(02-27-2021, 07:45 PM)KillerLeft Wrote: to be a contender you need at least a good, clutch defense
100% agree.
Where I diverge from you is this:
I think KP's defensive slippage is a NEW thing, like real new. This year is the first time in his whole career he is not a defensive plus. The reason I loved him before he was drafted and the reason I loved the Mavs trading for him was NOT his offense, it was his defense.
His D has suddenly gone AWOL. As he said in the interview yesterday, it is weird for him this year because mentally he is seeing how he is supposed to be reacting defensively and what play to make but his body isn't responding. He seems confused by it but optimistic it will return with more time.
I think the watershed questions on KP are these two big ones:
1) Will his D recover to previous levels?
2) Even if it does, what is his fit truly with Luka, RC, the locker room, and the Mavs organizational culture?
I am anxious his D will never return, but I am not certain on that....so a fence-rider on question one and willing to be patient with that. But this year I have come to decisively believe that question two is a negative, that he is NOT a fit with Luka, RC, the locker room, and the organization.
I think it is time to move on from KP, BUT I would want to rehab his value and image as much as possible before making a move...so I would wait till the summer unless a hell of a deal comes knocking.