"The root of the Rondo-Carlisle crisis is a simmering disagreement about whether the Mavs were best off with the genius former Coach of the Year or brilliant four-time All-Star point guard calling the majority of the plays.
Rondo, a nine-year veteran with one of the highest basketball IQs in the league, believes that's a big part of his job as a point guard. Carlisle, one of the NBA's best offensive minds, doesn't want to hand the keys of his sports car over to a guy he just met.
It's similar to the friction between Carlisle and future Hall of Fame point guard Jason Kidd during their first season together, except they never had "SportsCenter"-leading shouting matches. Carlisle ceded control to Kidd in midseason, and that duo played prominent roles in the Mavs' title run a few years later.
Could history repeat itself? Don't hold your breath. The reality is Rondo's run with the Mavs is extremely unlikely to extend past this season. "
I wanted Rondo BADLY in the draft and I'm still a fan but I'm very concerned with his fit in the triangle and even more important.. he's ALWAYS hurt. Find it hard to believe that improves in his age 30-34 seasons. Rajon Rondo has played 68, 53, 38, 30 and 47 games (so far) the past 5 seasons
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Bring me Boogie!
???
Mathews
Melo
Monroe
Cousins
You could find some vet pretty easily to play with that team. A Collison level player prolly. Or just let Galloway play PG. He does seem like more of a 2 but with the rest of that team i think you can get away with him at PG.
Well back to reality......
they would then have another 25 million give or take to go after Durant...
Now is Mathews Melo and Cousins attractive enough to lure Durant?
Demarcus Cousins: If Karl feels its time to move in another direction and start fresh...
Blake Griffin: clippers lose first round and Doc feels its time for a shake up since this core has not won much
Kevin Durant: Does Durant somehow force his way out if they fizzle out in the first round and he and westbrook clash...
Not saying any of these scenarios are likely but these are some things that may happen and if the Knicks have the number 1 pick it oculd be tempting
Given Melo's age I really HOPE this is the plan. I'd be pretty floored if Okafor or Towns quickly become some stud and I'd say 0% chance ever is better than Cousins
It would definitely take a PG that could get all 3 the ball but could you imagine Melo and Cousins on one side of the triangle and Kevin Durant on the otherside or vice versa...
Durant or Melo shooting open 3's....drool
???
Mathews
Melo
Monroe
Cousins
You could find some vet pretty easily to play with that team. A Collison level player prolly. Or just let Galloway play PG. He does seem like more of a 2 but with the rest of that team i think you can get away with him at PG.
Well back to reality......
Eh... that team would really struggle to be above-average defensively. In re: Cousins' massive improvement on defense while Malone was there (per metrics), I'm more a believer than a skeptic, but if your frontcourt is those three guys you're never going to have top-shelf rim protection. And given the cap situation, Monroe is almost certainly going to get the max, which would make it very hard to get Matthews.
If Cousins was an actual option (again, pipe dream) and the Knicks got him in exchange for the #1 pick, I'd try to get Robin Lopez (an actual above-average defensive 5 who's a UFA and fits better with the rest of the frontcourt and with the Knicks' budget) and give Jimmy Butler a max offer sheet. That would give the Knicks a lineup with a legit "Big 3" and a chance to be an actual good defensive team.
Not in the least.
There is zero chance any of the top 3 guys stay in college. Im all for education, but unless they get hurt it would be an absurdly stupid decision on their part to stay in school.
There is zero chance any of the top 3 guys stay in college. Im all for education, but unless they get hurt it would be an absurdly stupid decision on their part to stay in school.
11 is enough to make a fair offer for Matthews, but I'd say the odds of 11 actually getting him to leave PDX are probably not that great.
Ford called it "crazy" that a near 7-footer has hit 94.4 percent of his free throws the last six games and noted that Towns's field-goal percentage around the basket is an impressive 73.5 percent for the season. He says all this to note that, if the eyeball test isn't enough, "I think the (NBA) analytics guys are in Towns' corner" over Okafor.
"Now, I'm not dogging Okafor, because I'm not sure I've ever seen a freshman as skilled as he is on the low block offensively," Ford said. "He's going to be big-time. He's going to be able to score the basketball in the NBA. But I think Towns could be the more complete player, and that's compelling. I think this is going to get really interesting."
I actually think it's the fact he's a better overall prospect. Okafor's physical limitations would scare me on defense at the next level.
The Russell/Mudiay stuff is just internet BS until the workouts.
A no-D Big like Okafor needs to have a better outside shot than he has. Those two clanks last night were brutal. Almost as brutal as the defensive substitution.
Definitely. Even if he was just a better athlete he'd be a lock. The polish he has in the post for a guy his age is amazing, especially in an era when big man post play is almost a lost art.
No. His defense isn't going to get any better in college than it will in the pros.
I would still draft Okafor first despite acknowledging that KAT is clearly the more well-rounded prospect. (Heck, I posted a youtube clip in a thread almost 2 months ago which showed KAT's athletic ability when most people were questioning his ceiling.)
I'd be fine with Russell. IN fact, right now I'd probably have Towns and Russell as my top two choices, followed by Okafor.
I don't disagree. Some of the clips before the move to the zone were frightening... it was as if he was playing blindfolded.
I just think about what a 19 year-old with his post moves will look like when he's 23 and still has 7 more years of prime left. I think he's a game changer offensively because he will draw so many double teams. He's also a solid rebounder, so it's not as if he's a complete zero outside of low block offense.
As for Rondo... I've never liked the fact that he couldn't shoot, but I had grown to like his defense and ability to penetrate whenever he wanted. However... now that it seems like he's a big brat I don't think his game is worth the hassle anymore.
I'm saying a big N-O on Rondo!
just funny to me
He says Rondo is absolutely gone from Dallas. And that he isn't going to get MAX money from the Lakers.
Not the biggest surprise but still a huge development if true. I wonder where he ends up if he's gone from Dallas, LA doesn't want him, and the Knicks don't want him.
just funny to me
I used to check out realgm years ago. What a cluster. The basketball discussion here is light years ahead of anything I ever encountered there...at least on the Knicks forum.
Odds of anyone in this draft sniffing Cousins as a player is extremely low. Go off the deep end seems silly to me, he'll always be fiery etc but ZBO and Rasheed Wallace were sheer lunatics, Rodman the list goes on and on, this guy is a monster.
Not the complete same circumstance, and I do like Wiggins more than Love, but sometimes those trades wind up being ones you regret. That trade is going to look like a complete disaster if Love doesn't win a championship with the Cavs.