Why dont we want Waiters?

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Because in order for Flip to not look stupid for selecting LaVine, he would have to hope Waiters fails, and that's awkward

I find it odd that you were (are?) so high on Shabazz Muhammed, yet so skeptical with LaVine. While I think it's too early to pass judgment on either player, LaVine certainly appears to have a ton more versatility to his game, not to mention a natural position that is better aligned to his physical profile.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

Because in order for Flip to not look stupid for selecting LaVine, he would have to hope Waiters fails, and that's awkward

In what world is this accurate? Not this one.

[worldK]

Because in order for Flip to not look stupid for selecting LaVine, he would have to hope Waiters fails, and that's awkward

I find it odd that you were (are?) so high on Shabazz Muhammed, yet so skeptical with LaVine. While I think it's too early to pass judgment on either player, LaVine certainly appears to have a ton more versatility to his game, not to mention a natural position that is better aligned to his physical profile.

Agree q. I find shabazz to be the odd man out in the wing rotation this upcoming season.

[WildWolf2813]

Because in order for Flip to not look stupid for selecting LaVine, he would have to hope Waiters fails, and that's awkward

I find it odd that you were (are?) so high on Shabazz Muhammed, yet so skeptical with LaVine. While I think it's too early to pass judgment on either player, LaVine certainly appears to have a ton more versatility to his game, not to mention a natural position that is better aligned to his physical profile.

Here's why I'm skeptical on LaVine. He hasn't played at a high level anywhere. All we know about LaVine is that he dunks. He's a player in serious need of player development on a franchise that has failed at player development for 25 years and counting. We've seen him at his worst, and that's Shved. There isn't an NBA skill LaVine possesses besides being athletic. From conference play going forward, he couldn't shoot, he couldn't drive, he couldn't finish, yet we're expecting him to one day do all of these things and more on an elite level? We've ripped players with better resumes than LaVine's, yet there's way more patience for a guy like LaVine then there has been for Muhammad and I'll never understand why.

With that said, unlike everyone else regarding Muhammad, I'd love to see LaVine get every opportunity to succeed or fail.

Because in order for Flip to not look stupid for selecting LaVine, he would have to hope Waiters fails, and that's awkward

In what world is this accurate? Not this one.

If Waiters succeeds, Flip drafted a guy that he HOPES one day will be a serviceable bench player. That's a waste. If LaVine succeeds, Waiters will have to come off the bench, something he will not do much longer as he'd go somewhere else. Either way, someone will not look as good with that kind of arrangement.

[Monster]

Wild did you watch LaVine in SL? I know its just SL but he looked pretty skilled there.

[Camden [enjin:6601484]]

"If Waiters succeeds, Flip drafted a guy that he HOPES one day will be a serviceable bench player. That's a waste. If LaVine succeeds, Waiters will have to come off the bench, something he will not do much longer as he'd go somewhere else. Either way, someone will not look as good with that kind of arrangement."

If Waiters succeeds, then we drafted LaVine as a Jamal Crawford sixth man type. Or if LaVine shows that he's an even better player with a higher ceiling that he can get to, then we trade Waiters for assets. Keep in mind that drafting a good player at 13 that comes off your bench due to being good at a starting position should not be looked at as a negative ever. That's how teams go from good to great.

There's also the small chance that Rubio and his camp accept a QO after next season and decide to walk. LaVine at PG and Waiters at SG works fine for me.

Point is, there's no negative in having too much talent.

[bleedspeed]

Point is, there's no negative in having too much talent.

Disagree

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Lavine has already shown he has an NBA handle. He has NBA range on his jumper and just needs to tighten up his shooting mechanics. You'd also be surprised how being able to jump as high as he can and dunk will help him finish at the rim. Rubio meanwhile has to play below the rim and get his shot off quickly before it gets blocked. When you can dunk you're more likely to at least get fouled than get straight up blocked. His game already has the outline of a legit NBA guard where nothing Bazz does well is associated with playing the wing. He has a PF's game in a SG's body. I also think adding Flip's son will be huge for our guard development moving forward as he was coaching up Wall and Beal in Washington last season and I think they both improved a lot last year. The college style of play is making it increasingly difficult to judge how players will translate because the spacing is so different in the NBA that angles and lanes open up on this level to get to the rim and post up down low that just don't exist in college. That's why things like rebounding, steals, etc. translate much better than shooting and scoring because they are effort plays more than skill plays. The room to utilize those skills isn't really there in college, but all of a sudden exists when they get to this level. Even Jabari in SL was praising the additional space he has to work with now is going to help his game. We may be too high on Lavine, but a lot of this game has to do with confidence and I don't see how seeing your minutes drop in college on a mediocre team helps you continue to come off the bench efficiently to earn your playing time back.

[bleedspeed]

I think LaVine is better off playing with Martin and Rubio then having Waiters on the team. I think Flip need to look at this as who does he think is a better player. LaVine or Waiters. Then move forward. I like the idea of landing Young for this team. He gives us some flexibility in being able to play both PF and SF. I think landing Wiggins means that we should explore moving Shabazz. Flip made it sound like there was a market for him. I would explore that market.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Wildwolf, The difference between LaVine and Muhammed is twofold: First, Muhammed came into UCLA totally mature physically. Not only was he older by a year than most freshmen, but he also had the body of a lumberjack. He was completely filled out and clearly finished growing vertically as well. LaVine on the other hand was a fairly young freshman who is still not done physically developing (both upward and outward). LaVine may have another inch to grow plus 20 lbs to add.

Second, I would consider Summer League fairly high level. It's less structured than college games of course, but the pure talent level is closer to the NBA than D-I. Shabazz and LaVine basically played side by side and any bystander could tell that LaVine had the more complete skill-set. My goodness, he was running the offense most of the time.

I'm not convinced either of these guys will end up being great players, or even good ones for that matter (I actually like the Shved example as LaVine's floor). It's simply too early to tell. But if one were trying to get a beat on their respective ceilings, there is no question LaVine comes out on top. Yet you continue to beat the drum that Shabazz should be our starting SF, etc., etc. Have you even watched Shabazz play over the past year? It seems like you are still going off of his AAU days.