I've noticed that many of our fanbase only see our guys as either "a generational talent" or a total scrub that they cant kick to the curb fast enough... there's seldom anything in between - and they're usually wrong in both instances... lol So many "fans" didnt like Dillon Brooks - until he was gone... Heck we got a freakin HOFer on our team that is putting up some of the most efficient stats of his career and many cant get him out the door soon enough... Many are far too enamored with draft picks... convinced we are going to strike gold - regardless of how many times we strike out previously... Didnt get a superstar by tanking the last 4 years? Tear it all down and start tanking again... lmao! They're like crack addicts convinced that next hit is gonna set them free...
I dont see where this quote u posted is attributed... "Fred VanVleet does not have a strong or traditional mid-range game. He is an analytical darling who relies almost entirely on three-pointers, free throws, and layups or floaters. [1]" but doesnt that just describe Morey's wet dream? lol! 6 or 7 years ago this is what the whole board was all about...
What is your alternative plan to finding the "best player on a championship team" besides drafting him?
U gotta take some swings... Morey did when he traded for Harden... Knicks did in paying Brunson... OKC traded for Shai... Opportunities are always out there... u just gotta have the stones to pull the trigger... I'd rather deal with a misstep (had plenty of em with CD) than wasting multiple seasons trying to be bad.... imo its disrespectful to your fan base - the people buying tickets and jerseys... GMs need to get off their hands and earn their keep - not just lose on purpose and gamble that they can get lucky in the draft... any idiot can tank and draft the consensus BPA - they need to go earn that paycheck! Heck, the Cavs drafted Bron - and still didnt win a championship from it - he had to come back to do it! lol
Here ya go, from there. https://raptorsrepublic.com/2020/10/26/2019-20-player-review-fred-vanvleet/ Morey's era is over, Sixers moved on.
my point being... how could so many on here be so heavily invested in this philosophy - "In Morey We Trust" - and then turn around and have such disdain for the exact thing that they were so convinced was the key to a championship? lol!
And it’s not true. He continued to work on his game and from 21-22 to 23-24 he shot more mid range and for 44%, 43%, 45% from midrange. That’s pretty damn good and up there with guys like Kawhi, Edwards, Barnes, Maxey, Mitchell. Again we just nitpick and continue to devalue our guys.
Efficient stats dont translate to Ws. The idea of KD was sound but KD the basketball player is much worse than the sum of his stats. Its why he's largely been a loser when not carried by Steph Curry. Agree on the idea that we need to continue to grow the core. I really like all of the 4 guys. They've been through a lot and deserve more time. I would definitely package KD to try and get someone like Wagler for a scoring punch off the bench/another star swing/trade chip down the road.
It’s the obvious move, but guys will hang onto the false promise of KD and FVV through another year at least. With a different coach, we might have a chance to get to the second round running it back. Trading KD for a draft pick and finding another youngish starting SG would probably mean taking a step back next year, but would be a much more rational way to build for 2 or 3 years down the line. This FO and Coach is the worst possible combination for a young team.
and see, I would say efficient stats are most assuredly the most important factor in winning... the team that scores the most points wins... obviously the team that is most adept and efficient at getting those points is going to win... Now obviously defense matters, which is basically trying to make the other team less efficient in their scoring endeavors.... That's how it works. Whatever intangibles u want to add to the mix are all about helping to raise that efficiency and produce (or prevent) the scoring. Now if u want to say that KD is a morale killer (Dickerson tweets)... ok, thats effecting his teammates in a negative fashion and hurting their efficiency... but KD himself is a walking bucket... Thing is... most of the greats were/are a**holes.... MJ, Kobe, AI, Harden is the epitome of a self absorbed its al about me narcissist - "I am the system..." When these guys win - then all of their negative attributes are excused... and when they lose, those traits are given as the reason for their failure... Lets be honest... the only time KD is a negative aspect on the court is about turnovers... and thats the idiocy of trying to have him be the facilitator - and that is not his skillset. Thats like asking Alpi to go be a stretch 5 and take 10 3s a game - and then blaming him for his inefficiency... lol! I like our young core... they could evolve into a solid supporting cast... but I dont see any of them becoming the lead dog on a championship team...
Your view of KD is too black and white. Actually watch KD when he's not scoring and you'll see a myriad of problems. He lacks strength so literally anyone with any decent size (not even height) can deny him to his spot. So we waste seconds getting him the ball. Then when he finally gets it he cant dribble (he can dribble for a 7 footer which is still bad) so he has a high likelihood of turning it over. So the reality is that in order to put Durant in a position of success, everything has to fall into place for him to get the ball exactly how he wants it, where he wants it. Its way too many resources spent on a one dimensional guy. He doesnt move off ball. He doesn't close out on 3 point shooters (do you ever wonder why so many random guys went off on us from 3?). He cant even spell "box out". The game is about scoring from an advantageous position and stopping to other team from doing the same. Durant reverses this. Its too hard to get him into position and he's as bad of a defender as Sengun is if not worse. He's just old now and it makes his effort level worse. Will FVV fix these issues? No. He will be better at getting Durant the ball, sure. But for what? So everyone else can stand around waiting for their turn? We arent winning anything with him. So just pack him up while we can and get something that actually gives us a shot at building something sustainable instead of the abortion we saw this past year.
oh and fwiw... Curry is 6'2... so arguably one of the the most dominant players of the last decade... so theres that...
and Harden would wander off to midcourt when he wasnt involved in the play that was being run... and his defense was legendarily bad bc he dgaf... I'm not saying the guy is perfect... i think at this point in his career he should primarily be a catch n shoot threat on the perimeter... but thats what its all about... constructing a gameplan that eventuates your players strengths - and mitigates their weaknesses... unfortunately, this is not who Ime is... he's a run his desired system kinda guy...
Harden wasn't a saint either. He was the type of player you could win one championship with...not multiple. KD is similar except he's always been a worse player than Harden. Too boxed in. Requires way too many resources. He wants to be a playmaker but he isn't. He's too clumsy, to tall and too weak. He should've always been a Klay Thompson but he's also been a prima donna his entire career. He's been jealous of every star he's ever played with and now he's thrown his entire team of young guys under the bus. The idea of him being "just a catch and shoot guy" is amazing. The problem is that Durant will tire of that quickly and begin to sulk. It's what he does. I get it but it's just not worth it. We need to grow the four guys we have and keeping Durant here is just going to prohibit that from happening. Trade him for #5 and get Wagler/Flemings/Acuff/Brown. Spurs basically drafted a much better Steph Castle with the #2 pick. The Rockets could do the same. But then there's Ime.
Yeah, I guess I grew up with a different perspective. I have distinct childhood memories of my Dad watching Akeem and Clyde at UH on a small black and white TV while teaching me to ride a bike and became a diehard Rockets fan when they drafted Akeem but my family moved outside of San Antonio before the era of NBA league pass so if you liked to watch basketball(and I certainly did), the Spurs were the only option so I watched a lot of the David Robinson/Sam Elliot/Avery Johnson era Spurs and I always loved how die hard Spurs fans are. They are a good fanbase for the team - and I always liked Pops.....been to many Rockets/Spurs games over the years in both cities and I'll always root for Houston over San Antonio but San Antonio IS my 'home away from home' team. They dont occupy the same space to me as let's say Utah - we can all agree that team AND fanbase SUCKS.
And another $27M going to Vassel. Once Wemby gets paid, it's not going to be such smooth sailing. And he is still very much an injury risk. Everyone thought Boston was going to have it made for years, too. And that's where the team starts transforming. Everyone thinks that they will have this team for a decade, and that is simply not the case. It will probably look more like the current Lakers where you are constantly reworking it to fit pieces around your star player.
I think Fred is a great player, a true professional, and still very much a necessary part of this team....but I don't think it's undervaluing Fred to notice he has slipped in recent years - the defense isn't as good, the quality of shot isn't as good, and the reliability isn't as good. He has missed 100 of the last 160 games and when he did play he was largely inefficiecnt although he still protects the ball at a high level(which is of high value on this team). It's not undervaluing Fred to say his minutes are best distributed as a situational starter or across 2nd string units now. That he is still considered a starter on this team is more a reflection of our lack of truly capable PGs on this roster more so than Fred being a particularly valuable starting PG at this stage in his career.
