Anybody else just wanna give this roster 20 games before thinking of trades?

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I know everybody thinks we have to invest in the center position a little bit.

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I think some folks are glossing over this part too much. "Everybody" to Griff could include the FO. He can also say they're excited about the young talent they do have

Wingspans:
Murray - 6'9.25"
Williamson - 6'10"
TM3 - 7'0"
Jones - 7'2.5"
BI - 7'3"

filthy

Only way that remotely works is if Murray gets back to Spurs defense Urray and Zion to Duke D, peak conditioning Pels Zion and Murphy improves on D.

Lot to hope for and hope is not a viable plan.

Centers In The WC:

OKC- Chet/Hartenstein
DEN- Jokic/Jordan
MIN- Gobert/Naz
LAC- Zubac
DAL-Lively/Gafford
PHX- Nurk/Plumlee
LAL- AD
SAC- Sabonis/Len
GS- Looney
HOU-Sengun/Jabari
UTA- Kessler/Collins
MEM- JJJ/Edey
SA-Wemby/Collins
POR- Ayton

NOP- JRE/Missi/Karlo/Theis

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"I know everybody thinks we have to invest in the center position a little bit. We actually are really excited about what we have now. We are excited to play small and fast"

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Exactly! What idiot would spend valuable assets for a traditional 5 in the modern NBA?






But seriously, this is hilarious coming from Griff knowing his offseason history with this team.

I don’t want to turn this into a “dump on Willie thread”, but I’d feel better with this plan with a more innovative coach. It’s not an easy puzzle to begin with and I’m not confident Willie will be the one to figure it out

Exactly. Willie wants to switch on defense. It's why Larry was out there late in games. Using Zion as that switch 5 or Trey is going to be the litmus test of if this can work

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Or maybe he's exactly the coach to figure this out. This is what Willie has been wanting. He and Collins have been using the Warriors model they brought with them from Golden State, which was built on small ball centers in 6'6 Draymond and 6'9 Looney.

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I agree to the extent that I think Willie will get the most juice out of whatever defensive personnel we put out there. He has earned the benefit of the doubt on that end.

What I’m worried about is:

A. Making all these offensive pieces fit together and buy into the offense we run. Having Murray out there solves some of our ball handling issues late in games, but making him, Ingram, and Zion all fit together is going to still be a bit of a task. Borrego is going to be extremely important this year. Hopefully the rumblings of players not buying into his system last year was overblown and we really lean into his concepts

2. Even if Willie has our small-ball units reach their defensive ceiling, what is that ceiling? Historically, we need to be at least top half defense to have a chance to make any real noise. I’m hopeful that it finally clicks for Zion or someone else at the small ball 5, but nothing indicates so far that we have anyone on the roster that can fill that spot.

D. Competent rotations. The team last year was a bit of a Frankenstein’s monster as it pertained to fit. This team is even stranger. It’s going to take some forward thinking and innovation to make it work and that will start with having the right complementary pieces on the floor. Based on Willie’s history, I’m afraid he will prioritize vet experience over proper fit.

If Ainge would accept that for Kessler, I think he would already be on the team.

Call him names all you want, the fact remains that Kessler isn’t an optIon right now. We’re probably looking at the opening day roster unless BI doesn’t sign an extension and that triggers Griff to make the best trade on the table even if it’s not good.