longstrangetrip wrote:What a terrific series this Heat/Raptors series has been...4th consecutive close game. Gotta admit I'm cheering for Toronto to close them out. I want our 2016-7 starting SF well rested when training camp starts in October!
I think I'd rather have Deng start at PF than have him start at SF, essentially pushing LaVine to a role off the bench. I could be in the minority there, though.
The reason I like Deng for us is the flexibility he gives. I think he is a great fit for our team. I also agree I would put him at the 4.
longstrangetrip wrote:What a terrific series this Heat/Raptors series has been...4th consecutive close game. Gotta admit I'm cheering for Toronto to close them out. I want our 2016-7 starting SF well rested when training camp starts in October!
I think I'd rather have Deng start at PF than have him start at SF, essentially pushing LaVine to a role off the bench. I could be in the minority there, though.
The reason I like Deng for us is the flexibility he gives. I think he is a great fit for our team. I also agree I would put him at the 4.
Yeah, he's long enough to be effective at the 4 too. But in this series he's defending one of the toughest SGs in the league, and making life miserable for him. The guy never takes a play off on defense.
longstrangetrip wrote:What a terrific series this Heat/Raptors series has been...4th consecutive close game. Gotta admit I'm cheering for Toronto to close them out. I want our 2016-7 starting SF well rested when training camp starts in October!
I think I'd rather have Deng start at PF than have him start at SF, essentially pushing LaVine to a role off the bench. I could be in the minority there, though.
The reason I like Deng for us is the flexibility he gives. I think he is a great fit for our team. I also agree I would put him at the 4.
Yeah, he's long enough to be effective at the 4 too. But in this series he's defending one of the toughest SGs in the league, and making life miserable for him. The guy never takes a play off on defense.
That's what we need. His versatility allows us to use him in multiple ways allowing us to match up well against other teams.
longstrangetrip wrote:What a terrific series this Heat/Raptors series has been...4th consecutive close game. Gotta admit I'm cheering for Toronto to close them out. I want our 2016-7 starting SF well rested when training camp starts in October!
I think I'd rather have Deng start at PF than have him start at SF, essentially pushing LaVine to a role off the bench. I could be in the minority there, though.
The reason I like Deng for us is the flexibility he gives. I think he is a great fit for our team. I also agree I would put him at the 4.
Yeah, he's long enough to be effective at the 4 too. But in this series he's defending one of the toughest SGs in the league, and making life miserable for him. The guy never takes a play off on defense.
in a perfect world I think you leave the starting lineup as is and utilize Deng in an Iggy type role with maybe some spot starts against certain teams.
longstrangetrip wrote:What a terrific series this Heat/Raptors series has been...4th consecutive close game. Gotta admit I'm cheering for Toronto to close them out. I want our 2016-7 starting SF well rested when training camp starts in October!
I think I'd rather have Deng start at PF than have him start at SF, essentially pushing LaVine to a role off the bench. I could be in the minority there, though.
The reason I like Deng for us is the flexibility he gives. I think he is a great fit for our team. I also agree I would put him at the 4.
Yeah, he's long enough to be effective at the 4 too. But in this series he's defending one of the toughest SGs in the league, and making life miserable for him. The guy never takes a play off on defense.
in a perfect world I think you leave the starting lineup as is and utilize Deng in an Iggy type role with maybe some spot starts against certain teams.
I agree that Deng off the bench would be ideal, but the problem with that is it would be damn near impossible to get him to sign here in that role. He likely still feels that he's a starter in this league, and judging by the playoffs so far, he has a decent case. Even Iguodala signed with the Warriors to be a starter. It just happened that during his time there the team was better off with Barnes surrounded by the starters and him off the bench as the sixth man. That situation evolved into what it is now. I don't see Deng signing anywhere unless he's projected to be a starter from the jump. I'm not willing to bump LaVine from the SG spot. That's where the issue is for me.
Deng off the bench, though, would be money well spent in almost any case. Imagine the defensive capabilities too, even with him at PF. The ability to switch on ball screens and defend the perimeter 1-5 has never been as important as it is today.
longstrangetrip wrote:What a terrific series this Heat/Raptors series has been...4th consecutive close game. Gotta admit I'm cheering for Toronto to close them out. I want our 2016-7 starting SF well rested when training camp starts in October!
I think I'd rather have Deng start at PF than have him start at SF, essentially pushing LaVine to a role off the bench. I could be in the minority there, though.
The reason I like Deng for us is the flexibility he gives. I think he is a great fit for our team. I also agree I would put him at the 4.
Yeah, he's long enough to be effective at the 4 too. But in this series he's defending one of the toughest SGs in the league, and making life miserable for him. The guy never takes a play off on defense.
in a perfect world I think you leave the starting lineup as is and utilize Deng in an Iggy type role with maybe some spot starts against certain teams.
I agree that Deng off the bench would be ideal, but the problem with that is it would be damn near impossible to get him to sign here in that role. He likely still feels that he's a starter in this league, and judging by the playoffs so far, he has a decent case. Even Iguodala signed with the Warriors to be a starter. It just happened that during his time there the team was better off with Barnes surrounded by the starters and him off the bench as the sixth man. That situation evolved into what it is now. I don't see Deng signing anywhere unless he's projected to be a starter from the jump. I'm not willing to bump LaVine from the SG spot. That's where the issue is for me.
Deng off the bench, though, would be money well spent in almost any case. Imagine the defensive capabilities too, even with him at PF. The ability to switch on ball screens and defend the perimeter 1-5 has never been as important as it is today.
Like I said in a perfect world...
TKRO said it well and you say it too Deng would bring alot of versatility.
I agree getting Deng to sign as a 6th man is unlikely however Iggy and Manu are examples of very good players that came off the bench for championship level teams so you could try and sell him on that I suppose I would. I wouldn't have a problem with starting him at PF either. Having Dieng coming of the bench would be uber sweet. Lets be honest though if Deng signs here he will play a ton. From what posters here and other comments I have seen on Twitter he is very valueable and Thibs loves him. I don't know what kind o contract he will command but assuming its well under a max level contract he is my top guy because all the things he brings and having a combo forward like him is a huge need for this team along with him being a terrific vet.
Okay, so how much money are you going to give him? Next year when he turns 32 will be his 13th year in the league. There is a lot of mileage on those legs. Not everybody can play well into their mid 30's like KG did. A lot of players fall off the cliff, either in quality of play or in durability. See Kevin Martin. We've seen the best of Luol Deng by a long shot. Again, if he was the last piece to our championship puzzle it would be one thing, but he's not. He's already failed to reach 65 games in his career 3 times. I just see him being a risk not worth taking, especially with what you are going to have to pay him.
Portland is a fun team to watch. So many guys on that team have stepped up their game this year. Aminu seems to finally have reached his potential when he was drafted what seems like forever ago. He seems more capable of putting the ball on the floor in addition to being able to hit jumpers. Plumblee who would have thought he would become a facilitator?
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Okay, so how much money are you going to give him? Next year when he turns 32 will be his 13th year in the league. There is a lot of mileage on those legs. Not everybody can play well into their mid 30's like KG did. A lot of players fall off the cliff, either in quality of play or in durability. See Kevin Martin. We've seen the best of Luol Deng by a long shot. Again, if he was the last piece to our championship puzzle it would be one thing, but he's not. He's already failed to reach 65 games in his career 3 times. I just see him being a risk not worth taking, especially with what you are going to have to pay him.
You bring up a good point. Maybe not just how much but how long?
CoolBreeze44 wrote:Okay, so how much money are you going to give him? Next year when he turns 32 will be his 13th year in the league. There is a lot of mileage on those legs. Not everybody can play well into their mid 30's like KG did. A lot of players fall off the cliff, either in quality of play or in durability. See Kevin Martin. We've seen the best of Luol Deng by a long shot. Again, if he was the last piece to our championship puzzle it would be one thing, but he's not. He's already failed to reach 65 games in his career 3 times. I just see him being a risk not worth taking, especially with what you are going to have to pay him.
You bring up a good point. Maybe not just how much but how long?
Right, he's going to be looking for that term length on this contract. I'd hate to see us give him 4 years.
