Ty Lawson
- Thread starter dude12
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I sort of discount summer league since he was trying to recover from an injury, and knowing that his window was closing, probably tried to play before he was ready. I put more emphasis on his play in college. I grant you he's a long shot, but he hit a lot of last second clutch shots for Oklahoma while they used Hield as a distraction. He's only played one year at the PG position, which doesn't help, but he's a good athlete and he shot over 40% from the three for Oklahoma. What I like about him is his size and length, and he was a good defender in college. All that said, the NBA is a different world and he'll get his chance somewhere, if not with the Kings.
I'm not Baja, but I'm going to steal this question like I stole his chili dog.
I have seen no report suggesting that ICuz has been signed to a contract, so I assume he has not. If he goes to play internationally, we hold his rights for the entire time he plays internationally, plus one year after his international obligation ends. If he goes to the D-League, we hold his rights until the day of the 2017 draft. After either of those things occurs, he is a free agent if we haven't signed him.
I have seen no report suggesting that ICuz has been signed to a contract, so I assume he has not. If he goes to play internationally, we hold his rights for the entire time he plays internationally, plus one year after his international obligation ends. If he goes to the D-League, we hold his rights until the day of the 2017 draft. After either of those things occurs, he is a free agent if we haven't signed him.
Where does this question lead? Even if I mention names it will be the same discussion, why those names weren't possible or how Vlade tried or how those guys got overpaid and we dodged a bullet (while we overpaid for our FA's too)....
Look nobody is arguing, that a signing is a mutual agreement. Nobody is expecting things to work like in NBA2k. And nobody is ruling out, that the market was overheatet this year.
But ultimately I won't judge a GM by his attempts but by his results.
It doesn't matter to me, that Vlade most likely tried to pull off a trade or that he tried to sign different FA's or that he is a Kings legend.
This is a key offseason for our team, because it's the last chance to build a team around the core of DMC and Gay and maybe the last chance to build a team around DMC.
The Joerger signing and the draft trade were great. I can't judge the draft, although the Papa pick seems strange. But FA just feels extremely underwhelming for me.
No impact player. No room to grow. This "veteran leadership" and "culture changer" thing is way overblown in my mind, because I already heard it countless times. Every underwhelming FA seems to be a great leader or culture changer, but somehow never changes anything. As long as there is no success, there will be no true team chemistry or identity. When there is success those things take care of themselves.
Luol Deng signed with the Lakers. Jeremy Lin with the Nets. Solomon Hill with the Pelicans. Joe Johnson with the Jazz. Courtney Lee with the Knicks. Mo Harkless resigned with the Blazers.
Those are guys, who are superior to anything we signed. They didn't sign with contenders, but with teams in the same spot the Kings are in.
I know you might view things differently, but I would prefer a team of let's say:
DC/IC/X
Lee/Ben/Malachi
Gay/Casspi/Hill
Hill/WCS/Casspi/Skal
DMC/KK/Papa
We would have added two versatile, way above average defenders, that can shoot the 3 for something around 22 millions. Now we added 4 players for roughly 34 millions, but on shortterm deals. Because I have a hard time understanding this shortterm approach, I would have prefered the team mentioned above. Guys like Lee and Hill are valuable, because they fit the blueprint for the current NBA. Even if you want a complete rebuild, when DMC leaves (Why would we want that? Most likely we aren't able to sign big FA's. Why not trade DMC for picks, if we must and keep Lee and Hill, who are very good role players, so basically excactly the kind of guys we are forced to go after in FA anyway) they should be tradeable.
Look nobody is arguing, that a signing is a mutual agreement. Nobody is expecting things to work like in NBA2k. And nobody is ruling out, that the market was overheatet this year.
But ultimately I won't judge a GM by his attempts but by his results.
It doesn't matter to me, that Vlade most likely tried to pull off a trade or that he tried to sign different FA's or that he is a Kings legend.
This is a key offseason for our team, because it's the last chance to build a team around the core of DMC and Gay and maybe the last chance to build a team around DMC.
The Joerger signing and the draft trade were great. I can't judge the draft, although the Papa pick seems strange. But FA just feels extremely underwhelming for me.
No impact player. No room to grow. This "veteran leadership" and "culture changer" thing is way overblown in my mind, because I already heard it countless times. Every underwhelming FA seems to be a great leader or culture changer, but somehow never changes anything. As long as there is no success, there will be no true team chemistry or identity. When there is success those things take care of themselves.
Luol Deng signed with the Lakers. Jeremy Lin with the Nets. Solomon Hill with the Pelicans. Joe Johnson with the Jazz. Courtney Lee with the Knicks. Mo Harkless resigned with the Blazers.
Those are guys, who are superior to anything we signed. They didn't sign with contenders, but with teams in the same spot the Kings are in.
I know you might view things differently, but I would prefer a team of let's say:
DC/IC/X
Lee/Ben/Malachi
Gay/Casspi/Hill
Hill/WCS/Casspi/Skal
DMC/KK/Papa
We would have added two versatile, way above average defenders, that can shoot the 3 for something around 22 millions. Now we added 4 players for roughly 34 millions, but on shortterm deals. Because I have a hard time understanding this shortterm approach, I would have prefered the team mentioned above. Guys like Lee and Hill are valuable, because they fit the blueprint for the current NBA. Even if you want a complete rebuild, when DMC leaves (Why would we want that? Most likely we aren't able to sign big FA's. Why not trade DMC for picks, if we must and keep Lee and Hill, who are very good role players, so basically excactly the kind of guys we are forced to go after in FA anyway) they should be tradeable.
My guess, and I am probably wrong:
1) FO knows we are not winning a title this or next year.
2) Have their eyes set on pieces not yet available they believe will give a better chance in the long run for playoff/championship aspirations
3) Are keeping Cousins informed of their plan
4) Also keeping a doomsday scenario (Cousins wants out) plan available by not tying up salary in long term contracts. This is not mutually exclusive from number 2
1) FO knows we are not winning a title this or next year.
2) Have their eyes set on pieces not yet available they believe will give a better chance in the long run for playoff/championship aspirations
3) Are keeping Cousins informed of their plan
4) Also keeping a doomsday scenario (Cousins wants out) plan available by not tying up salary in long term contracts. This is not mutually exclusive from number 2
Man you really are under valuing Affalo. This guy is a legit 3 and D and professional considering how the Knicks kept him with Calderon in the backcourt and Anthony at small forward. That's like triple the effort needed to defend the wing.
Barring injuries, Affalo should be able to resurrect a very respectable career here.
Also I visit other team forums and for once actually Garrett Temple finally got a fan base that wanted to sign him for big bucks. Not the Kings but the Wizard fan base. Because temple was locking down opponents there and was real bench contributor and legit backup PG and Wing.
If not for the need to develop the young bigs in Minny, Tolliver would be getting legit backup minutes on nightly basis there.
Of those you mentioned, I would only take JJ seriously because Ben sucked so bad. But Affalo is much better than JJ on D and will not be a vacuum on offense. So he is a better team player than JJ.
Gay is much better than over the edge Deng or still-on-the-way-to-even-borderline-all-star Moe Harkless.
J-Lin has resurrected some respect in Charlotte. But if Lawson keeps his game and brain one last time to stay in the NBA, that'll be much better than J-Lin.
I'll stay on the optimist side still.
Barring injuries, Affalo should be able to resurrect a very respectable career here.
Also I visit other team forums and for once actually Garrett Temple finally got a fan base that wanted to sign him for big bucks. Not the Kings but the Wizard fan base. Because temple was locking down opponents there and was real bench contributor and legit backup PG and Wing.
If not for the need to develop the young bigs in Minny, Tolliver would be getting legit backup minutes on nightly basis there.
Of those you mentioned, I would only take JJ seriously because Ben sucked so bad. But Affalo is much better than JJ on D and will not be a vacuum on offense. So he is a better team player than JJ.
Gay is much better than over the edge Deng or still-on-the-way-to-even-borderline-all-star Moe Harkless.
J-Lin has resurrected some respect in Charlotte. But if Lawson keeps his game and brain one last time to stay in the NBA, that'll be much better than J-Lin.
I'll stay on the optimist side still.
Afflalo is not a 3&D player. Afflalo is better than JJ? Doubt it, but for sure he is not even close to Courtney Lee. From my point of view you are overvaluing him big time, because he was a familiar name a few years ago.
Garrett Temple played great for the Wizards and is the signing I like most.
Tolliver and Minny? He was on the Pistons last year and in the stretch of regular season games and Playoff games I watched wasn't a contributor for them. He will make a good amount of open shots and won't be embarassed on D. That's it. Drew Gooden or Rasual Butler did the same for less.
Lawson is a midget. Lin a big, strong PG able to switch any screen. Big difference on D.
Nobody mentioned Gay in the discussion.
Garrett Temple played great for the Wizards and is the signing I like most.
Tolliver and Minny? He was on the Pistons last year and in the stretch of regular season games and Playoff games I watched wasn't a contributor for them. He will make a good amount of open shots and won't be embarassed on D. That's it. Drew Gooden or Rasual Butler did the same for less.
Lawson is a midget. Lin a big, strong PG able to switch any screen. Big difference on D.
Nobody mentioned Gay in the discussion.
Again I ask what has he done over the course of his career that warrants the sort of deal he got from the Pelicans?!
You are making him sound like he is the new Tony Allen but he has had no sustained production over the course of his career. He has had a purple patch to close out the season in his contract year. It proves nothing other than there might be some potential there.
Given what he has produced in his NBA career to date and the sort of deal he got given, I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole. Never understood the infatuation. Temple can also defend 3 positions, is a better shooter and provides veteran leadership and solidifies positions that we have steuggled in for years.
You might not like him. You might think he is a minimum type veteran but that doesn't make it so. He has produced in Washington for years, has been as reliable as you could possibly expect from a player and a glue guy. There has not been one bad word said about Temple from anyone around the league and especially Washington. In fact some of his former team mates took to twitter saying if anyone deserved a good contract in was Temple.
We simply cannot afford to swing for the fences on free agents in hope that one of them works out. That is not how small market teams are built. You can do that in the draft and if anything we did that in this draft but as a small market team you have to be absolutely responsible with your cap space and use it wisely on rock solid additions if you want to improve.
$8 million per season is simply not a big contract these days. It just isn't. It's a lot less than what the old MLE used to be. The worst possible thing this team could do was blow their cap space this year in what was a very average free agency class and with massive jump in salary cap.
Afflalo and Tolliver deals are not big either by today's standard and they could come off the books next year when the free agency pool is better and there is less teams with salary cap.
There is definite plan in place but people choose not to see it because it doesn't fit with what they would have done. Time will tell who was right and who was wrong but I feel very comfortable with what we have done this off-season. For once we have not gone the quick fix in hope that things work out. We were deliberate and calculated in what we did and we needed to be. We needed to restock on youth and try and make up for a number of blown draft and we did that. We signed mostly players who are proven, productive veterans on reasonable deal who will help built the foundation and set the culture of how Joerger wants us to play. All of our draftees and signings bar Lawson fit a certain prototype of player that fits what Dave Joerger and Elston Turner have been saying since the moment they got here.
This season is very important but not necessarily for the reasons that you are saying. This will be a year in which long temr foundations are set. For the first time since Malone days, this team will have an identity and style of play that is fitting the roster.
I think we will be in much better place in 12 months time regardless of whether we make play-offs or not becuase there will be stability, a clear vision, a clear path that will make sense.
Oh and I do find it funny that you mentioned that if would be better if we signed JJ and also noted that Matt Barnes is old. Has JJ been drinking from a fountain of youth or something?
You are making him sound like he is the new Tony Allen but he has had no sustained production over the course of his career. He has had a purple patch to close out the season in his contract year. It proves nothing other than there might be some potential there.
Given what he has produced in his NBA career to date and the sort of deal he got given, I wouldn't touch him with a 10 foot pole. Never understood the infatuation. Temple can also defend 3 positions, is a better shooter and provides veteran leadership and solidifies positions that we have steuggled in for years.
You might not like him. You might think he is a minimum type veteran but that doesn't make it so. He has produced in Washington for years, has been as reliable as you could possibly expect from a player and a glue guy. There has not been one bad word said about Temple from anyone around the league and especially Washington. In fact some of his former team mates took to twitter saying if anyone deserved a good contract in was Temple.
We simply cannot afford to swing for the fences on free agents in hope that one of them works out. That is not how small market teams are built. You can do that in the draft and if anything we did that in this draft but as a small market team you have to be absolutely responsible with your cap space and use it wisely on rock solid additions if you want to improve.
$8 million per season is simply not a big contract these days. It just isn't. It's a lot less than what the old MLE used to be. The worst possible thing this team could do was blow their cap space this year in what was a very average free agency class and with massive jump in salary cap.
Afflalo and Tolliver deals are not big either by today's standard and they could come off the books next year when the free agency pool is better and there is less teams with salary cap.
There is definite plan in place but people choose not to see it because it doesn't fit with what they would have done. Time will tell who was right and who was wrong but I feel very comfortable with what we have done this off-season. For once we have not gone the quick fix in hope that things work out. We were deliberate and calculated in what we did and we needed to be. We needed to restock on youth and try and make up for a number of blown draft and we did that. We signed mostly players who are proven, productive veterans on reasonable deal who will help built the foundation and set the culture of how Joerger wants us to play. All of our draftees and signings bar Lawson fit a certain prototype of player that fits what Dave Joerger and Elston Turner have been saying since the moment they got here.
This season is very important but not necessarily for the reasons that you are saying. This will be a year in which long temr foundations are set. For the first time since Malone days, this team will have an identity and style of play that is fitting the roster.
I think we will be in much better place in 12 months time regardless of whether we make play-offs or not becuase there will be stability, a clear vision, a clear path that will make sense.
Oh and I do find it funny that you mentioned that if would be better if we signed JJ and also noted that Matt Barnes is old. Has JJ been drinking from a fountain of youth or something?
And again I ask myself, why it's so difficult for some to accept, that there are different opinions on different players.
I never said I don't like Temple. I said he is the signing I like the most. Why? Because he can guard multiple positions and can shoot at average percentages.
Team can't swing for the fences. Small market.......
It's the same kind of arguments over and over again. Strangely the Blazers swung for the fences last year - they let Afflalo walk, lost Aldridge and Wes and brought in guys that most around here considered an overpay (aminu for example) or that were buried on the bench on other teams (Harkless). I personally would trade any Kings player not named DMC or WCS for a package consiting Aminu. So who's had the better approach?
When you want proven players only, you end up with mediocre players at best as a small market team. That's excactly what we did.
Solomon Hill was inserted in the starting 5, when George broke his leg and you could tell, that this guy can defend at a very high level. What was holding him back, was that he was stiff and not a great ball handler nor shooter. The defense was always there and will always make him valuable no matter if he is shooting at 30 or 36% from deep.
Afflalo and Tolliver deals aren't that big, when you take the short duration into account. We paid them more money to get them on shortterm contracts. Courtney Lee earns the same money per year as Afflalo and is the much better player.
But why the short term approach?
Long term foundations, identity, style of play - I believe it, when I see it. Every year we are talking about these things. Same with veteran leadership - last year we brought in the great leader Caron Butler or the championship players Bellinelli and Rajon Rondo. Change the culture, establish a winning environment, a hard working mindset...blah blah. That really turned things around right? And no I'm not excluding Karl, but we still don't saw a culture change or anything like that.
I never said I don't like Temple. I said he is the signing I like the most. Why? Because he can guard multiple positions and can shoot at average percentages.
Team can't swing for the fences. Small market.......
It's the same kind of arguments over and over again. Strangely the Blazers swung for the fences last year - they let Afflalo walk, lost Aldridge and Wes and brought in guys that most around here considered an overpay (aminu for example) or that were buried on the bench on other teams (Harkless). I personally would trade any Kings player not named DMC or WCS for a package consiting Aminu. So who's had the better approach?
When you want proven players only, you end up with mediocre players at best as a small market team. That's excactly what we did.
Solomon Hill was inserted in the starting 5, when George broke his leg and you could tell, that this guy can defend at a very high level. What was holding him back, was that he was stiff and not a great ball handler nor shooter. The defense was always there and will always make him valuable no matter if he is shooting at 30 or 36% from deep.
Afflalo and Tolliver deals aren't that big, when you take the short duration into account. We paid them more money to get them on shortterm contracts. Courtney Lee earns the same money per year as Afflalo and is the much better player.
But why the short term approach?
Long term foundations, identity, style of play - I believe it, when I see it. Every year we are talking about these things. Same with veteran leadership - last year we brought in the great leader Caron Butler or the championship players Bellinelli and Rajon Rondo. Change the culture, establish a winning environment, a hard working mindset...blah blah. That really turned things around right? And no I'm not excluding Karl, but we still don't saw a culture change or anything like that.
I also liked the players you mentioned. I also liked Mike Conley, Jeff Teague and George HIll. All these guys were Free Agents or were involved in trades so technically they were available to the Kings. Two of the guys you mentioned went to LA and NY. I think we can agree what the attraction to those cities is. I think Joe Johnson chose the Jazz because of Quin Snyder and all the young good talent they have. IMO those guys were not coming to Sacramento. Solomon Hill I think would have come here for an overpay. I would have been happy with any of the 4 you mentioned and certainly one of the blue chip veteran PG's I mentioned. But they chose to play elsewhere or were traded elsewhere.
The two moves I question are not signing Seth Curry and drafting Papa over Wade Baldwin. Though taken as a whole I like the moves Vlade and his crew have done.
Time will tell how the roster we have turns out and I enjoyed the discussion
I said it before and I'll say it again....S. Hill was my #1 FA option this year. Mostly because he might have been realistic compared to the other FAs, but also because he's young, is the type of player we'd want next to Cousins, & he had a 1.99 RAPM last year. That's nothing to scoff at. I think the Pelicans are going to be very happy with him.
Wow , Ty Lawson's contract is not even guaranteed. Don't know how anyone can complain about that.
"Source: Lawson's contract is non-guaranteed http://bit.ly/2bHBy0I #NBA #SacKings" CSNAuthentic
"Source: Lawson's contract is non-guaranteed http://bit.ly/2bHBy0I #NBA #SacKings" CSNAuthentic
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Look, I like Courtney Lee as much as you do, and apparently the Kings did as well. The hot rumor was that Lee was at the top of Vlade's list. At the end of the day, what Lee's camp wanted, or even if he didn't want to come to Sacramento, Vlade went in another direction, and I have to assume that he had good reasons to do so. I can name quite a few players that I wanted, but didn't get. As they say, and you admitted, it takes two to tango. Vlade isn't going to come out and make his negotiations public.
To me it's obvious that Vlade, and probably Joerger have a long range plan, and part of that plan is not to make any long range commitments to players that might be nothing more than filler or borderline players of need. If you have a plan for the future, and you have certain players, or types of players your looking for to accomplish that plan, then you fill in the gaps temporally until you can acquire those players. The freeagent market next offseason is a far better one, and fewer teams will have the money to participate. The Kings are one of the teams that can.
I know those that want to win the championship this coming season (OK I exaggerate a bit) will disappointed with that scenario, and I get that. But if ten years ago, there were needed changes that had to take place that would have taken time to accomplish, and ten years later, those same things need to be done, your still starting from the same gate you would have ten years ago. And that's not Vlade's fault, just his problem. I'm not seeing any knee jerk reactions coming out of the Kings camp this time around. They appear to be thoughtful. If they can't get the player they want, then they're making temporary moves, instead of waving money at the next best freeagent that may not fit, or over paying long term for a second choice player.
They've abandoned the win now mode and replaced it with the build now for the future mode, and while that's not what people want to hear, it's a smart move, and a move that should have been made years ago. Instead, we've tried to make one move after the other, a lot of them for the wrong reasons (thank you Maloofs), but mostly with the idea of winning next season. When you look back at the players we could have drafted but didn't, our plight has nothing to do with bad luck, but with stupidity. Had we drafted a Lillard or a Klay Thompson, or Kawhi Leonard, I think we might have a better record, and Cousins would be perceived in a different light. Had we drafted wisely, Lillard and C. J. McCollum along with Leonard could be in our starting lineup. That's a playoff team folks!
But that's history, and sadly, were basically starting from scratch with one superstar. If Cousins is willing to buy in and be patient, and I don't know that he is, but if so, then we should be able to do the same. So in a sense, I'm agreeing with you, in that I don't think this is the best team we might have had, with emphasis on the word might. So without being privy to all the info, it's hard to be too critical of the organization for moves they didn't make. I'm sure they could have traded any of Koufos, McLemore and Gay, but haven't. Why? Well in Gay's case, he might be more beneficial to the team this coming season than whomever the other teams were offering. At seasons end, Gay is gone one way or the other. Players that were offered probably came with more years left on their contracts, and Vlade seemed to be avoiding that, unless it was a player he coveted.
Am I leaning more to the glass half full mode? Yeah, probably, but then I always try and stay positive until I see evidence to the contrary. Talk to me after 20 or 30 games, and I may have changed my mind. Or not!
To me it's obvious that Vlade, and probably Joerger have a long range plan, and part of that plan is not to make any long range commitments to players that might be nothing more than filler or borderline players of need. If you have a plan for the future, and you have certain players, or types of players your looking for to accomplish that plan, then you fill in the gaps temporally until you can acquire those players. The freeagent market next offseason is a far better one, and fewer teams will have the money to participate. The Kings are one of the teams that can.
I know those that want to win the championship this coming season (OK I exaggerate a bit) will disappointed with that scenario, and I get that. But if ten years ago, there were needed changes that had to take place that would have taken time to accomplish, and ten years later, those same things need to be done, your still starting from the same gate you would have ten years ago. And that's not Vlade's fault, just his problem. I'm not seeing any knee jerk reactions coming out of the Kings camp this time around. They appear to be thoughtful. If they can't get the player they want, then they're making temporary moves, instead of waving money at the next best freeagent that may not fit, or over paying long term for a second choice player.
They've abandoned the win now mode and replaced it with the build now for the future mode, and while that's not what people want to hear, it's a smart move, and a move that should have been made years ago. Instead, we've tried to make one move after the other, a lot of them for the wrong reasons (thank you Maloofs), but mostly with the idea of winning next season. When you look back at the players we could have drafted but didn't, our plight has nothing to do with bad luck, but with stupidity. Had we drafted a Lillard or a Klay Thompson, or Kawhi Leonard, I think we might have a better record, and Cousins would be perceived in a different light. Had we drafted wisely, Lillard and C. J. McCollum along with Leonard could be in our starting lineup. That's a playoff team folks!
But that's history, and sadly, were basically starting from scratch with one superstar. If Cousins is willing to buy in and be patient, and I don't know that he is, but if so, then we should be able to do the same. So in a sense, I'm agreeing with you, in that I don't think this is the best team we might have had, with emphasis on the word might. So without being privy to all the info, it's hard to be too critical of the organization for moves they didn't make. I'm sure they could have traded any of Koufos, McLemore and Gay, but haven't. Why? Well in Gay's case, he might be more beneficial to the team this coming season than whomever the other teams were offering. At seasons end, Gay is gone one way or the other. Players that were offered probably came with more years left on their contracts, and Vlade seemed to be avoiding that, unless it was a player he coveted.
Am I leaning more to the glass half full mode? Yeah, probably, but then I always try and stay positive until I see evidence to the contrary. Talk to me after 20 or 30 games, and I may have changed my mind. Or not!
K
A++++++++ post. It is hard to debate on Papa because we will not know for 2-3 years, but I would have rather drafted someone else. Our free agency was not great. Good? Maybe but not enough impact to make a dent in the Western Conference--aka making the playoffs. Leadership is great but it all comes down to talent. Affalo is an average player, he would be great on the Cleveland Cavs or Spurs, but not as a key SG for a team who needs a 16-18 PPG scorer at that position. Temple is average on a great day and will make little impact. Tolliver is ugh. We signed a bunch of below average reserve players which will have no impact. I do like the Lawson signing though. Sorry if that is too negative but it is what it is and another losing season I cannot see DMC staying here.
I agree with you too, I look at results when it comes to Vlade. I don't care who doesn't want to come here, who we asks, nobody wants to sign here blah blah blah. Vlade gets paid serious $$ to make it happen. It is his job to figure it out. If he cannot convince a good FA to come here then he better figure it out in trades, which he clearly hasn't yet.
I agree with you too, I look at results when it comes to Vlade. I don't care who doesn't want to come here, who we asks, nobody wants to sign here blah blah blah. Vlade gets paid serious $$ to make it happen. It is his job to figure it out. If he cannot convince a good FA to come here then he better figure it out in trades, which he clearly hasn't yet.
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I saw Ty Lawson a couple times last year and he look like a washed-up player. No speed and no confidence. He looked pathetic. When you are maybe an inch taller than Isaiah Thomas, if you lose your speed, you are done.
We will know soon enough if he's going to make a comeback or his signing turns into a wasted roster spot. It will be predicated on his ability to get to spots on the floor with his speed and quickness. And blow-by ability on the perimeter. A PG either has that or he doesn't and it doesn't take long to determine one way or the other. If he can get to his spots, then I think he will start making his shots. If he struggles to get where he wants to get on the floor, he will get buried on the end of the bench or waived.
Now I am not going to harp on his off the court stuff, but I will say if a guy has been arrested for DUI 4 times, he's probably drunken driven 100 times. So I have no respect for the man b/c every time you do that you are turning yourself into a deadly weapon putting the lives of innocent people at risk. Shameful.
Now let's talk about what Vlade and Co. are thinking. First and foremost, if they were not privy to in-person workouts before this deal was consummated, and didn't come away thoroughly impressed, that's a fireable offense. With this guys recent track record (on and off the court) and descent into irrelevancy if they are betting on his reputation from 2-3 years ago, instead of getting first hand accounts, that's gross negligence.
I assume that diligence was done. But that could be flawed assumption when one summer ago Vlade was ready to hand out a max deal to Wes Matthews with a busted Achilles with the dismissive notion that "injuries are part of the game." But let's be bright and rosy, with the overall upgrade to the front office, let's make an assumption the Kings brass saw this guy play this summer and loved what that saw. Let's say Ty Lawson has his head on straight, gotten lean and mean, hungry to reclaim his past form....
WHY TY?
When Lawson was a player he was a water bug. He could split pick and rolls and turn corners and change ends. On a team with terrible ball-handlers on the wing (RUDY, OMRI, BEN, possibly Affalo), we need a ball-handler that can keep his dribble in traffic, take pressure off teammates likely to fumble it away, and Lawson is that guy.
Lawson has a low center of gravity and probing-nature in half court. As importantly, I think Vlade and coaching staff wanted a PG to run pick and roll with Boogie. We can't just dump the ball into the post every possession. We are going to run offense through Boogie, but we need to take advantage of Boogie's dominance as a pick and roll player. When he gets a head of steam and clear lane to the hole, he's going to score or get fouled every time. And this is where I think the Kings FO is making their bet.
They are taking a chance on dicey character with a dicey track record. This is the season whether we find out if Boogie is a "King for Life" or he gets moved at trade deadline or next summer. This move has the scent of desperation upon it, but there is a practical strategy too. Practically everything and anything within limited options needs to be pursued to make this season successful to incentivize Boogie to sign an extension or re-up in two seasons.
If there is not a glimmer of hope which I would define as a legitimate playoff run, then more in-fighting and turmoil and trade demands (Rudy) will simmer to the surface. The acquisition of Lawson is far-fetched ploy to prevent that by adding a ball-handler to a team of bad perimeter ball-handlers, and a pick and roll PG to deliver the ball to Boogie in his sweet spots.
It's a dubious bet but all factors considered, including low cost, I suppose one worth making. The fan backlash is the price the front office was willing to pay, if it means Boogie can succeed individually and collectively like he hasn't in six years.
I am not optimistic this is going to work out, but I also thought Marco the Bricko was a good signing at this time last year. So maybe where I was optimistic and had that optimism dissolved, my pessimism will be comparably transformed. That's the best I can say at this point with a guy who looked like the arena janitor pretending to be a basketball player last year.
We will know soon enough if he's going to make a comeback or his signing turns into a wasted roster spot. It will be predicated on his ability to get to spots on the floor with his speed and quickness. And blow-by ability on the perimeter. A PG either has that or he doesn't and it doesn't take long to determine one way or the other. If he can get to his spots, then I think he will start making his shots. If he struggles to get where he wants to get on the floor, he will get buried on the end of the bench or waived.
Now I am not going to harp on his off the court stuff, but I will say if a guy has been arrested for DUI 4 times, he's probably drunken driven 100 times. So I have no respect for the man b/c every time you do that you are turning yourself into a deadly weapon putting the lives of innocent people at risk. Shameful.
Now let's talk about what Vlade and Co. are thinking. First and foremost, if they were not privy to in-person workouts before this deal was consummated, and didn't come away thoroughly impressed, that's a fireable offense. With this guys recent track record (on and off the court) and descent into irrelevancy if they are betting on his reputation from 2-3 years ago, instead of getting first hand accounts, that's gross negligence.
I assume that diligence was done. But that could be flawed assumption when one summer ago Vlade was ready to hand out a max deal to Wes Matthews with a busted Achilles with the dismissive notion that "injuries are part of the game." But let's be bright and rosy, with the overall upgrade to the front office, let's make an assumption the Kings brass saw this guy play this summer and loved what that saw. Let's say Ty Lawson has his head on straight, gotten lean and mean, hungry to reclaim his past form....
WHY TY?
When Lawson was a player he was a water bug. He could split pick and rolls and turn corners and change ends. On a team with terrible ball-handlers on the wing (RUDY, OMRI, BEN, possibly Affalo), we need a ball-handler that can keep his dribble in traffic, take pressure off teammates likely to fumble it away, and Lawson is that guy.
Lawson has a low center of gravity and probing-nature in half court. As importantly, I think Vlade and coaching staff wanted a PG to run pick and roll with Boogie. We can't just dump the ball into the post every possession. We are going to run offense through Boogie, but we need to take advantage of Boogie's dominance as a pick and roll player. When he gets a head of steam and clear lane to the hole, he's going to score or get fouled every time. And this is where I think the Kings FO is making their bet.
They are taking a chance on dicey character with a dicey track record. This is the season whether we find out if Boogie is a "King for Life" or he gets moved at trade deadline or next summer. This move has the scent of desperation upon it, but there is a practical strategy too. Practically everything and anything within limited options needs to be pursued to make this season successful to incentivize Boogie to sign an extension or re-up in two seasons.
If there is not a glimmer of hope which I would define as a legitimate playoff run, then more in-fighting and turmoil and trade demands (Rudy) will simmer to the surface. The acquisition of Lawson is far-fetched ploy to prevent that by adding a ball-handler to a team of bad perimeter ball-handlers, and a pick and roll PG to deliver the ball to Boogie in his sweet spots.
It's a dubious bet but all factors considered, including low cost, I suppose one worth making. The fan backlash is the price the front office was willing to pay, if it means Boogie can succeed individually and collectively like he hasn't in six years.
I am not optimistic this is going to work out, but I also thought Marco the Bricko was a good signing at this time last year.
So maybe where I was optimistic and had that optimism dissolved, my pessimism will be comparably transformed. That's the best I can say at this point with a guy who looked like the arena janitor pretending to be a basketball player last year.
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Could not agree more.
We all love Boogie and would love for him to stay here the next 10 years, but a forward thinking GM would have realized our time was up with him and gotten a warchest of assets. Look how awesome the Boston trades ended up being for them.. all because Ainge dealt his stars a year too early rather than a year too late. The timing of it could not have been more perfect to make a move either... new arena, new coach and a bunch of youth we could have sold fans.
Agree the draft day trade was fantastic, but the Papagiannis pick was absolutely atrocious if the intent is to keep Cousins here long-term. The only way we'll find out if Papa is worth his salt is if Boogie is gone... which is a major net negative. Guys like Baldwin, Ellenson, Valentine or Hernangomez all would have been able to actually help this team win while Cousins is here... something Papa won't be able to do.
Basically, we ruined an opportunity to hit the reset button in a big way and expedite our rebuild in just a couple seasons. Instead, we're going to end up trading an expiring Boogie for a lot less than we could have and possibly end up losing our lottery pick next year because we attempted to make the playoffs with a team that isn't good enough to do so.
We all love Boogie and would love for him to stay here the next 10 years, but a forward thinking GM would have realized our time was up with him and gotten a warchest of assets. Look how awesome the Boston trades ended up being for them.. all because Ainge dealt his stars a year too early rather than a year too late. The timing of it could not have been more perfect to make a move either... new arena, new coach and a bunch of youth we could have sold fans.
Agree the draft day trade was fantastic, but the Papagiannis pick was absolutely atrocious if the intent is to keep Cousins here long-term. The only way we'll find out if Papa is worth his salt is if Boogie is gone... which is a major net negative. Guys like Baldwin, Ellenson, Valentine or Hernangomez all would have been able to actually help this team win while Cousins is here... something Papa won't be able to do.
Basically, we ruined an opportunity to hit the reset button in a big way and expedite our rebuild in just a couple seasons. Instead, we're going to end up trading an expiring Boogie for a lot less than we could have and possibly end up losing our lottery pick next year because we attempted to make the playoffs with a team that isn't good enough to do so.
You simply just haven't seen Afflalo play in the last few years. He hasn't been a stopper on D for 3 years, and he's gotten increasingly more selfish as he's gotten older. He's a far different player from when he was one of the top 3-D players with the Nuggets 5 years ago.
He's an upgrade to what we've had the last few seasons, but he's very much a stop-gap option till Bogdan hopefully takes over full-time.
He's an upgrade to what we've had the last few seasons, but he's very much a stop-gap option till Bogdan hopefully takes over full-time.