Ant signs max extension

[Q-is-here]

Isn't he still only 21? I mean he could be in college still, not be an All Star already. Which had me thinking that he simply didn't have the experience really to play the pick and roll lob game with Rudy. He is still a young player so and he is making improvements year over year (unlike the other guy who is 27 or 28 who thinks his defense is great but leads the league in fouls).

He is improving and I think his playoff performance left a lasting impression on fans. But he didn't take the vaunted "3rd year leap" many expected. He incrementally improved in a few areas, but also turned the ball over more (which may be a down payment on improved play making in the future, so I think I'm ok with that....it means he's trying shit).

I'm hopeful he keeps getting better, but just because he's young doesn't make it inevitable.

[Wolvesfan21]

Isn't he still only 21? I mean he could be in college still, not be an All Star already. Which had me thinking that he simply didn't have the experience really to play the pick and roll lob game with Rudy. He is still a young player so and he is making improvements year over year (unlike the other guy who is 27 or 28 who thinks his defense is great but leads the league in fouls).

He is improving and I think his playoff performance left a lasting impression on fans. But he didn't take the vaunted "3rd year leap" many expected. He incrementally improved in a few areas, but also turned the ball over more (which may be a down payment on improved play making in the future, so I think I'm ok with that....it means he's trying shit).

I'm hopeful he keeps getting better, but just because he's young doesn't make it inevitable.

He's proven he will work very hard and play very hard, isn't satisfied with being just a great "NBA All Star". I compared his playmaking stats to LeBron and Wade and he is behind in that aspect in terms of age for age. You are right that is an area he needs work. Turnovers to assists (too high) and assist in general are too low.

I like the areas he did take a leap in. Many concern was that he wouldn't be even an avg 3 point shooter for instance. I don't think he is "on track" to be a best ever which he says he wants to be. He's behind still. We'll see if a "4th year" leap is coming. Maybe Ant will make that a thing.

[Lipoli390]

Isn't he still only 21? I mean he could be in college still, not be an All Star already. Which had me thinking that he simply didn't have the experience really to play the pick and roll lob game with Rudy. He is still a young player so and he is making improvements year over year (unlike the other guy who is 27 or 28 who thinks his defense is great but leads the league in fouls).

He is improving and I think his playoff performance left a lasting impression on fans. But he didn't take the vaunted "3rd year leap" many expected. He incrementally improved in a few areas, but also turned the ball over more (which may be a down payment on improved play making in the future, so I think I'm ok with that....it means he's trying shit).

I'm hopeful he keeps getting better, but just because he's young doesn't make it inevitable.

Agreed that being young is no guarantee of improvement. But I’m not sure what sort of 3rd year leap you were expecting. Ant’s improvement from year 2 to 3 was significant and in line with the improvement of Kobe, Dwayne Wade and other past superstars from year 2 to 3. For example, Ant’s PPG increased by 3.3, rebounding by 1.0, assists by .5, FG% by 1.8% and 3-point shooting by 1.2%. Wade’s scoring increased by 3.1, rebounding by .5, FG% by 1.7%. His assists and 3-point percentages declined slightly. Kobe’s improvement was a bit better than Ant’s, but not dramatically better. I was a bit concerned by Ant’s margin improvement between his rookie and second seasons. But his improvement from seasons 2 to 3 was substantial overall, especially when you consider his defensive improvement. Imagine Ant’s improvement from year 2 to 3 if he had come to camp in shape and didn’t have to adjust to a significantly different team with Rudy coming in as the new starting center, KAT going down for most of the season and players like Pat Bev, Vando and Beasley gone.

Of course, this discussion is just academic. The proof will be in the pudding. No matter how we characterize Ant’s improvement from year 2 got 3, it doesn’t matter if he fails to continue improving, which should include reducing his turnovers and making smarter decision.

[thedoper]

Easiest decision this franchise has ever had. As long as he is on this team we've got a lot to look forward to. I expect further improvement as he moves into year 4.

[kekgeek]

I didn’t know where to put those but Hailburton was on the PG podcast today and Haliburton mentioned he is the most excited to play with Ant with team USA and Ant is one of his best friends in the league.

Also they told a story about All Star game where Mike Malone came up with a play for Ant to throw a lob and Ant was like “I can’t coach, someone else, I can’t throw lobs it will go over the backboard”

Makes sense why Ant struggled getting Rudy involved so much

[Lipoli390]

I didn’t know where to put those but Hailburton was on the PG podcast today and Haliburton mentioned he is the most excited to play with Ant with team USA and Ant is one of his best friends in the league.

Also they told a story about All Star game where Mike Malone came up with a play for Ant to throw a lob and Ant was like “I can’t coach, someone else, I can’t throw lobs it will go over the backboard”

Makes sense why Ant struggled getting Rudy involved so much

Thanks for posting, Kek. Interesting stuff. I love Ant’s quote!

[Monster]

I didn’t know where to put those but Hailburton was on the PG podcast today and Haliburton mentioned he is the most excited to play with Ant with team USA and Ant is one of his best friends in the league.

Also they told a story about All Star game where Mike Malone came up with a play for Ant to throw a lob and Ant was like “I can’t coach, someone else, I can’t throw lobs it will go over the backboard”

Makes sense why Ant struggled getting Rudy involved so much

Thanks for posting, Kek. Interesting stuff. I love Ant’s quote!

Good stuff Kel thanks for sharing.

It’s easy to forget that various things often take talent. Not everyone is good at throwing lobs. Certain people and players often have some sort of knack for something that just seems like they do. I’m not saying players or people can’t get better at things but it’s worth remembering some people are good at what they do because there is some sort of innate talent or desire to be good at that thing. Id guess Edwards will get better at throwing lobs. Will he be really good at it? Maybe not but he is just so talented that it seems likely he will eventually get to the place he can make some plays in that regard.

Edit:

Below is a video of what Kek was talking about plus another funny story. This podcast is like 2 hours long but there was lots of good stuff in it. Speaking of guys not being good at things they had a conversation about that. Paul George said one thing he has never gotten good at is back cutting. He said for some reason he just can’t get it right.

https://twitter.com/podcastpshow/status ... vZFquP67pw

[60WinTim]

I find Flagrant Howls a fun podcast to listen to. Kyle Theige was out in Vegas and had some stories about ANT and his extension, along with other stuff. It's really a great listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guUZWnURfk8

[Q-is-here]

I find Flagrant Howls a fun podcast to listen to. Kyle Theige was out in Vegas and had some stories about ANT and his extension, along with other stuff. It's really a great listen!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guUZWnURfk8

That was great, thanks for posting Tim. Kyle is good at dropping witty one-liners that are sometimes hard to catch. One that I almost missed was when he mentioned seeing Kawhi Leonard: "I recognized him because he was in street clothes." Nice.

His Ant story at the blackjack table was a good one too.