07-11-2023, 08:22 AM
(07-11-2023, 06:38 AM)surfpuckmd Wrote: I've brought up Derrick Jones Jr several times here. I think he's the best fit as a small-ball four. Athletic enough to switch onto guards and generally a strong defender and energy guy off the bench. He has improved his 3-point shooting and would likely shoot even better on the open looks he'd get from playing with Luka and Kyrie. He's clearly available for cheap and possibly even the vet minimum. I think we'd be wise to offer him above the minimum with a second year team option. Something like 2 years, $9 million total.
The other player who could work here is Darius Bazley. He is already a very good NBA defender. His defensive RAPTOR was 3.0 last season which puts him in elite company. His defensive rating was 110.8 last season which is pretty good. For comparison, Finney Smith was 117 last year (lower is better). Marcus Smart last year was at 111.7. Anyway, Bazley is already a very good defender. Solid rebounder for a four. He also has a 7-foot wingspan. He can cover the perimeter and provides good rim protection (2 blocks per 36 minutes)
I'll add to that Javonte Green and Kenrich Williams as guys I'd like to see here.
We just paid a whole lot of money to a guy that went 9-29 (31%) on FG and 3-20 (15%) 3-pt% in both our win or go home elimination games last couple of playoffs. SMH