[:: LAKERS 2014 THREAD | POLL: Who Should Coach Next Year? ::]

[pmatic]

I doubt Grant gets consideration, but I'd figure I'd post it anyways.

Jerami Grant's volatile draft stock

Chad Ford's Top 100: No. 18
Strengths: FTA%, TO% | Weaknesses: Usage rate, Shooting, Assist%, Steal%
WARP projection: Minus-0.4 (66th among top 100)
Comparables: DeMar DeRozan (94.7), Perry Jones (93.2), Wilson Chandler (92.5), Marcus Williams (91.6)

The analytics perspective

Kevin Pelton: Grant isn't ready for the NBA, according to the numbers. There's basically no track record for success among players like Grant who are 6-foot-8 and under, do not shoot 3-pointers and are so inaccurate on 2-pointers (50.6 percent last season).

The closest comparison is Travis Leslie, a second-round pick who has played 45 career minutes in the NBA. Stretching a bit, Grant can point to Luc Richard Mbah a Moute as a relative success story, but Mbah a Moute is one of the league's best perimeter stoppers. Grant is unlikely to be so good. Unless he develops 3-point range, his career is not likely to go anywhere.

At the same time, history suggests leaving now is probably the right move for Grant. His stock, currently in the middle to late first round, could slide if he fails to show rapid improvement as an upperclassmen and scouts start asking harder questions about how his game translates to the NBA.

The scouting perspective

Amin Elhassan: Grant is a combo forward prospect with good length and athleticism, but he lacks a defined role at the next level. While he was an efficient scorer at the collegiate level (and improved greatly from his freshman to sophomore seasons), Grant is one of those prospects who make me wonder if I'm missing something that everyone else sees.

He runs the floor well in transition, gets to the front of the rim and finishes with power and explosiveness. He likes to mix it up in traffic and finishes well through contact, though he always tries to finish with his right hand on layups. Plus, Grant has a nice little tear-drop floater that he unleashes from time to time, which will help at the next level when going against bigger defenders.

However, he isn't very creative off the dribble, looking for straight-line drives with long strides. If he encounters defensive resistance, his only counter is a right-to-left spin move. His range doesn't quite extend to college 3-point land, but to his credit he knows his limitation and doesn't get enamored with the midrange jumper. Even though he often pops or shallow dives on pick-and-rolls, he'll put the ball on the floor after the catch and attack. Also, he's a terrific offensive rebounder who capitalizes on second-chance opportunities.

Defensively, as a Syracuse product he will have to fight the same death sentence that every fellow alum suffers from, as the Orange's 2-3 zone traditionally has not produced NBA-caliber defenders. Grant has decent defensive awareness but poor technique, leading to blow-bys off his closeouts. He is an underwhelming defensive rebounder, but part of that comes from playing the wing in the 2-3 zone. However, historically there hasn't been much improvement from college to the pros for other Syracuse guys in that regard.

The NBA front-office perspective

Chad Ford: Grant is one of the most athletic players in the draft. When you are 6-7 with length, explosive leaping ability and the later quickness of a guard, NBA scouts are going to give you multiple looks.

He has a strong motor, attacks the rim and has the ability to guard the 2, 3 and 4, which also has a strong appeal to NBA scouts. But his lack of offensive skills somewhat dampens that enthusiasm.

Grant has the makings of a midrange jumper (though it's still inconsistent), but other than that, he doesn't have much of an offensive game. He has no 3-point shot to speak of and can't really create his own shot off the dribble yet.

The question for Grant: Can he go from elite athlete to something more? NBA players need to have the ability to score at the next level; it's hard for them to get on the floor if they can't. I think teams are going to give him a long look in the 12-20 range, but his long-term potential is dependent on developing small forward skills either in the D-League or practice.

 

[noblekane]

Team Grumpy?
You ever happy a single day in your life bro?

Hey im not the one getting my panties in a bunch throwing tantrums everytime someone doesnt agreee with me

 

[grandtheftbike]

whoa whoa whoa


first game I was in up like 10-5, then got really tired I choked sooooo hard and @YeezusDisciple
 came back to win it

but I got straight owned in the second game!

always wanted to ask. are his legs as hairy as he makes them look on NT?

 

[noblekane]

#bye

View media item 919412

 

[kingjaffejo]

MDA system is just not conducive for the actual important phase of winning basketball.
Playoff, championship basketball. Once the game slows down and you are playing possession for possession he fails.

His style is predicated on fast pace non-stop free flow. This doesn't mean he isn't a good coach. He is a orrery decent coach. An offensive genius. You give that man talent and he will work wonders

Buuuuut once he runs deep into the playoffs it's over for the man. He will have 60 win seasons but won't get out if the playoffs cuz his style isn't a playoff winning style. It's seasonal.

Once things start to slow down and get physical. All he knows how to do is wave his hand and say "keep running" that's all he knows

 

[100027]

MDA system is just not conducive for the actual important phase of winning basketball.
Playoff, championship basketball. Once the game slows down and you are playing possession for possession he fails.

His style is predicated on fast pace non-stop free flow. This doesn't mean he isn't a good coach. He is a orrery decent coach. An offensive genius. You give that man talent and he will work wonders

Buuuuut once he runs deep into the playoffs it's over for the man. He will have 60 win seasons but won't get out if the playoffs cuz his style isn't a playoff winning style. It's seasonal.

Once things start to slow down and get physical. All he knows how to do is wave his hand and say "keep running" that's all he knows

He was a ridiculous David Stern suspension away from making the Finals and probably winning the 'chip in a sweep though.

Not to mention making multiple WCF's in an incredible tough West.  So I don't know how you can say that doesn't work in the playoffs.

 

[kingjaffejo]

Yea that was a foul move DStern

Well....has he ever gotten out of the playoffs???... I'll wait...

Listen he is good. Just not good enough. Sorry. Doesn't mean he is a horrible coach. Just an offensive genius that needs the perfect players for his system to work.

I'll say this tho ...I don't think there is another coach that can make average talent play like all stars. That's where he excels. He would be a GREAT college coach

 

[licensed to ball]

#bye

View media item 919412

You spend a lot of time attempting to make fun of me. If you spent nearly half of that time trying to fix your life you could be happier one day. Just don't want you to jump off a building someday bro

 

[had pants]

I'm not aggressive, I ain't tryna fight folks, just want them to think and connect dots is all.

 

[CP1708]

MDA system is just not conducive for the actual important phase of winning basketball.

Playoff, championship basketball. Once the game slows down and you are playing possession for possession he fails.


His style is predicated on fast pace non-stop free flow. This doesn't mean he isn't a good coach. He is a orrery decent coach. An offensive genius. You give that man talent and he will work wonders


Buuuuut once he runs deep into the playoffs it's over for the man. He will have 60 win seasons but won't get out if the playoffs cuz his style isn't a playoff winning style. It's seasonal.


Once things start to slow down and get physical. All he knows how to do is wave his hand and say "keep running" that's all he knows

He was a ridiculous David Stern suspension away from making the Finals and probably winning the 'chip in a sweep though.

Not to mention making multiple WCF's in an incredible tough West.  So I don't know how you can say that doesn't work in the playoffs.

I been tryin man.

 

[grandtheftbike]

i'm not even sure if the older heads that CP mentioned have that much of an opposing opinion as the newer posters

 

[tupac003]

Are we so sure the suns would have won a chip that year? It's an assumption.

Look if you like MDA thats you. We all know when you lose that many games somebody is going to get the blame. Some players won't be back and coaches get fired. Right or wrong I want MDA gone.

 

[sea manup]

if the front office would have embraced tanking there wouldnt need to be anyone to blame

ask a celtics or 6ers fan (bucks fans dont exist) about this season and they will all tell you how glad they are that their team is tanking to get a better pick

its not that celtics or 6ers fans are smarter than lakers fans, its that those two teams are obviously tanking while our front office and players go out of their way to talk about pride and how tanking is silly. most fans just support the team in whatever it is doing and if we would have just embraced tanking to get everyone on board there would be less arguments and no blaming anyone since it would all be part of the plan

but apparently the front office wanted us to win pointless games all year so now we need someone to blame for the team's failures 

 

[CP1708]

Are we so sure the suns would have won a chip that year? It's an assumption.

Well, they had the team that swept the Finals on the ropes, so, yeah, I'd say it's a safe assumption.

Amare gave Duncan fits back then, if he doesn't get suspended, might have a completely different view of MDA, Nash, Stat, Pop, and Duncan.

 

[tupac003]

Well, they had the team that swept the Finals on the ropes, so, yeah, I'd say it's a safe assumption.

Amare gave Duncan fits back then, if he doesn't get suspended, might have a completely different view of MDA, Nash, Stat, Pop, and Duncan.

Safe...but i bet we all assumed we would have beat the pistons in 04. Anything can happen.

I still don't care for MDA. Even if he would have won the chip I wouldn't care for him.

We both want the best for this team. Just different views on things.

Hopefully we can get the top pick. #nuffsaid

 

[essential1]

if the front office would have embraced tanking there wouldnt need to be anyone to blame

ask a celtics or 6ers fan (bucks fans dont exist) about this season and they will all tell you how glad they are that their team is tanking to get a better pick

its not that celtics or 6ers fans are smarter than lakers fans, its that those two teams are obviously tanking while our front office and players go out of their way to talk about pride and how tanking is silly. most fans just support the team in whatever it is doing and if we would have just embraced tanking to get everyone on board there would be less arguments and no blaming anyone since it would all be part of the plan

but apparently the front office wanted us to win pointless games all year so now we need someone to blame for the team's failures 

To truly tank, you start before the season starts.

Celtics fans are just like Lakers fans.. Many who want to tank, just as many who are pissed every time they lose. You just don't see it because there isn't a thread where this crap is discussed ad nauseam.

The players on the Celtics or Sixers are not tanking.. Just go look at how terrible the Sixers roster is. They have MCW & Thad Young who are and will be solid NBA players, and their next best player is Tony Wroten, I'd probably take the 2 PGs on every other NBA team before I took Tony Wroten. Celtics roster status is nearly identical to ours.. An injured franchise guy, and a bunch of role players. The fact that they only won 24 in the East, is because they are poorly coached, and are full of horrible shooters.

Reason why we are 6th, is because MDA gets a lot from a trash heap, and we are one of the best three point teams in the league, and one of the best benches in the league.

You guys are legitimately squabbling over here and there wins since Kobe has gone down as if they were really going to lose every single game in the last 57. They've won 14 games out of 56. If that trend had carried over for the first 25, we'd be the third worst team. The meaningless games of the last 57 that we've won were going to happen. We have a far better roster than the Sixers and have won 3 more games in that time period. Again, I remind you that they lost 26 in a row.

The reason we will pick 6th has very little to do with last night's win, or the win against the Thunder, or Blazers, or the two against the Celtics. And much more to do with going .500 in the first 26 games. Because regardless of how bad you are, you will win games, over a long season.

I'm sick and tired of this "All you had to do was lose" because every single **** team has wins against teams they should have lost to, and needed to lose to. Just as every team that battled for the last few spots in the playoffs have lost games against teams they should have beat.

 

[BIG LEEMELONE]

its not that celtics or 6ers fans are smarter than lakers fans, its that those two teams are obviously tanking while our front office and players go out of their way to talk about pride and how tanking is silly. most fans just support the team in whatever it is doing and if we would have just embraced tanking to get everyone on board there would be less arguments and no blaming anyone since it would all be part of the plan

Slow clap .gif

 

[sea manup]

every time its "you guys do know that the players are not going to tank, it starts before the season"

which is exactly why people are mad at the front office for not tanking

or the front office for not benching players yesterday

they dont have a plan

 

[sea manup]

I'm sick and tired of this "All you had to do was lose" because every single **** team has wins against teams they should have lost to, and needed to lose to. Just as every team that battled for the last few spots in the playoffs have lost games against teams they should have beat.

and im sure suns fans hate that their team couldnt get it done at the end of the season

when its the end of the season and you have a shot at something, playoffs or draft seeding, it doesnt matter what you have done for the last 56 games you do what you can to get it done. in our case its the front office and coach that need to make that happen and they didnt. 

like look at game 6 of the finals last year, a free throw or defensive rebound away from winning the championship. thats what people are going to blame, because after 47.5 minutes they were in good position to get what they wanted and they messed it up. no one is going to be talking about "dont blame the missed freethrows blame tim duncan for missing a jumpshot in the first quarter"

what we did up to yesterday means nothing, we had an chance to get the 4th seed and we didnt get it done

 

[essential1]

every time its "you guys do know that the players are not going to tank, it starts before the season"

which is exactly why people are mad at the front office for not tanking

or the front office for not benching players yesterday


they dont have a plan

This "they don't have a plan" thing is ludicrous

Just idiocy.

Stupidity.

Asinine.


None of those other teams benched players. Pulled players. Sat players with the hot hand. NONE OF THEM. NOT A SINGLE ONE.

Your definition of tanking and what tanking is, is far different, and far more out of skew with what tanking is in reality.


Also if we want to talk about sitting players, Kobe being shut down, kind of shows you something because if you truly think that Kobe not coming back at all this season for an injury he should have came back from 2 months ago isn't indicative of anything. I don't know what to tell you.


The reason we have these stupid arguments is because we have stupid comments like "They don't have a plan" because they didn't sit players. When no other team did that.

when its the end of the season and you have a shot at something, playoffs or draft seeding, it doesnt matter what you have done for the last 56 games you do what you can to get it done. in our case its the front office and coach that need to make that happen and they didnt.

what we did up to yesterday means nothing, we had an chance to get the 4th seed and we didnt get it done

Go look at the box score from last night. See how many minutes the Jazz played their starters. Then come back here, and tell me that is a team where the COACH. Is openly tanking.

Then go look at the box score of the Celtics & Sixers game. Then come back here and tell me, the COACH is openly TANKING.

 

[sea manup]

sorry, they dont have a good plan*

failed to trade anyone other than steve blake at the deadline

from the coaches to the players to the front office everyone constantly talking about how they are not tanking (bringing more attention to the season for no reason)

giving kobe 48 million

allowing players to openly disrespect the organization (kobe talking about random stuff all season, nick young being nick young, nash making a documentary about how he doesnt contribute anything for the team but is in it for the money, pau's nonstop crying) as an organization you have to put a stop to things like this

they try to trade pau every year but never are able to do it, now he will leave for nothing

if you cant see that this front office has made mistakes all year than i dont know what to tell you

 

[CP1708]

E, come on. Stop being blind man.

I'm an idiot, and 8 months ago started begging this franchise to embrace the tank.
There are a lot of smart men in the Laker FO, and they resisted.

They saw enough to know there would be no title, and no playoffs. They could have traded Pau for Bynum, THEY chose to back off that.

Pau wouldn't have been dealt for nothing. He would have been dealt for Wiggins.
Or Jabari.
Or Embiid, Exum, whoever they wanted.

They could have ensured a top 2-3 pick, just like Philly, ORLD, and Utah did. (I'm conceding no true way to surpass the Bucks)

That's who they trade Pau for. Guaranteed terribleness, to get in the top of the draft.

Tell me you don't find it interesting that the 4 teams we clearly saw tank from jump finish 1, 2, 3, and 4.

And we were 1 game away in game 81.

You sit here and try and tell me spinning Pau, Blake, Hill, Young, and Kaman wouldn't have ensured those extra 2-3 games? Really?

 

[bronconation24]

Lol at laker fans thinking they're going to get 8th pick... C'mon now. Ima turn on the lottery that day, and Silverman is gojng to start calling the picks. 14.13,12....etc. lakers pick will obviously not be selected. What comes next will be that stupid commercial break before the last 3 picks.

After the interruption, bucks will get 3rd. And then we obviously know what comes next.... Don't be so obvlivious. This is the nba.

 

[CP1708]

^
I like your style. Have a rep.

 

[kal-el-8]