Can't disagree .... that was likely the exit plan, just that the injury threw a wrench in that plan / accelerated the timeline. I'd still have liked them to spend that MLE money on a quality guard, just for insurance against not only injury but Reed or Amen not progressing up to the expectations - instead of what to me appears to be a replacement for Tari, who might not get many minutes on a healthy roster (and is injured to start the season). They were thin at guard before the injury to Fred .... Now we're hoping a 2 way guy can play an important role.
Offenses get to decide who has the ball. FVV did not turn the ball over a lot and did not shoot a lot other than when he had to, but even in his shooting slumps, his defenders did not sag off him because they know he was still hitting catch and shoot threes. Saying FVV can't win at the highest levels due to being limited offensively is like saying Derrick White or Dort can't win at the highest levels because they are limited offensively. There just is very little data that suggests great players can't win games if FVV is their teammate. Also, FVV has won a ring proving that it is possible to win with him. Maybe FVV won't be good when he comes back, but he's been a high-level role player (i.e., he should not be the best or 2nd best player on a team) who would help most teams instead of being an impediment for his career so far.
I will never forgive Stone of his KPJ obsession. But it's possible that by the end of the second year, Stone was already admitting to himself that it's not going to work. The signing of FVV could be Stone's way of getting out of the KPJ project without admitting that it was a mistake. That and KPJ's self-destruction saved Stone a lot of headache.
one more thing worth saying, irrelevant because he's not coming here, but on Trae Young or anybody else not being an Ime Udoka style of player - that's the fault of the coach rather than the player. When you have an all-NBA level player a coach should adapt to him, not vice versa. I understand Young's faults and deficiencies, but it's much harder to find his level of skill than it is to find a scowling hard-nosed man motivating coach. Trae Young should get a level of accomodation that say Kevin Porter Jr or Cam Whirmore would not. The most successful coaches IMO are the ones that are able to adapt & maximize. Look at Rick Carlisle, he has been around forever and coached tons of different style teams. His late 90s Pacers were a very slow paced defense heavy squad, with workmanlike PG's (literally, Haywoode Workman). His current Pacers are a super high octane offensive outfit run by a Ferrari PG in Haliburton THe mavericks were somehwere in between. He's been able ot have a nearly 30 year career as a head coachbecause he adapts to players and styles and trends.
The problem with Trae is not that he's not an Ime Udoka player per se, it's that he's too inefficient as a scorer, turns the ball over almost 5 times per game, and doesn't play defense, and all of those things significantly dampen his overall value on the court. Ime may arguably over-focus on those aspects of the game (defense in particular), but he's not wrong that they're important, or that Trae has real issues with them.
You do have to credit Stone for the contract structure. It could have been much worse. KPJ did have talent - he just had shiit for brains. Dude went from 50 point triple double to blowing $36million down the drain.
I swear, Trae Young is frustrating when his shot is off.......looks pedestrian. His passes just seem to bounce off too often, also just so short.
The main problem I have with Trae Young is his contract. Cost matters with the current CBA. With his defensive limitations and pedestrian shooting percentages (mainly because he takes shots he shouldn’t) he is expensive. He is not a max or super max player under the current CBA, but he obviously wants to be paid that way. If he were on a Brunson type contract then he becomes a valuable piece of the puzzle for a contender.
Trae Young is on fraud watch, and he’s not fun to watch this dude can’t even contain Aaron Holiday off the dribble I’m good
I was about to use “We have Trae Young at home” meme but after last nights game I don’t think he is worth the max to earn that meme from Reed
This is a silly take. We were led offensively by Jalen Green last year. This year it will be Kevin Durant. Poor Sengun was double and triple teamed throughout the series. Meanwhile, all five of our young guys appear to have taken a leap. This is going to be a much better team. And I don't think Trae Young's no defense playing ass is anything close to the answer. Hell, he got outplayed by Reed Sheppard and Josh Okogie last night. And it wasn't close.
That's a silly take.... that a 4x all star 1x all NBA player with a track record of big playoff performances - is actually good? And in fact better than a more limited coaches favorite grinder type like Josh Okogie? I don't think that's silly. It's pretty.. obvious? Yes that's the word. Or that's a silly take...that the Rockets half court offense was not great & completely fell apart in the postseason last year, necessitating the trade for Durant? That's not silly it's just ...what happened. Again I don't get why people are talking about this? The window to get Young closed years ago (was it even open?) & the Rockets team that existed when this thread was started in Dec 2022 no longer exists so unless one's in the business of retroactively defending the honor of KPJ and Josh Christopher- who cares,? If you want a silly take id say inferring some predictive value from last night's marquee Sheppad/Holiday/Trae Young match up verges into silly-dom
I don't know? Not sure who dredged this up or why. I do see a bunch people saying, more or less, Trae Young SUX and I think that is ....."a silly take"
