2023-24 Around the NBA Thread

[Yuma]

IDK, I have been on the opposite bandwagon for the Suns. The last decade or so, we got highly skilled players that lacked athleticism and kept struggling against or getting beat by teams with more athleticism than us. This season we are leaning in to younger, longer, more athletic guys to round out our roster. You guys better hope what you are saying isn't true.

 

[AzStevenCal]

IDK, I have been on the opposite bandwagon for the Suns. The last decade or so, we got highly skilled players that lacked athleticism and kept struggling against or getting beat by teams with more athleticism than us. This season we are leaning in to younger, longer, more athletic guys to round out our roster. You guys better hope what you are saying isn't true.

I don't believe anyone here wants players because they aren't athletic, we just don't want them solely because of it. During the McD era we prioritized athleticism and that was a huge mistake and cost us dearly. We've gone a little bit the other way since Ryan was fired but not even JJ is in search of non-athletes, he just wants smart, mature players that can shoot above all else.

 

[Yuma]

I don't believe anyone here wants players because they aren't athletic, we just don't want them solely because of it. During the McD era we prioritized athleticism and that was a huge mistake and cost us dearly. We've gone a little bit the other way since Ryan was fired but not even JJ is in search of non-athletes, he just wants smart, mature players that can shoot above all else.

I think you need a roster mix of guys, like we have. Top heavy on the skilled part, then athletic on the rest!

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think you need a roster mix of guys, like we have. Top heavy on the skilled part, then athletic on the rest!

Yeah, I believe athleticism is important especially quickness and speed but even still, I'd prioritize shooting, positional length, work ethic, BBIQ, teachability and a clean medical resume.

 

[Hoop Head]

I'm still a bit surprised Josh Jackson flamed out of the league like he did. He was super athletic and had a good motor. He was a knucklehead, which is a variable you really count account for. Some knuckleheads can make it work, see JR Smith and Lamar Odom, but I think they need strong leaders to keep them in check so their boneheaded antics dont derail their teams or careers. Booker wasn't ready to lead back then and it unfair for the Suns to expect him to. Really makes ya wonder though if we did make the trade with Cleveland for Kyrie and sending them Bledsoe and Josh how things may have turned out on both ends.

 

[Yuma]

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[Yuma]

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[Phrazbit]

I'm still a bit surprised Josh Jackson flamed out of the league like he did. He was super athletic and had a good motor. He was a knucklehead, which is a variable you really count account for. Some knuckleheads can make it work, see JR Smith and Lamar Odom, but I think they need strong leaders to keep them in check so their boneheaded antics dont derail their teams or careers. Booker wasn't ready to lead back then and it unfair for the Suns to expect him to. Really makes ya wonder though if we did make the trade with Cleveland for Kyrie and sending them Bledsoe and Josh how things may have turned out on both ends.

I cannot imagine Sarver and Irving being able to tolerate each other.

Kyrie forces his way out in under a year, poisons the well bad, the narrative that Booker should leave would have been a lot louder.

 

[Cheesebeef]

Craziest thing about Josh was that all the talk was about his freakish athleticism and I NEVER saw any of that on the court against NBA players.

 

[Mainstreet]

Vlatko Cancar of the Nuggets suffers a torn ACL.

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[Hoop Head]

Vlatko Cancar of the Nuggets suffers a torn ACL.

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And that is why you dont want your team's players playing semi-meaningless international games.

 

[Mainstreet]

And that is why you dont want your team's players playing semi-meaningless international games.

Exactly. Luka got banged up the other day but appears okay.

 

[95pro]

Craziest thing about Josh was that all the talk was about his freakish athleticism and I NEVER saw any of that on the court against NBA players.

He seemed to clank a bunch of dunks too iirc.

A quick where is Josh Jackson now says his latest was with the Stockton Kings but they waived him just 4 days after he signed with them.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Craziest thing about Josh was that all the talk was about his freakish athleticism and I NEVER saw any of that on the court against NBA players.

Oh I saw it. He used it to attempt all kinds of things. He just could not hang onto the ball while he did it.

 

[Phrazbit]

Vlatko Cancar of the Nuggets suffers a torn ACL.

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And that is why you dont want your team's players playing semi-meaningless international games.

Absolutely.

3rd time in a couple weeks I am going to say it... the amount of basketball a lot of guys play in the "off season" is flat out stupid.

I haaaaaate seeing clips and stories of guys like Durant and Eric Gordon playing high intensity pickup games and international exhibitions. These are guys who constantly struggle with injury during the season, it freaking insane to me that they are out there playing in these meaningless trash games. Booker has done it too... although, I have seen nothing of it this off season, everything I've seen of him has involved sun sets and a beach, and GOOD! Rest up Book!

In recent years the AAU basketball system has begun to take heat for over working players. These guys, with developing, freakishly tall bodies, going through their high school basketball routines and then hitting the AAU circuit, then going right back into high school ball with no rest, they are compiling more miles on their bodies than previous generations.

I have zero doubt that this culture of playing your one sport, non-stop, all year, is a major factor in the huge increase we've seen in injuries over the last couple decades. You're causing stress on the same parts of your body over and over.

25 years ago KJ was averaging about 60 games a year, he was considered a huge injury risk... in the present league he would be considered about par for the course... heck, maybe even durable considering he never needed surgery, it was all strains and sprains.

 

[Mainstreet]

Absolutely.

3rd time in a couple weeks I am going to say it... the amount of basketball a lot of guys play in the "off season" is flat out stupid.

I haaaaaate seeing clips and stories of guys like Durant and Eric Gordon playing high intensity pickup games and international exhibitions. These are guys who constantly struggle with injury during the season, it freaking insane to me that they are out there playing in these meaningless trash games. Booker has done it too... although, I have seen nothing of it this off season, everything I've seen of him has involved sun sets and a beach, and GOOD! Rest up Book!

In recent years the AAU basketball system has begun to take heat for over working players. These guys, with developing, freakishly tall bodies, going through their high school basketball routines and then hitting the AAU circuit, then going right back into high school ball with no rest, they are compiling more miles on their bodies than previous generations.

I have zero doubt that this culture of playing your one sport, non-stop, all year, is a major factor in the huge increase we've seen in injuries over the last couple decades. You're causing stress on the same parts of your body over and over.

25 years ago KJ was averaging about 60 games a year, he was considered a huge injury risk... in the present league he would be considered about par for the course... heck, maybe even durable considering he never needed surgery, it was all strains and sprains.

Yeah, those knee and ankle joints and related attachments are valuable stuff.

Also, want to keep as much knee cartilage as possible.

 

[Germz249]

I'm still a bit surprised Josh Jackson flamed out of the league like he did. He was super athletic and had a good motor. He was a knucklehead, which is a variable you really count account for. Some knuckleheads can make it work, see JR Smith and Lamar Odom, but I think they need strong leaders to keep them in check so their boneheaded antics dont derail their teams or careers. Booker wasn't ready to lead back then and it unfair for the Suns to expect him to. Really makes ya wonder though if we did make the trade with Cleveland for Kyrie and sending them Bledsoe and Josh how things may have turned out on both ends.

Wait.. Flat earth was on the table for Mr. I didn't show up to a fan event and I don't want to be here..

Did we really pass that up?!

 

[Hoop Head]

Wait.. Flat earth was on the table for Mr. I didn't show up to a fan event and I don't want to be here..

Did we really pass that up?!

This was before Jackson had played, I believe, when Kyrie was asking out of Cleveland. Believe it or not, almost everyone wanted us to pass because of what Jackson would be.

 

[Yuma]

Absolutely.

3rd time in a couple weeks I am going to say it... the amount of basketball a lot of guys play in the "off season" is flat out stupid.

I haaaaaate seeing clips and stories of guys like Durant and Eric Gordon playing high intensity pickup games and international exhibitions. These are guys who constantly struggle with injury during the season, it freaking insane to me that they are out there playing in these meaningless trash games. Booker has done it too... although, I have seen nothing of it this off season, everything I've seen of him has involved sun sets and a beach, and GOOD! Rest up Book!

In recent years the AAU basketball system has begun to take heat for over working players. These guys, with developing, freakishly tall bodies, going through their high school basketball routines and then hitting the AAU circuit, then going right back into high school ball with no rest, they are compiling more miles on their bodies than previous generations.

I have zero doubt that this culture of playing your one sport, non-stop, all year, is a major factor in the huge increase we've seen in injuries over the last couple decades. You're causing stress on the same parts of your body over and over.

25 years ago KJ was averaging about 60 games a year, he was considered a huge injury risk... in the present league he would be considered about par for the course... heck, maybe even durable considering he never needed surgery, it was all strains and sprains.

There's been studies that playing multiple sports helps get you fit in ways that constant repetitive motions of your main sport cannot do. You also learn things from a sport that apply to different sports. Like when I was a kid I was a great screen setter, and I used those skills when I played fullback in football. Things I learned golfing helped me in baseball. You learn different things and work different muscles to balance out your body. For example, in Europe they noticed kids that only played soccer had their legs becoming bowed. They eventually worked in different drills, and different sports to counteract that effect.

 

[Mainstreet]

The Kings are signing center Neemias Queta to a standard NBA contract.

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[Cheesebeef]

Oh I saw it. He used it to attempt all kinds of things. He just could not hang onto the ball while he did it.

I just never saw the elevation/above the rim spring in his legs that I saw in spurts in college. And he looked smaller than his 6’7 height was listed at.

 

[elindholm]

I just never saw the elevation/above the rim spring in his legs that I saw in spurts in college. And he looked smaller than his 6’7 height was listed at.

Jackson's shot was fundamentally flawed. Scouts always say "That can be fixed," but it almost never happens. A wing with an unreliable shooting mechanic is going to have a hard time catching on in the modern NBA, no matter how "athletic" he is.

 

[Mainstreet]

F/C Derrick Jones Jr. signs a guaranteed contract with the Mavericks.

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[Hoop Head]

F/C Derrick Jones Jr. signs a guaranteed contract with the Mavericks.

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That shows how much the league has changed. Derrick Jones Jr was a G/F with us way back when his career started. Now he's considered a F/C. I know he never developed a reliable outside shot but he was pretty long. Can you imagine the reaction people would have had back then if you said he'd be considered a F/C in a decade or so?

Edit - not even a decade but 7 years. it was the 2016-17 season he started. That was Booker's 2nd year.

 

[Mainstreet]

That shows how much the league has changed. Derrick Jones Jr was a G/F with us way back when his career started. Now he's considered a F/C. I know he never developed a reliable outside shot but he was pretty long. Can you imagine the reaction people would have had back then if you said he'd be considered a F/C in a decade or so?

Edit - not even a decade but 7 years. it was the 2016-17 season he started. That was Booker's 2nd year.

I did a double take as well when they listed Derrick Jones Jr as a FC ... like, how can that be.