Around the league thread 2021-2022

[FNG]

Yeah, Sacramento does have some interesting pieces (I also like Haliburton and Holmes a lot), but I think they have been held back by the ineffective play of De'Aaron Fox, who should be far and away their best player. I find Fox to be one of the most exciting players in the league (he's considered the fastest player in the league, isn't he?), but I blame Walton for not holding him accountable for his indifferent defense and poor shot selection. Last year the Kings had their worst defensive stats when Fox was on the court, and their best when he was off...and I'm not seeing much difference this year. He ranks last on the Kings in on/off, and the Kings give up 17.8 more points per 100 possessions when he is on the court 35 minutes per night. Compounding his ineffectiveness is his shot selection...he's a terrific offensive force, but is only making 24% of his threes this season (and has only been over 32% once in his five years in the pros).

The Kings are deep in guards with Haliburton, Hield, Mitchell and even Terence Davis for God's sake helping the Kings this year more than Fox. I think Fox has superstar potential, but he's only going to reach it with tough love from the new coach. If Gentry (or whoever becomes the permanent coach) allows Fox to ignore defense and jack up threes at a 24% rate, I think the Kings will continue to stink. But if he can harness Fox's incredible upside and turn him into a positive player, I think the Kings can be pretty good. I'm not holding my breath though. The best thing for the Kings would be to engineer a trade involving Simmons and Fox, and put Haliburton in his most effective position as starting PG.

(Editor's note: this post was shortened through extensive editing to keep D-Loser happy ;-) )

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Woj:

Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins plans to sign a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, source tells ESPN.

[Coolbreeze44]

Woj:

Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins plans to sign a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, source tells ESPN.

Wow, I had not heard that. If that team ever gets healthy, the depth is ridiculous. Wonder if this means Brook will be out for a while. Going to be strange cheering for that bastard.

[Lipoli390]

Woj:

Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins plans to sign a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, source tells ESPN.

Wow, I had not heard that. If that team ever gets healthy, the depth is ridiculous. Wonder if this means Brook will be out for a while. Going to be strange cheering for that bastard.

Lol. Cousins is a strange dude. There's a reason it's taken him until now to catch on with an NBA team. With his talent, he should have already been on and NBA roster. But the Bucks have a solid team culture and they're led by Giannis who is in my view the best player and leader in the NBA. If I could start with one player to build an NBA team, it would be Giannis.

[Coolbreeze44]

Woj:

Free agent center DeMarcus Cousins plans to sign a one-year deal with the Milwaukee Bucks, source tells ESPN.

Wow, I had not heard that. If that team ever gets healthy, the depth is ridiculous. Wonder if this means Brook will be out for a while. Going to be strange cheering for that bastard.

Lol. Cousins is a strange dude. There's a reason it's taken him until now to catch on with an NBA team. With his talent, he should have already been on and NBA roster. But the Bucks have a solid team culture and they're led by Giannis who is in my view the best player and leader in the NBA. If I could start with one player to build an NBA team, it would be Giannis.

I agree Lip, but what if that player had to be under 25? Who would you take then?

I think I'd go with Morant

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

I feel compelled to mention that Luka Doncic isn't even 23-years old yet.

[DNatagal]

Why does everyone assume that a player like Cousin s goes unsigned because no team wants him? And not because that player wants to skip training camp and the first few weeks to watch and PICK the team he wants to play for? Cousins is a weird dude and probably is just in ring chasing mode.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

I feel compelled to mention that Luka Doncic isn't even 23-years old yet.

Speaking of Dallas, it's amazing how that team stays reasonably competitive with basically one great player in Luka and what amounts to a bunch of role players (Porzy is almost always hurt). Here they are at 10-8 this season and Luka is struggling with his shot.

Meanwhile, the Wolves going 10-10 with two max players and a supernova 2nd year player is considered a herculean leap forward for this franchise!

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Tom Thibodeau removed Kemba Walker from the Knicks rotation entirely.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Tom Thibodeau removed Kemba Walker from the Knicks rotation entirely.

I like Kemba Walker. But he seems shot at this point.