Around the League: Week 2 10/25-10/31

[ShelC]

[Split T]

I’m making my personal top 75 current players list, I think there’s a big group of younger stars sitting 15-24, here’s how I ranked them based solely on how good I think they are right now(assuming healthy):
15. Zion
16. Mitchell
17. Booker
18. Tatum
19. Ja
20. Trae
21. Beal
22. KAT
23. SGA
24. LaVine

Who from that group is most likely to make the jump into the next tier? I see these all as tier 2 guys.
Anyone just outside this group that should be in? (Brown, Ingram, Bam, Middleton, Randle)

I think Zion is closest to bursting through to tier 1, health permitting. Followed by Tatum and Ja. Also think I might have the wrong guards at the top. Trae and Ja might need to switch places with Booker and Mitchell. Don’t want to overreact to a massive 5 game sample from Ja, but he seems to have made the leap.

Thoughts?

[Indy]

I just couldn't "assume health" for Zion yet. That asterisk alone would move him down to the middle of that pack for me. But Ja does seem to have figured it out. Part of that might be lower expectations in often forgotten Memphis.

[Split T]

Ya that’s fair. Because of the health I’d take Ja over Zion if I’m starting a team, but Zion was such a force last year when healthy. He’s got a ceiling that not many other guys have. I’m curious to see how he plays this year.

[In2ition]

Trae has struggled so far this yr, but it's really early. KAT has played really well to start off the yr, but again, it's early. I think Zion should be below those guys and Ja should be much higher.

[Split T]

I’ve moved Ja up to 16…Right behind Zion. I think this leap he’s showing is real.

I understand the Zion concerns..but I think he was clearly the best of this group last year and I don’t want to drop him before I see him play.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Keep an eye on the Cavs @ Lakers tonight. It's the first of the Cavs back-to-back with them traveling to Phoenix to play the Suns tomorrow. Their starting lineup is a bit weird with Lauri Markkanen at small forward. Evan Mobley has also been really good for a rookie in his first month.

[Superbone]

Keep an eye on the Cavs @ Lakers tonight. It's the first of the Cavs back-to-back with them traveling to Phoenix to play the Suns tomorrow. Their starting lineup is a bit weird with Lauri Markkanen at small forward. Evan Mobley has also been really good for a rookie in his first month.

Thanks. Gives me some basketball to watch tonight. Been jonesing for more after our frustrating start and long times between games.

[Flagrant Fowl]

Keep an eye on the Cavs @ Lakers tonight. It's the first of the Cavs back-to-back with them traveling to Phoenix to play the Suns tomorrow. Their starting lineup is a bit weird with Lauri Markkanen at small forward. Evan Mobley has also been really good for a rookie in his first month.

Thanks. Gives me some basketball to watch tonight. Been jonesing for more after our frustrating start and long times between games.

Charlotte @ Miami will be a more entertaining game to watch, but that game doesn't really have any connection to the Suns. I'll probably watch most of both.

[Superbone]

Keep an eye on the Cavs @ Lakers tonight. It's the first of the Cavs back-to-back with them traveling to Phoenix to play the Suns tomorrow. Their starting lineup is a bit weird with Lauri Markkanen at small forward. Evan Mobley has also been really good for a rookie in his first month.

Thanks. Gives me some basketball to watch tonight. Been jonesing for more after our frustrating start and long times between games.

Charlotte @ Miami will be a more entertaining game to watch, but that game doesn't really have any connection to the Suns. I'll probably watch most of both.

Sounds good. I really dig the Charlotte play-by-play guy. Brings a lot of excitement.

ETA: Just set up a recording. Turns out this game is on ESPN so we'll get their announcers. Oh, well. Also set up Nuggets/Mavs as that should be a good one as well although I haven't heard the results of the Jokic injury the other day when he banged knees with Gobert.

[Flagrant Fowl]

MIA/CHA hasn't been entertaining in the way I thought it would be, but it's hard to not be impressed with the Heat's defensive performance.

[Drewsprocket]

We really missed out on not re-signing Craig.

[specialsauce]

Yes

[Superbone]

We really missed out on not re-signing Craig.

Makes you wonder why. He seemed to like playing here. Did we lowball him?

[Drewsprocket]

We really missed out on not re-signing Craig.

Makes you wonder why. He seemed to like playing here. Did we lowball him?

He’s worth 6-8 million easy.

[Indy]

We really missed out on not re-signing Craig.

Makes you wonder why. He seemed to like playing here. Did we lowball him?

He’s worth 6-8 million easy.

We didn't have enough cap space to sign him to anything but a vet min or the rest of the MLE (~4.5M) right? We didn't have bird right or anything. But he signed for 5M. Wonder if that half million was the difference.

[Split T]

I do wonder if that other half of the MLE was set aside for him. He got 2 years with Indy, maybe that was the difference? I think we essentially could have given him the same deal as Indy did but I’m guessing we probably didn’t offer year 2. He’s only made $5 million in his career, so $10 million guaranteed was probably too much to pass up.

[Mori Chu]

I thought we essentially gave his money to JaVale. Wish we could have kept Craig, but I wouldn't have broken the bank for him.

[ShelC]

I'll take a shot at this but rankings always frustrate me because there are so many variables. Position, team situation, role/responsibilities...it's hard to gauge pound for pound talent when talking guys like Zion vs Ja. Anyways, here's how I'd rank them.

15. Trae - special generational talent at PG who can score from anywhere on the floor while getting others involved and loves the big moments
16. Beal - still underrated scoring guard with all around talent
17. Booker - Book - I look at Book and Tatum similarly, either could be ahead of the other. Both special offensive talents, put winning above everything
18. Tatum - see above
19. KAT - Tough to find his skillset in a 7fter; like some others on the list, would be regarded more highly if his teams were winning
20. Mitchell - Prob would've been higher 2-3 years ago but seems to have plateaued as a (ridiculously good) scoring guard
21. Lavine - Starting to win in Chicago, does everything offensively and is getting better as a defender. Could be higher in a year or two if on a Booker-type trajectory if the Ws come
22. Ja - Already one of the top PGs of the generation
23. Zion - Seems crazy to put him this low but when you really watch him, there's not a ton of actual skill. He's a 6-7 280lb slashing PG. Not a polished offensive player, more physically overwhelming but also isn't a dominant rebounder/defender. Health takes away a lot at the moment
24. SGA - Really really good, probably a victim of the lack of talent around him. Not a true #1 guy, but would be a difference maker on a really good team

(Brown, Ingram, Bam, Middleton, Randle)

If Randle is being included he might be 15 or 16 and push the rest down. The rest are probably 25 and lower. Ingram is intriguing but not someone I'd take over the other guys.

[ShelC]

We really missed out on not re-signing Craig.

I don't know that we expected Nader to fill the role so much as fill the minutes. Nader's just a different player. To me, Craig is a JaVale type who looks better in more limited minutes - except Craig isn't a 7-1 athletic shotblocker. So it's more like JaVale filling Craig's role with that money IMO. Craig was a luxury for us last year, but not someone I'd commit actual money to or take over JaVale given our roster needs.