ultimately a little bit lacking. You want to hope that the .402 3 pt shooting % is in him, but it might be an outlier.
I think he might be more of the "blueprint" of the SF for the 3 Big line up than the actual guy who plays that SF when the dust settles. Feels like he might be better in Kev's role next year, when we trade Love or the year after when Kevin's contract expires.
Not to say I'm down on Lauri. I like him. He compliments the group well enough to get W's, and when he gets hot, he's a ton of fun. v the Bulls he was on, which was great to see, but the Cavs also tried to keep him on DeRozen at the start, and that wasn't working, and when we get to the playoffs assuming we get there, those match ups are going to be exploited mercilessly.