Trade & FA 2023-24: Stein-Ingram Trade Inevitable| LAL Want Lebron Back On Any Terms

[meistermatze]

Not sure Kyrie really is a great fit. On one hand it is great that he is capable of leading the team by himself while also playing the second fiddle to Luka. On the other hand, constructing a workable defense around Luka and Kyrie will be extremely difficult. Not to mention Kyrie is already 32. I think it is a very binary option. Either you go all in constructing a team around them in an effort to win in a year or two, or you trade him. I am fully aware Mavs will not trade him at TDL. Summer though...

I think we should put an end to this myth about it being difficult to build a defense around Luka and Kyrie. It is pretty easy, as we have two pieces already in check: A long but quick and mobile Center and two athletic 3&D-guys. G-Will is that on a good day, same with DJJ, but both are not reliable enough to fit that description. Same goes for Exum and Green. Size is also an issue for all of them. Lively is here to stay and only getting better.

We haven't seen this roster healthy, yet, but it should be possible to have 2-3 quality defenders surrounding Luka and Kyrie most of the time and it should not be that hard, to find somebody who even better fits that description in the future.

Kyrie is undersized, but so is every PG in this league. For his size, he is decent because he tries. Like I said, you got the same problem with every offensive-minded PG. Luka on the other hand is just lack of trying during the regular season or when he tries to save energy or to shout at the officials. If he wants and needs to, he plays EXCELLENT one-on-one defense and is long enough to rotate in scramble situations. Bith players are not unique in this respect. It is just a matter of getting those players that I described, which the Front Office failed to deliver (they tried and failed with Richardson, Bullock, and Williams (so far).

I understand that it would be preferable to field a quality defensive lineup throughout the whole game but this is not possible, if you have offensive talent like Luka. You will always score with him. It is about to be able to get stops if you need them and that's where those 5 pieces have to fall into place. And we are not that far off because 3&D-type players do exist on the market.