(04-30-2024, 06:44 AM)omahen Wrote: NO: They have a huge amount of young 3-D wings. in my opinion their stars are a problem. They just don't fit together. Zion and Ingram are not great shooters. Add a non shooting centre and I really don't understand how they finished top 8 in the West. Personally I didn't believe in them at all. Neither Ingram or Zion are likely to be able to lead the team to true competitor status. Zion is a non shooter, weak defender and always injured. He is cetainly a freak of nature as far as his physicality goes, but I think he has enough weaknesses in his game you can always scheme against. Ingram is imho far from an alpha. Number two or three on a serious team - as a weak shooter he is a questionable fit next to Zion. JV can be good, but he will always be a playoff liability imho. NO imho has to decide which of Zion or Ingram they keep and use the other with assets (they have plenty) to bring in a better fitting player, probably an alpha level. Of course that is easier said than done.
Lakers: all indications are they will go hard after a second tier star. They have Reaves and three picks to offer. Trae Young probably tanked his value enough to be not worth more than that. Mitchell could also force his way out of Cleveland and has a lot of power to say where he wants to be. Both would be probably great fits for this team.
Thunder do look great indeed. Tough defense, athletic, fast pace, good shooting (even Giddey is shooting it well lately). Mavs (if they make it), will face a very different opponent. Their weakness is their lack of size.
Mitchell is an interesting name that I haven't thought of. It will probably take more than DLo, picks and prospects right? They would probably need to include Reeves right? But I could see Miami, Brooklyn and LAL all in a battle for Mitchell. Brooklyn only involved because they have the most assets and some reason are trying to hold on to what they have. I could see Chris Paul signing in LAL as another old guy looking for one last hurrah.
I agree on New Orleans. They are probably not a serious contender unless Zion can be a top 10 player in the league. Injuries and being in shape are the two things holding him back. I don't know if that elite movement/explosion he had at Duke is ever coming back. I agree that him and Ingram are not a good fit. Ingram was bad in the series and am curious what type of packages he will garner this offseason. He always feels like a stats are better than he really is guy. I agree about Jonas too. I would also explore moving CJ. He may be helpful as a scorer if they make other moves, but I just feel like he is a guy who doesn't always deliver when needed.