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TreyMachine

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Posts posted by TreyMachine


  1. Smart would no doubt be a top 3 pick this year. Next year he's probably going to fall out of the lottery. Makes no sense.

     

    I think while the money is there for him and his draft stock will clearly never be higher, there is something to be said about:

    A. The kid's integrity to see through a commitment (perhaps to his teammates that he wasn't leaving on that 1st round embarrassment)

    B. The kid's level-headed ability to not make money his main priority.

    C. The kid's appreciation for collegiate life and truly maturing in a special atmosphere in college hoops. He could get hurt, sure, but even if he drops out of the lottery (which is doubtful), he'll still be making decent money and a body and game that will always be wanted in the NBA. At the end of the day, you sometimes can't put a price on your college years.

     

     

    I don't like the decision, but I'll respect it for the spotlight it brings to his character and values. Wishing even more now we had a chance to draft this kid.


  2. Time to trade our pick to either dallas, washington, phoenix, minn or cleveland for their 2014 first.

     

    Burke, Noel, McLemore, and Oladipo are still better than (or at least even with) late lottery picks for next season. There's no reason to trade them unless we're sure a team will be in the upper half of the lottery.


  3. Eh neither can Kevin Love. And Vucci's numbers this year are very close to Kevin Love's numbers in his second year. They also have very similar games to each other. Minus the three point shooting.

     

    I don't know. Did you see Vuc in the Rookie/Sophomore game go 2/3 from 3-point range? Wouldn't be surprised if he begins to incorporate that into his game if called upon.


  4. He has done an amazing job cleaning up the mess Otis left for him but I still want another year to see how this draft goes and if the talent he brought in can start putting up some wins instead of looking good in close losses.

     

    That being said you can probably pre stencil his name on the Exec of the Year for the 2014-15 season when all these moves should really pay dividends.

     

    Agreed. Most of the decisions are unfortunately based on win totals. However, should we have a quick turnaround this year or 2 years from now, he will easily be in high contention for the award, especially in light of the Lakers no doubtedly beginning to plummet from the rankings with Kobe's retirement and no one else wanting to play with Dwight.


  5. Finally we get win number 20! Hoping this game gives Lamb some confidence to finish the season out, great to see him finally getting some nice shots in.

     

    Lamb finally looked comfortable. I hope this is the game that gets the monkey off of his back. JV I'm sure has been pouring into him to just be himself. SVG would have never gone for such tactics, giving him ample time to prove himself on the court even when he was playing terribly.


  6. Pretty sure Tobias isn't a rookie but I could be wrong. I think Harkless has a ridiculously high ceiling and Tobias can become a very good player in the NBA. Vucevic could be a 16 to 17 PPG guy if he develops some moves on the block.

     

    See, I think Tobias has a ridiculously high ceiling and Moe could become a great player, but will become only a great team cog. Tobias has the natural knack for becoming a go-to-scorer in this league. Couple that with his athleticism, motor, and improved defense and he's a guy who could wreak havoc on both ends of the floor.

     

    Moe to me does not have the natural shot mechanics that Tobias does. While he has the athleticism to be an elite scorer, I don't see him smoothly making a cross over and pulling up for a 20 fter naturally. I think he'll end up being a better version of Trevor Ariza. We were all hoping Ariza would become the next T-Mac, but he just wasn't the natural scorer that TMac was despite all the incredible athleticism. Ariza has clearly carved himself a nitch in the NBA as a supplement scorer/slasher and lock-down defender, and I see Moe becoming the same.


  7. If we could get him for 3 mil or less. I would take him for an energy guy off the bench. I am not saying to brake the bank on any player in free agency this year. I want to save the money for a young core player like vooch and Tobe.

     

    I agree. I don't want to pay any player more than $4 or $5 mil this year simply because I want to be able to pay Vuc, Harris, and Moe when their contracts come off the books in 2015. The whole model we run now is a sustainability model, which involves not giving anyone more than their worth (Otis). If anything though, should we sign a big-time free agent in 2014, we'll end up trading away Vuc, Moe, or Harris (I hope not Harris) for a 1st round pick plus to never fully "lose" an asset.


  8. No thanks. Don't get me wrong, there were many nights I enjoyed watching JJ when the 3 point shots were going in the basket, but JJ turned the ball over too much. . .mainly when he was trapped and had nowhere to go with the ball. He and Jameer are/were notorious for doing this. And like Jameer, there were as many nights when the two could not buy a basket. . . throwing up brick after brick.

     

    I see a lot of potential in the young players we have. And, oh. . .I'm so sick and tired of Jameer.

     

    When you are building on the future, you don't look back

     

    I don't know if we were watching the same player? In his last year, JJ was one of the best at keeping the turnovers low and the ball moving. He's not a star, but he's EXACTLY what you want in a role player. Good decisions. Hard defense. Finds the open man and makes open shots.

     

    He clearly isn't joining us next year, but I wouldn't mind him coming back on as a 1st or 2nd guy off the bench after his deal is up in 3 to 4 years. Knowing his conditioning and motor, he'll still be in a great shape for 20-30+ minutes at the age of 33.


  9. Harris is making a late month push with a career high 29 against Charlotte points followed by a career high 30 against Washington Not just clutch in game; clutch in month.

     

    Tobias has the offense to be a go-to scorer already. His defense and IQ are also getting a good jolt. Give him 3 years of experience and he'll be an All-Star.


  10. Oladipo is still in my top 3 after yesterdays game but I'm certainly not sold on him being a star of any kind. He's going to be a solid starter who can guard 3 positions, make an open 3 and get some points in transition. If he had any Jordan or Wade in him I imagine he'd have taken more than 6 shots against Syracuse while his team was getting killed.

     

    Smart doesn't have the athleticism I agree but I think a Harden comparison is about right (in terms of athleticism). Harden is not an elite athlete by any standard.

     

    5-6 from the field is extremely efficient. I will agree with you that he should have shot more. My question is whether he has the same mentality that plagued LeBron when he originally came into the league - a guy who could be dominant but tended to trust his teammates more than he should.

     

    There is a guy I know who has elite athleticism when playing basketball, but doesn't want to be seen as a ball hog and instead emphasizes getting good shots, even if not from him. Sometimes it feels like he needs to be given the green light from teammates to take over. I wonder if that is the same with Oladipo?


  11. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1563358-marcus-smart-nba-draft-2013-pro-player-comparison

     

    I was also comparing smart to M. Westbrook.

    Smart is bigger, stronger, and a better leader, but westbrook is much faster and explosive.

    I think smart will become a better passer than westbrook; mostly because he is a lot less selfish.

     

    I cant wait to see how we select this year.

     

    See, while their numbers may be similar, I think Westbrook and Smart are COMPLETELY different players. One is an explosive, head-strong ball-hog. The other is a slower power player with unselfish intangibles.

     

    While I love Smart, he's no Westbrook. I've even seen comparisons to James Harden (link). The reason Westbrook and Harden dominate is because they're both very explosive, Westbrook more than Harden. I don't see that explosiveness at all in Smart.

     

    Smart has a high basketball IQ and has a great motor & leadership intangibles. He works harder than anyone else apparently. Nonetheless, dominant PG's in the NBA have to be extremely athletic these days (Wall, Rose, Rondo, Westbrook, Paul, etc).

     

    The closest comparison I'm giving him is Deron Williams right now, but even then he seems to be a step below Deron in athleticism (though not as much of a head case).

     

    Marcus Smart will be a great player, and maybe even a fringe All-Star who can orchestrate a very efficient offense - but mark my words, I am really sold that Victor Oladipo will be something special in this league. The guy is ultra-athletic and makes leaps and bounds each year with how much better he gets, equally the gym-rat that Marcus Smart is.

     

    While I won't endorse the comparisons to Wade or MJ, if you watch video tape of both, you'll see that both were great finishers and incredible defenders who adequate jump shots while in College. No one saw MJ or Wade becoming as good as they were in the pros, but their motor made it so. Oladipo and Smart both have that motor, but Oladipo has the athleticism to become something really special.


  12. I think if we had won, or if Dwight had played terribly, or had had a poor attitude, it wouldn't have been closure.

     

    That being said, for all the flubs of Dwight, I think he actually did really well for himself with this game, embracing both the media and the environment. Sure he was probably slight hurt on the inside, but his jovial attitude in booing with the crowd has he came out signified that he was going to take everything in stride.

     

    While I still think that he is ultimately out for himself and sold us out, I think he has grown up a bit, and I can say with our bright future ahead (and hopefully we don't get stuck in mediocrity), that I think I can lay this one to rest.

     

    On another note, does anyone have any guesses on what the heck Dwight and Jameer said to each other after the game?


  13. Things that will happen:

    - Dwight will shoot 20+ Free Throws via hack-a-howard, and will make less than 40%.

    - Kobe will score 25+ but on < 40% shooting b/c of Moe Harkless's D.

    - Jameer will score 25+ points with 8+ Assists and a monster 4th quarter if the magic win.

    - Dwight will run into the locker room at some point before the game nonchalantly (during warmups), because he needs to take a breather, hit a few things, and shed a tear because he's being boo'ed so hard and can't take it.

    - Dwight's Hand shake - won't shake anyone's hands before the game; Lose - will walk out without speaking to anyone; Win - will try to come over and shake hands but will only get Vuc and JV at best.

    - Moe/Tobias at some point will posterize Dwight.

    - Jameer at some point will drive to the basket and get hammered by Dwight. Someone (Afflalo my guess) will come to Jameer's defense and get in Dwight's face or nothing will come of it and the crowd will immediately intensify the hatred for Dwight.

    - Dwight won't answer media questions if they lose.

     

    Overall, Magic win or Lakers win by a blowout.

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