This is what bothers me about him. But, I assume all 3 of these issues are actually just 1 issue: he's a bad free throw shooter. Because he's a bad free throw shooter, he tries to avoid getting fouled while shooting. Because he tries to avoid getting fouled while shooting, he doesn't finish strong at the rim. So if he could get his free throw % around 70 and the confidence followed, then he could fix all 3 issues - if my premise is correct.
I'd take Lonzo. What are the chances John Wall retires a Rocket? We will need a younger PG to replace him and Lonzo is a safe bet, especially if we start blowing it up completely if Harden gets traded and the Rockets look bad.
Lonzo isn't the superstar his dad hyped him to be (and fooled the Lakers to pick him so high). But he's a solid NBA starter. His 3pt shooting has improved from 30% to 37% in three years.
Exactly this. His FT shooting is weirdly terrible for a PG, which is the big difference between him and young Jason Kidd. Players can improve their FT shooting and their 3pt shooting, so he's worth a gamble. Very similar story as Ben Simmons, who would be better than Westbrook if he could learn to shoot freethrows, and would be 1st team all NBA if he could learn an even average 3pt shot.
This is not a Simmons thread, but since you mentioned him, it's worth repeating. Some people don't seem to grasp Simmons's shooting woe and compare him to great PGs like Kidd. Kidd shot 27% from 3 his rookie year. Then he improved to 34% the next year. He was not very consistent, kind of up and down. But after his rookie season, he only had one season (out of 17 seasons) when he shot lower than 30% from 3. Compare that to Simmons. He made only 2 3pt shots (out of 24 attempts) in three years. He shot lower than 30% outside of 10 ft in 3 years with no sign of improvement. Lonzo was also a poor shooter his rookie year. But he improved every year, from 31% to 33% to 38%.
Kidd was from an older era though, where you could be more of a playmaking passing pg. Modern nba much more emphasis on shooting and spacing. Especially if that player is deemed as a dominant ball handler. Simmons is good running the fast breaks, but no teams can do that the entire game. Watching philly last night, embid looked solidly like the #1 guy. Kidd improved his shooting and prolonged his career. He evolved and adapted.
