Slim has his team - who would be on yours?

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#1
Y’all explained the boogie thing leading you to go for GSW but my god. I don’t care if my brother played for them I’m not rooting for that scumbag green.
Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man. Green is exactly my kind of player.

The All-Slim team would have Cousins, Draymond, Patrick Beverly and Jimmy Butler on it.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#6
you really don't know? he's a dog just like the others. he'll get in you and play hard.
There's plenty of "dogs" in the NBA, who don't represent my ethos. Jrue Holiday's got plenty of "dog" in him; I don't **** with that dude, either.

Oooh, but you know who kinda does capture my ethos, that I forgot about? Bobby Portis.
 

Mr. S£im Citrus

Doryphore of KingsFans.com
Staff member
#10
no need for detailed explaining, summarize it for me
Guys with some "dog" in them, but whom may or may not also be... shall we say, a little "extra." Lowry is too "sports humble" for me. I have absolutely no use whatsoever for "sports humble."

EDIT - For that matter, I don't have a whole lot of use for humility, in general.
 

kingsboi

Hall of Famer
#11
Guys with some "dog" in them, but whom may or may not also be... shall we say, a little "extra." Lowry is too "sports humble" for me. I have absolutely no use whatsoever for "sports humble."

EDIT - For that matter, I don't have a whole lot of use for humility, in general.
Lowry sports humble? I don't know bout all that mate. He is a dog with plenty of extra in him
 

VF21

Super Moderator Emeritus
SME
#16
Here's my thought: I liked the idea of picking your own starting five. I think we could turn this into an interesting TDOS pastime. Do some thinking and come up with YOUR best starting 5. Give it some thought. Consider their strengths, weaknesses and personalities. Consider their positions. Don't pick someone and then play him out of position just to strengthen your lineup.

If enough people are interested, we could do some kind of tournament or something. I'm just thinking off the top of my head so I'd be open to suggestions.

Be prepared to explain your rationale. Simply saying look at his numbers isn't gonna cut it.
 
#17
Lillard, Kawhi, Durant, Greek Freak and Jokic. Not sure there are enough balls to go around, but maybe a couple of those guys will sacrifice their game:)
 
#18
Curry
Leonard
George
Durant
Horford

  • I didn't include Embiid, Jokic, or Davis because I thought I'd prioritize shooting, defense, and high IQ play over scoring & playmaking considering there is only 1 ball. Embiid/Davis are not good enough shooters for me, and Jokic is not a good enough defender.
  • I didn't include Harden because I think his scoring and playmaking is made up for by the others and his defense would ultimately make the team worse off
  • I didn't include Giannis or LeBron because his scoring & playmaking is made up for by the others, but his 3PT shot hurts the rest of the lineup
  • I know Curry isn't a great defender either but his unselfishness, ability to play off the ball, and floor spacing are leaps and bounds better when compared to other PGs
 
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hrdboild

Hall of Famer
#19
Hmmm, I like this idea. Here's what I'm thinking right now:

My PG is going to be De'Aaron Fox. There's older guys who are playing at a much higher level right now but in terms of what I personally like to see at the PG position, Fox is frighteningly close to the prototype which is why I was so gung-ho about acquiring him in the draft a few years ago. And something I wanted to happen in the draft actually happened that year! It almost makes all the other knuckleheaded Kangz nonsense worth it. Almost. I want a lead guard who can push the pace when called upon, get the team a basket when they need it but also pull back and relish their role as setup man to their teammates. I also want a lead guard who's going to constantly attack the ball on defense and get after some defensive boards and turn them into easy transition points. I'm excited to see how Fox builds upon what he's already accomplished in his first two years.

My SG is going to be Jaylen Brown. This is another potential pick but then I'm always thinking about building forward rather than looking back. I view the backcourt positions as somewhat interchangeable and I don't want a dedicated shooter at this position so much as I want a jack of all trades wing who's going to be high-energy on both sides of the court and provide a balance of playmaking, scoring, and smart rotations to stop the ball on defense. I adored Doug Christie as a player when he was here. Most casual fans outside of Sacramento would probably see him as the weakest link on those playoff teams which also featured Vlade, CWebb, Peja, and Bibby but I always thought he was the glue keeping that group together. Brown is inconsistent and his playmaking abilities haven't caught up with the rest of his game yet but I see huge potential for him on both ends because he's so intelligent in how he approaches the game. Defensively, if my lead guard is always attacking then the second guard is even more important as more of a free safety -- constantly working the angles, anticipating plays, and moving into the gaps to cut off easy passes before they can happen. If Brown can tighten up his handle and build on the 39% outside shooting percentage he compiled in the 2017-2018 season I can see him growing into an ideal SG for my hypothetical team.

My SF is going to be Paul George. My primary concern on the wing positions is always maximizing the balance of offense and defense and while there's a lot of wings who would fit the bill here, I don't think Paul George at this point in his career should take a back seat to anyone. He put together a Hall of Fame caliber season this year finishing second in the MVP voting and third in the DPOY voting. He's a go-to scorer now capable of making incredibly difficult shots from all over the court. He's among the league leaders in steals and 3pt % every year. Kawhi Leonard would have been an obvious choice here as well but with two burners in Fox and Brown in the backcourt already, I think PG fits the pace of this team better. My guard picks were more about potential than production so I need a SF who's going to carry the load night in and night out as a primary option and I think George proved this season that he can do exactly that.

My PF is going to be Al Horford. This was the hardest pick to make for me because I didn't see any perfect fits. I've always admired Horford's game from afar, dating back to his championship winning days as the unsung hero on a loaded Florida squad. His best days as a scorer and defensive presence may already be behind him but with the guys I've got at SF and C, I don't see that as a huge problem. He just needs to be the glue guy here, working hard behind the scenes so that everyone else can shine. Over is highly successful career he's managed to turn himself into both an elite passing bigman and an elite shooting bigman while still garnering respect as a smart team-defender who's highly disruptive without relying on exceptional athletic gifts. I penciled him in as my pick here and decided I wasn't going to post my squad actually but the news blerb today about Horford being a potential target for us this summer made me change my mind and post this anyway.

My C is going to be Joel "The Process" Embiid. This could be controversial, but I'm not sure there's a better C in the league right now than Embiid. This guy is only 25 years old and he's already a game-changing monster on both ends. It's scary to think about how good he could be as he enters the prime of his career. You want a big guy who can get you 25-30 ppg? That's Embiid. 13+ rebounds a game? Also Embiid. Blocks, assists, steals, reliable free throw shooting. Yes, yes, yes, and yes. The only thing missing from his game is a reliable outside shot and you can be sure he's perfecting that right now as well. I'm fairly certain there's at least 1 MVP award in his future and probably more than that. I don't know that it makes sense to build a team from the inside out anymore given the emphasis on spacing, volume shooting, and running the floor but regardless I feel pretty damn good having Joel as my man in the middle come playoff time. He'll need to mature a bit and ramp up his intensity at the end of the season but I think that's a part of his natural progression too. And in the meantime, I like that he's a guy with no qualms about speaking his mind however controversial it may be at times. Go ahead and talk if you've got the game to back it up I say.
 
#21
This is kinduva great exercise. Every fan has a particular ethos that certain players perfectly align with. Every fan has "that guy" they just love irrespective of fit or talent level or advanced statistical analysis. I wouldn't say that @Mr. S£im Citrus and I are perfectly simpatico in our player preferences, but we value some of the same characteristics in a basketball player. As such, here's the All-Padrino Team:

PG Marcus Smart

I desperately wanted Marcus Smart to fall to the Kings on draft day 2014. Even if he had, there is no doubt in my mind that Vivek and PDA would still have selected Nik Stauskas. And I would have been apoplectic in such an event. Smart is my favorite pit bull in the NBA. His commitment to 100% effort every second he's on the court is laudable. His willingness to sacrifice his body for the less glamorous aspects of the game and in the defense of his teammates is the kind of attitude I want to see from the players I root for.

SG Jaylen Brown

This kid is here because I just love his mind. He's so smart and thoughtful and focused. I did not expect him to fall to the Kings in the 2016 draft, but I was hoping they might try to move up to snag the Cal product. Like @hrdboild, I love Brown's Swiss Army Knife qualities. He's an ideal utility wing for the modern NBA. If Boston doesn't f*** up their offseason by crowding out Tatum/Brown yet again, I expect big things from both of them.

SF Kawhi Leonard

This might seem like a fairly obvious selection today, given the fact that Leonard just led the Raptors to their first championship ever over the (admittedly depleted) Golden State Warriors. That said, Leonard represents one of my most heartbroken "what could have been" scenarios for a Kings team that has struck out in the draft more often than not in the last decade.

Sure, there were quite a few teams who passed on Leonard in 2011. Sure, the young man who would become the Klaw may never have developed into an NBA superstar without the tutelage of a Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan led San Antonio Spurs machine. But there was no denying the measurements: 6'7", 227 lbs, with a 7'3" wingspan (for reference, that's the same wingspan as current league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo), and hands the size of Chris Webber's.

He was the perfect big, defensively-oriented wing for a Kings team that was absolutely desperate for a starting-caliber SF and absolutely desperate for a jolt on the defensive end. My father and I were convinced that the Kings would take him. How could they not take him? When the draft day news filtered in that the Kings had instead traded down to pick Jimmer F***ing Fredette, while bringing John F***ing Salmons back for his second doomed stint with the team, I felt like the basketball gods themselves had wound up as impressively as they could to punch me as hard as they could square in the gut.

PF Marvin Bagley III

The PF position is tricky in the modern NBA. Despite the hoopla over "positionless basketball," most teams still grapple with the need for certain positions to fulfill certain requirements. PG's still need to be able to handle the ball, for example. Centers are expected to rebound and protect the rim. But PF's come in so many shapes and sizes in the new NBA landscape. Each team handles the position a little differently, dependent on need. As a result, it's largely a utility position, and there simply aren't a lot of standout players that you would classify with certainty as PF's.

So today I put on my purple-tinted glasses and select a King for the All-Padrino team. I honestly don't know what to make of Marvin Bagley. Or rather, I don't know what to make of Bagley's game in the context of the NBA's evolution. Perhaps you can never build a championship contender around a player like Bagley. But then again, what kind of player is Marvin Bagley III? He's fast and springy with a motor that just won't stop. He's a good kid, a hard worker, and has a ton of upside. "Potential" is dangerous in the NBA. More often than not, it goes unfulfilled. But I like what Marvin has shown thus far. One doesn't have to squint too hard to see an exciting 20/10 player in the making.

C Steven Adams

Like Marcus Smart, Steven Adams just has a junk yard dog mentality that I find so appealing. He goes out there and does his business. He is both a consummate professional and a nasty presence on the court. He knows how to set a hard screen, which is an undervalued aspect of the PnR-driven contemporary NBA. There are smoke signals in OKC that they might be willing to move on from Adams. He could be available, and the Kings could have an interest in acquiring him. I absolutely do not love the fit that Adams represents with this current iteration of the Kings' roster, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't be smiling ear-to-ear every second he was on the court in a Kings uni. I f***ing love this guy.