re: 18-19 Tank Watch - 3 Way Tie for 7th

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BetOnIt

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Yeah crewz I’m well aware of who we lost to and how it works. I said we went from 7 to 9 because of this win in the standings right above that. But shite happens, and our guys played really hard tonight. It’s just perspective, not a statement on statistics.

If this was the very beginning of the season, people would be super hyped these guys came out and played this hard while stealing a win. Hell, two-four weeks ago it was pretty exciting because of the cloud hanging over the AD nonsense and we were seeing development from players we never expected to see this level of development from and leadership/effort from the team.

If we lost the two games to Utah and Denver on the road that we should have, we’d have been behind enough to lose this game and remain below Dallas...winning one of those two games, much less two...was way less likely than beating Dallas. There’s tons of what ifs. shite happens.

ETA: And I was 100% hoping for a loss and had the intense feeling in my stomach that I get when we’re trying to win games in a playoff race. But I’m not gonna sit here and be miserable while our guys are playing their arse off and stepping up. I’m not gonna be happy we won either. Just time to move on. I refuse to be miserable when this team full of good people who are happy to be here and supporting this city actually succeeds despite us potentially losing draft position.

I want to be excited about Frank but the way he got abused by Hardaway on defense in the 4th just reinforced all my fears about him. He's just too small to be more than a bench scorer.

Yeah but he's not even old enough to drink yet and is a red shirt rookie

He's got a lot to learn

I don't think he'll be an above average defender but he tries and could become a decent enough defender to go with the offensive skills he's shown

Him being a 7th or 8th guy is still a good piece

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I want to be excited about Frank but the way he got abused by Hardaway on defense in the 4th just reinforced all my fears about him. He's just too small to be more than a bench scorer.

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Same. Watching washed Devin Harris tonight made me wonder if maybe Frank has younger-Harris, type of potential. They're physically similar and Frank developing into a starting caliber NBA player would look a lot like Harris, imo. Its a stretch though.

Kenrich has some 3 and D, hustle player off the bench potential, but thats about it.

On the whole though, ALL of these guys are replaceable. Davis excluded, Jrue and Randle are the only guys on the entire roster that a competent GM couldn't easily replace in one offseason.

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I want to be excited about Frank but the way he got abused by Hardaway on defense in the 4th just reinforced all my fears about him. He's just too small to be more than a bench scorer.

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My excitement for Frank has all but died at this point personally. There are just so many scoring combo guards in the league that can score at the level he does. Look at Jalen Brunson for instance. I’d be higher on him than Frank long term. Frank doesn’t really give you much else.

The thing that bums me out most about the AD playing time mandate isn’t that I have to watch him play basketball (don’t get me wrong that’s part of it), it’s that this should be prime playing time against superior competition for Cheick Diallo to really gauge value.

My excitement at the development from Jah, Frank, Kenrich from a month ago has now morphed into excitement at the development of Elfrid, Kenrich, Diallo with more time to gauge.

I’m pretty set on Kenrich. He’s a wing that you absolutely want to keep around at a steady price. The type of player that fills out the 7-9 spots in a rotation that shouldn’t really Put up the type stats he’d get a “blow-away” offer from another team. One of those gems you have that other teams won’t really ever know about. I don’t think he’s good/young enough to be demanding starting playing time and huge money. If he was 20 and flashing this type of polish, I could see him opening some eyes. At 24, he is what he is. Let’s take care of him and keep him around knowing we have a backup that can play multiple positions and fill in as a starter for a few games in a tight spot on a competitive team. Just take care of him financially and pay him what he’s worth for that role and keep him around.

I think Elfrid is good enough to be a very good backup PG on a good team. I’m concerned he’s putting up the type of stats lately some bottom dweller will bring him in and pay him starter money and offer starting playing time. It’s a different beast running the bench units though, so we aren’t really getting a chance to see if he can handle that role unfortunately. I’m enjoying watching a kid who grew up a NOLA Hornets fan get to play in the nba and run off 5 triple doubles in a row (!) at least. Good for him.

Yeah, there's nothing wrong with developing your own replaceable players. Part of the Pels problem in the AD era was getting "replaceable" guys is subject to market conditions meaning it's easier said than done. Especially when they weren't developing any (that they kept) to hedge against the market.

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On the whole though, ALL of these guys are replaceable. Davis excluded, Jrue and Randle are the only guys on the entire roster that a competent GM couldn't easily replace in one offseason

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I don’t think this is true for Kenrich honestly. If you’re saying he’s your starting 3, maybe. If you’re saying you can find a similar player easily, I’d call BS. Just look at the dumpster fire that’s been our 3 spot for years with the exception of half a season of QPon.

Hill
Cunningham
Miller
Lance Stephenson
Anthony Brown
Tony Allen
Babbitt
Alonzo Gee

shite I’m not gonna look for more. I’m taking Kenrich over all of those. Point being Demps knew he needed a SF and finding a competent one with very limited resources was very difficult.

Also, what would this version of Kenrich have added to this team if we were fully healthy all year and AD didn’t become Lebron’s puppet this offseason? Not questioning what could have been, simply pointing out maybe he’s not this disposable piece you’re assuming.

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I don’t think this is true for Kenrich honestly. If you’re saying he’s your starting 3, maybe. If you’re saying you can find a similar player easily, I’d call BS. Just look at the dumpster fire that’s been our 3 spot for years with the exception of half a season of QPon.

Hill
Cunningham
Miller
Lance Stephenson
Anthony Brown
Tony Allen
Babbitt
Alonzo Gee

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Thats a Demps indictment, and the reason he's watching from home.

I excluded Kenrich from most of my discussion. I think he should stick around.

I just don't think we should go overboard with what he's actually done though.

He's putting up 6/4/1 on 39/33/64 splits

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Thats a Demps indictment, and the reason he's watching from home.

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This whole board was scouring for possible SF names. You don’t easily find team first guys who just play and understand the game of basketball without requiring or even wanting the spotlight.

I’ve seen a lot of players come and go over the years, and the one thing I’ll say about Kenrich Williams is he’s truly selfless. He doesn’t shy away from the big or open shots, but he’s never looking for his shot first. Dude’s just a winning basketball player who will do whatever it takes to win basketball games. Kenny Hustle is a very apt nickname. I hope he’s a Pel for a long time if he can keep the mental and emotional attitude he’s carried around with him this season.

I honestly believe in Kenrich’s ability to stay humble and selfless. If there was ever a time for him to try to “get his”, as an UDFA, it would sure as hell be right now...and it doesn’t look like “getting his” had ever crossed his mind. I don’t think that quality is easy to replace or find, so that’s where we disagree on his replacability I think.

ETA: guys like Kenrich are just very easy to plug into lineups with other players...he’s not going to be so deficient at any one area that you have to cover him up with someone else like say Randle on defense...but he’s not going to make you excel at any one area either. You can’t have multiples of him on the floor, but you’re happy as hell if you can find a player like that, at least I am.

They sat Randle and played overtime with a lineup of

Elfrid
Frank
Miller
Kenrich
Diallo