The NBA rookies Thread

[Mecca]

Of course there was no reason to do it. Especially if there was a chance he could reinjure his metatarsal.

Yeah, especially since we are talking about him maybe being able to go in March or April, not December or January.

This is very different from the Fultz situation because you still have meaningful basketball to play.

 

[flyerhawk]

Yeah, especially since we are talking about him maybe being able to go in March or April, not December or January.

This is very different from the Fultz situation because you still have meaningful basketball to play.

Yeah. If the Sixers were mired around .500 or below, I doubt we would have seen Fultz this season.

 

[trojanfan12]

I don’t know. I might take Tatum/Monk over Ball/Kuzma. More upside with Tatum/Monk, though not as much production in the short term.

Not me. As bad as Ball's shooting has been, pretty much everything else has been as advertised or better than advertised. I mean, exactly no one saw him playing the defense he did this year. I think a lot of folks look at his shooting and his Dad's big mouth and tend to forget the rest of his game.

As @Mecca pointed out, Monk has had 1 good game this year while Kuzma has easily been the steal of the draft.

The only real question, imo, is...Does Kuzma have much of a ceiling left? Or is he is already about as good as he's going to be?

 

[knowyourenemy]

Not me. As bad as Ball's shooting has been, pretty much everything else has been as advertised or better than advertised. I mean, exactly no one saw him playing the defense he did this year. I think a lot of folks look at his shooting and his Dad's big mouth and tend to forget the rest of his game.

As @Mecca pointed out, Monk has had 1 good game this year while Kuzma has easily been the steal of the draft.

The only real question, imo, is...Does Kuzma have much of a ceiling left? Or is he is already about as good as he's going to be?

I guess it depends on how you view Ball. I’m admittedly not high on him. So I easily list Tatum as the best player of the 4. Im not sure of Kuzma’s potential...but I think Monk won’t continue to be as terrible as he’s been this year. Basically, Tatum carries the Tatum/Monk combo but I also like Monk’s potential quite a bit. I think he’ll get there offensively. Not sure about defense.

 

[bksballer89]

He did more than that considering he got injured in a Preseason game.

Yeah I was more speaking about after his injury. I think his injury was a legit season ending injury. Not one of those where he could have played in Feb or March

 

[trojanfan12]

I guess it depends on how you view Ball. I’m admittedly not high on him. So I easily list Tatum as the best player of the 4. Im not sure of Kuzma’s potential...but I think Monk won’t continue to be as terrible as he’s been this year. Basically, Tatum carries the Tatum/Monk combo but I also like Monk’s potential quite a bit. I think he’ll get there offensively. Not sure about defense.

I'm pretty high on Lonzo because of what he does outside of his shooting. There is a very clear difference in how the Lakers offense runs when he is out of the game vs. when he's playing.

He sets the pace the Lakers are looking to play. He does a great job too of kicking the ball ahead for quick baskets rather than having to hold on to it so he can be the guy to get the assist. His court vision is ridiculous.

Imo, his shooting MUST improve in order for him to eventually be the player he was drafted to be. If it doesn't, he'll still be a very good player, but it'll be more Rondo or Rubio than Magic Johnson or Jason Kidd.

As for Kuzma, if he just stays where he's at, I'll take it, because he's been really good on both ends of the floor.

If Monk improves and takes off, it might change my opinion, but for now, I'm pretty happy with what I've seen from both guys.

 

[CitySushi]

I'm pretty high on Lonzo because of what he does outside of his shooting. There is a very clear difference in how the Lakers offense runs when he is out of the game vs. when he's playing.

He sets the pace the Lakers are looking to play. He does a great job too of kicking the ball ahead for quick baskets rather than having to hold on to it so he can be the guy to get the assist. His court vision is ridiculous.

Imo, his shooting MUST improve in order for him to eventually be the player he was drafted to be. If it doesn't, he'll still be a very good player, but it'll be more Rondo or Rubio than Magic Johnson or Jason Kidd.

As for Kuzma, if he just stays where he's at, I'll take it, because he's been really good on both ends of the floor.

If Monk improves and takes off, it might change my opinion, but for now, I'm pretty happy with what I've seen from both guys.

Do you think the Lakers should be trying to build up their current assets and hope that they become next level players, or do you think they should use those assets to try to acquire talent? There's two ways to rebuild and I think both options are at the Lakers disposal.

 

[Mecca]

Yeah I was more speaking about after his injury. I think his injury was a legit season ending injury. Not one of those where he could have played in Feb or March

Oh, my bad....

Yep.

It was Season ending with no shot of coming back.

 

[Mecca]

Do you think the Lakers should be trying to build up their current assets and hope that they become next level players, or do you think they should use those assets to try to acquire talent? There's two ways to rebuild and I think both options are at the Lakers disposal.

Depends on the player they can acquire.

Finals MVP Kawhi, trade, trade, trade.

Gimp Kawhi...pass and develop.

 

[LogicMan]

John Collins, Josh Hart, Kuzma, Mitchell were all steals IMO. Hats off to Lakers scouting dept.

And I really like Daniel Theis and Semo O for the celtics. In our case neither will ever be starters but very dependable role players in Brads system, especially defensively. Cheap effective role players.

Mitchell was just an amazing pick

 

[LogicMan]

Depends on the player they can acquire.

Finals MVP Kawhi, trade, trade, trade.

Gimp Kawhi...pass and develop.

Its an enigma IMO because we dont know what the crutch is between him and Spurs management. It just leaves an air of rot that makes wonder...........things that make you go hmmmmmm

 

[LogicMan]

Jabari Bird walked through that door. Can the Celtics keep him for the playoffs?

FYI the Celtics also drafted this kid Jabari Bird. He ripped up the D league this year and with all the injuries they brought him to the big boys club this week and he did not disaapoint. Smart and freakish athelete. IMO Scary Terry will get traded and this kid will be the next Rozier

 

[Mecca]

Its an enigma IMO because we dont know what the crutch is between him and Spurs management. It just leaves an air of rot that makes wonder...........things that make you go hmmmmmm

Indeed....

We don't have long to wait to find out the real deal.

If he doesn't take the Supermax, gets traded and returns to MVP caliber form, would it make you look at him differently?

I would say.... yes.

But, it probably wouldn't last longer than 5 minutes for most people outside of Texas.

 

[trojanfan12]

Do you think the Lakers should be trying to build up their current assets and hope that they become next level players, or do you think they should use those assets to try to acquire talent? There's two ways to rebuild and I think both options are at the Lakers disposal.

I don't see them looking to trade Lonzo or Ingram and probably not Kuzma any time soon. But, I think they'll do a little of both (most likely involving Randle) and some of that will be determined by what happens in FA.

If the Lakers hit the lottery in FA and land both Lebron and PG, they will have to let Randle walk, but they will still have their other young guys (Ingram, Ball, Kuzma and Josh Hart) to continue developing which I would expect the presence of both PG and Lebron would help with.

If they only land 1. Then they have the option of matching what Randle is offered and looking to add another player next year, matching him and then trading him later in the off-season or next year for a top player. Or maybe a sign and trade?

Where it could be really interesting is if they whiff completely this off-season.

Do they match Randle and hope that the cap jumps up enough that they can go after 2 max FA's next off-season depending on what happens with the Deng contract? Do they match and hope that they can sign a max FA and trade him for another one (likely costing them Kuzma too)? Or do they just let him walk and guarantee that they will have space for 2 max FA's next off-season?

I'm not sure what they'll do, but I'm glad I don't have to make the decision. lol

 

[LogicMan]

Indeed....

We don't have long to wait to find out the real deal.

If he doesn't take the Supermax, gets traded and returns to MVP caliber form, would it make you look at him differently?

I would say.... yes.

But, it probably wouldn't last longer than 5 minutes for most people outside of Texas.

Yeah I dont think anyone will remember if he gets back to his old form. I dont know his personality either. If he is a humble dude than I am lessed concerned but if he is a cocky dude I am less willing to take a risk. Way too many cocky dudes these days

 

[tlance]

Damn, that's a " L" for the Lakers.

Monk has had exactly 1 good game in the NBA.

...and it was 2 days ago.....lol

Not so sure.

I think there is actually a fairly decent chance Monk ends up being a better player than Kuzma.

At this point, we know Kuzma is good. We don't really know what Monk is. He could be a total bust, but he still has loads of talent that made him a high lotto pick. Often times shooters come back in year two with a whole new outlook and more confidence. Monk could still end up being a star in this league.

 

[bksballer89]

Not so sure.

I think there is actually a fairly decent chance Monk ends up being a better player than Kuzma.

At this point, we know Kuzma is good. We don't really know what Monk is. He could be a total bust, but he still has loads of talent that made him a high lotto pick. Often times shooters come back in year two with a whole new outlook and more confidence. Monk could still end up being a star in this league.

He got 2 more years before i quit on him

 

[tlance]

He got 2 more years before i quit on him

Agreed.

I might even give him 4 or 5.

Guards sometimes bloom a little late. Chauncey Billups took quite awhile before he figured it out.

 

[Bolts]

 

[tlance]

Key word there is "playing".

I agree Donovan. For the record, Simmons is "playing" for the first time this year also.

Pretty damn funny though.