Yeah!! It's all in good fun. But true in a way. If Serena and / or Jaimie happened to be out on the floor chances are they wouldn't care but you never know. Jeanie ... I don't care. Some s*** is pretty disturbing though toward women. Know your audience. A lot about nothing I'm sure.
My dream in 3 years, at the latest, a starting line up of Russell, Clarkson, Ingram, Randle, Zubac winning a championship. Imagine a starting lineup that was completely built from within. It would be the ultimate, giant, double handed eff you to that troll David Stern and all the other crying b**** owners who helped derail the Lakers in 2011. Really would add to the dig if it were all draftees who won.
I like the enthusiasm and I predict they will be making a mark in the league in 3 years but that's over a year younger average age than the youngest starting 5 ever to win a championship ('77 blazers) so it's an ambitious dream, but a likeable one. @ an average age of 23 and a big man who will be 22 (Mitch said today he doesn't even expect Big Z to play much this season). I sort of think one more year added to that plan to see them knocking on that door. Once they get to the playoffs then they have to deal with that learning curve for a while. 4 years from now and (if still together) they will have had some playoff battles together. A superstar pickup along the way could help things along of course, but I kind of think we'll see them running with this crew (the youth that is) for a while. Look at the contracts they gave out this summer. 4 years to guys north of prime. Those won't be easy to move when they're 35+ years old so the FO is not expecting to do much with them as far as assets during that period meaning they are content to ride this horse as is (and try to reel in a star FA next summer with some creative moves they can make).
Mitch needs his eyes checked if he doesn't expect Zu to play much this year or he's sandbagging expectations or dagger to my stomach he's lost it.
the guy refused to be stashed in Europe, he'll get a bit of time but looks like he needs to dominate in the Dleague
I stand corrected then... but I have a hard time imagining a rotation where either Black or Mozgov do not share most of the minutes at center. Not to mention times when those guys are not on the floor at all, when Luke deploys a small ball line up.
The only reason I can imagine Zubac wouldn't get at least a short run in the D league is if he is actually getting some PT with the team. The D league is perfect for guys his age to get the floor time they need. So Mitch's comments about not playing him much don't make much sense. tbh though I like Mitch, I can not stand listening to him get interviewed. He completely tunes out and gives stock answers so he may not have even been thinking or was thinking he is taking pressure of the kid by saying that.
I think he'll bounce between both leagues the way Clarkson did. It definitely help him developer quicker getting minutes in the D-league then the spare 5-10 minutes in the NBA.
More than scrimmaging hard against established Pro big men his own size and learning from Luke and this staff day in and day out? Not saying he'll "never" see any minutes in the D league but then again I also expect him with his NBA ready body for at least coming off the bench and his wide range of skills and coordination that are very apparent, to surprise with the number of minutes he gets as the season moves along.
it'a important to get actual game time, but in Zu's case I think it's better to be with the team than to run with the chuckers in the DLeague
I think Mozgov will benefit from banging against him every day, and so will Zubac. If Mozgov is injured a few games, and that is likely to happen, he may very well get heavy minutes for a stretch. Having in the groove with the team will be a big deal. While I don't deny PT is important, it will be interesting to see who the odd man out is. Even a third center gets irregular minutes. Someone isn't getting any. Can he outplay Yi and Black at 19 years of age? If so, he better get some burn.
i think it's a tall order for a 19 year old to outplay black and yi. not that either of those is some world-beater, but both have played pro ball for a while and know what it takes to be (moderately) successful.
Zubac will play. Mozgov will miss at least 20 games to injury. Not trying to jinx the dude, but he's a little injury prone over the last couple years.
If he's not going to get playing time in actual games, maybe some reps in the D league will do him some good. Different looks against different players and in an actual game scenario as oppose to practice.
He is goofy and says funny things Metta, but man he lit up several days ago saying Zubac when one of the Lakers beat people asked him who had impressed him most so far out of the bigs. And then said he was the most over all skilled of the bunch. Since he is certainly big enough and a beast with his center of gravity down low, tree stumps for legs and footwork sealing guys off already and moving them ..... I just don't think it's possible he doesn't play valuable minutes. This isn't Scott or even Phil loathe to play young guys. He's been playing against full grown men, sure not the same quality but still mean and strong, over in Europe at 18 years and younger.
