Walker Kessler Should No Longer Play Until KO is Traded

[LogGrad98]

plus kessler just hasn't been very good. he's having all sorts of trouble affecting/blocking shots and offensively he's good for a couple open dunks every game and that's only if the opportunities are there. doesn't really do anything offensively on his own.

All of what 8 games into his career, well 6 because he was out sick for a couple, right? The kid just needs to play, he will improve. And if not, then he helps the tank. Win-win.

 

[Jingled]

plus kessler just hasn't been very good. he's having all sorts of trouble affecting/blocking shots and offensively he's good for a couple open dunks every game and that's only if the opportunities are there. doesn't really do anything offensively on his own.

He played well the first 3 or 4 games of the season until he got sick. Despite struggling the last couple of games he's still averaging 5 points, 4 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in just 14 minutes.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Yes... everyone knows the best thing for young basketball players development is lifting heavy **** and not you know playing basketball. Don't come back until you got all teh six packs Walker. Also, its impossible for him to do both... so the correct solution is to take the promising young player and put his *** on the bench.

G League

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

plus kessler just hasn't been very good. he's having all sorts of trouble affecting/blocking shots and offensively he's good for a couple open dunks every game and that's only if the opportunities are there. doesn't really do anything offensively on his own.

His vertical spacing is non existent

 

[KqWIN]

Don't understand why there's an apparent conflict between Kessler/Olynyk. They play completely different. If you said Vando/Kessler that would make more sense. But Kessler/Olynyk? Makes no sense in regards to Lauri playing as a "5".

I also don't understand what "development at the 5" even means. What does that look like and what is he developing? The whole point of having a stretch 5 is that the stretch 5 does not play like a normal 5. It defeats the purpose. I think it's fair to question if Lauri will have more success as a 5 with a spaced floor, but it's not a question of development.

Hardy has given Lauri an extremely diverse set of responsibilities on both offense and defense and I think it's been great for his development. One night he's guarding a Jokic/Towns, then he's guarding Aldama+focusing on help defense, and last night he's guarding Luka as the point of attack defender. He's getting a heavy dose of everything, and that will be best for his development. Limiting his defensive responsibilities will not make him a better player or a more effective 5.

 

[fishonjazz]

Lakers suck at shooting from the outside (so I assume they go inside a lot) and they have pretty good size so tonight a bit of Kesslers size might be needed.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Don't understand why there's an apparent conflict between Kessler/Olynyk. They play completely different. If you said Vando/Kessler that would make more sense. But Kessler/Olynyk? Makes no sense in regards to Lauri playing as a "5".

I also don't understand what "development at the 5" even means. What does that look like and what is he developing? The whole point of having a stretch 5 is that the stretch 5 does not play like a normal 5. It defeats the purpose. I think it's fair to question if Lauri will have more success as a 5 with a spaced floor, but it's not a question of development.

Hardy has given Lauri an extremely diverse set of responsibilities on both offense and defense and I think it's been great for his development. One night he's guarding a Jokic/Towns, then he's guarding Aldama+focusing on help defense, and last night he's guarding Luka as the point of attack defender. He's getting a heavy dose of everything, and that will be best for his development. Limiting his defensive responsibilities will not make him a better player or a more effective 5.

He isn't a stretch 5. He's a 5. He needs to play the 5. That can include popping and spacing, but it's also being the primary screener, defending the opposing center/tallest player, being more more responsible for rebound, rolling more, etc. That all needs to be developed. Him playing that role, the team playing around him playing that role. It's all far more important than developing our backup center

Kessler completely ruined our flow in the Dallas game. I commented it live and Locke confirmed it in the next day in the podcast. Then Kessler didn't even play in the 2md half so it looks like Hardy agreed with me too.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Lakers suck at shooting from the outside (so I assume they go inside a lot) and they have pretty good size so tonight a bit of Kesslers size might be needed.

Lakers are also one of the best defensive teams in the NBA so idk why you would want to make the team easier to defend. Need to keep the spaced wing/guard centric lineups out there.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

G League

Not the same… he’s been fine… we also can play Lauri as a 5 when it makes sense. He’s not a full time 5… he’s a guy who may be able to hang there depending on who’s around him… but maybe like 5-10 minutes a night. Kessler should get 5-15 minutes a night. He has picked things up quickly and is learning… pretty reactionary to bench him after an illness and a couple lack luster games.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Not the same… he’s been fine… we also can play Lauri as a 5 when it makes sense. He’s not a full time 5… he’s a guy who may be able to hang there depending on who’s around him… but maybe like 5-10 minutes a night. Kessler should get 5-15 minutes a night. He has picked things up quickly and is learning… pretty reactionary to bench him after an illness and a couple lack luster games.

Again, doesn't really have much to do with him as much as it does what's best for the team moving forward.

He's probably better served getting GLeague reps. I'm not sure why people still act like that's some sort of negative thing to suggest. Countless players and All-stars have benefited greatly fr development time in the GLeague.

 

[Handlogten's Heros]

Again, doesn't really have much to do with him as much as it does what's best for the team moving forward.

He's probably better served getting GLeague reps. I'm not sure why people still act like that's some sort of negative thing to suggest. Countless players and All-stars have benefited greatly fr development time in the GLeague.

Lauri being something he is not will not benefit us or him. Kessler minutes with the varsity squad will be way more beneficial than g league minutes. It’s not a negative to suggest g league may benefit him but I think it’s incorrect to think it helps more than regular nba rotation minutes. It’s also really good for us to see him play in the nba and he’s been worthy of rotation minutes and we need another big since KO and Vando are fouling the **** out of everyone. Weird take to bench a rookie center who is showing some promise especially when our biggest defensive needs are rim protection and rebounding.

To each their own.

 

[Udidthizz]

Lauri has been swindling us! Pretending to be a sf/pf when he really is a center.

 

[KqWIN]

He isn't a stretch 5. He's a 5. He needs to play the 5. That can include popping and spacing, but it's also being the primary screener, defending the opposing center/tallest player, being more more responsible for rebound, rolling more, etc. That all needs to be developed. Him playing that role, the team playing around him playing that role. It's all far more important than developing our backup center

Kessler completely ruined our flow in the Dallas game. I commented it live and Locke confirmed it in the next day in the podcast. Then Kessler didn't even play in the 2md half so it looks like Hardy agreed with me too.

Kessler ruining the flow of the game has very little to nothing to do with Lauri's development as a 5. It's worse for winning that game, but doesn't change Lauri's development. Hardy didn't bench Kessler so Lauri could develop. He benched Kessler because he wanted to win the game. There's a difference between what's effective at winning the game and what's effective at developing a player.

This idea that Lauri's development will meaningfully change depending on whether or not he's playing as a "5" is just silly in to begin with...but I'm sure that limiting the situations Lauri faces will not make him a better player. Continuing to give him a diverse set of responsibilities will make him the best player possible, no matter what position he's playing (by now we should know that positions mean next to nothing). Lauri is getting a heavy dose of everything without building bad habits, and that will ultimately bring him closest to his ceiling. I think it's great that he's defending Luka as the point of attack defender. That will be useful no matter how he is deployed.

Lauri's time in CLE was massive for his development even though he played no C at all. He became a much better defender at all positions because of that experience. It's not ideal that he plays long term with two other bigs, but it was great for his development to put him into tough situations.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Lauri being something he is not will not benefit us or him. Kessler minutes with the varsity squad will be way more beneficial than g league minutes. It’s not a negative to suggest g league may benefit him but I think it’s incorrect to think it helps more than regular nba rotation minutes. It’s also really good for us to see him play in the nba and he’s been worthy of rotation minutes and we need another big since KO and Vando are fouling the **** out of everyone. Weird take to bench a rookie center who is showing some promise especially when our biggest defensive needs are rim protection and rebounding.

To each their own.

Lauri very much is that.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Kessler ruining the flow of the game has very little to nothing to do with Lauri's development as a 5. It's worse for winning that game, but doesn't change Lauri's development. Hardy didn't bench Kessler so Lauri could develop. He benched Kessler because he wanted to win the game. There's a difference between what's effective at winning the game and what's effective at developing a player.

This idea that Lauri's development will meaningfully change depending on whether or not he's playing as a "5" is just silly in to begin with...but I'm sure that limiting the situations Lauri faces will not make him a better player. Continuing to give him a diverse set of responsibilities will make him the best player possible, no matter what position he's playing (by now we should know that positions mean next to nothing). Lauri is getting a heavy dose of everything without building bad habits, and that will ultimately bring him closest to his ceiling. I think it's great that he's defending Luka as the point of attack defender. That will be useful no matter how he is deployed.

Lauri's time in CLE was massive for his development even though he played no C at all. He became a much better defender at all positions because of that experience. It's not ideal that he plays long term with two other bigs, but it was great for his development to put him into tough situations.

And now it's time he develop his ability to play as a 5

 

[KqWIN]

And now it's time he develop his ability to play as a 5

You're implying that he's not doing that already. He became MUCH better as a 5 by playing 1% of his minutes as a 5. He would have never gotten that development had he spent 100% of his minutes at the 5, and he wouldn't be a better 5 either. The best way for him to develop is to continue to diversify his skills and responsibilities, not limit them. Everyone mad at the idea of benching Kessler in this thread, but the concept of developing Lauri by only playing him as a 5 is dumb to begin with. Positions mean next nothing because in reality positions don't exist. There is no such thing as "ability to play as a 5". Rudy Gobert is a 5. Nikola Jokic is a 5. They play nothing alike. The best version of Lauri at the 5 is simply the best basketball player version of Lauri. Lauri is in a perfect development situation where he is asked to be a key contributor on the offense and defense in drastically different ways.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

You're implying that he's not doing that already. He became MUCH better as a 5 by playing 1% of his minutes as a 5. He would have never gotten that development had he spent 100% of his minutes at the 5, and he wouldn't be a better 5 either. The best way for him to develop is to continue to diversify his skills and responsibilities, not limit them. Everyone mad at the idea of benching Kessler in this thread, but the concept of developing Lauri by only playing him as a 5 is dumb to begin with. Positions mean next nothing because in reality positions don't exist. There is no such thing as "ability to play as a 5". Rudy Gobert is a 5. Nikola Jokic is a 5. They play nothing alike. The best version of Lauri at the 5 is simply the best basketball player version of Lauri. Lauri is in a perfect development situation where he is asked to be a key contributor on the offense and defense in drastically different ways.

Did you not watch the games when Kessler was out?

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

And I've never said only play him as a 5, Jesus

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

And yes, there very much is a thing as "ability to play as a 5".

Do all 5s play exactly the same? Of course not, but they share a lot of the same responsibilities on the court. It also about surrounding Lauri with primarily wings.

 

[KqWIN]

Did you not watch the games when Kessler was out?

Did you miss everything I just said? lol. The current effectiveness of Lauri with or without Kessler does not matter. Building a team around Lauri is not the same as developing Lauri. The best thing for Lauri's development is to continue to play with a variety of different units. Playing a few minutes with a traditional 5 like Kessler is helping his development, not hurting it.

The ironic thing is that this sample size is so tiny, but if you used it you would know that Lauri individually has played significantly better with Kessler on the floor than without him. So if you just looked at what's happened on the court this year, you would come to the conclusion that Kessler on the court with Lauri is a must. Pts, reb, assist, and efficiency are massively up when he's shared the floor with Kessler. It is not close.