It's basically on Wemby to prove the unicorn archetype isn't just an expensive role player tbh. Porzingis, Mobley, Chet. Those aren't the stars of your team, they're niche roleplayers with a lot of skill in their niche.
Players are human too and his 40M deal is the first big contract FVV got. Its not surprising he will relax and enjoy his money. He is a vet, vets arent that dedicated to basketball anymore but being a vet he also has the experience to show up when it matters most. FVV was only 30 yrs old last year, technically he should still he in his prime and not on a decline.
You expect the 4rth option to be as good as Jalen Brunson? lol Rockets are paying FVV half of JB salary, and thats with JB taking a discount. Inconsistent? FVV only averaged 63% TS in the playoffs including 43% from 3 on 9 attempts, literally one of our best players in those 7 games. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/v/vanvlfr01.html Did you even watch the playoffs?
Yep, FVV will be fine when there is a star on the court and mostly likely if not as well. FVV adds value in ways that don't conflict with stars, and loses value when he has to do stuff stars should do. I don't expect a great TS%, but better than last season while providing ultra efficient passing, ability to guard guards, and ability to switch onto forwards briefly (a lot of people always talk about forwards/bigs ability to switch onto guards, but having guards able to switch the other way is just as important).
Again - I don't think he is built that way. As I understand it he is a very disciplined person and his step father is an army vet who Fred credits with instilling a lot of discipline and structure in him but maybe you are right and he was a little too relaxed in his offseason. All that said - I was surprised at Fred's age given how he moves on the court but let's remember that Fred never had NBA level athleticism - that's one of the reasons why he came into the league through non traditional paths. It's one thing if you are a super athlete and you hit 31 - it's another if you were barely able to keep up with NBA size and speed when in your prime. I think Fred falls into the latter model.
While I agree with all you say, I don’t think Alpi is that guy and that is his path. And frankly if he can transform his shooting that corresponds to 80% ft, he will be a generational player. I actually wonder how many players have increased their ft% by 10 over their careers. This sounds like a very difficult ask if you are initially at 70 or more. and my point was there are players in the league with similar ft% but better midrange game and/or 3 pt shot. That seems more doable to me. Like pulling the ft to maybe 72-75 level and pulling the 3 pt to 30+, while focusing on other areas of his game. Take outside shooting to an acceptable level and that is enough. He is already a 20 ppg player. With added strength and experience he can add a couple pts. Some improvement in shooting makes him a 25, 11, 7 guy. Not the most efficient but one of the more complete players with many weapons and gravity and impact. it is also a good sign that he opens up the games of the guards in the national team. Just like you are watching ft% I am watching the assist numbers. That’s part of the path for him to being one of the best and it is more realistic than the 80% ft% imo.
God it feels good to watch Sengun passing highlights again. Please Lord allow Udoka to learn what off-ball movement is this season.
Did you see him in the playoffs? He didnt exactly look washed. He isnt gonna be taking guys on the dribble and dunking from ft line but that wasnt his game to begin with.
Somebody should tell Ime that he doesn't need to figure out the offense, just let Alpi run the Senhub and we're good.
Sadly I think you're right. I had been hoping he would become this guy ever since year 1 when he became my favorite player on the roster. He saw so much improvement in other areas I kept waiting for the shooting to improve. Unfortunately it never did. I think after this year I just need to let it go. There are actually a good amount of players that increase their free throws from below 70% to above 80%, it's not that uncommon, but it happens quickly. To use a real example, here is Vucevic free throw percentage by year in his career: 53% -> 68% -> 77 % -> 75% -> 75% -> 67% -> 82% -> 79% -> 79% -> 84% -> 83% -> 87%. And to speak to my earlier point from this thread, its no coincidence that this is also a guy who went from shooting zero 3s per game to becoming a 40% 3 point shooter on pretty high volume (4-6 3pa per game). You may notice that the improvement on the free throws comes quickly and consistently, though. Nobody that hovers around the high 60s with zero improvement for 4 years ever really breaks out, which is what Sengun is doing. So yeah maybe it's time to leave this hope behind and focus on the things the is great at like you said. I know shooting is only one part of the game. It's just something I fixated on because I think he would be an MVP tier player if he ever developed it, and I was hopeful that he would.
There are some rare examples like Chris Webber or Blake Griffin. C-Webb was terrible in his first 4-5 seasons and then made a sudden jump. I wouldn't bet on it but I think Alpi still has the potential to become a 75-78 percent FT shooter. He averaged 80 in his MVP season in Türkiye and he also has a soft touch.
I think Alpi can transition to PF full time he can play like Giannis in that point forward role. Whenever we play double big Sengun always goes off, other PFs just cant contain him.
