It's not out of the question that Luka is destined to be this generation's version of Carmelo Anthony. He doesn't get the same level of criticism, because he's such a good passer, and I think Luka is better than Carmelo ever was. Getting to the Finals is more than Melo ever did, so I'm not really trying to denigrate Luka as much as it might sound. Still, in the sense of a guy who's super talented, and just needs to adapt his unbelievable talent and skillset in a way that's more conducive to winning basketball, but might never do it, I think it's a possibility.
True, but with him I don't think we're looking 5-6 years down the line. He's making all-NBA next year, and I'd put the over/under at 3.5 years for how long before he's better than Tatum (meaning I would be completely unsurprised if Wemby passes Tatum before Tatum passes Giannis). I'm still lower on his NBA future than I was with Lebron 20 years ago, but only because Lebron's injury risk seemed significantly lower. It's unbelievable how much he improved throughout the season. Just as an NBA fan, I'm begging for them to get him an all-star level point guard to truly start unlocking his game.
I think it was @lovegtm , perhaps in the Mazullaball thread, who put it as some version of Jason Tatum is the best player for this team. Like, you need Tatum for what they’re doing to work; he’s the guy you would build a team like this around. So in a sense, it doesn’t even make sense to ask if other players are better than Tatum, is this is a Tatum Team.
View: https://twitter.com/Mahcus_Smaht/status/1801430951848820927I can’t find where else this was posted, but while obviously hysterical and wonderful, it needs to be pointed out:
View: https://twitter.com/3CsinAPod/status/1801415737434616180
He’s already emphasizing playing proper defense!!
I mean, I don’t hang out with a lot of professional athletes, but I’ve never seen anything like that with people playing with their kids. And Deuce, of course, is having a blast—and Jayson throws him a bone by telling him the shot didn’t go in so at least it was a successful challenge.
It's been posted but it's always good to see again.I can’t find where else this was posted, but while obviously hysterical and wonderful, it needs to be pointed out:
View: https://twitter.com/3CsinAPod/status/1801415737434616180
He’s already emphasizing playing proper defense!!
I mean, I don’t hang out with a lot of professional athletes, but I’ve never seen anything like that with people playing with their kids. And Deuce, of course, is having a blast—and Jayson throws him a bone by telling him the shot didn’t go in so at least it was a successful challenge.
We did this a year ago, for the record, and the results were:
I really don’t understand this. What does the modifier “all around” add that makes the best all around player different from the best player? Like, is there some piece of the game that doesn’t matter to be the best player but does to be the best “all around” player? Is there some reweighting or balancing that happens? Is there a cutoff of you must be at least some level of good at some set of aspects of the game to qualify? That latter interpretation is how I’ve always parsed best “two way” player to make the label make any sense. Like, it means best player who is a plus offensive and defensive player (so it excludes anyone who is near average or worse on either end regardless of their net value). In other words, some guys like (probably) Jokic and (definitely) Doncic and Gobert simply aren’t two way players, so they drop out of the ranking entirely. (I’ve never found this concept to have value but this is the way I’ve made sense of it.)
Given Giannis' age, recent injury history and play style, would you actually do it? Like gun to your head, Milwaukee has accepted, you have 15 minutes to decide.
The real question: would you trade Tatum for Jaylen Brown, if that young stud somehow became available?Before trading Tatum, would probably want to check in with Jaylen and see how he feels about it, if he’s onboard.
It’s tough with Giannis. I think he has like two more years left as an absolute monster, and if he’s fully healthy, I’d say he probably increases their title odds next year, even if only a bit.
Correct. But he’s a unicorn who doesn’t rely on his athleticism like Giannis. I didn’t make that distinction clear enough though.
Ha. There's me with the 3rd post in the thread. Stick by it. And I'm less sure today than I was a year ago.
Yeah, this is the thing. It's one thing to say "oh I might trade Giannis for Tatum", but quite another to actually work through the thought process and do it.
This was linked earlier on reddit:
I can't downgrade his total performance in 2022 too much, because he and Jrue single-handledly pushed the Celtics to the brink.
If I could get a guarantee on Wemby's health I'd absolutely do it but it's so rare with guys like him.
Catching up finally.
Tatum played a big part in Brown winning the MVP. As I mentioned in the game thread, it just means that Brown will need to return the favor in 2025!!
I feel like there are a lot of players near the top of these best player lists who wouldn't be nearly as selfless as he is.
He just couldn't let go of that trophy, so glad he got one after all the work, all the doubt.
Fans thought JB was MVP also. Tatum was the best player in the closeout game, but I've got no problem with Jaylen as MVP. Would have been great to see them share it actually.
