1. I'm still optimistic we'll get that pick. I'm a believer in karma, but I won't count on it. No matter what @Weezy says we ARE a bad squad and we WILL be in the bottom five of teams! I have faith in how awful we are... 2. Man this Clarkson kid is great. I don't know that I ever see him as a starter, but I already would like him more as our sixth man than Nick Young. I love his energy, but even more it's so rare to see a kid trying to learn. I love seeing his gears working and developing and learning. It's a pleasure to witness that. He and Randle really, truly look like young kids you might be able to build around. 3. Shut it @Weezy we're keeping that pick!
Not really optimism, but I thought it was funny... The Rousey "fight" ranked right above the Lakers in the Nielson ratings... which ranked right above the Clippers. A game in which there was no Kobe, Westbrook, Durant, or even Swaggy P... ranked higher in the ratings than the Clippers. Still after all this time we outperform the Clippers!
Lol I didn't even see your comment directed at me, real, because I don't even open this thread anymore. I mean really what's to be optimistic about other than Clarkson's progress, the fight we've seen from Ellington and Davis if we can keep them, and the fact that Randle will be back someday? That pick IS in serious jeopardy, because now Denver has plummeted and is also in play for the 5th and 4th spots. All we had to freakin do was lose to the C Bags, Jazz, and Bucks and we are tied right now for the 3rd worst record.
I hear you. It was a weird streak and exactly the kind traditional tankers avoid. I just don't know man. I can't honestly be upset when we win a game. I can't! I try to be mad about that, but it just doesn't feel right. I still feel satisfied when they win... I know losing makes more sense and when they lose now I'm more accepting of it than the good old days, but it still disgusts me to my core as a fan that we want our team to lose. It doesn't feel right. I still think we get that pick though. Unless Denver continues to lose every single game they play and Orlando finds a way to keep losing despite their young talent... I just don't see this team winning many games. I never expected them to win those three and I think that may be the point: I think teams thought we'd roll over. Now they know we're a little bit of a fight and they'll clamp back down again. We're a REALLY bad team. No way Lin keeps this up. Frankly there's no way Clarkson should keep this up either. I'm optimistic Weezy! I see bright things coming this summer. I see it all coming around again!
It's not that we will be winning many games, it's WHO we will be winning them against. We play the Knicks once, and Sixers and Wolves twice each. That's 5 guaranteed wins imo, and it will keep us out of the bottom 3. So because of that, we can't afford to be beating any teams we weren't supposed to, we can only afford to lose these games, and if we could somehow lose them, even better. I get that you can't be upset when we win games, but I can. I'm past that, I learned from last season. I'm pissed when we win, they are meaningless wins that we won't remember next season, but we sure as hell will remember losing out pick. I don't remember or care about any wins from last season, or any bad losses, but I sure enjoy having Randle. Come to the dark side, real, we have cake and punch, and not having to make excuses for an awful, awful coach and his misguided/misplaced principles.
I'm not making excuses for Byron if that's who you mean. I think he's been exactly disappointing. BUT I try to view it through the lense of him trying to tank and it makes me feel better. Just like you won't remember any of the bad stuff or good stuff from this season, all of Byron's woes should be forgotten if he coaches better next season. As for the wins and losses it's like I said: I get they need to lose. I'm not unhappy when they lose like I used to be because I know it's a necessity. I'm just not unhappy when they win. I can't do that. Even last year when we won those late meaningless games I felt good winning. I guess I'm just not concerned about losing that pick. I think it's going to be ours unless we suddenly go .700 these last few weeks. There's a reason Phoenix gave up on that pick man because it's coming this summer. On top of that names are starting to crop up with interest in LA again. Now sure those names are from B-listers like Dragic and Monroe, but that's the first important step to the A-listers like Durant in FA. Even then I'm not holding my breath for Durant. I'm holding my breath for Randle to develop into the next guy for us more than anything else.
i was lucky enough to get seats near floor to the OKC game (did not pay for them). have to say that watching a team (admittedly without a challenge from westbrook or durant) of young guys play was refreshing. Ellington was off but has game. The battle between Lin and Waiters (when they were on court together) was epic. Clarkson's drive at the end of the first half - ok so they were not playing against a championship team and I know Lin is not coming back but I am optimistic that we keep ellington, trade young, and develop clarkson and keep davis. This team with Randle and Kobe back plus our incoming players is going to be at least a 41-41 team next year. And ... I think the needle starts trending upward sharply after that...Golden State misses out on its window this year..cleveland and chicago as well...finals prediction? Portland v. Atlanta. Portland wins first championship since 1977 (and last one for a long time once lakers come roaring back in 2016). Hows that for optimism?
Clarkson was good last night. He got some nice late-game experience against the best backcourt in the league. Had a nice clutch bucket. Hit two clutch free throws. Almost had a big steal and he definitely got fouled on that late drive. (Glad they didn't call it). I really hope we can hold on to Ed Davis as our backup big at a reasonable contract. 4yrs@20 million would be awesome. If we head into next season with Ed Davis, Randle, Clarkson and Okafor/Towns all on the roster and all locked up long term...that's a lot of reason for optimism.
I agree. Clarkson is a real gamer. He's not necessarily cold blooded like Lillard or Kobe who have a go-to move, but he's more like a Fisher or Horry that'll kill you in the clutch if you leave them open. He's constantly moving and working in the clutch with a nose for the ball in those situations. I love it. I love Davis's solid game. Not a ton of mistakes, not a ton of issues, just rock solid contribution all around. A good attitude, a good defensive presence... Love it. Ellington is the other one that I really, really want to come back. He's a perfect back-up SG who can step in and be a decent starter for short amounts of time. His shooting stroke is about as smooth as I've ever seen. I love his activity level and his smart game. Just a great fit. Those three off the bench would be a damn good start. We just need to fill out our starting five...
Only in the optimism thread can this be said and not be depressing. ^^ "We just need to fill out our starting five..." I like Ellington. He would be a great guard off the bench. I think our disagreement, and it's a minor one, is I want Clarkson starting and playing against the best competition. I want him in the game against Curry and Thompson. I see him as a long-term fit with us as a starter. We aren't going to be in the playoffs this year or next (unless everything breaks perfect), so let's just throw him in there.
I thought you'd like that. All that means though is we need to get our picks and our FAs right. That's what I mean. If we get our picks and our FAs right, I think we end up with a solid team next season. This summer is going to be so important for Jim and Mitch to get right. We've stuck by Mitch for a long time, well here's a chance to show us why. We've bashed Jim a long time, well here's his shot to prove us wrong... I don't mind Clarkson starting, but I love the idea of him coming off the bench. He's shown he can play alright against starters, so logically he should destroy a lot of bench players in the NBA. I use OKC from a few years ago as an example: they had Harden off the bench who was just way better than anyone else's bench players. Clarkson can be that idea for us. Another example is Odom who was probably good enough to start on most teams, but was a huge match-up problem instead. I guess it really all depends on how the off-season goes. If we have a chance at picking up another PG, we should do it just to fill our roster with talent. Let them figure it out in camp if Clarkson should start or not.
With March Madness starting up we can watch our draft "prospects" more frequently and the competition level should be fun to see how certain guys compete
The tournament should be interesting. I can see Towns, Okafor, and Johnson having good runs. I see Russell putting up good numbers, but I just don't think Ohio State is good enough to make much noise. I think they will get through the first round, but fall to Arizona.
I've got Arizona, Duke, Kentucky, and some random team in my Final Four. We should get a good look at the top prospects from this draft this season.
One bracket I have Kentucky winning it all (I know, not a big surprise) but the other bracket I have Arizona beating Kentucky
It really is very cool that, assuming Randle works out (he hasn't given me a reason to believe he won't) we basically got 2 top 10 draft picks in '14.
I love the rivalry that's built up between Clarkson and Exum. Exum was a guy we were rumored to be interested in and vise versa. He ends up somewhere else and our great scouting department finds a guy on the opposite end of the draft that's maybe better than him. I love that Clarkson is upset about how much love Exum got on his way into the NBA. What fun. Hopefully we get to see those two battle for a long time.
I'm very optimistic with the upcoming draft after the good work Kupchek and Ryan West did in last years. I feel a turn around of major proportions is in the cards next season.
