a lot of people didn’t like the Anderson signing, and I was 1 of them I didn’t think we were gonna tank or would win 40 games max after D’Antoni so that doesn’t mean anything to me Ryno isn’t that impactful, Harden didn’t need him to get 55 wins
Tbh, I think from Phoenix’ Stand point it would make a LOT of sense to swap chandler/1st for Lonzo/Deng/low level asset.
I don't think this is true of that season even in a vacuum. But big picture, EG said himself that he signed bc Ryan had. That alone had value.
houston had needed a true stretch 4 for years. he was a significant reason for the jump in the rockets offense imo. Personally, I was relieved they finally got one after throwing out the likes of JS, TJ, Dmo, Beasley all these years trying to stretch the floor with their abysmal shooting.
Paul signed because we won 56 games and had a decent season. Anderson was great on the road and was a contributor up to this all-star break. Disappointing that an ankle injury could set him back that much.
I still think you, as well as many others, are undervaluing what he and Gordon brought as stabilizing veterans in the locker room. Tbh, after the dwightmare anything could have happened. Getting better, getting good locker room guys and doubling down on winning really refocused harden. Not just that, while harden has been a good facilitator he was never a PG. We threw him out to the wolves, and with Ryan stretching the floor that first year, it really aided in his development and ability to read defenses. Think of it this way. Imagine you pick up the new Madden. You’ve never played before but decide to start on hall of fame difficulty. You may figure it out along the way but there is a lot of struggle and failure and it makes it much more difficult to learn. But if you start off on rookie difficulty, it comes easy and your able to understand the concepts of controlling the game much easier and your able to grow into it and learn much easier along the way. Hate Ryan and his contract, we all do, but don’t undersell what he did to help harden mature.
SAS: LeBron/LA: He's been making calls. I got two calls last night after hours with folks telling me LeBron reached out to Kevin Durant. He reached out to Durant via text about coming to LA. I don't know what Durant's response was. I did hear behind the scenes was like "Why would I do that?" LeBron has been making calls. He did text Kevin Durant. Durant ain't coming to LA. Durant plans on staying in Golden State. His mentality is he intends to surpass LeBron, not join & help LeBron get more rings. He believes he'll have more rings than LeBron in the next couple years. That's the mentality right now. LeBron's camp is emphatically denying it. I don't care. Durant probably wouldn't admit it as well. I got a couple sources that have never let me down. I'm relying on my sources & these two have never led me astray. I said what I said. He's entertaining various options.
Ryno was an integral part of our offensive system that year. That led us to 55 wins and a second round appearance. That then intrigued one Chris Paul to come here. Ryno was not a mistake at the time and he served his purpose. He's dead weight now, yes. But without him, we don't get CP3.
Protected pick to get Ball. They are eager for a PG to pair with Booker and there are reports they like Ball. Protected first and Chandler out, Deng and Ball in. Frees up a ton of space for the Lakers and actually helps them next year.
To be fair, many believed Carmelo to Houston was happening. Then they booted Phil. So, take the old Carmelo tweet with a grain of salt. MAYBE there was some truth there.
