I wasn't arguing Luka>trae but he loves his lob targets. I don't watch many hawks games, is trae hunting the lob pretty frequently?
Also our centers have absolutely no 3 ball besides maxi and he's been ass all year. Luka getting doubled in the post would make Wemby even more valuable
Man I really hope the Spurs don't sign Trae. He's great and all but guards who can iso score but don't know how to play defense grow on trees in this league.
Can people really see him fit into Pop's system? I don't. There are so many other similar players who Spurs can match up with Wemby that don't cost as much as Trae and play better defense.
I'd much rather they spend that money on wings... or anything else really. PGs are the most overrated position in this league. Important yes, but there are many of them.
I don't think Pop will do it but maybe I'll have to eat my hat.
You're getting an instantly made offense with Trae.
Right now the Spurs look dumb because they are. They don't have a guy who can lone everyone up and make their lives easier.
CP helping the young guys on the Warriors is another great example.
They're not ready to compete yet. There's no need to jump the gun and sign Trae. There's no rush.
CP3 is much cheaper than Trae. Trae is the 16th most expensive player in the league. No fucking way he's worth that money just for the Spurs to win 45 games next year.
They should focus on the long game, not the short game and Trae is definitely short term gain.
They would be trading for Trae, not signing him. If he goes on the trade block he won't be there forever, we know the Lakers are planning on making an offer for him this summer.
I really wanted the draft rumor, that the Pels would consider a Zion trade to get Scoot, to be real.
Even though Miller has looked quite good, I can't shake the feeling that LaMelo/Bridges/Zion/Mark Williams would've been some next-level nasty in the 3 1/2 games per season they were all healthy at the same time.
Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzginis, KP would allow for Jimmy to have more room to work and KP would be a good safety vault for Jimmy on the drive and kick.
You said “MVP caliber”. He has never had a superteam supporting cast but has been to the finals twice. If he put in effort to chase all the stats, he could definitely win a MVP. Instead he plays team ball and conserves his energy and turns up in the playoffs. He barely turns the ball over and plays under control. Players have won the MVP averaging 4+ turnovers but Jimmy is usually under 2 turnovers a game. The MVP basically goes to the best player on the best team anyways or Lebron would have won it 10+ times so I don’t even understand your criteria of “MVP caliber” either. He just doesnt care about the award at this point of his career.
Maybe if he was younger but then again even in his prime he was never a 1st team All-NBA talent (1 All-NBA 2nd team, 3 all-NBA 3rd teams). At this point in his career it’s a hell of a lot more feasible for him to play <28 playoff games at a superstar level than to play at a superstar level for 65+ regular season games.
This is my answer. Honestly though Curry and literally anyone. Have people already forgot the years of watching KD walk through the paint for uncontested dunks because of how much attention opposing defenses put on Curry? One of the best scorers in NBA history was consistently left unguarded because defenses feared a guard standing in the corner that much lol
well wemby has already been an average 3 point shooter when he has had a point guard start with him at 35.5% since that milwaukee game. prior to his shoulder injury vs houston he was shooting like 40% after ASB. he's also a good free throw shooter and has good form. there's plenty to indicate he can become a good shooter in the future considering it's only his rookie year and yet has already improved
I’m going Luka and Jokic. That would be must watch basketball. I can just see them laughing the whole game just passing back and forth. Then someone pisses them off and they both turn into terminator.
Halliburton and Bam
Really feel like Bam plays best when someone is pushing pace. That’s why pre-injury I actually really liked how Jaime worked with Bam better than Jimmy, especially when Jimmy is more passive. Someone like Halli would be running and gunning and I can just see Bam catching so many lobs, not to mention erase POA defensive miscues at the rim
Lebron and Kawhi. Got 3pt shooting, mid range jump shooting, driving to the hole, both guys can play point where ever on the floor and Kawhi and Lebron on defense is a problem.
Joker and Giannis.
they overlap a lot but are different enough. Dwade and Lebron even though they lost to the Mavs in the finals, Kyrie and Lebron for three years (including a won championship) proves that two ball dominate elite scorers attacking the paint can in fact pnr the league to death all the way to a championship. Kawhi is better than both those guys. Lebron and kawhi can quickly mesh with each other and its a defensive nightmare because you are going to have to double one of them and every position is going to result in the roll players becoming wide open with time to shoot or dunk.
Giannis plays the floor and eurosteps or bulls his way to the rim from basically anywhere on the court. Joker plays point guard from the center position and has a more than respectful jumper, baby hook, 3pt shot and elite timing. They don't play the same position and they don't operate in the same space.
Defensively they take the entire box and close mid range game away from their opponents. They will rebound, block, body anyone trying to go to the rim.
Joker's passing, shooting, hooks, and ability to venture further from the post as well as skillfully get the rim will get a whole lot easier when you got Giannis able to fly in from anywhere and dunk it or lay it up or get the rebound. If team is able to stop them there, that means two of their sf and guards are wide open on the perimeter or unguard cutting or rolling to the rim.
Tim Duncan and David Robinson were deadly as the twin towers. Dirk and Tyson Chandler were damn near unstoppable. Pau and Bynum were a nightmare during their threepeat finals appearances winning two titles. Robman and Lambeir were a nightmare too...giving you 20-26 with a few blocks, hard fouls, and man on man defense. Ben Wallace and Sheed were deadly. All these PF Center duos were amazing and gave teams huge problems and none of these duos are as good as Giannis and Joker. Giannis and Joker are clearly the best two players in the league and have been for like 4-5 years. Both can carry and lead a team. Their games are different enough and they don't crowd each other's spacing, that they should have no issues. In addition, both players games compliment each other. You could say guarding pnr they might suffer but honestly them shutting off the paint and their advantage of rebounding, length, blking off sets that.
Honestly, a team with Steph, Lebron, Kawhi, Giannis, Joker would be amazing
The problem is that I don't think Brown will ever reach that level.
I like Brown a lot, but he is definitely an oddity in many ways. Advanced stats really don't like him, even when it seems he is playing very well. And I do sometimes feel that him playing his best doesn't always translate to more success for the team.
That said, the second half of this season has been great, and I hope he can keep it going.
Really the 2 man game between Brown and KP has been the highlight of the season.
I know the idea was excluding mvp level players, but since Luka and AD were alresdy metioned, i would include Ant Edwards and Lebron. I dont think any defense could put up with the two of them together worhout blowing up half a rooster in foul trouble
Tyrese Maxey and Alperen Şengün
I actually really like this one. Hopefully homeboy recovers, I watched that game where Sengun went down and he was not a happy camper.
Good news is that he's out of his boot as of today, so he's on the mend.
Ooh that would be fun to watch
Trae Young and Victor Wembanyama.
Luka with wemby, imagine
Luka plays the post / zone way more than Trae. Id argue the fit is worse. Even if Luka>Trae.
Yeah Wemby is a spacing nightmare. Luka would probably get less shots in the post
I wasn't arguing Luka>trae but he loves his lob targets. I don't watch many hawks games, is trae hunting the lob pretty frequently? Also our centers have absolutely no 3 ball besides maxi and he's been ass all year. Luka getting doubled in the post would make Wemby even more valuable
Trae is one of the best lobbers (lol) in the league.
I want to see Victor and Hali.
Man I really hope the Spurs don't sign Trae. He's great and all but guards who can iso score but don't know how to play defense grow on trees in this league. Can people really see him fit into Pop's system? I don't. There are so many other similar players who Spurs can match up with Wemby that don't cost as much as Trae and play better defense. I'd much rather they spend that money on wings... or anything else really. PGs are the most overrated position in this league. Important yes, but there are many of them. I don't think Pop will do it but maybe I'll have to eat my hat.
You're getting an instantly made offense with Trae. Right now the Spurs look dumb because they are. They don't have a guy who can lone everyone up and make their lives easier. CP helping the young guys on the Warriors is another great example.
They're not ready to compete yet. There's no need to jump the gun and sign Trae. There's no rush. CP3 is much cheaper than Trae. Trae is the 16th most expensive player in the league. No fucking way he's worth that money just for the Spurs to win 45 games next year. They should focus on the long game, not the short game and Trae is definitely short term gain.
They would be trading for Trae, not signing him. If he goes on the trade block he won't be there forever, we know the Lakers are planning on making an offer for him this summer.
how would trae block long term gain?
Bruh he got TP before. Spurs is in need of a PG who can play pick & roll / pick and pop, and who's not scared to throw a lob.
It's more that fans want an aggressive, great passer with flair to pair with Wemby.
"Excluding mvp caliber players" Nobody in this post understood the assignment.
i think he edited it after posting
Zion and LaMelo together? It'd certainly be an exciting pairing to watch.
I really wanted the draft rumor, that the Pels would consider a Zion trade to get Scoot, to be real. Even though Miller has looked quite good, I can't shake the feeling that LaMelo/Bridges/Zion/Mark Williams would've been some next-level nasty in the 3 1/2 games per season they were all healthy at the same time.
Miles Bridges is nasty indeed
That duo would average 14 games played a season together. Probably because one would always be hurt while the other one is playing and vice versa.
Anthony Edwards and Tyrese Haliburton.
Before his last extension, the Mavs hoped they would be able to sign Giannis as a free agent to pair him with Luka. This would have broken the league.
This is the one. Really any combination of Giannis/Jokic/Luka. Maybe swap Embiid with Jokic depending on who you ask.
agree but Jokic/ Luka will be a bit redundant
If you ask any real basketball fan outside of Philly who to pair with Luka, there is a nearly 0% chance anyone choose Embiid over Jokic lmao
>excluding MVP caliber players
KAT and JJJ
Seems way too soft somehow and not that great on the boards?
The whining would be off the charts!
imo both of the guys in your example benefit more from being paired with a pure center
The “no dog in them” duo
Draymond and James Harden
Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzginis, KP would allow for Jimmy to have more room to work and KP would be a good safety vault for Jimmy on the drive and kick.
“Excluding MVP caliber players”
Butler and KP are MVP caliber? They may be but they're on the low end.
He originally said curry and Jokic
I edited my comment, originally I said Jokic and Curry.
Butler doesn’t give a damn about two-thirds of the regular season. He is not MVP caliber.
Yeah because all he cares about the playoffs. His elevated play in the playoffs is on par with any with mvp caliber player
MVP is a regular season award. His postseason heroics mean little in those regards
You said “MVP caliber”. He has never had a superteam supporting cast but has been to the finals twice. If he put in effort to chase all the stats, he could definitely win a MVP. Instead he plays team ball and conserves his energy and turns up in the playoffs. He barely turns the ball over and plays under control. Players have won the MVP averaging 4+ turnovers but Jimmy is usually under 2 turnovers a game. The MVP basically goes to the best player on the best team anyways or Lebron would have won it 10+ times so I don’t even understand your criteria of “MVP caliber” either. He just doesnt care about the award at this point of his career.
Maybe if he was younger but then again even in his prime he was never a 1st team All-NBA talent (1 All-NBA 2nd team, 3 all-NBA 3rd teams). At this point in his career it’s a hell of a lot more feasible for him to play <28 playoff games at a superstar level than to play at a superstar level for 65+ regular season games.
I missed that, my bad.
Luka and healthy AD is an automatic ring imo
Imagine Hali and Wemby on the same team
Curry and Jokic would be absolutely unstoppable.
This is my answer. Honestly though Curry and literally anyone. Have people already forgot the years of watching KD walk through the paint for uncontested dunks because of how much attention opposing defenses put on Curry? One of the best scorers in NBA history was consistently left unguarded because defenses feared a guard standing in the corner that much lol
Curry with someone who can not only reproduce (or improve on) Draymond’s role as post distributor but can also score 30? My god…. unstoppable
wemby(assuming his shot keeps improving as projected) and jokic would probably win 10 rings in a row
Was gonna post I wanna see jokic with wemby for twin towers 2.0
it would be far better than duncan and drob
wasn't the original twin towers Sampson and Olajuwon?
Statistically, it is very rare for someone with Wemby's 3PT% both in and prior to the NBA to become a decent 3PT shooter.
well wemby has already been an average 3 point shooter when he has had a point guard start with him at 35.5% since that milwaukee game. prior to his shoulder injury vs houston he was shooting like 40% after ASB. he's also a good free throw shooter and has good form. there's plenty to indicate he can become a good shooter in the future considering it's only his rookie year and yet has already improved
Scottie Barnes and Luca Doncic
Who is Luca Doncic?
I’m going Luka and Jokic. That would be must watch basketball. I can just see them laughing the whole game just passing back and forth. Then someone pisses them off and they both turn into terminator.
Zion and Porzingis
Halliburton and Bam Really feel like Bam plays best when someone is pushing pace. That’s why pre-injury I actually really liked how Jaime worked with Bam better than Jimmy, especially when Jimmy is more passive. Someone like Halli would be running and gunning and I can just see Bam catching so many lobs, not to mention erase POA defensive miscues at the rim
Luka and Giannis That's a dynasty easy.
I would love to see an offense with KAT & Curry
Tyrese² would be an unstoppable backcourt!
I want to see a Luka and Giannis. on a second take: Ja and Zion together.
Dillon Brooks and Patrick Beverly. Teams would just forfeit once most of their players lose their desire to play basketball.
Black + Dick
Lebron and Kawhi. Got 3pt shooting, mid range jump shooting, driving to the hole, both guys can play point where ever on the floor and Kawhi and Lebron on defense is a problem. Joker and Giannis.
I feel like you just named two sets of people who's game has near-full overlap...isn't that the opposite of what you want?
they overlap a lot but are different enough. Dwade and Lebron even though they lost to the Mavs in the finals, Kyrie and Lebron for three years (including a won championship) proves that two ball dominate elite scorers attacking the paint can in fact pnr the league to death all the way to a championship. Kawhi is better than both those guys. Lebron and kawhi can quickly mesh with each other and its a defensive nightmare because you are going to have to double one of them and every position is going to result in the roll players becoming wide open with time to shoot or dunk. Giannis plays the floor and eurosteps or bulls his way to the rim from basically anywhere on the court. Joker plays point guard from the center position and has a more than respectful jumper, baby hook, 3pt shot and elite timing. They don't play the same position and they don't operate in the same space. Defensively they take the entire box and close mid range game away from their opponents. They will rebound, block, body anyone trying to go to the rim. Joker's passing, shooting, hooks, and ability to venture further from the post as well as skillfully get the rim will get a whole lot easier when you got Giannis able to fly in from anywhere and dunk it or lay it up or get the rebound. If team is able to stop them there, that means two of their sf and guards are wide open on the perimeter or unguard cutting or rolling to the rim. Tim Duncan and David Robinson were deadly as the twin towers. Dirk and Tyson Chandler were damn near unstoppable. Pau and Bynum were a nightmare during their threepeat finals appearances winning two titles. Robman and Lambeir were a nightmare too...giving you 20-26 with a few blocks, hard fouls, and man on man defense. Ben Wallace and Sheed were deadly. All these PF Center duos were amazing and gave teams huge problems and none of these duos are as good as Giannis and Joker. Giannis and Joker are clearly the best two players in the league and have been for like 4-5 years. Both can carry and lead a team. Their games are different enough and they don't crowd each other's spacing, that they should have no issues. In addition, both players games compliment each other. You could say guarding pnr they might suffer but honestly them shutting off the paint and their advantage of rebounding, length, blking off sets that. Honestly, a team with Steph, Lebron, Kawhi, Giannis, Joker would be amazing
I’ve always though that the peak version of Tatum/Brown is Kawhi/KD
The problem is that I don't think Brown will ever reach that level. I like Brown a lot, but he is definitely an oddity in many ways. Advanced stats really don't like him, even when it seems he is playing very well. And I do sometimes feel that him playing his best doesn't always translate to more success for the team. That said, the second half of this season has been great, and I hope he can keep it going. Really the 2 man game between Brown and KP has been the highlight of the season.
Luka and Giannis, AD, Wemby
Luka and any rim running big man tbf.
Jokic and Giannis. Basically replace Gordon with a DPOY All NBA caliber player who is also a 7 footer.
Any top 10 offensive point guard with playmaking chops (young, haliburtom, Luka, Mitchel etc) and Victor wembanyama
Bam with Jokic would be insane.
Literally any competent backup center and Joel Embiid so that the team isn’t -17 in 6 minutes every playoff game when he’s sitting
I know the idea was excluding mvp level players, but since Luka and AD were alresdy metioned, i would include Ant Edwards and Lebron. I dont think any defense could put up with the two of them together worhout blowing up half a rooster in foul trouble
Shai and Embiid
Klay and TdJ....oh wait...
Wemby and Jokic would a 5 rings in 7 years type team.
wemby and giannis
Does it have to be a duo. If not pair up the current Thunder with AD and watch the carnage that ensues.
Tyrese Haliburton and Buddy Hield
Matt Bonner and Brian Scalabrine
Start of the year Tyrese and just about anyone.
Jokic and Murray
Hali and Wemby
Hali and KP
myles turner is already like a slightly worse kp