Jake LaRavia Discussion: Lah-Rave-E-Ya!

no option, straight contract, 6 million next year. we'll have his early bird rights the year after, when i'm pretty sure we'll be operating over the salary cap. that was planned, imo. i know i'm in the minority, but i think rob and company have had some sort of plan for this summer since last summer (and it's not pursuing jokic or whatever).

anyway, we'll have a rotation player on a 6 million per contract again next year, which is great. i was disappointed when we didn't re-sign DFS, but it's looking like an absolute no-brainer at this point.

 

Show it to me again Jake!
Great game on both ends of the floor!

 

3 gringos in the starting lineup when healthy? Crazy days we’re living in.

 

He’s blasian right?

 

“Gosh darn you half Japanese girls, you do it to me every time.”

 

He very well should be. He compliments our starting lineup way better because he can defend 2-4. He also rebounds better than Rui.

 

Well, since "no losing your starting position due to injuries" is still in effect, JJ has an out to continue to be dumb.

 

I think we all know why……

 

I understand it’s because his shooting hasn’t been great, BUT when our defense has been absurdly bad, JJ should have already realized this and inserted Jake earlier. I like Rui, but I like a well balanced team even more.
I think that JJ hasn’t done a great job so far this year at balancing our defensively challenged players with ones who can play D.
I’m no coach, but some of these choices seem obvious based on the results we have seen so far this year.
Sometimes, injuries can become a blessing in disguise.

 

i still think that if lebron/reaves/luka/ayton are all starting, the fifth starter must be able to defend a ballhandler. right now, smart's probably our only option, but you'd prefer a) a quicker player and b) a better shooter.

i like jake as a 3/4 off the bench for 20-25mpg.

what this all really means is that on the current team, there's not a great rui fit. i still think (and i'm in the minority here) that rui could fit on a lebron-less roster, but it may be that we just find him a better spot, as svtzr said somewhere else.

 

I agree, a Smart/Luka/Jake/LeBron/Ayton starting lineup with Reaves, Rui, Vando and Hayes as the primary guys coming off the bench all of a sudden looks a lot more balanced.

The main arguments against bringing Reaves off the bench have been (1) he's at worst our 3rd and maybe now our 2nd best player, and you very rarely bringing guys like that off the bench and (2) this isn't something you do to a guy in a contract year. 1 remains a completely valid point, Ginobili is basically the one example. Harden did it for a little while but he got traded before he really broke out. I doubt he'd have been coming off the bench had he stayed in OKC.

But I'm not sure (2) really has to be a big deal. If the FO and Reaves' agent are on the same page in terms of what kind of deal he's going to get in the offseason, I don't think him coming off the bench really hurts his bargaining power. I don't think our FO would turn around and say we're not paying a 6th man more than like $25 million. I guess you could say coming off the bench would hurt his bargaining power because other teams might not make the same big offers, but I'm not sure that's true either. The league is obsessed with fit and versatility now, so I'm not sure Austin coming off the bench because it makes sense for our particular roster at this particular time would be a detriment in other teams' eyes.

But it's a moot point because I don't think this is happening. Austin is probably sliding right back into a starting spot as soon as he's healthy and maybe a couple of ramp-up games off the bench.

 

He's a career 36 point percent three point shooter; the quality of the looks are gong to be super high with Luka and LBJ. He's more of a 3/4, but as James says he's "sneaky athletic," and just brings a lot more of a connector vibe within the unit.

Underrated defensively, too. Hope He can keep this up. He's only making $6 million this year. He's already outplayed that this season, IMO.

 

6M next year too. Yeah all around he's just a better and more versatile player than Rui. Especially on defense, rebounding, smarts and hustle. Sucks for Rui but I think JJ has to move Jake into the starting lineup when Reaves and everyone else are back.