Mac has been putting out some strange Tweets lately

If Lonzo was the same exact player, same skill sets, same stats, same career....and went #30 instead of #2, people would universally accept him for what he is and be happy with what he can and cant do

Hard for people to throw away initial expectations and only factor in reality

— Michael McNamara (@michael_stokley) November 27, 2020

I don't even know what he's trying to say here. That people are irrationally expecting too much of Lonzo?

No, he was highly touted because of his skill set and physical attributes. He went number 2 because of the that and got a salary accordingly. That's where the expectations were built.

Hart was never expected to do point guard things and he got picked 30. Salary a lot less less than Lonzo.

I don't get the strange hypothetical he's proposing here. That every draft pick should be assessed by the same criteria once they are drafted?

Nobody clamors for Josh Hart to run more pick and roll. To build units around him that ensure he succeeds. They dont accuse others of "giving up on him" when they say he should stick to what he is and not try to do things he cant.

All because he was pick #30, not pick #2

— Michael McNamara (@michael_stokley) November 27, 2020

People aren't claimoring for Hart to run pick and roll because that's not what his role is. Nor would it be a logical part of his development.

He's suddenly gone all pro-Lonzo after being his biggest not-proponent for ages

Very strange times

That's not pro Lonzo. The anti-Zo faction has become so absurd that they sit on an extreme edge. This is a centrist take on things. Pro Lonzo would be saying that he'll be an all-star next season or something along those lines.

The main issue with his take is Lonzo will likely get paid much more than he is worth based on where he was taken (and has a higher rookie contract to boot), so his contract to performance ratio will be lower than Hart’s. I’m not even anti Lonzo or anything. But yeah, in all likelihood he won’t be worth his contract

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Originally Posted by msusousaphone

That's not pro Lonzo. The anti-Zo faction has become so absurd that they sit on an extreme edge. This is a centrist take on things. Pro Lonzo would be saying that he'll be an all-star next season or something along those lines.

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Well, it definitely seems like he's leaping to Zo's defence all of a sudden, after being the one to pay for his business class seats out of Nawlins

Quite the reversal

He?s just doing what he does. He spent weeks crapping all over Lonzo, and now he?s trying to come across rational. In the end he will be able to say he was correct about Lonzo because he played both sides of the fence.

someone put it pretty well about him... his knowledge of intricate NBA workings ( CBA, trade management, team spendings, etc etc.) are to be trusted, but his player assessments are not the best at times....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by AusPel

If Lonzo was the same exact player, same skill sets, same stats, same career....and went #30 instead of #2, people would universally accept him for what he is and be happy with what he can and cant do

Hard for people to throw away initial expectations and only factor in reality

— Michael McNamara (@michael_stokley) November 27, 2020

I don't even know what he's trying to say here. That people are irrationally expecting too much of Lonzo?

No, he was highly touted because of his skill set and physical attributes. He went number 2 because of the that and got a salary accordingly. That's where the expectations were built.

Hart was never expected to do point guard things and he got picked 30. Salary a lot less less than Lonzo.

I don't get the strange hypothetical he's proposing here. That every draft pick should be assessed by the same criteria once they are drafted?

Nobody clamors for Josh Hart to run more pick and roll. To build units around him that ensure he succeeds. They dont accuse others of "giving up on him" when they say he should stick to what he is and not try to do things he cant.

All because he was pick #30, not pick #2

— Michael McNamara (@michael_stokley) November 27, 2020

People aren't claimoring for Hart to run pick and roll because that's not what his role is. Nor would it be a logical part of his development.

He's suddenly gone all pro-Lonzo after being his biggest not-proponent for ages

Very strange times

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That was like tweets 4 and 5 of 7 so anytime you catch the middle of the story, it doesnt make total sense.

The point is simple -- Lonzo is the worst P&R ballhandler in the league (Not an opinion, an objective fact that was laid out by stats in previous tweets)

But he can do some things well. But instead of just embracing those things, his defenders try to make him out to be some victim of circumstance and if he just had the right coach, the right personnel around him, etc, he could magically go from ---again LITERALLY the worst pick and roll ballhandler in the league --- to good.

And people do this because he was the #2 pick, because he had hype and pedigree. You would never do all those mental gymnastics for the #30 pick. You would accept them for who they are and not claim that if all these things changed, they could go from awful in areas to great.

People need to accept Lonzo for what he is and what he isnt. He is, in a best case scenario, Draymond in the half court. He can hit the open 3. He can play downhill when someone else bends or stretches the defense, and he can set up others as a secondary playmaker, playing 4-on-3.

He is NOT a guy who can iso and create off that. Or run the pick and roll. And thats fine. He can still be valuable, but this need to say he can also be good at all those other things only comes from him being the #2 pick.

Clear enough?

Can I just want Lonzo be an actually good player instead of a Net Zero player....