re: Lonzo shutting you mfkers up.,

Because his release is so slow. They don't stick to him like they stuck to Darius or stick to JJ.

But the point is, if you cross a certain combination threshold of percentage and attempts, defenses will pay attention. Lonzo is close and can probably get there if he can manage to keep his volume up while improving his shot selection.

So this is one of those conversations where one person is talking about regular season, another the playoffs. Ball may get to a point in the regular season where teams are respecting his shot.

Aminu actually hit 37% on 6 3PA/36 over his 4 years in Portland in the playoffs

You want a safety valve, but the bottom line is the Pels or Blazers won't win playoff games if they are relying on outlets like Ball, Moore, or Aminu. Teams will gladly sell out to limit more dangerous players Ingram or Zion or Lillard or McCollum.

The Blazers struggled to come up with better answers and that has sunk them in the playoffs.

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There are lots of high lottery picks that don't get the big money for contract #2. Why do the Pels have to pay him $80m? Because he was the #2 pick 3 years ago? That's a suspect way to spend

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I agree. I hope that's not how Griff perceives it, esp since we have to be wise w/cap knowing that BI & Zion will get max contracts & we need to build a squad round them.

But I wouldn't be surprised if someone did think he's worth 80 due to his "pedigree." I mean we got Boogie because Vlade thought Buddy was the next Steph Curry.

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The Pels don't "lose" anything if they don't want to pay him.

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Technically you're right in that they don't lose anything, however they do lose the time/resources they used to develop Lonzo. Which can take away from someone that would be here for the long-haul. You lose time attempting to find a lead guard to pair with Zion & possibly pass over someone that would naturally fit better.


again not the worst thing ever, but as with wisely spending money, we have to wisely spend time/resources

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They take their cap space and move on..or work out a sign and trade a la Rozier.

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You're right this could absolutely happen and I don't think anyone would fuss

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Paying guys more than you think they are worth just because of optics is straight out of the Dell Demps playbook

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Right and I'm not suggesting the Pels do this at all. I'm suggesting the optics matter to Lonzo and they matter to other GMs/POBOs

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wouldn't be surprised if someone did think he's worth 80 due to his "pedigree."

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Sure. There are plenty of dumb teams out there; less than ever but it only takes one. The Pels can't worry about them.

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mean we got Boogie because Vlade thought Buddy was the next Steph Curry.

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Vivek thought that + the Kings didn't want to pay Cousins the supermax.

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they do lose the time/resources they used to develop Lonzo. Which can take away from someone that would be here for the long-haul. You lose time attempting to find a lead guard to pair with Zion & possibly pass over someone that would naturally fit better.

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This is a bad way to think about it. Their job is develop all the players they have on the roster. Whether it's the #1 pick or the G-League prospect.

You don't "lose time" if a guy doesn't stick. You tried to make it work and it didn't. It happens. Good teams still learn something from that experience and apply those lessons going forward.

They have literally no data on how Zion will play in real NBA games and who will fit naturally. Maybe it's Lonzo and he plays so well he prices himself out of NO. Sad, but they still have a blueprint of what type of player works. Or maybe he's a disaster w/ Zion. Now they have an idea of what doesn't work. This happens all the time and is exactly where the Pelicans are right now.

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this at all. I'm suggesting the optics matter to Lonzo 

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Any evidence or just a fear because his dad is an a-hole and he's an LA guy?

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and end up with 10-12 mil a year

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lulz

How is this the allstar type production this board prophesied?

Its still basically 12/6/6. His career average basically. LOL.

Its still 41% fg shooting during his best stretch of the season so far. He’s not shutting me up, he’s proving the point that he is not an allstar level player or anything close to it.

Not sure who touted him as all star level, only one I've seen touted like that is Ingram.

He is a solid player though, along the lines of Rondo, which is what we need

Cap space will dry up quick with all the big names hitting the market..

As of right now in 21-22 season when his contract is up, there are only 7 teams projected to have over 20 million in cap space..

Not saying we will definitely get him for that price, but with all the names hitting the market and the limited cap space (as of now), he may fly under the radar

Agree he hasn't shown All Star potential yet, but if he can nail 40+% of set shot open threes and corner threes, push tempo, pass effectively and penetrate the lane using his 6'6" frame--all of which he's shown flashes of recently, then he can be a plus starter.

Coming out of UCLA Lonzo was compared often to Jason Kidd coming out of Cal. A big lede guard who couldn't shoot much, but was fast up and down the court, a beautiful passer who made his teammates better when he was on the floor.

Kidd's first couple of years in the league with Dallas he shot under 40% from the floor, under 33% from the 3 point line and under 70% on his FTs. Dallas ended up choosing to let him go after two years. Soon afterward all his shooting numbers began to improve and he became an All Star PG.

Just an example of what can happen. I actually think the thing Lonzo most needs to focus on is not his shooting, it's his assist numbers. If he's going to be on the floor, he needs to be generating more easy buckets with his passing.

He is a poor man’s jkidd. Which is terrible in todays NBA.

J kidd type players are less effective in todays NBA. Even JKidd had to develop a three his last few years.