I said Tari. Not because he'll be the best (that's Green) but I suspect he'll surprise some people and won't have the top pick bar expectations. I've got good feeling...
Everything is set up for KPJ to make a big leap, but if he doesn’t make a pretty significant improvement, his position is the most likely to get upgraded. So, he is going to be a big focus. Jabari seems like more of an equalizer for me. I don’t need to see big things from him. Just want him to play his game and get acclimated to the league and it should help everyone. Not sure that’s really exciting. Watching Sengun play just makes me happy. But not knowing Silas’s plan for him really caps my excitement. Our hopes are pinned on Green, and his progression last year has me really excited to watch him in the coming year.
Alperen has more upside than anybody on the roster save for possibly Jalen. Everybody else is a significant distance behind those two.
Im excited to see Green come out the gate averaging 25 for the 1st quarter of the season before the inevitable "wall" ... I think a 13-7 record is doable off sheer energy and youth.. Then brace for impact!
Jabari has a similar ceiling. His defense and shooting will make him a bit of a unicorn - he doesn’t need to be as good as Jalen and Sengun offensively because he is that good defensively. He really is the perfect off ball compliment to the rest of the roster because his shooting will give him gravity in a way that few bigs get.
So much depends on what Silas does with who we have. Last season often seemed a chaotic jumble as far as how minutes were handed out, and how Coach Silas approached game preparation seemed a jumble as well. There was what felt to me like Wood's heavy handed impact on every other player we had, along with Wall lurking in the background as a distraction. I'm thinking that we'll see a much different approach this season from Silas. God, I hope so. We have such talent on the roster now, very young, with an exception here and there, but very young in the main and so much for Silas to work with. I hope to see Jalen take how he played the last third of last season, start the season stronger, even more confident, and play so well that he demands a double team. I want Sengun to take a step up and show that he can make not only a big offensive impact, but become a much better defender than the doubters believe him to be. I want to see Jabari not only stun the opposition with his defense, but quickly learn to work hand in glove with Sengun and Jalen in what I hope will be an explosive, fast paced, creative offense. Tari Eason? He's going to show that summer league, where he turned a lot of heads in the media, wasn't a fluke. Far from it. I think he's going to be so good playing with Jalen, Bari and Alpi that it'll be hard to keep him off the court. It'll be interesting to see how KPJ adapts to all the changes. I assume he'll start as our point guard, although I don't think it's the best role for the guy. How Silas uses him will likely be a season long story, in my opinion. Will Nix, or even the rookie, Ty Washington, who's very likely due for major minutes with the Vipers early on, get some minutes at the one, and if they do and are effective, will Silas give KPJ time at the 2 or the 3? Even play him off the bench from time to time? Will KPJ be so good, and at his best behavior, that he makes any doubt go away? Maybe, maybe no. Then we have Tate, Josh, and obviously our key veteran, Eric Gordon, who all will expect and deserve minutes. Heck, along with Martin Jr. and Gary Bird. Things are crowded in the backcourt and at the 3. Then there are all the rest of the guys. Will we really be trying to win a lot of games, as many as we can? On the other hand, will Stone be expecting another shot at the lottery while we still have our pick, even if we turn out to be better than expected? We might. This is going to be fun to watch play out.
Makes sense. To me, the biggest "mystery" is Sengun. To borrow Forrest Gump's analogy, Sengun is like a box of chocolate. You don't know what you'll get until you gets it. I'm excited to see what he can really do, assuming he will get a bigger role in his second year.
I agree that KPJ's development is critical this year and also agree that starting PG probably isn't the best role for him. I'm not necessarily sure Silas can pull it off(and it's not necessarily his fault if he can't), but it would be huge if Silas can convince KPJ that his future in the league is being more of a Ginobili/Jamal Crawford/Lou Williams/Jason Terry/JR Smith type of 6th man even if that compromise means he starts but sits quickly and runs with the 2nd unit when Green sits. He has to be measured as a starting PG and run the offense and make sure everyone 'eats' and frankly I think he is best when he is playing aggressively with his heart on his sleeve and that's sorta what the best 6th men do - they come in and raise the intensity with the 2nd unit and make those units an advantage and generally they are part of the lineups again when playing from behind/closing out a team in an emotional ending. They tend to be versatile "do what it takes" types of dudes who your coach can say, "their big is in foul trouble - ram it inside and try to get fouled" or "they aren't covering our 3pt shooters so be ready to hit open 3s" or "their 2nd string PG is not a good ballhandler - pressure them and force turnovers". KPJ would KILL in a role like that and make the team successful as a result...and his payday would come and his career would be long and fruitful. Success isn't measure just in starting roles.
He's much lower than the rest but I still want to see what KJ could do with some more burn. Is he just an athlete? Has he become more proficient at the 3? He still just seems kinda raw and guys like Tate (older and more savvy) and Eason (taller and more skilled) seem to be the more natural fit to start. The main concern I have is if we trade him and he gets on a team that actually starts him and gives him 30 min or so a night, is he gonna blow up? We have cut and traded guys over the years that went on to do really well and you look back and say, Wow, they didn't see that potential?? Or you realize who we kept seemed better at first but didn't have the same potential.
He is a decent player - I see your concern but I think the odds are low that he becomes anything more than a league average guy. Two years in and he doesn't do anything above average aside from his athleticism but the athleticism is a bit of a tough sell because he does things amazing for a big man(which he kind of plays like), but not amazing for a guard or small SF which his body is sized for. If he were his dad's size it would be a completely different story for him but he is kind of a big man skill set trapped in a guard's body - he's not a reliable outside shooter(although he has obviously made big strides there) and he's not a guy who has the ball handling or speed to create advantages from the perimeter which means you gotta put him in that 3pt corner spot but generally that spot is for the weakest shooters and you still need to play at least one other big to rebound/defend the rim which Martin is too small to do. Seems like a good kid, but he is really just a contextual play and probably not going to have a super long NBA career although I can see him having a nice professional career overall with overseas play.
Such an important part. Silas needs to get better at that and staggering minutes. Batman and Joker can't be on the bench at the same time.
I agree with your assessment. His size and skills don't don't blend for giving him an advantage in any one position. He's too small to bang with the big boys and doesn't have the slashing and creativity to be a wing. His athleticism is nice and he seems like he can add to his game somewhere to have a more well rounded game but the athleticism is the only thing that really pops about him. Maybe I'm overlooking something.