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[ThisIStheYear]

There is no question they screwed the pooch from an asset standpoint with Brunson, and we really miss him when Luka is not on the court.  But a lot of the complaints folks make about Dinwiddie could apply to Brunson as well.  He could be a bit of a ball stopper on offense and his defense is even worse than Dinwiddie's this season.  He has the worst D rating on the Nicks.  He also would not be putting up these kinds of numbers with Dallas because he would spend too much time on the court with Luka.  

Brunson is the kind of player that needs the ball in his hands to be most effective, which means he was always going to be somewhat constrained playing with Luka on the court.  Unfortunately most really good offensive players need the ball in their hands, and it makes it tough to find high level players who both fit well with Luka and would want to play with him.  I think that's why folks are so interested in the Toronto guys.  They are all good defenders who are used to sharing the ball with other creators, and all of them flourished next to a superstar on way to a championship.

I know we have some apologists here who take a position that this or that player has a wart and isn’t perfect for Luka so it’s not that big a deal he left. But Luka is probably at least the third greatest talent I’ve ever seen going back to the Showtime Lakers and he has true GOAT potential. His arrival to the NBA reminds me of when Federer came onto the scene in tennis and started dominating the Americans. He’s just a revolutionary player.  You don’t need a perfect team around him just a good one. He’ll cover up many warts.  Just get him some good players even if they don’t fit.  Luka can do just about anything at an all star level except defend and he’s even decent at that now. He can cover up a roster gap or two or an imperfect fit. He just can’t cover every gap at once. There’s no excuse for losing a borderline all star for nothing when you’re building around a generational talent.