03-06-2020, 05:24 PM
(03-06-2020, 03:40 PM)BigDirk41 Wrote: It's a combo of the two imo. I think DP going down was a blessing long term for this franchise. That being said I don't ever wish a player to get hurt and this has more to do with RC than Powell. Powell is only doing what RC wants him to. KP is a lot more effective at the 5 and the Luka/DP PR had become to much of our offense. DP will never be the same, but maybe he can be a decent bench big which is where he belongs. Maxi should be the starter with KP if we don't upgrade at the 4.
I agree. I think at the time Rick thought DP as the rim-roller next to KP was the best use of the talent they had available but it boxed in KP offensively. I was really down on DP but now with the realization that he will likely rejoin Maxi off the bench next year I am optimistic that he's still going to be effective. Much has been said about his athleticism but I also think he's a crafty player who is still going to get open on the rim on dives.
If you watch Zaza as an example, he had zero athleticism but was a crafty and useful player. I think Powell even post injury will have more lift than Zaza ever did and still be able to put the ball on the floor (altho maybe not since that's how he got injured). At any rate we might have been too quick to announce him dead. JJB had a very good vertical for a small guy and now at 35 post injury has no lift at all but is effective bc he is a crafty player. I expect the same for Powell. Am I happy we gave him 40 mil? No and that was before his injury. But I do think he's going to be a good rotation player when he's back.