Hoops Redemption: Bounce Back or Bust?

you know, it's so ta's again. So you know it's but it's a good time, especially to to kind of gather your bearings, especially with the blitz of everything that's been going on, you know, previously the last few weeks. And as always, when we go ahead and roll at the red carpet. To my right hand man www dot shaw sports dot netpickhun the P and T. My man is one shot repping out of Fort Florida to Florida. What's good, brother, man? How you doing back up in the joint? Brother?

they didn't get a lot of conversation of. But I think you me shaw like and maybe even our listeners might think differently about whether or not, you know, we want to make sure that these guys don't get overlooked because I do think that them being in new destinations and new places may actually have an impact on whether or not the teams that they're going to be playing for and why they got them is going to put put them in the best position possible for them to

make that run. Right, So we're going to highlight our buy and sell feature with guys who we know there needs to be some level of Hoop redemption, and we're going to be on that buy and sell mode about are we completely buying it? Are we all in on the fact that this them being in this situation, this

circumstance with this team is the right fit. Are we selling out on the idea that even if they're going to be there, they're not really the ones right, Like it's going to take something else and whatever it is that they're going to probably bring to the table might not be enough for whatever those expectations might be. And I know that there's a long list, but we're just highlighting guys that we feel like didn't get enough conversation

or talk. But we thought that the move itself was signifying something for what these teams are trying to put position themselves prepare themselves to do. So we'll let you know what those guys are. And as always, we appreciate everybody for hopping on board with us this week. Be sure to get the my Manshaw as sports. I'm sorry

at D warrant. Shall I keep forgetting that man? Now that you're official and you put the D in front of your name, it's just you know, yeah, you're you're, you're, You're so Hollywood that man, like I almost have to you know.

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check out the family of great content creators. So shall let's get right into it, man, this is our buyer sell mode regarding you know, players that we reel like.

You know, listen, the move is made. They're part of the conversation, but they deserve a little bit of talk, right, And the whole idea is do we buy or sell on some of these players because quite frankly, the reason why they didn't get talked about is the likelihood is they had a pretty disappointing season or for whatever reason where they were playing or who they were playing with, they just did not perform to the level that I think would have impacted them for why they were brought.

expected them to be. So I'll let you start it off, Shaw, Who are you starting with for our conversation of buy or sell hoops redemption?

we can here tank air quotes, so to speak. But you know, try to get yourself in positions for great lottery picks. And I'm talking right now. I'm looking at the Washington Wizards, and I think they did a really good job over the course of this summer to reset their roster, right and just say, you know, bring in a bunch of young dudes. And one of the young guys who I think I'm really excited to see if he really is as good as people say he is

or he thinks he is, is Cam Whitmore. This is a prime opportunity for Kim Whitmore to truly truly ball out now with the Washington Wizards. Young Core. Obviously Carrington is there. You got Star there as well. I mean even Core kisper to lesser degree coming off the bench. Whatever right they got was Thomas from from Texas. This Washington team is like kind of loaded with you know,

young guys, and you just don't quite win. Everybody's going to be But I'm looking for Whitmore to kind of go out here and be kind of like this alpha, you know what I mean, because he's going to be a little bit of a veteran presidence if you will, or I guess is what. He's thirty or fourth year in the NBA, but I think he's somebody who really knows he can score the basketball and whether or not he could do that in a way that's not just kind of empty calories. It's something that we will ultimately

want to see here. But wit More's primed to have a really breakout year in terms of his statistical performance. But can it translate to somebody into something that the Washington which will want to kind of keep around, not just kind of a bridge to like their next iteration. But is he a pseudo building piece as like, Hey, you know what, this is a nice, complimentary guy who can get you a lot of points, can rebound a little bit as well too. I'm really excited for the year.

Can Moore should happen Washington?

just hasn't clicked with Cam Whitmore. And you get to a point, especially when a player who is now fully baked in. He's no longer like you know, a one year rookie or anything like that. This is someone who's baked in, already understanding the nuances of how he's going

to have to make himself successful. I am often scared when I see situations like this For a guy like Cam Whitmore, I'm not liking him to a Jordan Poole, But what I'm saying is is that, like Jordan Pool was someone where that opportunity was there for him because he played on a mature roster and positioned himself well to be a key player to help the Golden State Warriors win that championship. Cam Whipmo has never had that opportunity.

Now he has an opportunity to go to an organization that's been mired in mediocrity and even less than that for quite some time, and whenever they try to bring in premier players or future players, it just never seems to it never seems to click or resonate that this is an opportunity where it's not even just about your

personal steps. You could literally be responsible for revitalizing a franchise, an organization, and the belief and the hope that they can actually be a sustainably good team, something where it's more than just getting a long term contract but also becoming an attractive destination for free agents, for coaches who want to be involved in this and see that potential.

Some of these guys just don't understand that. And to your point, y'all, like we've seen the glimpses of when Cam Whitmore, when he's on one, what he could really look like?

his aspect of it as well too. But what I'm just looking for is if Cam Whitmore's that premiere of a player, if he's that person that a lot of people believed and if he was in the right situation, could have clearly been a Number one kind of guy or whatever the case.

I'm looking for more than anything with Cam. Yeah, I mean, and he's a guy who can get you twenty easy right his pir thirty six or you know, gets somewhere I think at twenty three or I think twenty three is first year and twenty one last year. Houston just took a leap that was in somewhat in some ways

unexpected and they just didn't need him. So I credit the Rockets for putting him in a position where he would I'll have an opportunity to get some run like he should be competing for big time minutes there And I said, I think I said Thomas before, but obviously Tree Johnson who they drafted, but along with.

I think he's just gonna have opportunity to get minutes in gedible And now, as you alluded to, is he an empty calories guy or is he somebody who can really help you for the short term and potentially the mid term and long term future of the Washington Wizards.

That remains to be seen. I think we'll know a lot after this year, whether or not the Wizards choose to pick up year four and five you know, for him on that rookie contract, or whether or not they're like all right, we've seen enough, you know, kind of like they did with Jordan Pool in two years, Like you know, well, we're good on that. This is not quite the dude, but I'm rooting for campbet More obviously

slipped in the draft a couple of years ago. He's got a lot of you know, a lot of uh, he's got a lot to prove, He's got a big chip on his shoulder, and I think he's somebody who will be able to have a really big season in Washington.

good players there. Will the chemistry be there, right with Bob Carrington and you know Sorr and those guys, Like if they can figure out a way, well, yeah, if they could figure out a way like and listen, they could very much do like what did you did? You know what I mean?

for the Detroit Pistons. And so that's what I mean, Like, if this is an opportunity for Kim Whitmore to kind of show us, it doesn't have to be getting those twenty points easy. Like we know that if you're getting the minute, you're gonna get the opportunities, you're gonna get

the shots. But if you're somebody who's really not within the flow of the potential of the guys that are around you, it meant that you never bought into that anyway, So you're just trying to get yours and that's not gonna help the Washington Wizards.

I really don't know if people really understand it like this is the Cleveland Cavaliers really really really rolling the dice here and pushing their chips in on addressing the depth that they didn't have access to with a legitimate point guard, and also acknowledging that this isn't about, you know,

anything regarding Darius Garland. I think, of anything, it's about recognizing that they need Darius Garland in whatever capacity that he's available to without stretching him thin, especially through his young career, and basically enabling the Cleveland Cavaliers that still have depth in their in their second and second unit and having a guy like Lonzo Ball on that roster.

But to me, the thing that I think really stands out more than anything when I think about Lonzo Ball, when I think about the Ball brothers, Lonzo Ball, to me, reflected the most of the most successful of the brothers arguably right like where he went. He actually did have an impact when he was healthy, and it's just terrible that the injuries have just completely ravaged what we could

have potentially seen in his career. But this is an opportunity where maybe the organization, maybe being under the Cleveland Cavaliers, they are going to properly utilize him and put him in the best positions possible where we see the maximum potential without stretching him to the point where he's not He's not going to be available when it really matters the most, when we really wanted to have this opportunity of seeing the you know, the greatness that's within life

Lonzo Ball as to what he can do, and this is a great situation for him. I do think and believe that there's a hoop predemption storyline to this because we've been doing this all all throughout the Balls brothers careers, right like, we've been giving them chance after chance after chance after chance. There comes a point where we just we stop with all of this. Right, it's no longer the father, it's no longer about LaMelo, It's not all

about Leangelo. This is about Lonzo, and if Lonzo recognizes that he has a window where he can be successful, and it's with a team that has been in the playoffs the last three years. He has to be one of the reasons why they're now taking that next step, which is ultimately getting to the Eastern Conference Finals, ultimately getting to the NBA Finals. He has to be an

important reason for them to do that. And this is what I'm looking forward to when I speak about Lonzo Ball because due the years, we've been deprived of the opportunity of what he can actually bring to the table for the team, for the teams that he's played for.

kind of like a six minute trench just because Garland is off the floor. So that allows Lonzo to be able to do that. And if you believe this three point shooting has improved in the way that we saw it kind of last year and then obviously before he got injured for those last couple of years, then that's somebody as well too. If Donnavan is driving, he's kicking out or Mobley's getting double team, same thing. Somebody who can hit a open three, especially if it's some of

the wings and the corners. I don't know that he's going to have any kind of blow byability right now, and if he's going to be able to raise the floor for them on the fast riag side, but he's still bringing a steady force, is going to make smart decisions for them, and that's what this Cavaliers team need. And I think when you talk about the depth, that really is something that he's being brought here to do

in a real way. They lost Ti Jerome obviously they choose not to, you know, resign him in that capacity, so he's not gonna be able to provide the scoring punch. I would imagine that Jerome did, I think at times.

But again that play creation and then a little bit of defense as well too, should make a lot of sense for this Cavaliers team that definitely needs something else on that bench from when it comes to the backcourt spot, right, like they're they're pretty rocket and rolling when it comes to the front court, but that backcourt was a little iffy of Goaling and Donovan weren't really weren't always at their best because Sho's had a down year as well,

to Carrol Sivert was in and out leverts obviously no longer on the roster. Where the case of b second year with DeAndre Hunter and now hopefully with a full year with him, see what he'll be able to do with that.

only averaging around three and a half sisper game. And I was just curious, you know, from your perspective, Shaw, when you look at the statistics, you know, and and the skill set of a guy like Lonzo Ball, I think that Lonzo Ball actually will help out guys like Sam Merril and guys like DeAndre Hunter, you know, what I mean, Like, he doesn't necessarily have to be scoring the basketball, so we don't have to worry about that

part of it. But his ability to to distribute, his ability to hit guys you know, in spots and spaces and things of that nature, I think is so critical and to me, it's what continues to give Kenny Atkinson options, you know, and the ability to plug and play and mess with the roster a little bit more rather than only relying on certain guys when they're streaking, you know what I mean, and that that isn't necessarily the case.

He knows his best players are going to be the ones that are going to have to step up to that next level, but he definitely needs the floor general rules to get those guys those opportunities in those spots. To me, what do you think should be the one thing that you want to see as an on an uptick that gives you the confidence for Lonzo for Lonzo Ball to have that kind of season that you alluded to.

to the basket. Don't know what his floyd's looking like these days, but that's a shot that I think he'll have to be able to hit offensively, and just whether or not he's able to impact them defensively in a way that's not negative. Like I said before, I really like the overall edition. Ironically, I don't want to get too down the road of you know, kind of like it's kind of your land the cause theories. But our guy Gerald on Rick Mhorn, they were talking on serious ExM.

I think when it announced early in the summer, they're like, this could be maybe the Koban Cavaliers are not all that excited about keeping Garland and could Lonzo Ball be the replacement clearly Garland's a better player than the Lonzo ball, right, But it's like they were saying, could Garland then be the Conda do it to a trade that gets an even more depth and letting Lonzo kind of be maybe the lead guard in that situation. I don't know, as

it'll seem a little far fetch at the time. A guy Gerald, you know, Rick, like they you know, they do they do some they do some real fun stuff I think on the weekends there. But it was an interesting take at the time. I think Gerald specifically was saying, and while I wasn't necessarily buying that, I could see where he could come up with the narrative, so to speak.

But I think they made this move in essence to have both of them, especially for this year, to see if they can make a deeper run of the Eastern Conference.

our buy or sell edition of Hoops Redemption. Guys that didn't get a lot of press, pub talk or conversation, but we do think that the moves made might speak a little bit more about whether or not this is an opportunity for these guys to either be you know, applauded or lauded when it's all said and done with with what they should be contributing for their new teams.

All right, y'all, So let me go ahead, and I'll start with my number two in this conversation, And this, to me is one that definitely flew under the radar, but I'm gonna speak to it because I was a little surprise at how off of season it was for Contavious Caldwell Pope. And you know, when I think about, you know, who he is as a player, what he's

meant over the last three four years. It's been kind of interesting to me because guy teams that are bringing in contables calledwell Pope know what they're bringing him for, and he knows what he's being brought in for. And since winning the championship for the Denver Nuggets, Okay, it just feels like something is a little bit off, right. He's not as defensively sound as he was coming off

that season to help them win that championship. His three point shooting has not been, you know, as consistent, has actually been on a down tick, right, And even this even last year with what happened with the Orlando Magic, and I was watching those playoff games, he just seemed to be doing a lot more talking than actually helping the Orlando Magic basically lean a lot more into what made them who they were. And I'm not saying it

was his fault. What I'm just saying is that it just seemed a little out of character with what you come to know when you think about KC Peak And so to me, him now being with the Memphis Grizzlies, I find it interesting because I think where a lot of people are on this perception that the Memphis Grizzlies are selling out because they got rid of Desmond Bain. I do believe that they still believe that they have an inside chance, like any of the teams in the

Western Conference to make a play. And you only bring a veteran guy on here if you truly believe that he can work with John Moran. He can work with Jaren Jackson Junior and if nothing else, elevate them to play even better defensively without compromising what you were getting

from the play of Desmond Baine. Now he's not your replacement, but what I'm saying is is that you obviously are bringing him to the table knowing that he can help bring contribution to what the MEMPHISUS could potentially do, especially as a starting three and d kind of guard on that roster.

previous segment tied Roman too this situation. So KCP is going to have to earn those minutes. But the one thing he knows that he's going to be a good pro and that's something I think you definitely want to make sure you have alongside. You know, John Morant. You know John Morant had that last year where Derek Rose and Marcus Smart where nothing really kind of really seemed to mention that. But you can continue to have that

great presence. But we're here to talk about the actual basketball and I'm maybe not as convinced as I'm not saying that you are, but I'm not sure he has as much juice left to be as impactful. While I think John can get him some good shots as well too, even Jared Jackson to a lesser degree, although we know Jared Jackson isn't really playing the cost all that much. KCP, I think is going to be productive, but not and I think in a really difference making way.

And you know, when John Moran is off the floor, he tied Jerome and in many respects, I think can figure out a way to get the ball to other

playmakers as well too. I think to your point, where I'm at when it comes to what KCP can bring to the table is is there has to be accountability for when the Memphis Grizzlies are not sound defensively, right, And I go back to what I was saying a little bit earlier that what was so out of character last year when it came to KCP is he wasn't even solid defensively as much as I think he could

have been. Now, I don't know if it's because because of the fact that the way that Jamal Mosley had the team set up in how they play defense maybe made him look slower or made him look like he just wasn't, you know, meshing or fitting in.

into that situation. You're telling you're telling me that you believe that he's gonna be able to hold his own against the best two guards or guards in the Western Conference, which is still very guard heavy, And I don't know if I buy that completely, which is why having a table was Calbo Pope allows a little bit more flexibility, especially when you recognize that Wells may get into foul trouble or Morant get into foul trouble, and you need a heady, savvy defender like KCP.

able to do offensively in that Memphis system? Or is it more from can he be a defensive leader? Right? And it's not always the blocks and the steels or whatever, but it's just the stops, you know, or filtering guys into help with Jaron Jackson. And now you know, Zach Need is a gargantuan you know at the rim, so is he going to be able to help them from that lens and then mature the Memphis defense in a way that we've always kind of expected them to be,

like this really great, great defensive team. And they showed some signs even the last couple of years, but they fell a little bit, they said a little bit last year when the change their entirety of their offense and hire all those new coaches, and we want to see if they can get that defensive identity back. That's why

I think ACP probably still can be impactful. But if you're looking for him to be, you know, a forty percent three point shooter or whatever the case to be and giving you fifteen to sixteen in a game, I don't know that that KCP is still there for Memphis, but that doesn't mean he can't be helpful, especially defensively.

While I know he was slirting with the opportunity, you know, to kind of go overseas after he got traded from Sacramento, I think he has I know he has a great opportunity to play winning basketball and really be on a big stage with the Denver Nuggets playing behind playing behind Jokich. I don't know how much, how many minutes they'll actually get together that that remains to potentially be seen if there'll be some kind of like wonky lineups where then

you know, you play those two bigs. But Valentiunis is somebody who plays at least, you know, seventy seventy two games each year, generally very healthy and very productive, especially up from the rebounding side. I'm not going to call a bunch of plays for him, but he can post up, you can hit like you know that kind of like little turnaround or wherever the case would be. He's got

a decent mid range shot. Not a great defender when it comes to blocking shots, but everybody's a very very big body, and I think as much help as you can give, you know, NICOLEA Jokic at this stage here where you don't want to continue to just wear him down forty forty five minutes a night, especially in the regular season, Valentinos can soak up a lot of those minutes and be very, very very impactful for them, especially when it comes to getting some post production in a

way that they haven't had when Joker goes on the bench. So I'm looking for volunteers to play winning basketball this season.

table as far as the game of basketball. But you can get players who if they play next to a guy like Jokic, or they play for a guy like Jokic, you're gonna get the maximum of what their abilities that's allowed them to do. And with Valentiunis, and what I appreciate mostly than anything about him is he's grown to be the bully on the block and he's embraced that, he's accepted that. And sometimes that's exactly what the Denver Nuggets needed. Man. Sometimes they needed another level of toughness.

They needed another level of of you know, bravado in them that is not filtered through what your Jokic gives you just because of his statistics and you know how he loves to move the basketball. Valentinas can move the basketball. He just isn't going to shoot the ball like Jokic, right, But Valentiunis can get the ball to guys. He can definitely set those picks that you always expected from Jokic.

If nothing else, he actually gives another dimension to what we've been starving from Jamal Murray and how he is as a guard supposed to help accentuate the offenses in different ways. And part of that is because there's too much dependency on what Jokic has been doing and the ball going through Jokic so much so I think having a guy like Valentiunis, while again to your point, is

going to eat up a lot of Yokic minutes. What I also I am appreciating about is this is now going to put that challenge back on the Nuggets to say, we have these different dynamic players. They all don't have to be like Jokic. Let's start maximizing what these guys can actually bring to the table. So it can really help diversify what the Denver Nuggets have been lacking over

the last couple of years. It's basically made them a one trick pony because they know that the moment Jokic comes off the floor, the Nuggets have no imagination in offense, they have no imagination in shot selection, they have no imagine. It's like they're completely lost. But a guy like Valentnis who spent years playing for so many different teams and it's made his way into getting people to understand, I can give you what you need. You just need to

tell me. He to me can be a very solid player to your point, Shaw in helping to diversify the Denver Nuggets being the perennial powerhouse team again as always yeah and again.

this's has not been his game. But as somebody who's going to be able to definitely get you some baskets, yeah, in the post and you'll catch again. I think they

will be sometimes where they can play together. But I think more importantly it's just so that you'll Kitch's minutes can come down some you know, in the regular season, and while Joker's never really shrunk her for efficiency so to speak, we might even see some more efficiency as a result of not having to play, you know, those exhaustive minutes that we've seen, you know, in years past. As the Knuggers have really rutooled their roster. Obviously they

got Bruce Brown back as well too. But I think valentiunis in this light, I think he's gonna be happy that he didn't get he didn't go to Europe, right and having a chance to really compete at the highest level for I think really one of the first times is in his NBA career, right like he's he was in Memphis, he was in Toronto, he was in New Orleans, and none of those situations I think were really they

were really contenders, and others are legitimate contenders. And I think we may see valentunas as some of his best ball coming in a backup role.

to the Milwaukee Bucks. A lot was talked about Dame Lillard being stretched and waved as a result of acquiring Miles Turner, but not a lot of conversation was talked about Miles turner actual fit with with Milwaukee in that Giannis is clearly a better basketball player and a Hall of Fame player that Tyre's Haliburn is not at the stage up I think at this currently, I think Miles is going to find life very very different on this Milwaukee team than he did the last couple of years

playing a light song haliburtn. Giannis is a different type of creator than than Haliburn is, and like he gets his baskets, you know, very very differently, he creates his assists very very differently. Turner is going to have to be an effective and I mean an effective knockdown jump shooter you know in this Bucks offense that I don't know that he's quite capable of. While we've seen stretches where he's been hot and we know the defense will be there, I'm just not sure about the fit offensively

with this Bucks team. And it will start to come up when you talk about, well, we're basically essentially paying whatever it is, like fifty two million dollars to have for the right to Miles Turner, because we're not paying name, but we're still paying, you know, the waiting part of that salary, and that in the contract that Turn essentially signed, that's going to make Turn like this forty eight million dollar player that quite frankly, I don't know if if

fiscally he can live up to that. However, he is going to do everything in his power. I know Doc will do everything in his power as well too to put him in positions to be successful. But you have to also wonder about the play creation. The table setting of a Kevin Porter junior is kind of like the lead point guard there Cole Anthony as a backup guy there. We know Yannas is full to kind of the fact

of point guard. But that really puts Miles Turner in a in a kind of a compromising situation where his jump shot needs to be almost knocked down for this contract air quote contract or the money that's going be pailed out for the rights to him to actually be worth it. So I'm a little little worried for Miles in that regard, but he's again he's an amazing individual.

he wants to contribute. He could have already had maybe one foot out the door, recognizing you know, hey, I only have so many years left for me to give the best of what I can give. And at the same time, I only have so many opportunities or teams on the table that still have an outside or inside chance to make a run for a chip.

no question, and you know we've had our conversations. We've even had Miles Turner on our show quite some time ago, right, Like, he to me kind of gives me the flashes of what I would you know, would still would love to have seen for most of our bigs now in the current you know, NBA, and he's had to evolve in a way that's allowed him to be sustainable in the style of his play, especially playing for the Indiana Pacers. So now he's going to have to pivot and do

that for the Milwaukee Bucks and do that. Nixon arguably one of the greatest power you know, one of the great power forwards that's going to ever play this game of basketball. So you know, in a way he was a part that that person would have been his his rival. That's the person where if he was as generational as a Yiannis was, we would be talking about these matchups between him and the Milwaukee Bucks when he was playing as a pacer. But it never evolved in that kind

of way. It never happened that kind of way. I'm wondering how that influence is going to have for Miles Turner in this iteration.

versus King Kong, right, king of the monsters. They arguably could have been the King of the Monsters in the Eastern Conference and now what he has, what he's bringing to the table is to help supplement elevating the Milwaukee Bucks back to that level of conversation where we're buying into them being legit contenders, right, and it not just being legit contenders solely on what Yannis does, but it's clearly going to have to be on what moles Turner

contributes for the Milwaukee Bucks. And that's just a different conversation and a different dynamic altogether.

have been very, very different. So while the statistical production is very very close in Trump's of comparison, and that's where I think Milwaukee maybe got a little intoxicated. It's like, oh, we got our Brook Lopez replacement, you know, younger version, et cetera, et cetera.

and the numbers that he put up defensively. You know, first it started more offensively, but when they won the championship, it was the combination of the numbers that he provided both offensively and defensively, and that just continued a couple of years more until he now is you know, in greed, you know, going to to the Los Angeles Clippers. I almost feel like the Milwaukee Bucks are just like, let's rerun this project one more time, you know, you know,

this is how we created brook Lopez. And maybe that is something about Giannis that you know, we saw this with Bobby Portos as well too, which is why he legitimately became a great backup as well. There's something about playing next to Gianni's maybe in some regards that might actually accentuate what's been, you know, hidden under the crevices

of Miles Turner's greatness. Maybe that's what will happen over the next couple of years, and you know, maybe we're having this conversation about the Milwaukee Bucks being legitimate contenders again because of what he's now going to be able to do next to Jannis than what he was doing all by himself.

that every that that the Bucks are hoping for. And I know Miles was anxious to get the bag and you know Kuters are forgetting it. But will the production be there in the way that the Bucks needed to be where he can have a season worth leaving the Indiana.

then you hit me with that. Well, you know, it is an interesting topic to have, So any strays, any any collateral damage.

He was directly responsible for elevating the ability for the Denver Nuggets to shoot the basketball, you know, reasonably well, right, But where I think things fell short And I don't know if it's just the style, the system, the coach, whatever it is. You could clearly tell over the last couple of years that Michael Porter Junior needed a different change of play like pace, he needed different scenery, he needed to be in a different circumstances situation. Wait right now,

you look at his numbers, statistically legitimate numbers. Man average thirty three minutes per game, almost nineteen eighteen, nineteen points per game, seven rebounds to assist, shot fifty percent from the floor, thirty nine point five percent for three, which is only point five percent for what he basically, you know.

become a three time MVP. If Michael Porter Junior really believes in his skills, at what better way for you to come out and you know, quiet the naysayers shut people down then by going out there to Brooklyn and ultimately balling balling out and giving Jody Fernandez in company a reason for them to be like, I like where we're going with this. I like the direction of what we can potentially get from a guy like Michael Porter Junior with the roster that we have, he can clearly

be a standout kind of guy. So that being said, does he have the passion to want to do that? Does he have the desire to want to do that? Because I'm gonna tell you this right now, Shaw, you don't get too many circumstances like what he's got right now.

are kind of could be potential chuckers. That said, Michael Porter, his counting stats are good, right, forty three point shooter for his career, you know, seven plus rebounds a game, you know, for his career. Like, this is a guy who can play basketball, but he's had the lap of luxury playing alongside you know, Nikola jokicch for a very

long time. Now, what happens when you are the guy that defense is key in on every single night, there's nobody that there's nowhere for you to hide, so to speak. Defense is recorded, like, yo, well this is this is only guy I got, so let's stop him. They're not worried about Terrence Man, you know, going off, or Noah Colney or like, it's just like, this is not disrespect to the Brooklyn roster. The roster is very intent on

trying to tank and get better draft picks. So now Michael Porter Junior becomes the lead guy, and yeah, he could have a season where he gets twenty five a game or whether the case would be, But what will the efficiency look like? Well, he's still be able to shoot fifty percent from the floor and forty percent from three as he's just gonna get touch upon touch on touch. I don't know, you know, is he somebody who'll be able to raise the ceiling of some of the other

guys around him? That will be something I will really be watch. I want to see it. I mean, it can happen when you're like kind of like the lead guy. Right, there's a difference, like there's a there's there you can see the folk on the road and an offensive set almost like every play is like, all right, is this the best shot? Or is this the best shot? Because it gets me? Right? Do I? Or do I kick it to whitehead or whatever the be on the floor.

You don't know if he has that kind of decision making. Yeah, do you know when that will happen? Shaw?

I think Michael Porter Junior has always been the kind of guy where he wants to stand out. He wants to stand out on the bright lights. He definitely was not going to do that in the shadows of Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic and his style of basketball while within the flow.

Even if Camp Thomas comes back, that doesn't matter. What matters to me is what version of Michael Porter Junior during those primetime games you play the Boston Celtics, when you play against the New York Knicks, when you play against or when you're playing in the in the Emirates Cup tournament, right when you're given an opportunity for you to put on a performance, to put on a show,

will you be able to do that? Because if you ever, if you've ever asked me Shaw, the thing that has always bothered me about the upside and the potential of Michael Porter Junior is that style that he plays where he could just chuck the you know, the living daylights out of it was a detriment to the Denver Nuggets when that wasn't what was needed. But in this situation, if he's gonna do all that chucking and he's making shots, that's gonna put him on a different platform because he's

in a market that's gonna love that. It's gonna embrace that, you know what I'm saying, Because nobody's gonna tell him differently. There's nothing that's gonna counter that aspect of it. So it'll be interesting to see if he's gonna be that kind of person on the lights and it succeed, because

if not, he's just going to be another player. Using the Brooklyn nets as is a gateway for us to recognize he's a good shooter, he's a quality player, but he needs to be in a system where those type of things mask and don't necessarily stand out to be a detriment to me.

let's see what he's able to do with it. You know, in this whatever it is, season, half a season, or whatever, it's all Tomate ends up being the one thing that he has going for him.

it for a guy like Porter. So it'll be interesting to see that that style, that version, that usage of Porter, he can sustain that this year, then what was actually given to him, what he did for the Denver Nuggets last year.

catches that. Dude, he's kind of fallen back. But you could always probably like feel it kind of bubbling under the surface, like this guy wasn't here, you know what I mean. But he knew he could not that. So I give him a lot of credit for playing the role that he needed to play in Denver, you know, after especially after he got the contract. I think that was part of it. Probably too, they paid him when they didn't really need to, kind of overpaid him when

they didn't need to. But he's played a significant role and played a master ball in them, you know, winning an NBA championship a few seasons ago. But now it's kind of make or break. So in that thirty three thirty four minutes, do his shots go up to eighteen to twenty? I would say probably yes. And you want to you know, in that with those extra shot attempts and that usages that will be coming.

you know, show up and show out. And I think that is what I'm gonna be most interested in seeing because listen, man, you play a few years on a on a very it's it's kind of like what we're talking about right now with them with Klay Thompson, right Like, there has to be a happy medium because even you as a player, when you're on a when you're a certain you know, you read certain milestone certain parts of your career, you also have to recognize even when a

team pays money, a ton of money to bring you on, it isn't always just necessarily for what it was that you were doing, what you you know, made you so

successful to the previous team. It's also about what you could potentially do for the rest of the team, and so to me, I just think it's interesting in what way will Michael Porter Junior, you know, kind of lend himself to this Brooklyn Nets team and lend himself to his career arguably right moving forward, because I think this is what always has been the elephant in the room, you know, of what needed to be addressed and answered. Does he does he throt can he thrive on his own?

Or was it that he just never realized how grateful he should have been playing next to you know, Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic and really elevating himself in a way where what he was doing was for the better of the team and and and helping the team win more than what they were able.

land in some new places. But you know these are our top six, our sinisor six so to speak, and we'd love to hear who some of Europis are here from upcoming abusis.