Looking Ahead to Next Season...

[rainmaker]

IT has some success against certain PG's 1v1 defensively. He does get caught up on screens a fair amount which is more a positional/poor angles issue rather than height. A guy like Ray gets caught up on screens far less and it's due to his positioning.

Larger concern is IT in team defense situations. When he gets switched, it's a disadvantage. When he's the one effecting passing lanes, it's a disadvantage. When it's him closing out on shooters compared to a guy 4-6" taller, it's a disadvantage. On offense, when it comes to passing angles and line of site, he's at a disadvantage. Seeing the floor, I think IT at times misses open players or a timely cut due to being shorter. It's just the reality of it.

There's a reason Reke for example isn't nearly as successful guarding SF's compared to PG's and SG's. Why? He's at a height and size disadvantage. Welcome to the NBA.

 

[Spike]

Sure, and in the same spirit lets allow the belief that the world is flat to go unchallenged as long as we all agree that we can live on it

Is someone arguing between 5'9" and 5'11" (with or without combat boots) really the equivalent of arguing against an oblate spheroid? I'd more accurately liken it to Coke vs. Pepsi - in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter, but both will rot your teeth. Besides, how do you know which side the flat earther is on?

But hey, it's Friday and I want to throw this last one in: Couldn't you just effectively argue that a multi-billion dollar industry will want to fudge someone a little taller because "taller is better"? We all know of college kids measuring smaller than their listed height, slower than their most recent 40 time, etc. Personally, I don't really care that much about his listed height. Getting stuck in the minutiae of a few inches takes away from the larger argument at hand (pun possibly intended.) That's the discussion worth having.

 

[bajaden]

Is someone arguing between 5'9" and 5'11" (with or without combat boots) really the equivalent of arguing against an oblate spheroid? I'd more accurately liken it to Coke vs. Pepsi - in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter, but both will rot your teeth. Besides, how do you know which side the flat earther is on?

But hey, it's Friday and I want to throw this last one in: Couldn't you just effectively argue that a multi-billion dollar industry will want to fudge someone a little taller because "taller is better"? We all know of college kids measuring smaller than their listed height, slower than their most recent 40 time, etc. Personally, I don't really care that much about his listed height. Getting stuck in the minutiae of a few inches takes away from the larger argument at hand (pun possibly intended.) That's the discussion worth having.

I think you just took a stand. I'm just not sure where...Plus you called me an oblate something or other.. Huh?

 

[SacKings2002NBAChampions]

My dream:

2014 offseason:

Draft Vonleh

Trade Williams for Suns draft pick
Draft a player from suns pick who can play well on both ends of the court with a lot of upside.

Let IT walk.


All-Star break:

SOMEHOW, trade Thompson and Landry and potential future picks

Finish the season with the 20th best record and miss playoffs. (I think we lose our pick, oh well)

2015:

Ben Mac becomes our most reliable outside/jumper scorer who can also put the ball on the floor and fly high to the rim. A true star is born.

Vonleh has a beast rookie season and integrates quickly because of his size and strength. A defensive/offensive monster emerges.

Cousins becomes the undisputed leader of the squad and his temper tantrum is more controlled (especially in important games).

Ray Mac becomes our floor general and a pass first PG who can also score when need be.

Offseason:

Let Gay walk (or trade).

Expiring: Outlaw, Jason Terry, Evans, and a possible player or two from unexpected trades (possibly for Gay)

This leaves us with only one big contract and that is Cousins....

sign free agent LeBron James
And add a couple vets

McCallum
McLemore
LeBron
Vonleh
Cousins


LOL

That team would absolutely destroy in the 2015/2016 season. I'd be dammed if we didnt win the NBA championship. It doesn't matter who the subs are even though I'm sure we'd get a lot of trophy hungry vets beginning to play for us with reduced salaries

The only reason LeBron wouldn't come is because let's face it...Sac isn't as marketable as Miami...

Otherwise, this is a dream. A dream that I can only live in my fantasy.
My only other dream is that we draft Wiggins and trade Gay for vets and a rim protector such as a Hibber or DeAndre Jordan maybe Sanders. Ray Mac starter and at this point I guess we could keep IT as a 6th man option but only for 6 mill...7 would be pushing it. Anything over, hell to the no.

Realistically, we'll draft a bust, Gay will leave us. Ben Mac and Ray Mac have unexpected obstacles to overcome and resort to lifelong bench projects all while IT walks. Cousins loses his mind over all of this and runs over IT's cat for screwing his life over and ends up in jail for animal cruelty. Vivek bails him out only for Cousins to kick him in the nuts and say that he's leaving when his contract expires. Kings wind up back to the beginning where the Maloofs left us off...


Lets pray to God that last scenario never happens or I might have to go on a multi-year hiatus from this entertainment freak-show.

 

[Bricklayer]

I don't particularly care about the handwringing over Isaiah's exact height. What I do know is that a multibillion dollar business puts on the official combine to get accurate measurements so its affiliates can make multimillion dollar decisions on these kids. Any particular manager/coach/etc. tampering with the measurements compromises the entire system, and I doubt said multimillion dollar affiliates would allow for inaccurate information that could possibly jeopardize their decisions.

Well, now that may be a little idealistic. We know for a FACT that heights have always been tampered with. How do we know this? Because they frequently shift around during guys' careers according to agendas., even in the NBA. Agents play games. Teams play games. KG and Duncan were both listed 7 footers, they shrank. Charles Barkley was listed 6'7" coming into the league. Haha. Eveybody and their grandmother knew Bobby Jackson was not 6'1".

I have been a part of that at the lower high school/college levels. Always gained 2 inches (and in college 10lbs as well). I cut quite the intimidating figure I am sure.

But the strong argument on heights is the draft combine. All the rest of the dickering is about team officials trying to warp perception of their teams, or players and their agents trying to exaggerate their size for prestige/money, or even the NBA as a whole wanting to promote the size of its athletes. But the combine should theoretically be immune to that, other than the severe monkeying around that goes with certain players practically wearing platform shoes to their w/shoes height measurements. In order for the combine numbers to be wrong it goes beyond just a team official slightly distorting something for a prèss release, it would mean that they were intentionally fudging what are supposed to be factual measurements relied on by all the teams in their decisionmaking process 9"although I would take it as a given every team remeasures anybody they bring out for a workout). Hence it would require corruption, not mere dishonesty. And while its always possible, if an agent for instance wanted to slip some money or something, its just a far more serious charge than the fudging which everybody knows has always gone on.