lol, was about to THT you on that. it's tricky, and it's why very few teams actually nail that situation--remember chandler parsons in houston? that was an ideal situation that turned into a mess. the only way to get cheap talent these days is draft guys late in the first who are ready to make an impact right away (e.g., kuz/nance/desmond bane) or be an attractive spot for vet min ring chasing types. you want solid mid-career players, you're paying, baby. you want to try to lock up youth, you're gambling. in our case in particular, thomas bryant already has a troubling injury history, imo. you want him on the books for the mini mle for 4 years? dicey. just like THT (which i actually thought was a fine gamble given our cap situation, etc.).
THT is alright and still well worth the gamble, just not on our timeline---- say he starts hitting a groove when he is 25, well, that's the '26-'27 season, Lebron is 41-42 that season and most likely in the stands watching Bronny. AD is 34 that season and who knows but likely he is at the very end of his last deal with us or is injured and out of the league. Since he's extendable @ around 31-32 I'll guess we extend depending on health. Not looking forward to that extension. THT's use to us was now, this season and the past few and he clearly wasn't ready to contribute at the champ level
we just used stan as an unnecessary throw-in; i wouldn't put it past us to capitulate and chuck reaves in a deal if it's close and we're getting squeezed.
Reaves and Nunn for me on the trade front are no-nos and more distantly, Bryant. We should've got a longer contract for Reaves.
was asked about playing with lebron, answered, was asked about playing for the lakers/being a kobe fan, answered that. no comparisons made. except his golf game to steph curry's (superior).
does ham's offense really call for a lot of ball screens? doesn't seem like the classic version does--it requires different spacing.
I read he's working 3 sessions a day in the gym plus 2/3 basketball sessions every day from morning to night. Hyped!
His offense doesn't call for a lot of them but you can get into a pick and roll out of it really easy if you get a favorable match up. Austin has the skill set to fit seamlessly into any offense. I was glad he mentioned Steve Nash type dribbling. The way he gets a player behind him and keeps him there has reminded me of Nash. It is a huge bonus to have a guy that can play 1-3. Barring a complete turn around by Russ, Austin is our third best player in large part because he is a complete player. That is why I like Nunn and Reaves starting. They both have complete games and don't shrink in the big moments. I haven't seen either one be starstruck. Hard working fundamentally sound glue guys like Reaves, Nunn and Bryant along with the power and skill of AD and Lebron is pretty formidable. That is a strong defense with an efficient offense and can get transition buckets. Plus Reaves, Nunn and Bryant are all three going all out all the time. Lebron will be able to conserve some on defense and get us that 25-28 a game without hurting us like last season. Somewhere down the way Rob will get us another wing defender and then we will be set.
I'm not ready to annoint Austin, as some kind of rising star or something just yet. Austin Reaves is not our 3rd best player, if he was, we'd be in serious trouble. I'm not sure exactly what his role will be this season. He played pretty well last season, but there is a lot more young talent on this team than we had before. I still believe that he can be a better all around player than Caruso. This doesn't mean that he should be penciled in as a starter though. Outside of the big 3, Nunn, Dennis and Pat are going to play. I think both bigs are going to play too. Now we have Walker, (Rob has already singled out JTA and Brown, as getting a good look on the wings) Austin is going to have to step it up. Minutes are going to be tight, if he plays like a star in his role, ala Caruso, for 20 minutes a game, that would be fantastic.
Maybe.. but we didn't sign these guys just to take up space on the roster. I think Ham and our scouting department, had a big hand in settings up this roster too.
