(06-08-2021, 01:52 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: To me, this is the worst possible scenario. As @"vfromlmf" said the other day very well, "if he's a PF, there are two dozen PF's I'd rather have than KP."
You, @"Kammrath" made a great point the other day about the Clippers' smaller lineup when you pointed out that their rare length at most positions means they're not actually that small.
To ME, that is the benefit (in theory) of KP. He's a unicorn, but only at the 5, where (again, in theory) he has physical advantages in terms of speed, mobility and skill. At the 4, his length is uncommon, yes, but all three of those other things are huge, huge deficiencies.
Like the point you made regarding the Clippers, the UPSIDE to KP (in theory) is that he's faster, quicker and more skilled than other centers WITHOUT giving up any length. He's a small ball center, without being a small ball center. Is he a little too weak? Yes, but I think mostly he just looks that way because he played so soft this year. And, frankly, he looked too slow to play the 5, NOT like he had an advantage there.
EDIT: In my opinion, this whole thing revolves around whether or not the Mavs believe KP can learn how not to get played into being a negative as a DEFENSIVE center. If they can figure that much out, I have a fair amount of faith the offensive end will click, eventually. If they think he'll always be a negative as a DEFENSIVE center, then the whole operation is just a waste of time.
100. That is the biggest worry that I have about KP. You go look at him in NY and he's quicker/faster, even when he gets switched off on guards driving...it took one Google to get a highlight of a KP chase down and block of a guard that was exactly like those drives that Paul George just abused him on over and over...or got a foul. It's apparent, he's not that quick where he is now. If that's the meniscus surgery and inadequate rehab time (because Jaren Jackson had the same surgery a month before KP and barely got back by the end of the season) or it's just the last straw and that quickness is gone forever...that's the question for me.
"There are no friends on the court." - Luka Doncic