So I have been wanting to start a thread on this for a few weeks now but haven't had the time. Been very busy with my fiancé going back to finish school and also my daughter starting day care, it's just been a very busy September for my family. So basically I have been thinking to myself, "what player could take that next step to Allstar level?" And if said player did take that next step would it catapult the team to Spurs/Clips/Cavs level. I don't think anyone is on the Warriors level. I'm eliminating Harden because well he's already an Allstar and MVP level player. I also excluded Gordon and Anderson. While they certainly could put up Allstar level numbers seeing as both have consistently put up 15-20 ppg throughout their careers but at this point they are imo just super role players. So the two guys that come to mind are Clint Capela and the other is Sam Dekker. So both play position of need. The center spot is wide open for the taking with Dwight leaving the team and the small forward spot which is occupied by Ariza who still solid but at this point is better off in a reserve roll imo. I'm curious to know who you guys think would mean more to the future of the team moving forward? So I put it this way is it more beneficial if Clint Capela puts up 15/12 and 2 on 60/60 splits and solidifies the center spot for the next decade or Sam Dekker putting up 18-20ppg with 7 rebounds and 4 assists shooting 37+% from 3 and looking like a better version of Gordon Hayword? I'm really on the fence with this one because I know how much having the center position locked up for the next 10 years and the rest of hardens career can mean to the franchise but I also think it's harder to find a wing who can avg 20/7/4 while shooting at a high clip. I think for this year it's prob more Important for Capela to emerge as a top flight Allstar level center but long term having an Allstar level SF next to harden might he more beneficial. Curious to here my fellow clutchfans opinions on this topic.
Capela is the player who I expect & hopes makes the big jump. Dekker is basically a rookie. If he can provide 7 decent minutes, I'm cool with that.
Everyone gonna breakout . Career years for everyone . Clint gonna average 12/12 James 26/10/7 Ariza dpoy Anderson shoots 50% Gordon 81 games 17 ppg on 50 from da floor Dmo 16/8/6 Dekker 10 points off he bench with stellar d Beverley competes with Trevor for dpoy and shoots 45 from 3 Nene is soul of our team and FIFA champ Harrel becomes the team enforcer KJ becomes an elite defender Number one baby
I think Capela has a good chance to breakout. He has the potential and most importantly he will get the playing time. I have high hope in Clint. Dekker....meh...he is slow, not skilled, cant shoot the ball, he needs to work hard to earn some playing time. He is far away from breakout.
If Dekker could do it would mean more, but we don't have the player to take that next step on our team. Capela is too limited offensively and Dekker will only every be a role player. We'll have to trade for a Bledsoe (and pray for his knees) or someone to get a second all-star.
I'm voting James Harden... I know he's already a superstar and in consideration for MVP and the works but I think this is his best season yet. He's already put up some of the best stat lines in history, but with a reengineered focus and commitment to "go all out, not half way", I think he puts up one of if not the greatest stat line we've seen since bigO. His usage is already high and it's going higher. He's great at PnR and that's going to be the main focus. He's already been the point but now he IS the point. MDA already gives players career years, especially the "PGs". Honestly don't think 35pts/10apg/8rpg is out of the realm of possibility. Pace will inflate points and shooting opportunities. Having very good shooters and being the full time de-facto pg will increase assist opportunities. I expect rebounds to stay about the same but he's always been good at rebounding for his position. If he is able to play average defense with consistent effort and put up some slightly inflated effeciency %'s like 49/39/89 he could become considered the best player in the game. Anyways, as you can tell I'm sold on James harden this year and strongly advise taking him 1-1 in fantasy basketball
Dekker has breakout potential...but not to the tune of averaging 20 ppg. That's crazy. Capela has much higher odds of being exposed further as mediocre than he does of possibly breaking out.
I love your optimism and really hope we see at least a portion of that outcome, but Clint, if he can play 26-28 minutes (and he improves his FT% to 60%), 12/12 shouldn't be a problem.
I'm afraid the only breaking out Dekker will be doing this year will be on his face. I don't see much potential there at all, other than as an end-of-rotation guy.
I think you're way off on that. If we don't trade him I believe he will be the biggest surprise on the roster. He's going to shock you.
Capela is clearly in the best position to break out. He seriously has all the chances in the world this year. He's at the point in his career where you expect a break out this year (just look at how many seasons Ibaka and DJ were in their breakouts). The minutes are there with Dwight gone, and Nene would be a great teacher/role model to learn from. The only issue is that MDA is loving Nene. He might just go with Nene as the starter, but Capela's skillset perfectly fits the MDA system as a PNR big man.
Capela can only aspire to be what Noel already is ! And Dekker,lol, p!ease stop the madness!! he'll be lucky to play 6 minutes!! But to seriously answer the question,dekker.
Would love to hear some ideas of under the radar potential breakout players on other teams which we might realistically be able to acquire with out mediocre assets.
I'm much more concerned about KJ McDaniels' MVP campaign. C'mon, people - this thread is fantasy land. What is the point of discussing hypotheticals that have no possibility of occurring?
Sam Dekker putting up 20/7/4 and 37% from 3? On a more realistic note, I think Montrezl Harrell could develop into a key player off the bench if he's given playing time.