Naz is back!

[AussieWolf3]

And yet OKC just signed Jaylin Williams for 3/24. He doesn’t play nearly as many minutes as Naz, but you can argue that he’s in the same tier of player (if you take off your Homer glasses and quit paying a premium for “popularity “). He gets basically the same number of rebounds in significantly less minutes and he’s a better 3 point shooter than Naz (this is Naz supposed strength)

Sure, I’d still prefer Naz slightly, but how do you expect to compete with a team when you’re pay 25/year and they’re paying 8/year, for similar players?

If you wanna come back and say Naz is way better, that’s fine, but I’d say you’re dreaming. Who was the better player in the WCF? Naz has disappeared for 3 playoff years in a row. He is exactly the opposite of Jaden. He melts when it matters most. But we gave him a huge contract because he is… popular. What a joke

Taking issue with the extension of Naz is a perfectly reasonable position

This take...? Is completely unhinged. Similar players?! Better 3 point shooter?

Jaylin played the 10th most minutes on the thunder in the regular season and 11th in the postseason, Naz was 5th. Yeah he really swung things for them on their championship run

Are you really taking his 1 percentage point superiority in 3 point shooting as evidence that Jaylin is better 3 point shooter? He shot 3.3 attempts a game to Naz's 5.8. What's Jaylin range, cause naz can shoot from basically anywhere? Naz has shown that he can be a movement shooter, has Jaylin?
Naz create his own shot to some extent (will need to improve) can Jaylin?

The deal is what it is, I don't consider it an overpay but I am concerned about Naz has a defender in the playoffs, mostly because he fouls too much. He also has just generally disappointed in the playoffs.
He is also still young enough that he can improve, something he has done every year. And perhaps with a solidified paycheck, he is able to establish a more clearly defined role on the team because he has been asked to do a lot, and good portion of that isn't best suited to his strengths.

Yall really need to separate the last thing you saw from your overall evaluation. Naz was a big disappointment against the Thunder, and was also a winning player this year. Both things can be true

Yeah, I get that my comparison is a little outlandish, but my point is that I’m really not as impressed as most people with Naz whole body of work. Naz has been given a pretty good opportunity, that a guy like Jaylin hasn’t necessarily been given because of OKC depth. Naz is a 4 and only a 4, so no positional flexibility, to go with being a weak defender who also chokes on the offensive end when it matters most (3 years in a row now)

If I were the GM I’d give him a number and if it’s rejected, I’d find a way to replace his production at half the price. I mean you’ve got guys like Jaden and Shannon who could both potentially play some 4 and now with Randle back, you’re calling me unhinged because I don’t want to pay a very flawed player 25 mil per year lol. Ok dude.

I specifically said that not wanting to pay Naz what he was paid is an understandable position.

There is just simply no comparison between Jaylin Williams and Naz Ried, none, and resorting to this significantly weakens your position.

As fans we tend to really misunderstand and over emphasis bargin contracts. Which makes sense because paying a player less than they're worth is a competitive advantage. The fact is that your roster can't be made up of entirely maximized, efficient contracts- you'll end with a roster full of players who are mathematically hyper efficient, but if that efficiency is spread over 15 players when only 5 can take the court, you'll be worse off every time.

Take it further and realize that players are not stable mathmatical variables but highly dynamic ones that are dependant on a number of highly variable factors.

So is Jaylin Williams more valuable at 8M in his role as defensive specialist who rebounds well and hit his 3 point shots at a decent clip than Naz at 25? Idk i guess time will tell but I find it difficult to believe, and in fact I think the conversation is a non started. Regardless the body of work that Naz has presented over his career is one that reportedly multiple teams deemed worthy of paying more than 5/125. Deny that if you want, but that's what's being reported and if it's true than the Wolves paid below market value to retain a player who has helped them to consecutive WCF

[AussieWolf3]

One dimensional power forwards who aren’t even elite at their one dimension are dime a dozen, and our GM just massively overpaid for one because he’s too lazy to find better solutions. Now with Randle back, this looks even worse. I’ll have to read more about Randle’s deal, but not exactly a chess move giving 25 mil to a bench player TC

Here's a fun exercise with blind stats

14.7/4.8/3.2--- 22.8M this year
17.0/4/1.4--- 23.3M
22.2/5.6/2.0---23.4M
22.2/3.9/4.4--- 24.4M

Naz as a starter this year (numbers aren't exact)

21.1/10.3/3.6/1.6

Wanna guess who these players are? Decent chuck are power forwards making more money than Naz

[D-Loser25]

One dimensional power forwards who aren’t even elite at their one dimension are dime a dozen, and our GM just massively overpaid for one because he’s too lazy to find better solutions. Now with Randle back, this looks even worse. I’ll have to read more about Randle’s deal, but not exactly a chess move giving 25 mil to a bench player TC

Here's a fun exercise with blind stats

14.7/4.8/3.2--- 22.8M this year
17.0/4/1.4--- 23.3M
22.2/5.6/2.0---23.4M
22.2/3.9/4.4--- 24.4M

Naz as a starter this year (numbers aren't exact)

21.1/10.3/3.6/1.6

Wanna guess who these players are? Decent chuck are power forwards making more money than Naz

First, just because there’s a lot of other stupid GM’s, doesn’t make it ok for TC to be one too.

Second, when did Naz average 10.3 reb as a starter and what was that sample size? Wasn’t that like a 13 game stretch where the team was 5-8? That sample size is too small, sorry.

I like Naz and if Randle would have been traded (or if he still is), I’d feel a lot better about Naz getting that to start.

What really gets me is when you bid against yourself, and it sounds like there was some legit competition for Naz, but I can’t believe there was for Randle. To the person who said that Dallas and Houston were bidding against themselves for FVV and Irving - I would have called that stupid too. Speaking of FVV, 2/50 right? That’s exactly what Randle should have got. That’s actually a trade I would love, Randle for FVV, but Houston is super set at PF now, so it would have to be a three way (like my dream last night)