Manon "might" be a candidate IF Walter's organization can develop him properly. Very athletic and D oriented, with now some proof of life on offense including from deep. Not saying now.
The one in charge of measuring heights was bribed by Timme’s agent with a C-Note to increase the reading by a few inches
i think rui maybe didn't do the combine? could be he's bigger than listed? i don't know; combine measurements are historically pretty accurate, but timme looks a full two inches smaller and many lbs lighter there. but in college, he didn't, imo.
Luka AR Smart Bron Ayton Rui LaRavia Kennard This is our 8 man playoff rotation. It's quite solid to be honest. Lacks defense specialists outside Smart, but those are all legit NBA players, with 3 being All-star level. I know the level is high and the lack of fit between the pieces is an issue, but this is a good opportunity for the coach to shine. We gotta win a playoff series regardless of the matchup. Vando and Hayes may play some games. Bronny and Thiero are not playing. So there's 3 spots where we can still add a 9th/10th player, elevating the squad. We have Kleber and Knecht to trade and an open roster spot. I think 2-ways can't play the playoffs, so I imagine we sign one of Timme/Bufkin/Nick Smith? Doing a consolidation trade for Kleber and Knecht would be ideal. Give an expire and a small contract on a kid that can score 30 in the NBA. Terance Mann makes SO much sense. Give the Nets a 10 million relief. Perfect spot for Knecht and the extra year on Mann's contract doesn't bother me. I imagine we spend 15M in a worse player than Mann. I would sign Mann over Rui. Then we get someone like Ball. Giving us this bench unit Ball, Lennard, Mann LaRavia, Rui. Still have Vando and Hayes That's more interesting without spending extra assets
Lonzo is averaging 4.6, 4 & 4 on 30% shooting overall and 27% from 3 this season. He’s not athletic like he once was either, I’m not sure he can help here.
That's because of the minutes. It's 8-7-7 and 2.2 steals per 36. Maybe his shooting comes back. I see him playing 10 to 12 minutes. In the playoffs, the stars play 38+, so he would get two 5 minute stretches, mostly to defend the guard. Maybe longer against quicker guards. A kind of situational 10th player
Smart Reaves / Kennard Luka / LaRavia LeBron / Rui / Vando Ayton / Hayes Pretty decent group. Still clear weaknesses, but a good basketball team. I've probably underappreciated just how much of a boost we could get from having Austin back. We could return to being one of the very best offenses in the league and a real problem for teams that aren't great defending the P&R. Assuming relatively good health, I'm pretty confident we stay out of the play-in.