Sasha Watch 2022-2023

I am a fan. Sasha seems to be doing well in a high pressure game. Seems to have a high IQ.
Agree. All I needed was 1.5 quarters of basketball and I could tell. His little mid-short range jumpers are silky smooth. I don't know if we rearrange our whole offense - but the DHO with him up top, would completely open up the back door cuts and other off ball cuts because they couldn't sag off him at all. Monte seems to be building an offense that is completely unguardeable.
 
Couple impressions:

- Much better sportsmanship in this league.
- Less whining at the refs and ironically - less flopping.
- Liked how the losing team kept fighting hard even down 12-14 with 2-4 minutes to go.
- Sasha seems very high IQ - played within the offense and hit the shot when it was there.
- Good leadership and he was seen motivating and lifting up other players.

Seems like he'd fit right in tbqhwy.
 

pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
Couple impressions:

- Much better sportsmanship in this league.
- Less whining at the refs and ironically - less flopping.
- Liked how the losing team kept fighting hard even down 12-14 with 2-4 minutes to go.
- Sasha seems very high IQ - played within the offense and hit the shot when it was there.
- Good leadership and he was seen motivating and lifting up other players.

Seems like he'd fit right in tbqhwy.
I had commented on the coaches challenge at the end of first half that there appeared to be more transparency with the officials too. Although I think they got the call wrong. lol
 
dude’s got ridiculous touch. Everything he throws towards the hoop just seems to end as a swish.
Yup. He's got a Curry-like quick release as well - except he's six nine.

He did not take one step before that shot - but he wasn't fully squared up when it caught it - he was when he released it though. Exceptional balance. You hardly ever see that in guys his size. It feels like he could catch almost anything within 17 feet and turn and shoot on you in literally less than a second.

Is it just me or is Monte one step ahead of the league here? League has gone to mostly 3pt shooting and attacking the backet. Drive and kicks, off ball cuts, etc. But the mid range game has fallen out of favor. Is Monte building an offense where scoring from all there levels is equally strong - basically ungaurdeable. Is that what I'm seeing?
 
I like that they are up 14 with 2 to play and announcers are like "that just sealed it" lol
yeh they were overselling how competitive the game was haha. That was probably the only euroball game I have seen from start to finish. It’s definitely more team oriented, futbol type atmosphere and the game moves a long a bit faster than the Nba. A lot to like.
 
dude’s got ridiculous touch. Everything he throws towards the hoop just seems to end as a swish.
Ok I'm geeking out on this. Dirk and Curry -esque. I almost never see this in the NBA.

Look at the angle of his body when he catches - I said before he "wasn't fully square" - dude was exactly 90° perpendicular to the hoop. Immediately rises - squares up PERFECTLY in the air and at the moment of release his shoulders are 100% square to the hoop.

He is twisting in the air before the shot, and uses his legs like gyroscopic rudders to hold square to the basket during release. That's phenomenal.

Here's the sequence:

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pdxKingsFan

So Ordinary That It's Truly Quite Extraordinary
Staff member
yeh they were overselling how competitive the game was haha. That was probably the only euroball game I have seen from start to finish. It’s definitely more team oriented, futbol type atmosphere and the game moves a long a bit faster than the Nba. A lot to like.
And flares to celebrate the win!
 
yeh they were overselling how competitive the game was haha. That was probably the only euroball game I have seen from start to finish. It’s definitely more team oriented, futbol type atmosphere and the game moves a long a bit faster than the Nba. A lot to like.
The NBA should take some notes. Far fewer fouls. Seemed like a combo of just better sportsmanship and a culture of no whining and flopping. I don't know how you create that in the NBA from where we are now - but I'd love to see it.
 
Pretty impressive showing. Vezenkov is definitely no weenie shooter that just hangs out around the perimeter waiting to space. He's real physical in the paint and has a pretty sophisticated post-game. He showed a bit more of his offensive arsenal and some self-creation that we haven't seen a ton of in the clips. Not sure if those same moves work in the NBA, but great to see nonetheless.

No questions about his shot translating though. That thing is P.U.R.E and would enter the league with one of the quickest releases in the NBA.
 
So if Sasha wants more than the biannual we are probably going to need to bring Barnes back unless we can unload the Holmes contract. If Sasha wants say 7 mil that would only leave us with 13 mil and the room exception if I’m understanding correctly. Is there a guy available for 13 mil that is going to be an upgrade over HB? Naz could potentially still be an option but any team that has the full mid level would be offer to him around the same money.
 
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Mike Brown seems impressed. Get it done, Monte.
Vezenkov finished the game with 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting and 5 rebounds for 17 PIR. Brown thinks that even though the extra attention from Fenerbahce players makes the Bulgarian fight more, he succeeds in what he does.

"The way they mark him has made it difficult for him. But I like what I see, he leaves room for his teammates, he cuts well, he shoots well from three, he has toughness, he fights for rebounds," Brown talked about Vezenkov's game.

"The way he shoots from the three-point range is something we like, he handles the space very well, he's quick, he'll be an effective player in the NBA at a high level, especially with the toughness he shows," the coach said about the player's chances. "He's fearless and I love that."
Link
 
The NBA should take some notes. Far fewer fouls. Seemed like a combo of just better sportsmanship and a culture of no whining and flopping. I don't know how you create that in the NBA from where we are now - but I'd love to see it.
That’s pretty ironic considering that flopping seems to be credited to the European players (cough, cough Vlade) bringing it to the NBA back in the day, LOL. ;)
 
So if Sasha wants more than the biannual we are probably going to need to bring Barnes back unless we can unload the Holmes contract. If Sasha wants say 7 mil that would only leave us with 13 mil and the room exception if I’m understanding correctly. Is there a guy available for 13 mil that is going to be an upgrade over HB? Naz could potentially still be an option but any team that has the full mid level would be offer him around the same money.
I don't know the cap situation or what Sasha is asking for but I imagine it's gonna have some kind of implication for both Barnes and Lyles re-signing. If we're envisioning Vezenkov as our long term forward next to Keegan you gotta wonder where that leaves Harrison. And I also don't expect the team to want to commit to a relatively unknown unless they're extremely confident his game will translate to day one success

From Sasha's camp if we bring back Barnes and Lyles he's then competing with Lyles for minutes as the first wing off the bench. I'd assume he stayed an extra year in Europe at the very least because he'd want a shot at a starting spot. Would he really want to go from a starring role in Europe to a spot where he's the 4th forward on the depth chart and will need to fight for the minutes to climb towards a starting spot?
 
So if Sasha wants more than the biannual we are probably going to need to bring Barnes back unless we can unload the Holmes contract. If Sasha wants say 7 mil that would only leave us with 13 mil and the room exception if I’m understanding correctly. Is there a guy available for 13 mil that is going to be an upgrade over HB? Naz could potentially still be an option but any team that has the full mid level would be offer to him around the same money.

This looks like the cleanest route to get everything done. Lyles back on a good deal and we get $23 mil to split between Vezenkov and a Naz Reid type of FA. I believe this holds onto the TO for Edwards as well, which I think is a must after the flashes he had with us.

Fox || Davion
Huerter || Monk
Keegan || Edwards
Naz || Vezenkov
Sabonis || Lyles

and hopefully you could work out keeping Queta as the 3rd C and continue to develop Keon Ellis in Stockton.
 
I don't know the cap situation or what Sasha is asking for but I imagine it's gonna have some kind of implication for both Barnes and Lyles re-signing. If we're envisioning Vezenkov as our long term forward next to Keegan you gotta wonder where that leaves Harrison. And I also don't expect the team to want to commit to a relatively unknown unless they're extremely confident his game will translate to day one success

From Sasha's camp if we bring back Barnes and Lyles he's then competing with Lyles for minutes as the first wing off the bench. I'd assume he stayed an extra year in Europe at the very least because he'd want a shot at a starting spot. Would he really want to go from a starring role in Europe to a spot where he's the 4th forward on the depth chart and will need to fight for the minutes to climb towards a starting spot?
I would imagine he knows he would likely come off the bench considering the track record of Europeans who have come over later in their careers. That said, I don’t think he comes over for 10 minutes a night so I really have no idea what Monte plans to do.
Sasha starting is on the table but then we better have more than one viable defense minded wings available when needed for certain matchups.
 

This looks like the cleanest route to get everything done. Lyles back on a good deal and we get $23 mil to split between Vezenkov and a Naz Reid type of FA. I believe this holds onto the TO for Edwards as well, which I think is a must after the flashes he had with us.

Fox || Davion
Huerter || Monk
Keegan || Edwards
Naz || Vezenkov
Sabonis || Lyles

and hopefully you could work out keeping Queta as the 3rd C and continue to develop Keon Ellis in Stockton.
if I’m reading that correctly that is 23 mil plus the room exception (around 6 mil) no? In other words 29 mil