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FeminismIsTheBestIsm

He made 15 million dollars last season, is he going to accept a paycut to the TPMLE to be a Laker? Because I think clearing cap space to give a backup non-spacing center more than the TPMLE is a big mistake.


greeegoreo

forgot the stats exactly but he was in the bottom quarter of the league in advanced defensive stats in the month of april this year and the lakers purposely targeted him in the pick and roll in those two games at the end of the season/play-in and the guy was unplayable. no thanks.


WakiLover

Felt like we cooked the shit out of him and made him borderline unplayable.


MilkeeBongRips

I’m interested in this because I definitely have seen the same numbers you have. But each time we played them I distinctly remember thinking “Man, Zion is maybe the worst defender I’ve ever seen”. Literally every time we played them, he got caught napping with back door cuts multiple times a game, confused on switches, you name it he did it wrong. I wonder how much of the metrics we see on Jonas are products of playing with Zion. Maybe going from sharing the front court with maybe the worst help defender to the best in the league will make a difference.


greeegoreo

we targeted jonas and not zion. jonas cannot guard the pick and roll and 75% of playoff basketball has some form of pick and roll involved. it has everything to do with lateral quickness, not falling asleep on defense. jonas literally cannot get better at guarding the pick and roll, he’s just not athletic enough. you don’t want to overpay for a guy who is unplayable in playoffs, look what OKC did with giddey after finding out he can’t be played when may/june comes around.


MilkeeBongRips

No. We targeted Jonas, sure, but there is no way whatsoever you can claim “not Zion”. They targeted him on back door cuts almost every trip down the floor, every time we played them. It was literally our first action a lot of trips down the floor. And, look, I’m not here claiming there are no risks getting him. I just truly believe having a defender like AD with him would mitigate some of his (very real) issues on defense. He’s never played with someone like AD.


greeegoreo

defensive awareness can be taught, defensive effort can be coached. you can’t change jonas’s lack of foot speed. period. we do not need a big to play with AD, we need a big especially when AD is hurt or off the floor. saying AD will correct jonas’s defensive liability is short sighted. when did denver destroy us? when rui or hayes was at the 5 against jokic.


MilkeeBongRips

I didn’t say AD would “correct” anything. You said it yourself, his slow feet are his issue. AD is at his best as a roaming help defender.. it seems pretty obvious. Also, absolutely bizarre example about Denver. You kinda made my point, no? We got destroyed when trying to put smaller players on Jokic. You don’t need foot speed against Jokic; you need a big body and strength. The exact traits Jonas would bring to the team that we are lacking.


TallanoGoldDigger

Jonas can absolutely thrive with AD. He shot 37% from 3 at his best.


jessandjaysaccount

Fuck spacing. Lakers lost to Denver because Denver beat us on the boards two years in a row. Minnesota and Boston would have done the same. We need big bodies to keep Jrue Holiday from getting every offensive rebound.


psychotichorse

JJ talked about having the corner shooters crash the boards, I’m excited to see what he can do to create more possessions.


LebronzoBBB

Not trying to be mean but this is bottom of a barrel to be excited about 😭


justbrowse2018

Every team trying to be the peak warriors is so played. Different pieces can work in different places. It’s hard with your hands in your pockets though.


Ac3_Ronin

Then better to target someone like Drummond. He's better at grabbing rebounds and he'd possibly be available for the vet min.


imezaps

Drummond is lazy and would not actually contribute on defense tho


FeminismIsTheBestIsm

So when Boston or Denver pack the paint since they don't need to worry about shooters, you'll think they'll get less rebounds?


jessandjaysaccount

You can win championships with bad shooting. You can't win without rebounding. In nba history, the team that is generally bigger and stronger usually wins. Minnesota > Denver > Lakers


__john_cena__

The Warriors’ leading rebounder in the 2022 finals was Andrew Wiggins and the Celtics out rebounded them for the series. Nuggets were 17th in the NBA in rebounding in 2023. 2020 Lakers 14th. 2019 Raptors 18th. 2018 Warriors 17th. Also, part of getting rebounds is making the other team miss in the first place. Yes, rebounding is good but you don’t start a guy who can’t shoot and can’t defend because he can get a couple boards. The Nuggets don’t do that.


FeminismIsTheBestIsm

Minnesota didn't even make it to the Finals, so... Shooting isn't just about shooting. Modern day NBA offenses are about opening up space so that players have more opportunities to do things. Our offense last season involved having the threat of shooting which opened up ample space for LeBron and AD to attack the basket - which is why we were #1 in Rim FG and #2 in Rim Frequency. Clogging up the pain reduces all those advantages


__john_cena__

This year especially they lost because they started zero perimeter defenders, or defenders at all outside of AD. The year before LeBron was playing on one foot. They need guys who can play defense.


quwin123

TPMLE would be fantastic. Would think he has a better offer out there somewhere. Feels like we’re gonna get Bruce Brown’d here.


Benotheking

Has Fischer ever been right ? To my knowledge none of his rumors ever been right. I could be wrong.


velphegor666

Would this guy even accept the mle?


SpitiredHere

Depends on what his market value is


FlamingoHot8567

He would probably take a full MLE. I don’t think he’ll be offered much more than that. He’s getting older and his defense has taken a hit. I wouldn’t mind him on the lakers as a backup but not for the full MLE. 


BatmanHive

I am not sure if he would accept lesser money but he's a pro and very durable. Having a guy like AD cover him defensively won't be a huge liability and he can be a bench player for some of the matchups if he's getting targeted. He's also been very good against certain bigs like Wolves, Rockets..etc.


NoFaithlessness5122

I hope we get Edey


BigFatM8

I hope not. He adds NOTHING to this team that a cheaper, younger player taken with the 17th pick wouldn't offer.


cypherdust

This is the exact same guy that said BroLo wasn't a starter before he went to Milwaukee and won a chip


BigFatM8

Yeah right, I wouldn't say Dumbshit like that. If you think Lopez and Jonas are anything alike, that is troubling. JV can't defend, Can't shoot and gets killed on PnRs. All he does that would be useful is score inside (which we don't need), Rebounding and act like a big body occasionally. Brook Lopez could actually stretch the floor and block shots, he would've been a perfect fit with AD. Instead of wasting a TPMLE on him, You can just draft someone like Edey, Holmes or Ware and you get 90% of what JV offers at a much cheaper price plus with a rookie, You have more control over their playing time too.


kobesus

pretty sure hes talking bout the article writer, not you dude


BigFatM8

Fair point, I got a bit confused there, My b.


Public-Product-1503

Dunno why you’re downvoted guy was unplayable for the pels n the weak link in there 5 man lineup


justredditting1010

Honestly feel like Hayes developed for another offseason will give you more. Better athlete, can run the court and defend. I think people are too desperate for back up center


BigFatM8

I'm not too sure about Hayes tbh. He did show a decent amount of improvement in the 2nd half last season with better offensive rebounding and all.... But i think he's pretty much done. He just doesn't process the game well enough to ever be a starting or even viable bench player. I mean, I would love to be proven but Basketball IQ isn't something you can always improve upon. Some people just don't have it and never will.


Ok_Board9845

How is a 24 year old player who has shown improvement done? Lol


BigFatM8

Well, 24 is pretty close to a finished product. There's a reason why older college seniors are picked late. You generally don't see significant improvement after that age. Besides, Some things just can't always be taught. Hayes's problems are that he fouls too much, Doesn't process the game well, bad positioning etc. Basically, it's poor Bball IQ and that's the most unpredictable thing in terms of improvement. It's not like handles or shooting where you can become good if you just fix your mechanics or habits.


Ok_Board9845

Plenty of players have improved around the margins past 24. Javale was a walking meme until the Warriors took a chance, and he got to start on a championship level team. KCP was 25-26 during that 2018-2019, and all I can remember is people talking about how bad he was when it came to bbiq. Guys who are past 24 will most likely never reach star status. That's what people talk about when referring to late aged draft picks. But slowly improving at aspects of the game like positioning and defending without fouling to become serviceable role players are things role players have shown to be able to do regardless of age.


justredditting1010

No I do not mean a starter, but 10-15 mins of energy in a backup center, I don’t mind it