06-24-2021, 02:55 PM
(06-24-2021, 09:40 AM)Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo Wrote: Batum is good and he is a useful player, but Batum over Lauri? I know the Mavs are in win now mode because of a top 5 player, but Lauri still holds a lot of promise and could be a missed opportunity once again. Remember Dirk is on board and can have a defined/different role by the start of the season. And who knows? maybe Dirk can teach Lauri to be a better rebounder, teach him some of the swipes he makes as a defender, maybe some moves to punish smaller defenders, or make his face-up game better.
I won't repeat Mvossman, he expressed some of what I think very well. Whether you value Batum or Lauri more highly depends on what you have at C. If KP is still here, I'd much rather have Batum. If Gobert was here, I could see the argument for Lauri.
With that said, can we please all stop with the line of thought that says..."I know (fill in player's name) has always been (fill in issue...bad at rebounding, a health risk, a crappy FT shooter, a bad 3 point shooter)." "But, just wait until he gets here. Surely (fill in Mav player or coach or trainer) will fix that". It is total crap. Other teams have trainers and shooting coaches and and and. The idea that habitually unhealthy guys are going to suddenly stay healthy because Casey Smith is so much better than all the other trainers is just rooting for laundry.
Just to be clear, I view this differently than saying "(fill in player) is really skilled at open 3's, but gets no space on his current team. Luka creates lots of open looks and I expect (rename player) to see a rise in his TS% because of it". I think some level of that has been observable and is likely to be true.