I'm preeeeeetty sure he's an RFA technically same as Jordan, but Pincus is the man to ask about that one. Consensus is he's not coming back. We could keep Byron and lose Tarik. Go figure.
Turning point in the game. Not to mention, didn't it just feel more like Laker basketball? It felt like the right play was being made and jeez there's been too few times I've said that. The other play was Kobe's behind the back pass to D'Angelo who went between the legs to Julius for the dunk. That's the right play with some flash sprinkled in there. That's Laker basketball. We need more of that. I'd like for Julius, D'Angelo, Clarkson, Nance, and Tarik to be a little core we build around. Obviously if there was some way we could keep those five together AND get players that make us more competitive now (Horford? Durant? Derozan? Whiteside?), that'd be the dream. The dream is to get two guys this summer that make us a playoff team while the young guys cook. Then once the young guys are mature enough, THEY carry the team up while the guys we get this summer taper off. That's the perfect scenario... Unfortunately I'm not sure that's how it'll work.
I'm cool with whomever honestly. If there's some way we can get 2-3 guys here while keeping a large chunk of our young guys, there's a chance we could build something that lasts 15 years. The problem is I'm not sure the Lakers FO is competent enough to pull it off...
We'll see this summer... Letting themselves get held hostage while others are rebuilding with solid choices is what has hindered the franchise.
Loved Tarik's game last night. Among Boron's coaching crimes this season, his treatment of Black is one of the most heinous. I really hope we can keep him. I love his hustle.
Loved what he brought last night, capped off by a perfectly timed momentum changing authoritative block. I hope management and the coaching staff get their heads out of their a** and lock him up long term.
Sounds like Luke could be our best path towards keeping Black http://m.ocregister.com/articles/walton-714251-pastner-coach.html
It's amazing how many players he has guided and helped, I actually think Walton is going to attract more great potential FA's than we think.
good find, jsm. i would like to keep black. i thought his utilization last year was shameful; his benching bothered me more than all of scott's other decisions regarding the young players, actually.
I almost wish the same roster came back just so that it was completely clear how horrible bYRON was as a coach. He seriously should never work in the NBA again. That being said, I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to improve the roster, and that means roster turnover.
I think in a GS type of offense Tarik could truly thrive. Open spacing on pick and rolls? Oh my goodness. He could be an Ezeli-lite type of guy. Hopefully having Luke means we have a good shot at keeping Tarik around.
Possibly Luke's first act as a savior for this team and he didn't have to lift a finger yet. I like Tarik a lot, just the kind of guy you want to fill the bottom of your bench with, hated the way Scott used him. I think chances of retaining him just went from "ah hell no" to very strong.
I have said in other places, I think Black could have the same level of impact for the Warriors if he were there in place of Ezeli. It won't be the same type of impact, but equal. It's a huge reason I don't want to drop 15 million in Ezeli when we can probably retain Black for 4-5.
The difference is their size. Ezeli is 2 inches taller and has a 3 inch longer wing-span. That counts for a lot. Ezeli's max potential is probably a starter in the NBA. Tarik won't ever be there.
He'd be a really weak starting center (skill wise, not actual strength wise). And I'm not sure Ezeli is going to be better than Black. Black, when he played, single handedly turned the game around for us on a few occasions this year. And that was with him surrounded by rookies and geriatric Kobe. Boron was just an idiot. Ezeli has a decent impact, but he's surrounded by the two best shooters in the world and the best swiss army knife in the league. The Warriors are on TV a lot. Ezeli rarely played and didn't strike me as anything more than a big body. Maybe I just missed the occasions where he played lights out. It's possible since he only averaged 17 minutes a game.
They play basically the same way so the impact you saw from Tarik, the same happens from time to time with Ezeli. At times people have wondered why Bogut starts over him. The reason is because Bogut's passing opens things up for Klay and Curry, but still on occasion he's been that good. They're very similar, but Ezeli is a little better because he's just born with a little more.
