This guy Guerschon Yabusele really dunked over LeBron James in the Olympics and then parlayed that into an NBA contract. Good for him. I’m guessing his main role is going to be to try and taunt LeBron to get him off his game when the Philadelphia 76ers play against the Los Angeles Lakers. Still, a great Olympic story.
https://x.com/automaticnba/status/1825211484852609123
Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 97. (Read 914926 times)
Just kinda interesting, was thinking about this over the Olympics ...
Best players in the NBA..first time in NBA history where not only the top player (tho Hakeem the Dream when MJ retired briefly could be argued, briefly) but arguably the top 3 players are probably not Americans... Jokic, Giannis,and Luka one could argue fill out the top 3. Now IMO Anthony Edwards will be the best player in the NBA in 1-3 years. He's on his way. You could also argue that technically, you'd rather have Durant, Lebron or Curry than those guys in a single series ..if you got to pick. Does that qualify them as being better? I dunno. I think those three proved in the Olympics why they are all top 10 players ever who still are ELITE ( as for all time..Lebron no question, Curry best shooter ever and it's not debatable so you have to put him in there.. Durant..probably but debatable).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander..Canadian.fighting his way up.
Looking at say the top 100, it's largely American..makes sense the game was created in the US, huge country with a diverse population ethnically. It's kinda cool seeing a change like this..and it just happened over last 2-3 years I'd argue. I don't think it's going to hold as I mentioned I think Edwards is destined for the top spot, you got Tatum who's just 26, Ja Morant ascending.. if he stops "flashing his piece out on the lane" (if you get this reference we are friends for life lol)..and tons of others.
Just an interesting time in NBA history I wanted to chat about. Feel free to disagree with any of this.
Best players in the NBA..first time in NBA history where not only the top player (tho Hakeem the Dream when MJ retired briefly could be argued, briefly) but arguably the top 3 players are probably not Americans... Jokic, Giannis,and Luka one could argue fill out the top 3. Now IMO Anthony Edwards will be the best player in the NBA in 1-3 years. He's on his way. You could also argue that technically, you'd rather have Durant, Lebron or Curry than those guys in a single series ..if you got to pick. Does that qualify them as being better? I dunno. I think those three proved in the Olympics why they are all top 10 players ever who still are ELITE ( as for all time..Lebron no question, Curry best shooter ever and it's not debatable so you have to put him in there.. Durant..probably but debatable).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander..Canadian.fighting his way up.
Looking at say the top 100, it's largely American..makes sense the game was created in the US, huge country with a diverse population ethnically. It's kinda cool seeing a change like this..and it just happened over last 2-3 years I'd argue. I don't think it's going to hold as I mentioned I think Edwards is destined for the top spot, you got Tatum who's just 26, Ja Morant ascending.. if he stops "flashing his piece out on the lane" (if you get this reference we are friends for life lol)..and tons of others.
Just an interesting time in NBA history I wanted to chat about. Feel free to disagree with any of this.
I do like Yabusele as well and prior to the Olympics we haven't heard him. For me he is like a small version of Ben Wallace, big body, who played center but actually I think he can be a power forward. Not sure what team he can blend, but he could be a perfect fit for team that needs PG that can operate inside and be a big defender as well.
The guy had already played with the Celtics before for two seasons; he just grew his hair out, which is why we didn't recognize him, but he isn't popular in the NBA. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/y/yabusgu01.htmlMaybe there's a second chance for him to play, but if he isn't utilized well, it might be safer for him to stay where he is and on the team he’s currently playing with, since he’s getting good minutes and able to play his game.
I agree to that, though NBA still a good place to make money but if he's already ejoying the team wherever he's currently playing and he already secured his family then better to enjoy the game, he got that quality game witnessing him helping his national team though the competition inside the NBA is tougher, he needs to have that coach who can trust him and provide quality minutes of game play for him to showcase his talents and skills.
But prior to that, there was already a rumor that Klay was not happy anymore as he was sometimes being benched and given limited time in the second unit. That was probably an experiment the Warriors made to try to utilize him better, but his ego might have been affected, which impacted him mentally, resulting in that kind of performance. In my opinion, there's no one to blame here but himself because he failed to understand that everything is business. He is paid by the Warriors, so they expect him to deliver.
Maybe his ego played a decisive role or some other factors that didn't depend on him.
It's clear that the NBA is, first of all, a business. But then, in my understanding, the Warriors' management has some strange vision of business and priorities. At least it's strange that a year ago, they gave Green a $100 million contract without any problems, but in the case of Klay, they didn't want to find a compromise.
Cleveland isn't done signing free agents. Today, Cleveland signed JT Thor from South Sudan. I only know JT Thor because of FIBA and Paris Olympics. Great effort hopefully, what he did in these international games he can also bring to the NBA. I'm expecting more players like him who perform well in the Olympics to get signed, like Guerschon Yabusele. I didn’t know much about Yabusele too until he posterized LeBron James, lol. He mentioned on one of his social media accounts that he's ready for the NBA again. Yabusele was the 16th pick in the first round of the 2016 draft by the Celtics. What team you think Yabusele fits?
For new players showing some great performance last Paris Olympics they have a good chance to sign in a NBA team, but for Yabusele? its 50-50 since there are lots of players perform really good in Paris. And also the only thing iconic we could see from him is when he posterized Lebron. Many people got hype on that play and that one bring some good hype for his name.
Although his performance is really good, but for sure teams would find fresh legs which do good since for sure investing on veterans maybe out of their scope. But if he got lucky for getting exposure on last Paris finals then get a contract again. Then provably I want to see him in Pistons since he looks like Ben Wallace and provably he can imitate the performance of that star and could able to contribute good numbers on Piston since they need good changes to became a contender.
I do like Yabusele as well and prior to the Olympics we haven't heard him. For me he is like a small version of Ben Wallace, big body, who played center but actually I think he can be a power forward. Not sure what team he can blend, but he could be a perfect fit for team that needs PG that can operate inside and be a big defender as well.
The guy had already played with the Celtics before for two seasons; he just grew his hair out, which is why we didn't recognize him, but he isn't popular in the NBA. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/y/yabusgu01.htmlMaybe there's a second chance for him to play, but if he isn't utilized well, it might be safer for him to stay where he is and on the team he’s currently playing with, since he’s getting good minutes and able to play his game.
Cleveland isn't done signing free agents. Today, Cleveland signed JT Thor from South Sudan. I only know JT Thor because of FIBA and Paris Olympics. Great effort hopefully, what he did in these international games he can also bring to the NBA. I'm expecting more players like him who perform well in the Olympics to get signed, like Guerschon Yabusele. I didn’t know much about Yabusele too until he posterized LeBron James, lol. He mentioned on one of his social media accounts that he's ready for the NBA again. Yabusele was the 16th pick in the first round of the 2016 draft by the Celtics. What team you think Yabusele fits?
That's good, I also have thoughts that some players from Sudan should be at least in the NBA because of what they have shown us specially in the Olympics and they should have given at least a chance to proved themselves in the big league.
I do like Yabusele as well and prior to the Olympics we haven't heard him. For me he is like a small version of Ben Wallace, big body, who played center but actually I think he can be a power forward. Not sure what team he can blend, but he could be a perfect fit for team that needs PG that can operate inside and be a big defender as well.
Cleveland isn't done signing free agents. Today, Cleveland signed JT Thor from South Sudan. I only know JT Thor because of FIBA and Paris Olympics. Great effort hopefully, what he did in these international games he can also bring to the NBA. I'm expecting more players like him who perform well in the Olympics to get signed, like Guerschon Yabusele. I didn’t know much about Yabusele too until he posterized LeBron James, lol. He mentioned on one of his social media accounts that he's ready for the NBA again. Yabusele was the 16th pick in the first round of the 2016 draft by the Celtics. What team you think Yabusele fits?
I think his final performance as a Warrior in the game against the Kings would say otherwise. It’s a combination of factors. The injury, age, the mental aspect of going from being a splash brother for a dynasty to a player coming off the bench. I’m sure he’ll have great games for the Mavericks, but they’ll be few and far between.
But prior to that, there was already a rumor that Klay was not happy anymore as he was sometimes being benched and given limited time in the second unit. That was probably an experiment the Warriors made to try to utilize him better, but his ego might have been affected, which impacted him mentally, resulting in that kind of performance. In my opinion, there's no one to blame here but himself because he failed to understand that everything is business. He is paid by the Warriors, so they expect him to deliver.I’m not a hater so I would love to be wrong. I like Klay Thompson and want to see him do great things again. I just don’t see it happening. I’d feel pretty comfortable making a large bet that he won’t be an all star next season, won’t be on any All NBA teams, and the Mavericks won’t make it to the Finals. But, I digress.
I think his final performance as a Warrior in the game against the Kings would say otherwise. It’s a combination of factors. The injury, age, the mental aspect of going from being a splash brother for a dynasty to a player coming off the bench. I’m sure he’ll have great games for the Mavericks, but they’ll be few and far between.
But prior to that, there was already a rumor that Klay was not happy anymore as he was sometimes being benched and given limited time in the second unit. That was probably an experiment the Warriors made to try to utilize him better, but his ego might have been affected, which impacted him mentally, resulting in that kind of performance. In my opinion, there's no one to blame here but himself because he failed to understand that everything is business. He is paid by the Warriors, so they expect him to deliver. 
It's probably that one season wherein Klay was not shooting well in the outside, hence he suffer. The expectation though is too high obviously from him and he didn't produce hence he was not offered a good salary and so he chooses to go out after many years with the Warriors. And he did choose a good team and I think Klay could still ball and shoot and will try to get back this season.
But I do agree that missing those guys from the Dallas team that give them good defense might have a negative effect on them as they will have to compensate and then Klay will have to play defense too. They say that he is a good defender, but for me he is just average though.
Just because he had one bad season, doesn't mean he is a bad player and it's a shock to me that Warriors got rid of Klay before they did that with Draymond Green. After last years shenanigans I felt like Draymond filled his quate in the NBA and warriors wouldn't want him and just try to trade him for as cheap as possible, like literally send picks to get rid of him type of trade, just to not have him in the team, and then next team would have waived him and he would be out. But no, he is still at warriors and he will probably still will be playing whereas Klay is gone, which is weird.But I do agree that missing those guys from the Dallas team that give them good defense might have a negative effect on them as they will have to compensate and then Klay will have to play defense too. They say that he is a good defender, but for me he is just average though.
If I was Warriors I would have offered the max that I can offer to Klay and keep him, not just because he is good, because he is not good enough to be max contract player, but for loyalty reasons, they won four rings with him and getting rid of him like this makes no sense to me at all. I think we should be considering the possibility of Dallas making a big good decisions and Warriors dropping the ball.
I’m not sure what really happened to Klay but it’s more on a psychological compared to injury as reason to his inaccuracy shooting right now.
Klay has no problem with the accuracy of his shooting. If you look at his stats, you'll notice that his field goal percentage is about the same as before the injury. The reason why Klay's performance has worsened is probably the injury, and more specifically, the fact that any player is limited in his movement on the court after such kind of injury.
I think his final performance as a Warrior in the game against the Kings would say otherwise. It’s a combination of factors. The injury, age, the mental aspect of going from being a splash brother for a dynasty to a player coming off the bench. I’m sure he’ll have great games for the Mavericks, but they’ll be few and far between.
I’m not sure what really happened to Klay but it’s more on a psychological compared to injury as reason to his inaccuracy shooting right now.
Klay has no problem with the accuracy of his shooting. If you look at his stats, you'll notice that his field goal percentage is about the same as before the injury. The reason why Klay's performance has worsened is probably the injury, and more specifically, the fact that any player is limited in his movement on the court after such kind of injury.
He was already not the same anymore after he recovered from a serious injury, and although the Warriors won a championship when he returned, that was due to Poole^^the Poole Party guy^^and Wiggins also playing great at that time. But when Poole was out and CP3 came in, Thompson was still the same, and the team really struggled a lot as he was still trusted to make some shots, but his accuracy had dropped significantly.
Not the same pre injury but still he can shoot and explode 3s on some of their games that time unlike the previous which he is totally useless.
Warriors back then have a great bench players aside from Poole while Wiggins is doing so good on attacking the paint while Klay and Curry still both contributing well with their perimeter threat. I’m not sure what really happened to Klay but it’s more on a psychological compared to injury as reason to his inaccuracy shooting right now.
After that bad performance last season maybe he already knew that the managements will not going to offer him the contract that he wanted and he wanted to prove something I guess that's why he went out and work with that trade, we might see him differently this upcoming season as he got two of the best offensive players from their position, and adding him to work with outside threat, it will be an interesting season for Mavs fans.
^^ Yeah and that's what we love about Luka, he trash talks but he can back it up with his game specially close out games. Just like what they did against the Wolves, before that series, I think the Wolves is the favorite on the strength of Edwards, Towns and Gobert.
But Luka has been on the same spot, and he knows how to respond with this kind of pressure. I do agree, it will still be the same teams, but I will put OKC as the likely dark horse again for this year. SGA will lead this team again and most likely in the top 3.
But Luka has been on the same spot, and he knows how to respond with this kind of pressure. I do agree, it will still be the same teams, but I will put OKC as the likely dark horse again for this year. SGA will lead this team again and most likely in the top 3.
Okc is dependent on their young guys making another step, chet jaylen etc. I think grabbing isiah hartenstein was a great underrated move. He was great for the Knicks and will do the dirty work under in the paint. This will allow chet to free roam the court and do what he does best. Gonna be a fun year to see who steps up.
He was already not the same anymore after he recovered from a serious injury, and although the Warriors won a championship when he returned, that was due to Poole^^the Poole Party guy^^and Wiggins also playing great at that time. But when Poole was out and CP3 came in, Thompson was still the same, and the team really struggled a lot as he was still trusted to make some shots, but his accuracy had dropped significantly.
Not the same pre injury but still he can shoot and explode 3s on some of their games that time unlike the previous which he is totally useless.
Warriors back then have a great bench players aside from Poole while Wiggins is doing so good on attacking the paint while Klay and Curry still both contributing well with their perimeter threat. I’m not sure what really happened to Klay but it’s more on a psychological compared to injury as reason to his inaccuracy shooting right now.
He suffer from major injury plus disappointment from his past position in GSW and it affect him mentally. So maybe this add in those reason on why his performance decline since he think he's not important on current Warriors roster anymore. That's why he decide to leave and get more better position and quality minutes. Maybe in Dallas we can see a classic Klay since at that team for sure he knows that all eyes on him and he need to prove something that Warriors just waste a legendary player like him.
But lets give them a chance if there's really be an effect in their defense since maybe their current player could adjust. Also for sure they know they lose those perimeter defensive guys but provably they can handle it well since they also have good defenders left in their roster.
But lets give them a chance if there's really be an effect in their defense since maybe their current player could adjust. Also for sure they know they lose those perimeter defensive guys but provably they can handle it well since they also have good defenders left in their roster.
He was already not the same anymore after he recovered from a serious injury, and although the Warriors won a championship when he returned, that was due to Poole^^the Poole Party guy^^and Wiggins also playing great at that time. But when Poole was out and CP3 came in, Thompson was still the same, and the team really struggled a lot as he was still trusted to make some shots, but his accuracy had dropped significantly.
The Dallas Mavericks looks really scary to be honest especially with the addition of Klay Thompson now, but they might have some lapses in defense though with losing Derrick Jones Jr which means Klay Thompson would have to do some defensive duties, however my major concern is Luka Doncic, I think he does inhibit the performance of some his teammates with being on the ball 95% of the time, perhaps there should some rotation and him playing a bit more off the ball to help improve the teams chemistry a bit more, just like like Curry play off the ball with Green a lot, it would unlock even better opportunities for Doncic, it might reduce his numbers a bit, but it will be at the benefit of the team because just like in the finals against Celtics, after the Celtics cut out Luka Doncic passes to his teammates, they ran out of options and needed Luka do the scoring alone, while the Celtics were fine with him scoring 100 points by himself the limited connection to his teammates but if the teammates were able to play more off another facilitator besides Doncic, they might have had stood better chance. With like the Celtics asides Jaylen Brown and 70% of the players on the court are pretty good ball handler, unlike with the Mavs where you players like Tim Hardaway Jr, Derrick Jones and PJ probably not being to touch the ball at all unless they needed to catch and just shoot, or grab a board.
Yeah, even if Klay isn't in his prime anymore and didn't perform well last season, others are saying he is already done. Yeah, maybe, but hey, they can't just leave Klay wide open. Still a good addition to the Mavs lineup, I believe, especially on offense. Even more so now that things have ended like that between him and the Warriors. His pride might boost his confidence back, showing them that he is still worth it and can bounce back.It's probably that one season wherein Klay was not shooting well in the outside, hence he suffer. The expectation though is too high obviously from him and he didn't produce hence he was not offered a good salary and so he chooses to go out after many years with the Warriors. And he did choose a good team and I think Klay could still ball and shoot and will try to get back this season.
But I do agree that missing those guys from the Dallas team that give them good defense might have a negative effect on them as they will have to compensate and then Klay will have to play defense too. They say that he is a good defender, but for me he is just average though.
He suffer from major injury plus disappointment from his past position in GSW and it affect him mentally. So maybe this add in those reason on why his performance decline since he think he's not important on current Warriors roster anymore. That's why he decide to leave and get more better position and quality minutes. Maybe in Dallas we can see a classic Klay since at that team for sure he knows that all eyes on him and he need to prove something that Warriors just waste a legendary player like him.
But lets give them a chance if there's really be an effect in their defense since maybe their current player could adjust. Also for sure they know they lose those perimeter defensive guys but provably they can handle it well since they also have good defenders left in their roster.
Fair enough, I guess we can say that Minnesota doesn't have that experience last season, after a long time, this is the closest that they get and with Edwards athleticism still not enough to overcome Dallas. Luka has been in this situation before, and so very familiar on how to play and close out games. But with the the Wolves exposure to this kind of situation, they could really improved this year. For the Center of Dallas, they are underrated, but the good thing is that Lively is still very young and a lot of leg room to improved as well. And getting Gafford and Washington in the trade deadline really help the chances of Dallas last season to go to the finals. As for Klay, let's see, he might have this chip on his shoulder and with that he could be motivated this season.
The Dallas Mavericks looks really scary to be honest especially with the addition of Klay Thompson now, but they might have some lapses in defense though with losing Derrick Jones Jr which means Klay Thompson would have to do some defensive duties, however my major concern is Luka Doncic, I think he does inhibit the performance of some his teammates with being on the ball 95% of the time, perhaps there should some rotation and him playing a bit more off the ball to help improve the teams chemistry a bit more, just like like Curry play off the ball with Green a lot, it would unlock even better opportunities for Doncic, it might reduce his numbers a bit, but it will be at the benefit of the team because just like in the finals against Celtics, after the Celtics cut out Luka Doncic passes to his teammates, they ran out of options and needed Luka do the scoring alone, while the Celtics were fine with him scoring 100 points by himself the limited connection to his teammates but if the teammates were able to play more off another facilitator besides Doncic, they might have had stood better chance. With like the Celtics asides Jaylen Brown and 70% of the players on the court are pretty good ball handler, unlike with the Mavs where you players like Tim Hardaway Jr, Derrick Jones and PJ probably not being to touch the ball at all unless they needed to catch and just shoot, or grab a board.
It's probably that one season wherein Klay was not shooting well in the outside, hence he suffer. The expectation though is too high obviously from him and he didn't produce hence he was not offered a good salary and so he chooses to go out after many years with the Warriors. And he did choose a good team and I think Klay could still ball and shoot and will try to get back this season.
But I do agree that missing those guys from the Dallas team that give them good defense might have a negative effect on them as they will have to compensate and then Klay will have to play defense too. They say that he is a good defender, but for me he is just average though.
The Dallas Mavericks looks really scary to be honest especially with the addition of Klay Thompson now, but they might have some lapses in defense though with losing Derrick Jones Jr which means Klay Thompson would have to do some defensive duties, however my major concern is Luka Doncic, I think he does inhibit the performance of some his teammates with being on the ball 95% of the time, perhaps there should some rotation and him playing a bit more off the ball to help improve the teams chemistry a bit more
I agree that they're scarier now. After reaching the finals but falling shortly against the Boston Celtics last season, that roster they've got managed to reach that far and with Klay Thompson's addition, they'll be more on point this time. I am hyped at first and waiting for the season to come and see how they'd play. Because in the past seasons, there have been superteams that we thought were going to dominate the league but they didn't. I understand that rotation needed of ball when Luka holds it for a longer time. He's got Kyrie and Klay and I think that the main runner of the ball should be Kyrie. Anyway, Jason Kidd will have to figure that out and this is going to be another long season that we're going to tune in. There's so much to adjust on this roster by the addition of Klay but I know that the management have got plans of it especially the coaching staff on how they're going to be utilized and used on their maximum potential.
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