Around the League: The Offseason

[carey]

https://twitter.com/MarcJSpearsESPN/status/861611215314931712 Nene out for the rest of the P.O.'s.

[Superbone]

Nene out for the rest of the P.O.'s.

That's too bad. Nene was an integral part of the team.

[carey]

Ramona w/ a new column on Lonzo and LaVar Ball: http://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/ ... -attention

"If he gets drafted by the Lakers [who have a 47 percent chance of landing a top-three pick in the NBA lottery]," Vaccaro says, "that is a perfect setup. If you take one thing from what I said, remember this: The Lakers are the salvation for him, and he's the salvation for the Lakers."

LaVar is way ahead of him. "Oh, he's going to be a Laker," he says. "I'm going to keep talking about it until it happens."

[TOO]

Saw LaVar be more honest when he was talking to Cowherd, IIRC he said he absolutely wants Lonzo to stay in LA and will try to talk it into happening, but Lonzo will play anywhere. I'm just paraphrasing there btw.

[ShelC]

That's why I hesitate to take him. Even if we were to draft him, I think the clock would be ticking.

[carey]

https://twitter.com/careystephen/status/864193789581295617

[Wally_West]

Another thing about LaVar is he will probably talk shit about the franchise every chance he gets and take shots at Booker because only Lonzo can be the star. I can imagine all the stupid headlines now:

"Lonzo is the best player the Suns ever had already" - LaVar on draft night.

"Suns have too many white guys"

"Lonzo is better shooter than Booker"

"Lonzo is the face of the franchise! Not Devin!"

"Lonzo has a bigger dick than Devin, I've seents it."

"Lonzo can't wait to be a Laker"

"Breath of the wild is overrated"

Ugh.

[Wally_West]

https://twitter.com/careystephen/status/864193789581295617

[In2ition]

The worry and hand wringing about Lavar is funny to me.

[O_Gardino]

The worry and hand wringing about Lavar is funny to me.

I tend to agree. I would worry more if I thought Lavar was a savvy businessman. He's not. He can talk a lot of shit, but I don't think he can actually influence an NBA franchise. The one thing he can do, is he can influence Lonzo's decision for who to hire as an agent. I do think Lonzo wants to stay in LA, but I also think he will build a life of his own pretty quickly once he gets to the league - especially if he is in a town with a small spotlight. If you can bring him in, surround him with good people, and start winning, I think you keep him.

Either way, I think his dad disappears pretty quickly. Lavar is just a sensation story for ESPN, and they are going to get bored with him soon enough.

[3rdside]

Here's a stat that blew me away a bit ..



Between him and Paul, is it fair to say they've underachieved?


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[Cap]

Here's a stat that blew me away a bit ..



Between him and Paul, is it fair to say they've underachieved?

Elgin too. No rings. Loser!

[Mori Chu]

Blake is on an impressive list, but as he continues to play out the rest of his post-prime career, those numbers may dip. It's much more impressive to have career numbers like that at the end of your career (after you have presumably had a few unimpressive years just prior to retirement) than it is in the middle.

[O_Gardino]

I agree with Marty on this. But you have to hand it to Blake for his incredible early career numbers. HOF rookie numbers. But he's not going to end up in the HOF.

[Split T]

Who ends up with the more impressive career, Blake or Amare?

[O_Gardino]

Who ends up with the more impressive career, Blake or Amare?

Amare, but they are very comparable. Here's those two, plus tow guys who are clearly better and two guys who a Are a bit worse, compared up through age 27:

http://bkref.com/tiny/i6Ejd

Amare with more playoff points, rebounds (!), and a higher shooting % than Blake. Blake with vastly more assists, and relatively few turnovers. I'll probably remember Blake for his athleticism, BBIQ, injuries, and the way he fades in big game. Amare I'll remember for his athleticism, his ability to score at will, injuries, and his low BBIQ.

The guys who are better have the athleticism, the BBIQ, and the alpha personality. Blake and Amare each only have 2 of those things.

[ShelC]

Blake still has a ways to go hopefully. The assists are there but the blocks arent. Neither were/are truly dominant rebounders or defenders. Blake's kind of a weird player because of his skillset. I don't know how you win with him unless you take Paul off the team, give Blake the ball and let him play with a scorer like Lillard or IT in the backcourt. I don't think he can play with a ball dominant PG the way Amar'e kinda needed to.

Quick one:
MPG FGA FGM FG% FT% REB APG SPG BPG PPG
34.6 8.0 14.8 .537 .762 8.8 1.5 0.9 1.5 21.9
35.2 8.3 16.0 .518 .673 9.4 4.1 1.0 0.6 21.5

Good post, O.

[carey]

Bickley writes what we're all thinking about S.A.: http://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/n ... 323950001/

[Mori Chu]

Popovich is never allowed to complain about players undercutting an opponent's ankles. Not ever. Not for the rest of human history.

[Superbone]

Popovich is never allowed to complain about players undercutting an opponent's ankles. Not ever. Not for the rest of human history.

He can complain all he wants but we can laugh at him and play the world's smallest violin for him.