WMC 24-25: Seasonal Highs And Lows!

I think the lines between reporting and opinion do get blurred sometimes. Especially on Twitter where the platform pretty much rewards got takes. I think these guys, or at least the good ones, expound on their thoughts in their podcasts. And yeah, totally get that everyone isn’t going to invest their time in listening to all these podcasts.

 

I don’t think there’s a magic move. I do think there are a series of moves over the next few years that can stabilize the roster and put us in a position to at least be in contention. There’s things like injuries that can’t be controlled but by gathering a solid group of role players that fit, we can at least have a sound overall roster that fits what Ham wants to do. That’s going to take several moves to accomplish though.

 

i've outlined moves i think we can make (without giving up future 1sts) that can set us up to be quasi-contenders IF lebron and AD are healthy. but even with moving our future picks, there's not a move or combination of moves that could make us a favorite, imo. all of the top four teams in the east (mil, boston, bkn, philly) would still be better, as would cleveland, denver, the clips, and phx.

this is part of why i just can't get behind any trade that involves giving up a future pick. and with lebron and AD not being able to stay upright for more than a few weeks at a time, i actually completely understand trying to get under the tax line for a year or two. kenny rogers said to know when to fold 'em.

 

i think the appeal was his youth. especially on a team with so many old guys last season. he was pretty good at finishing at the rim but that's about it. for every good game he'd have 5 stinkers

i am surprised he's been so bad in utah. expected him to have a breakout season

 

yeah, i expected him to put up bigger numbers on a terrible utah team, but they had other plans. i figured clarkson and conley would be playing elsewhere, opening up minutes for THT as a ballhandler. if he's not used that way on offense, he's just not useful right now. his three point shot hasn't progressed, and he hasn't committed himself to becoming a serious defender--which i think is possible given his body type and frame.

despite how bad bev has been, we probably came out on top in that one in that we aren't on the hook for his salary next year. first time we dumped a promising young player and haven't been burned in a while!

 

There's still time. He'll probably pick up his player option and therefore be playing for a new one next season, if he still stinks, then yea I would say the THT experiment is over and he'll be relegated to a 10-15 man, g-league, or overseas for the remainder of his career.

 

Why doesn’t Brown Jr. get more burn?
Is it because he’s too tall and not a guard?

 

Cranjis believes Brown has shown signs of not knowing the playbook.

I’ve definitely noticed at least a few times he’s been in the wrong spot resulting in some confusion with his teammates and ruined spacing

 

Okay great, but where’s the accountability for Russ on defense???

 

Well you beat me on that one, I guess accountability is only for the lowly peasants on minimum contracts, not the sensitive superstars

 

christie and walker get held to account, too. accountability is for younger players. i guess ham feels like the old guys won't learn from being benched for dereliction of duty.

 

Ham will lose the locker room if he has two different sets of standards for young players and for Russ and Bev

 

Some of the lineup and rotation decisions are head scratching. Is Ham, maybe, just not good?

 

i think he views "the locker room" as lebron/AD/russ/bev, basically corresponding to age and salary. he's probably not entirely wrong in some ways. all the more reason for management to step in and remove a choice or two there.

 

He’s already lost them on the defensive end. This team started out strong for the first few weeks, but now allows layup drills. I know that AD being out greatly affects our defense, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the guys(not all) can slack off.

 

I mean remember when the Lakers lost both AD and Bron in 2021 and the Lakers were still a top defense in the L?

Vogel was better than we thought...smh

 

Yeah for all that pumping up of Ham as a defensive coach, I’m pretty sure with these younger and more athletic guys Vogel would have done much better.

 

vogel would have played bigger and focused only on defense. but that would also rest on him getting russ to the bench, which wasn't happening with his contract status.

oh wait, i forgot, contract status means nothing when you have to make difficult decisions...