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Justin Jaudon

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Posts posted by Justin Jaudon

  1. Posted · Report reply

    It's not even really an argument at this point. If your goal is to win championships, tanking as hard as you can for multiple seasons doesn't work. The last team to tank their way to a championship was San Antonio. And they tanked for one season. The last team to win a championship through a philosophy of long-term tanking was... nope, never happened. Maybe Philly will get it done some day soon. If they do, they will be the only NBA team to have the process actually work, despite at least ten teams trying it every year for the last two decades. OKC got three hall of fame MVP players in three consecutive drafts and didn't get it done. There just isn't a good argument to be made for a long-term tanking strategy if you want a championship. At least, not if you have any understanding of NBA history.

    • Upvote 1

  5. Posted · Report reply

    So, obviously RJ Hampton has a ton of potential, but... I was never a huge fan. He's one of those guys who'll be a really good starter in three years or out of the league. He has things you can't teach, like speed and athleticism, but there's a reason so many teams passed on him. I guess he and Fultz will be fun on the break.

  8. Posted · Report reply

    3 hours ago, CTMagicUK said:

    I'd encourage everyone to watch Evan's post game from last night. 

    Say what you will about the guy's late-game hero-ball and bad playoff play throughout the years, he has always had the right attitude you want in a player. He's tough, dedicated, and wherever he goes (if he actually goes) I'll root for him. Unless he somehow ends up a Laker. Then f&*% that dude, lol.

  9. Posted · Report reply

    44 minutes ago, Murphy13 said:

    Much of what you sense was based solely on me providing context and balance to the overly understanding fan-club of AG over the years, to which you might be the chairman.  I always wanted him to do well and hope he will wherever he goes.  The only real issue I’ve ever had with him is that his abilities as a player never came close to his status as a superb athlete.   I’ve always liked him and see no issues with him as teammate, but he’s a role player, and despite his lackluster play, wrong side of tweener status and durability, too many people viewed him as some kind of all star.  I’m ecstatic that it seems we will get real value for him despite all this and hope he matures into a player.  Win-win!

    That I can understand. I was much harder on Elfrid Payton than I needed to be for similar reasons, I suppose. Interestingly, with AG, I might have been the most upset on the board when we drafted him. In college he didn't show any of the offensive versatility he shows now. It took a while before I saw his value as a player at all. It's really only the last couple years that I've tried to argue against trading him, mostly because I like how he fits defensively with Isaac, and when together they cover very well for Vuc's shortcomings. Not a lot of guys will fit that particular bill, able to switch onto guards and centers and recover fast enough to not blow up the defense. It's a niche skill, really, but for this team it is basically a must at the forward positions. I think that with Gordon and Isaac, a team staring Vuc at the C position can still be elite defensively. I don't think it's possible to have an elite defensive team around Vuc unless you basically replace Gordon with a guy who can do the same thing, which...isn't going to happen. So now, if we really do trade Gordon, we have to become elite offensively or move on from Vuc...and we aren't moving away from Vuc.

  10. Posted · Report reply

    I don't get how Trent Jr is an upgrade for us at all. Fournier is a better player, and may not cost much more to re-sign, considering the trade market for him. He's younger, sure, but... I don't know, maybe I'm missing the boat here. He looks like a classic 6th man to me. Getting Trent and picks for Gordon would be okay, I guess, though not a trade I'd make. But Trent and filler. Selling Gordon for way too little

  11. Posted · Report reply

    4 minutes ago, Eskobar said:

    What has AG ever done? Everything about his game is overrated and he's nearly the same player today as he was when he entered the league. What has he improved on? What has he done to warrant the never ending praise from some on this forum? Nothing, literally nothing.

    I've said it many times, AG is an energy role player off the bench, nothing more. No team playing AG and Evan big minutes will ever be a serious contender for a championship. The reason AG got minutes here is because this franchise has been abysmal since Dwight was traded and we invested a high pick in him. If he was a mid to late first round pick he would have been gone several years ago. It's the Jameis Winston effect, you draft someone high and you keep playing them to justify the pick. Eventually you realize they were never as good as you wanted them to be, and you get rid of them.

    None of this is complicated, and virtually nobody outside of Orlando looks at AG the way that you do. His shot is a joke and his defense is, and always has been, wildly overrated. He received big minutes and wants a trade because the team isn't good enough? Not only is he a below average NBA player, he's also completely oblivious, as I stated before.

    Good riddance.

    Okay, so we're going to try to justify claiming AG is not only a bust, but principally responsible for the team's failures throughout the years? Well, here goes:

     

    1-What has AG ever done? - Since becoming a full-time starter in year 3: 15-6-3 on 44%-32%-70%, so starter numbers on offense with generally considered to be valuable defense

    2-What has he improved on? - His offense, considerably. That's not opinion, that's statistics. not counting one outlier season last year: his 3-point % has gone up every year as a starter. His EFG% has gone up every year as a starter. His TS% has gone up every year as a starter. His AST% has gone up every year as a starter. His FTr has improved every year as a starter. So he's shooting more efficiently and getting to the line more. the only things he hasn't improved greatly since becoming a full-time starter are his ORB% and FT%. His TO% has generally hovered around the same as well, though this year is an outlier bad season, which can probably be attributed to having to literally play PG for a good portion of his minutes this year.

    3-What has he done to warrant the never ending praise from some on this forum? - I'm not seeing that, at all, on this forum. Some people like Aaron, some REALLY don't (like, at an irrational level; my guess is mostly UK fans salty that we didn't pick Julius Randle, but maybe I'm wrong). Most do seem to think he's a pretty good NBA player, but that's hardly never ending praise.

    4-AG is an Energy role player off the bench, nothing more. - That's literally untrue. He's started virtually every game he's played the past 4 1/2 seasons. If your contention is that he should be just a backup, a lot of GMs are rumored to disagree, considering they want to trade for him while he's making starter money.

    5-No team playing AG and Evan big minutes will ever be a serious contender for a championship. - That's certainly an opinion, but I guess we'll see. Not sure how that makes AG a bust or nothing more than an energy backup. Danny Green has multiple championships playing big minutes. Hell, so does Mario Chalmers. And plenty of good players never played on a serious championship contender. John Wall hasn't sniffed championship contention; was he a bust? Brad Beal? LaMarcus Aldridge?

    6-Virtually nobody outside of Orlando looks at AG the way you do. - Again, apparently a lot of NBA GMs see him as valuable enough to discuss trading for while making $18 million a year.

    7-His shot is a joke - again, it has improved every year except for one really bad outlier. he's shooting nearly 40% from three this year, at the second-highest attempt rate of his career. Are you just not paying attention?

    8-his defense is, and always has been, wildly overrated. - This is certainly an opinion, and except for the wildly part I get it. His numbers don't jump off a page. His value on defense comes from his ability to competently defend every position on the floor. His individual defense probably is overrated, though not wildly so (his DWS numbers are always positive, which is a good indicator that he's at least a positive defensive player). But his value defensively on a team is probably considered about where it should be.

    9-he [is] a below average NBA player - This is a scorching hot take. It seems quite a few NBA GMs disagree, considering they're trying to trade for him while he's making good starter money. Statistically, his career PER is 15.4 which is...above average.

    As to the notion that he's a bust... that's a laughably hot take. Not only is a better player than at least one and probably two of the three players drafted ahead of him, he's a better player than all but three guys drafted in the top ten, maybe only two, depending on how you value Wiggins. So if we consider Wiggins better than him, Wiggins, Embiid, and Randle are better players, making him the 4th best player drafted top ten... hm, where was he drafted? How 'bout we compare him to other #4 picks in the last ten years. Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, Cody Zeller, Kristaps Porzingis, Dragan Bender, Josh Jackson, Jaren Jackson Jr, DeAndre Hunter, and Patrick Williams. Yeah, he's certainly been better than Waiters, Zeller, Bender, and Jackson (though Cody is underrated). Thompson I'd say is a wash with Gordon at best. Hunter and Williams seem good so far, but we'll see. Porzingis is so injury prone I think I'd rather have Aaron. so Jaren Jackson Jr is the only guy I'm sure I'd rather have than Aaron Gordon long term. Aaron sure doesn't look like a bust in that company.

    As to him being principally responsible for the teams failures over the years... well, he was a starter on two playoff teams in Orlando, and they looked pretty good this year until half the roster went down with injuries. Are you suggesting that without Aaron Gordon Orlando would have been contending for championships over the last few years? That Aaron Gordon somehow sabotaged Fultz and Isaac so they would blow out their knees?

  12. Posted · Report reply

    6 hours ago, Eskobar said:

    AG, a bust since the beginning, blaming others for the state of the team makes me laugh. He's one of the primary reasons the team has been awful for so long and the day he gets traded is the day this franchise gets better, regardless of what the return is.

    So long, oblivious loser.

    I'm going to assume you were a bit drunk when you posted this.

  13. Posted · Report reply

    3 hours ago, Murphy13 said:

    If any of that was true he wouldn’t be on the trading block, but here we are.

    Yes, we are all aware that you don't think AG is a good player. Apparently, a lot of GMs disagree, since he's got so many teams looking to trade for him. Exactly how those teams value him will be seen when we actually trade him.

    Of the things I said, some was opinion, some was fact, and some was simply what I would do in this situation. For the record, of the claims I made about Gordon himself: 1 - Gordon is indeed under contract through next year (that's just true, no ifs ands or buts); 2 - I have certainly never heard anything negative about his locker room presence, but if you have you're welcome to clarify how that part isn't true; 3 - Gordon being one of the most versatile players in the league is not really a hot take, considering the things he's done at an acceptable level since arriving in Orlando (defensive stopper and rebounder early on, then a decent third option offensively, then a sometimes point-forward, full-time defensive stopper), but you're welcome to disagree; 4 - he's shown this year he can be a better shooter and handle playing SF without dribbling the air out of the ball like he did when we tried him there years ago, so I'm not sure why he couldn't play with Isaac, especially since it worked well enough before he was shooting this well; 5 - he's been on the trading block basically since the current management got here, and there have been rumors every year that multiple teams want him, so why would next year be different?

    It's fine if you disagree with the crux of what I was saying, that we shouldn't trade Aaron Gordon for just a good 6th man. That's an opinion, and you're welcome to your own. Again, you've clearly had a negative opinion of Gordon since we drafted him, and you've been plenty vocal about it. That's fine. The Dude abides, and all that. But your comment seems to imply that the reasoning behind my opinion is not just bad opinion, but untrue. Again, at least one point isn't up for debate. The rest could still all be true and Gordon could still be on the trading block. Indeed, at least a good portion of that being true is probably why so many teams are interested. I didn't say he was an All-Star, or anything like that.

    Your comment just reads like petty sniping at Gordon (and by extension me, for valuing him more than a good 6th man), but that's nothing new. I guess one good thing about Gordon leaving will be not having to read these types of bizarre comments whenever Gordon is discussed on here.

    • Upvote 2

  14. Posted · Report reply

    54 minutes ago, Jason Funderburker said:

    The latter two are more for salary matching purposes than adding value, but there is some upside in Collins if healthy. But yeah, I like Trent - a long, decently athletic, sweet shooting wing who has improved his game every year in the league. I would probably prefer a pick to Jones, especially since Portland is super unlikely to bring Trent back. But as far as adding actual talent with upside to the roster, this is about the best possible deal out there

    If all you can get for Aaron is a good 6th man, you can't trade him. He's under contract, I seriously doubt he's a problem in the locker room, and he's one of the most versatile players in the league. The Idea that he and Isaac aren't compatible has to be put to bed at this point. If Trent Jr. is all you can get, keep him and hope you can make him happy next year. If he's still asking for a trade, next year's deadline is likely to bring just as many suitors if not more. No rush.

  15. Posted · Report reply

    11 minutes ago, Jason Funderburker said:

    Robbins finally proposes a good trade in one of his Athletic articles: AG to Portland for Trent, Jones, and Collins. And the Portland beat guy says he thinks they would accept in a heartbeat 

    get that done ASAP imo

    I don't get this much love for Trent Jr. honestly. Jones and Collins are not particularly valuable pieces. Collins is injury prone and Jones is... fine, I guess, though he's getting paid twice what he should. So you REALLY like Gary Trent Jr. which I don't understand. He's basically a younger, less athletic version of Ross. So...trade AG to Portland for two okay backups and a really good backup. I mean, it's not the worst trade idea, I guess...

  16. Posted · Report reply

    48 minutes ago, All Eyes On Me said:

     

    I'm going to say something I never thought I would. I'm fine with re-signing Fournier if it's at the right price. At this point, it's clear we're trading Gordon. I wouldn't do it that way, but the writing has been on the wall for a while. That makes Fournier affordable at the right price, so long as we don't take any real long-term salary back for Gordon. If Fournier can be had for 18 a year, I don't see any other guys who can give you his production at that price. And this team is going to need scoring, badly. Look at the guy's numbers. He has, much like his buddy Vucevic two years ago, built himself into a really solid starter. He's not a horrendous defender (usually, as long as you don't try to play him at SF), and statistically he's as good as Vuc was two years ago at the same age. In this scenario, I'm obviously still praying for Cade in the draft. He can play point forward and Isaac can move to his natural PF, we can run a lineup of Fultz/Fournier/Cade/Isaac/Vuc. That's a very competitive group when healthy.

     

    Is keeping Fournier long-term my first choice? No. But the last couple years he's earned a bit more love. AT THE RIGHT PRICE. And if he figures the playoff thing out like Vuc apparently did...

  17. Posted · Report reply

    5 hours ago, matthi32 said:

    I think we should try to get a deal with the Warriors. Something like Vuc and Fournier (or Ross) for Wiseman, Wiggins and the MIN-Pick (https://tradenba.com/trades/xZzY9Vkc_). This trade would help the Warriors to win now and we get some nice assets for the future.

    The interesting thing about this scenario is that I would probably do this if I were Golden State, but they won't. I don't think they would do it even without the Min-pick thrown in. It's a philosophy thing. I don't think they're willing to deal future assets for win-now moves. Foolish, yes, considering the likelihood that they are immediately championship competitive with Vuc/Fournier. Literally, I think a lineup of Curry/Fournier/Oubre/Draymond/Vuc with the still very solid bench they would have could win it all this year. Not a sure thing, but I think their chances would be as good as anyone else's. But I don't think Golden State is really thinking championship anymore. Curry/Klay/Draymond has three championships. The money will keep coming in from fans so long as those guys are there and they're in the playoffs. They're just looking to maintain the fan-base beyond the next few years by having new young assets to market after Curry/Klay/Draymond. Which makes financial sense, especially considering Covid protocols and fallout are likely to have major effects on fans in the stadium for the next year at least.

    Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe GS management is more competitive than that. But I sincerely doubt GS makes any moves away from Wiseman or the Min pick for anything short of Brad Beal. And I'm not sure they'd do even that.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    Hasn't been much positive to say about this season outside of Vuc. But if Aaron Gordon is going to be a 36%+ guy from 3... I don't think you can trade him for anything short of an all-star level talent. I'm actually starting to think the best thing for Orlando this week will be if we trade Fournier and Ross for younger, cheaper options. Money-wise, it's a stupid move not to trade Fournier, because you can't really re-sign him unless you trade Gordon and Ross.

     

    So trade Fournier for an overpaid expiring vet and either a pick or a young guy (something like Danny Green and a pick), because that's all you're getting out of him. Helps the tank this year and you don't lose him for nothing. Trade Ross for similar (you don't have to trade Ross, but I would). If Vuc has a couple more years left with this level of crazy production, you keep him and try to be competitive once these young guys get healthy. Imagine going forward with Fultz, Cade, Gordon, Isaac, Vuc... Even if Fultz doesn't come back strong, you can usually get a decent veteran guard to run next to Cade for Seth Curry type money until Fultz or Anthony take the spot. Even if you don't get Cade, so long as Fultz or Anthony develop, you are in a better situation than just rebooting the whole thing...

     

    Because what are you going to get for a full reset? No one is trading top picks for Vuc, because no one who wants Vuc is going to have top picks to trade. I get the trade Vuc thought. Reset, start young, yadayada. It's not the worst idea. But I think if Gordan and Vuc are this version of themselves going forward, and if Fultz and Isaac return at full strength, and you add a top five pick from this lost year, the team's already in great shape to build something special. Yes, that's a lot of IFs. But we've seen so far that tanking long-term is a massive amount of IFs. And you already have as good a shot as you're going to get this coming draft at lucking into a generational talent. So IF you get Cade, this way he's not developing on some dumpster fire of a rebuilding roster, but on an already solid team.

     

    Oh, and for the love of God, trade Birch. Save Clifford from himself, just trade Birch and let Bamba play. It cannot possibly hurt the team. If he's garbage, that's great. More tank. If he's good, he's not going to be getting enough minutes to save the team from the tank. But seriously, trade Birch.

  20. Posted · Report reply

    6 hours ago, LaVar said:

    I lost a lot of respect for Labron after his attitude after the magic bet him in 2009. He just cries too much for me. Another example was with his words after he losing the MVP this year. He just cries too much.   

    Pretty much this. Every time I find myself respecting 'Bron's game and how dominant he can be, it doesn't take long to get turned off by his victim mentality on and off the court. He cries to the refs more than any player I've ever watched. He has complained pretty much his entire career since "The Decision" that some people dare to dislike some of the career choices he's made. He's made a career out of throwing his teammates under the bus. Now he's complaining about not getting MVP over a guy who put up (certainly arguably) better numbers on a team that won more games in the regular season, without anyone in Anthony Davis' league backing him up. This is a man who's been virtually worshiped since he was 14 years old, and he's now 35 complaining that people aren't worshiping him enough.

  21. Posted · Report reply

    3 hours ago, Luke_FfS said:

    Seem to remember that someone dreamed about him in Orlando...

    Now we only need to fire Clifford. Simple as that! :D

    I've wanted Billy Donovan in Orlando for a while, have been vocal about it. I doubt they'll fire Clifford yet, though. Maybe after another year. Hopefully Billy D takes the season off. I doubt it, but...

  22. Posted · Report reply

    I've been saying for years that Fournier is a prototype sixth man. He's decent enough on defense, and good enough to punish a second unit. And occasionally he'll just go off. But a top-three scoring option needs to be reliable. Fournier is not reliable. He's the kind of guy who can go crazy for a few weeks when he's feeling it, but then drop off a cliff whenever a team game-plan's for him. He just needed to be a decent second option in this last series. Vuc was sucking up a ton of attention, and Fournier had a great opportunity to show up. But he couldn't. He needs to be a sixth man on a good team.

    Crazy thing is I generally like the guy. He's a good basketball player, and he seems like a good teammate. He just isn't what we need him to be.

    • Like 1

  23. Posted · Report reply

    12 minutes ago, Soul Bro said:

    Afernee1, that's three strikes... in less than a week... the latest being inappropriate language and name calling. Consequently, you will no longer be able to post here. All the best.

    Damn it, Soul. I know you gotta do what you gotta do, but I hate to see people who clearly are big fans booted because they can't be mature. Makes me sad. Oh well, I tried.

    • Upvote 1

  24. Posted · Report reply

    6 minutes ago, Anfernee1 said:

    I am a girl dumbass

    People calling for you to be banned, you immediately start name-calling. Don't get me wrong, I understand the angry response; it's just... maybe take the fact that people want you banned as a call to review how you come off to the other posters on the board, not double down on the same kind of heated response that has people irritated in the first place.

  25. Posted · Report reply

    The whole 'Luka should have been the #1 pick' thing is weird to me. A lot of guys on here didn't want Luka and were happy when the Mavericks blew that up. A couple people wanted Trey Young - and he is much better than most of us thought he could be. Deandre Ayton looks to be a very good player, probably a future All-Star. There was basically no chance he wouldn't be that guy. Without the benefit of hindsight, Ayton was a good pick, and he is working out so far. It's kinda like saying Denver and Toronto were stupid for drafting Carmello and Bosh over Wade, because Wade was an All-time great and those other two were just perennial All-Stars. It's very much like '84, as someone said; but nobody thinks Houston regrets drafting Hakeem. Houston made the right call, and they got an All-time great Center out of it. They just didn't get the GOAT. But nobody thought Michael would be the GOAT. The Blazers are the ones who screwed up. Bowie was a solid player before he got hurt, but Jordan clearly should have been the #2 pick. Jordan and Clyde could totally have been just as good as Jordan and Pippen, and probably faster. Phoenix won't be kicking themselves for not drafting Luka. At least, they shouldn't be. They picked a good player. The Kings, like the Blazers, should be kicking themselves forever, though. But no one was thinking Luka at #1 on draft night. People thought maybe Ayton wasn't the guy, I don't remember anyone suggesting Luka at #1.

    • Upvote 1
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