04-30-2024, 08:37 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-30-2024, 08:38 AM by HoosierDaddyKidd.)
(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.
Good analysis. Most teams would die for the young wings the Pelicans have. Jones, Murphy, and Marshall all are long, good defenders, and athletic. Murphy can shoot the 3. There are moves to be made, even though they won 49 games this year. LeBron left his options open as far as returning to the Lakers. He's an unrestricted FA and not many teams will be willing to pay his 51-million-dollar salary next year except for the Lakers. There is even talk of giving Lebron a 3-year extension and drafting his son Bronny. https://theathletic.com/5459081/2024/04/...rs-future/ I don't know what star they go after, but Trae Young as has been suggested would be a horrible fit. They need wings and another big like everyone else. The Thunder are for real. I've been singing their praises all year, along with the T-Wolves. They aren't big, but they are fast and athletic. Everyone thinks their youth and inexperience is a negative. I don't. They are well coached, and each player has defined roles, and they all play on a string. They'll be a tough out for whoever they play.