Originally Posted by
Pelicanidae
PG: Morant, Augustin, Jackson
SG: Holiday, Smart, Justin Holiday
SF: Tatum, Williams
PF: Randle, Diallo, Hachimura, Clarke
C: Bol Bol, Okafor, Alex Lin, Clarke
Just assuming though that somehow everything worked out, what do I think of this lineup?
Not a fan. It's far too heavy on bigs (Randle, Diallo, Hachimura, Clarke, Bol Bol, Okafor, and Alex Len? That's 7 guys at the PF/C position) and doesn't really do too much to address the fact that we've historically had problems with forwards. Yes, Tatum is a forward, and yes some of the bigger guys could slide down depending on the lineups and situations, but I still want my SF position to be a little deeper than Tatum/Williams, and that's it.
I have no idea why we'd sign Augustine, frankly.
Not really sure why we'd be interested in Len, particularly if we're drafting Clarke and Bol Bol this summer. He'd be a waste of money, and would either just ride the bench or steal minutes from developing talents who show far more promise than him.
Again, not too sure why you've listed Smart at the SG position, because he just isn't one. He's a point guard. He can't shoot, he's not a heavy scorer, and he's only what, 6'3''?
One of my main concerns with this team is where the shooting comes from. Morant hasn't shown any consistent range, Smart isn't a good shooter, Jrue's biggest flaw is that he can't really shoot, Diallo can't really shoot, Hachimura can't shoot, Clarke can't shoot, Okafor can't shoot. The only players on the roster who would be good shooters would be (possibly) Frank, Tatum, Randle (if he can keep it up from this year) and (maybe, if it translates to the NBA) Bol Bol. 4 guys, two of them big men. That's not a good look in today's NBA. I wouldn't be too comfortable moving forward with that.
It's better defensively, I do have to give it that. The PG position, as you listed it, would be an absolute trainwreck on defense, but in reality Smart plays PG so he would provide something there. SG would be good, obviously Jrue is a fantastic defender and Justin isn't awful. Tatum and Williams are both good wing defenders. Randle can't defend anyone and doesn't seem interested in trying, and Diallo tries but is very inconsistent, but Clarke is a good defender from what we've seen in college. Bol Bol is pretty good and Okafor has improved a lot. So yeah, there'd be defense.
Too Long; Didn't Read: Seems like a good defensive team but it has a lot of problems with shooting, which is vital in 2019-20. A couple of kind of random signings that don't make any sense, way too heavy on the big men without doing much to address stacking depth at the SF position. Has one of the worst defensive point guard lineups on paper that I've ever seen, but does have players that can address that somewhat. I wouldn't be infuriated by this team, but it's far from goals.