Take literally everything that the national media says on this with a grain of salt. Or- if you want to be surprised, believe every little nugget verbatim and be surprised on draft day. It will be an interesting draft day for sure.
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Take literally everything that the national media says on this with a grain of salt. Or- if you want to be surprised, believe every little nugget verbatim and be surprised on draft day. It will be an interesting draft day for sure.
They get it from watching his game and seeing that his handle is dead average, his first step isn't particularly hard, and his footwork (especially in the paint) is kinda whatever. His athleticism is similarly mediocre, he's not extremely fast, and he doesn't have a consistent inside pullup for when defenses get onto him tight.
I don't disagree, there is a lot in there thats similar, but there are three major points that RJ has over Hunter.
1) He's not even 19 year. He turns 19 in June, and will be 19 his entire rookie season. Hunter is going to be 22 barely two months into the season. So RJ has a 3 years to add to his game and develop before he's at the same point Hunter is, and while I doubt he'll ever be a marksman from deep, there's a lot of potential to add more to his game, whereas Hunter's greatest strength is that he's pretty much ready now.
2) I don't agree that RJ's athleticism is on the same level as Hunter's. He's not Zion, true, but nobody is: RJ is definitely capable of more explosion than Hunter is.
3) While RJ's footwork was definitely not anything special this year, it's important to remember that he played in Duke's incredibly cramped offense. This means that RJ had a much harder job developing those paint moves: he just never had room. By comparison, Hunter had more room to develop an inside scoring game, and just didn't really.
My player comp for Hunter is maybe DeMarre Carroll 2.0. Carroll, but with the ability to create his own shot and better physical tools.
RJ is a much bigger bust risk: Hunter is going to be a good NBA player. RJ has all the potential to be a great NBA, but there's a lot to question as well. His upside is DeMar DeRozan. His downside is Evan Turner.
ESPN Sources: Point guard Ja Morant — the projected No. 2 pick in the June NBA Draft — will undergo a minor scope on his right knee to remove a “loose body” on Monday. He’s expected to be fully recovered in 3-to-4 weeks.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 1, 2019
I don't think this will end up meaning much, players get scoped with near regularity it seems in today's NBA, but it's worth dropping. If the Grizzlies did have any scepticism about Morant (which I doubt) then maybe this factors into that.
Who could have predicted we’d get hints of Kyrie leaving Celtics before July 1, and this would cause Ainge to bow out of bidding or offer significantly less than we’d hoped...
Man, if only someone was saying this back In January...
Man, it would be crazy if there was any actual reliable information regarding that, or any trustworthy sources reporting that, but unfortunately we only have the ravings of noted-clueless-idiot Kyler to go on, so it would be really silly to act as if this was a gospel truth rather than just speculation and media hyping.
Good thing nobody would be so gullible, right?
I want to push just the narratives I believe instead of realizing everyone is putting out narratives for leverage!!!!!!!!!!!
No one should be complaining about how ANYTHING worked out for us because due to handling things exactly how we did we won the lottery.
[/I] There have certainly been hints, but you have to understand that the only guy who is pushing this idea that the Celtics are completely backing off is Kyler. And Kyler is not a reputable source.
There have been multiple sources, some fairly reliable, some extremely reliable, over the course of the entire season who have made it as clear as possible that the Celtics want AD, are willing to put everything on the table, would still be going after him with no guarantee of him resigning, and would still be interested if Kyrie showed signs of leaving. We've heard these things from everyone from Woj, Bulpett, Heinsohn, to local Celtics bloggers. Bulpett was still arguing this as recently as a week ago.
Which do you think is more likely:
1) Woj, Bulpett, Heinsohn, and Celtics insiders are correct: Boston has wanted AD for a long time and is willing to give up their assets to get him.
or
2) Famously wrong speculator Kyler is the only guy who actually knows that the Celtics have had a complete 180 in the space of the last week, and actually Ainge is perfectly willing to see NYC build a superteam in his own back yard
?????????
It is a win for the Celtics if people start believing this. Everyone knows right now that the Celtics have a large number of problems in front of them. It's been a common narrative even that Boston are somewhat desperate, at this point. Maybe that's not true, but it's in the best interests of the Celtics to downplay any desperation and make it look like they're in a position of stability: it works best for Ainge if he comes to the table with the perception that he's there by choice. If he's coming to the table looking like he's forced, then his negotiating leverage drops.
Is it possible that Boston isn't interested in AD anymore? Sure. But you shouldn't just believe everything you read without applying some critical thinking. It's possible they aren't interested, but is it likely? And do you have good reason to believe it? The answer is no: it's not likely, and there's no good reason to believe it. If it was coming from Woj or Bulpett or Heinsohn then there would be some more weight to it, but Kyler has never done anything to suggest that he's got any real insight into the Celtics, and if he's your only source I'd apply a little more scepticism than you're doing.
Plot-twist hypothetical thought: What if the Pelicans were located and played for the New York Pelicans--Would A.D. have signed his extension by now?
If so, then he's going for the endorsements and the big lights. Cool, don't let the door hit you on the way out. Trade him in a package to get D'Angelo Russell, Ayton, a wing, and picks. Idc if it takes 4,5,6 team trade to get it done.
Not exactly a “plot twist.” When he said the only places he was willing to sign long term were the Knicks and Lakers, he showed that his desire to win and establish a legacy in the NBA is firmly way down the list of his (and Rich Paul’s) priorities. It is only logical to them that the only way to recoup the money he is giving up by not signing a supermax can only be achieved if he plays in a mega market. Of course, the Clippers, Nets, Bulls and Rockets play in huge markets too, but they apparently didn’t interest him as much as the powerhouse Lakers and perennially contending Knicks. AD is about AD, exposure and pulling in endorsement dollars.
I recognize the value of having a top five player like him and what that could mean to the Pelicans when a competent front office puts the right pieces with him. If he stays and signs his supermax deal, I will hope he leads the team to multiple championships. If he’s traded, I may regret what could have been in New Orleans, but I won’t shed a tear.
We always knew this was a possibility. But it doesn't matter because now you know where the Lakers and Knicks packages stand. The Knicks could only have gone down in regards to draft slot + Lakers assets have gone down in value, which just means they need to send over more. Plus, because they didn't get AD in February, they wound up imploding and selecting 4th.
So everything has fallen almost to the tee the way the Pels would have preferred it. The Celtics not offering their max assets isn't a big deal since they couldn't offer in Feb either. But yes, to your point of whether we could have seen this, the answer is yes.
And before anyone jumps on the "we don't know what Ainge will offer yet" -- I know. But common sense tells you there's a solid chance they know they won't be bringing back Kyrie and this ultimately would change the offer. I think ultimately Celtics deal will look like Tatum + salary + picks. This way they'd see what they can do with AD + surrounding cast knowing full well they can turn around and trade him mid-season if it's not looking good.
Also -- if you're going to trade AD for picks, you probably want western conference picks. Tough getting into playoffs since only teams who suck are:
Timberwolves
Grizzlies
Suns
And each of them have have some upside.
The Lakers got lucky. That wasn't something I wanted to wager on. Honestly I'm afraid of any blockbuster trade involving Ingram and Brandon is unfortunately the only player I covet from the Lakers. So while them getting pick number 4 works in our favor I don't want anything to do with the Lakers offer.
My Celtics dream trade:
Celtics: AD
Pels: Tatum, Smart, Brown, Williams, Rozier, pick 14(Nassir Little), & pick 20(Brandon Clark
That would be a nice little squad there, but doubt we could get all that from Boston. Doubt both those players fall to those picks, but it would be sweet if they did. A nice 7 player haul for AD, but 2 of them only have a year left on their deals.
That trade would almost fit my criteria for sure. I want two players with current star potential and really only Tatum has that. The combo of Smart & Brown would make up for that though. I just wish Brown was under contract for a couple years. We get some role players in Rozier & Williams. And we get two rookies that have some starting potential for sure.
I wish the Lakers would of lucked into that 3rd pick cause an Ingram, Ball, Kuzma, & Barrett haul would be perfect IMO. I would Knick been happy with just those 4 players. I really like Barrett, but man I don’t care for anything else on that Knick team besides Robinson. If we could get a 3rd team involved for maybe Dennis Smith Jr, Kevin Knox, & Etwaun Moore for another decent player with all those picks then I’d be down with that.
Rozier is a restricted free agent I believe.
I’d like a trade of Tatum, Brown, Smart, pick 14, and next years memphis pick (will be a top 6 pick)