I honestly think that's enough to get Kyrie to bounce. That assumes that Kyrie being so above everything has any modicum of truth to it.
Official Utah/Minnesota/Philadelphia Pick Watch
- Thread starter Elizah Huge
- Start date
So they have those three and minimum roster spots to fill out the rest of the roster plus they’re down their 2027 1st. What exactly was your point here? Sorry I don’t follow.
You can just stand down on this weird myopic point of yours. Or we can debate what "shut down" means or is measured as, find specifically what the boundaries of size are that you're talking about (shoes? without shoes? wingspan? standing reach? weight? shuttle run? max vert? etc) then overlay that with literally thousands of games worth of data all for you to either not yield or not respond in the face of the obvious answer: players shorter than whatever 6' 4" is play great defense all the ****ing time.
That the reason they didn't want Conley and one of the main reasons they wanted DLo is so they had the option of pivoting back to their initial free agency plans this offseason. They are still basically setup to go that way if they want (I'm sure they can dump Vando into space or a TPE easily).
For number 10? Maybe. For number 7 or 8? Yes.
Right… so maybe that could be a reason why they didn’t aggressively pursue a deal with Conley in it before the season started either?
That has always been my understanding. Conley basically kills that free agency plan in the crib. Otherwise I think they'd be thrilled to have Mike.
Whether its fair or not, right or wrong, the Lakers have reason to believe that they can just play free agency in a way that literally no other franchise can.
kcgar
Well-Known Member
Jrue Holiday is 6’4” and 6’7” wingspan. Probably the best all around defender. You're telling me 1” is gonna make that big of a difference.
Same with Dunn, who is obviously not on the same level but he is a super effective defender.
Yeah but he's not even 6' 4". Sorry dude, I don't make the rules.
Those are with shoes measurements for those guys.
If you want to compare Cason Wallace to Marcus Smart, I think that's a reach, not only because Smart has a 6'9" wingspan and an imposing 225-lb physique, but because he's more explosive and more powerful driving the ball on offense. He was a more capable scorer in college who could beat and bully his defender off the dribble and get on top of the rim. He was a consensus ~top-5 pick even as a freshman.
Wallace's offense so far isn't very advanced, so if you're really drafting him in the top 10 you're hoping that a) he's a game-changing defender at the NBA level, and b) his offense is going to flourish at the NBA level. Personally, I wouldn't take that deal in the top 10. I think Wallace should be a solid rotational player who can play 3D and knock down shots at an average or above-average rate. I think he has a floor that similar to a Deanthony Melton. Beyond that he has some drives and finishes that are encouraging. However, once you put him in an NBA context where nearly everyone on the floor is bigger than he is, he's not going to look like the same high-impact player that he was at UK.
Davion Mitchell looked like a stud at Baylor, but in the NBA he's turned into a 7th or 8th man for Sacramento. Size is a huge factor holding him back. Wallace is bigger than Mitchell, but likely only by a couple inches. Let's see how Wallace measures out at the Combine and then we can continue this debate. I've never known UK to undersell its players' measurements at their Pro Day. So when they say he's 6'3" in shoes with a 6'6" wingspan, I tend to believe them.
I don't mind Wallace overall, but I don't see him as a high lottery pick.
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ONLY A COUPLE INCHES? YOUR ENTIRE POINT HINGES ON A COUPLE INCHES DETERMINING THE ABSOLUTE CEILING OF A PLAYER.
You can just stop. So can I, so I am now.
You want to draft Dunn at #9?
The current Dunn but 10 years younger and gets to start his career playing for Will Hardy and not Jim Boylen? Sign me the **** up.
Kris Dunn also stayed in college for 4 years. Wallace will be three years younger and already has a workable jumpshot.
Jrue is a good defender. I wouldn't say he's the best all around defender. The Pelicans teams he was on weren't good defensive teams. Playing on the Bucks who have two DPOY candidates behind him helps. That said, if you really think Wallace projects to be like Jrue then sure, draft him.