Exactly. And that’s what we might have to accept. We have the fifth pick now, and expectations have to come down a bit. I don’t know that he’s not a guy that ends up playing for 5 teams on a series of 2- or 3-year deals, but right now a 6-8 40% shooter with some positional flexibility who won’t be a defensive liability is not a terrible outcome. I’m not banking on any of his face-up off-the-dribble stuff translating in the NBA though.
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My final Pistons take is they should try and be bad one more year at the off-chance they stumble into Wembenyama
I also want to go out on a limb and say I’ll put some chips on Keegan being an NBA star. His game at the Big Ten tourney against Indiana where he went 8 for 10 from three on contested off the move threes as a 6’8” forward was one of the more starry things I’ve seen a college player do. He was unstoppable that week. I don’t think he’s that far behind Banchero and Smith as an NBA prospect (and yes I know they’re like 3 years younger)
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I think people should prob be a little less skeptical of Murray. The guy absolutely filled up the stat sheet on both ends of the floor. He was probably the best player in the country. There are a lot of dudes who even given 3 or 4 years in school wouldn’t do what he did.
Keegan had the 7th best TO% in the country on 30% usage playing in the 3rd best conference in the country. Dude was a monster.
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What do you mean “try and be bad?” They will go into the season giving a lot of minutes to Cade, Bey, Stewart, the pick they make this year, Bagley, and Livers. I don’t think that’s trying to be bad, but the result isn’t going to be a playoff team. They can’t spend the year actively trying to lose by benching guys because they need those guys to get experience and get better so maybe attract a free agent in 2023, even if they have to overpay.
Yeah I don’t think they have to do anything too blatant. They’ll likely be in the 5-7th worst record in the league range unless they sign Ayton and/or draft a star. Just some strategic late in the season shut downs “rest”-based, etc.
Don’t rush competing unless you have the singular superstar good enough to win a playoff series by himself (Luka). Don’t be the Charlotte Hornets. They’ve done a fantastic job maneuvering that in the rebuild thus far. It would have been over with a top 3 pick, but now they have to be strategic.
This has confused me with all the Murray talk, so many people questioning his defense. He’s gonna be a quality and versatile defense player.
I understand he probably won’t be a #2 star, but it’s weird to say he has a high floor/low ceiling. Elite 3 & D role players are high ceiling and high value players.
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Just curious. Who are the 3 and D players that you consider high ceiling in the NBA? And if it’s not a top 2 star on a team, then how is it considered high ceiling?
I think it’s the “likely not a top two player” that makes his ceiling low. Agreed that two way wings are extremely valuable - probably the most valuable in basketball.
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I think this is really just an argument over your definition of “high ceiling” vs “valuable”
I think Murray’s likelihood to be a solid two way wing makes him valuable enough to be a top 8 pick, but he lacks the ceiling to be, like, Paul George.
Nekias Duncan has talked about how that 3-D label might be obsolete because you need someone that can attack a close out and either attack the basket or hit another open man.
That being said, if you look at the video clips above, Keegan is a capable shooter off the dribble (step backs, side steps.) I think he’s someone you can go to late in the shot clock and get a good look.
Klay Thompson.
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At some point, they have to start winning games and shoot for the play-in games. Tanking does them no good in terms of team culture. We need to be able to keep the young core by showing them progress that they can contend for the title. No one wants to stay and play for a bad team.
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Would people consider playing the guys they have (and are drafting) and making modest (at best) free agent signings “tanking”?
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The other issue is Murray is an okay athlete and isn’t a creator on a consistent basis. He projects to be a solid wing player but won’t move the needle in terms of franchise trajectory IMO.
Orlando moving on from Mo Bamba, any interest???
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I was about to make a joke about Mo Bamba and then I looked up his stats…he had a pretty good year. Shot well from outside, rebounded okay, was decent from 2pt…seems like a solid rotational big from his stat sheet. Then again…Orlando was horrific so it is hard to say what he’d look like on a good team.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you I watched a ton of Magic basketball, but taking a cursory look at their numbers, it looked like they correctly diagnosed that starting Carter and Bamba together is a non-starter (I think the idea was for this to be a temporary fix until Isaac came back, and god knows what the deal with that is), meaning it was time to make a choice, as they both require financial commitment this off-season.
The team was 8 points/100 possession better with Carter on the floor than off, and 3 points worse with Bamba on than off. While his primary offensive numbers look ok, I think his lack of passing compared to Carter’s pretty good passing (3 assists/game is pretty good for a center, 15% assist rate vs. 4% for Bamba) on a team that really lacked guards who could create for others was a big deal. BPM had Bamba as a net offensive negative despite his solid shooting (but a defensive positive - Carter positive in both). The only guys on that team I’m positive are NBA starters are Franz and Carter - and Bamba plays the same position as Carter.
I think Bamba is a worthy NBA player and maybe even a starter in the right ecosystem if he can stay healthy, he was just the 2nd best center on that roster. I’m not sure he’s enough of an upgrade on my prognosis of Stewart that I’d pay him for the privilege.
Kings want to start a dynasty.
For someone else
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