Porter's 3 ball looks better of late. Maybe he's been on some leg day **** in the weight room, first two weeks he was here I was starting to feel sorry for the front of the rim. Olynyk is in the right place at the right time, he's playing the best basketball of his career. Maybe he actually resigns here if no one gives him a 15 million dollar offer, which they might because he's killing it. The fit between Tate-Olynyk-Wood is stellar on offense. Like real nice. There's a lot of variability for a point with 2 bigs who can run pick games for you, 2 bigs who can step out and knock down 3s, move the ball and the bonus of being able to drop it down to Tate to manhandle guards on the block. Defensively they are trying to lose games so idk maybe there isn't much to take from it but other than Tate being the energizer bunny and the KJ Martian phenomenon there really isn't much to speak about. I've noticed Wood tries to block righties going to their right with HIS right (across his body) like he doesn't have a left arm/hand and it's aggravating the fk outta me. Armoni Brooks just took Gordon's roster spot as far as I'm concerned. I know this question is in a vacuum and probably has good answers but I'm just going to pretend like it doesn't..... why in the hell was it so hard to find young, talented players for the last 8 years?
Every year Morey had this obsession with surrounding Harden with washed up "undervalued" vets because "the window was closing". He traded draft picks like bitcoin and didn't ever seem to do any solid amateur scouting. I really like Morey buy that was a fatal flaw.
Well he did find Pat Bev in Russia. And, we had a young shooter in the Portland series whose name escapes me, and Daniel House....... DD
Troy Daniels? Yeah he'd find random borderline undrafted gems and that's a plus. But for every one of those there was a Dorsey or a Dekker or a Chinanu, or a Flynn, Robinson or Lawson, or a David Andersen or Papanikolaou. He didn't use the draft or G League as much as he could because he fixated on reclamation projects.
I guess that's part of it at least. There was D'antoni's (or whoever's, he's the coach he gets the point) ridiculous iron clenched fist of a rotation too. How Danuel House and Clint Capela managed to break their way up through the ranks is almost unfathomable. I mean they basically told Danuel House thanks for being the 2nd best part of the team this season, 3 years/9million when we can totally do it? **** YOU GO BACK TO RIO GRANDE AND THINK ABOUT IT FOR 3 MONTHS. And then paid him the contract he asked for right?? lol... It's just a bizarre attitude towards youth. Are all these guys just on the chopping block the second a veteran shows up? Or can like, developing a promising young talent be an expectation again?
Cole Anthony, RJ Hampton, Wendell Carter, Mo Bamba, Johnathan Isaac, Okeke. Interesting mix of players. Some were believed to have high ceilings as preps. Isaac is the one I wish would stay healthy. I think he could be a real player. Carter looked really good for a stretch last night.
Adelman and JVG were hardly young talent scouts themselves (Brad Miller and Jared Jeffries anyone?) I feel like this organization has been starved for prospects for 20 years solid outside of Yao and Francis... 20 years ago.
We don't need to bring the legend into this. This is definitely a sweet time to tank, as John Wall Tank Commander will lead us to the promise land.
I just say it because he said it when the Rockets won. He is why I still listen to each game on the radio. You are spot on about John Wall.
Brooks, Lowry, Landry, Parsons it hasn't been a list of HOFers but there have been a few good young players here before D'antoni arrived and took a wrench to it. I'm having a laugh at myself now realizing I'm doing the Patrick Fertita thing about having a mix of young and veteran players. Like, you're telling me Dantoni wouldn't have played KJ Martin? Maybe not even Tate? Well Dantoni and his zero championships can get fired then. It's not so much about those two players it's about a flagrantly terrible mindset from the coach. He couldn't find a spot for an athlete like Martin? Well then he's really just a shitty coach who let his players get away with stupid gimmick offenses that made noise but never won. !!!! Oh wait that's exactly what he is.