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Who are your 'untouchables" with this coming off-season?

There is no reason to think that way. Teams are able to ramp up extremely fast if they have a couple stars. We may have 2 in Key and Lauri plus a damn good dude in Sexton.
Keyonte might be a star in three-four years time or he might not. He's not getting "ramped up" any faster than that. He really doesn't play any D at the moment and he's not yet a scoring god. Sexton is extremely expendable.
 
I generally agree that there are few, if any, untouchables.

IMO, we'd be crazy to deal Keyonte and/or Lauri (assuming he's interested in signing an extension) for obvious reasons. There's also a few more "nice pieces" that would be great to have long-term.

That said, the above is completely blown up if there's a chance to go all-in for a true superstar/top-15 player.
 
I generally agree that there are few, if any, untouchables.

IMO, we'd be crazy to deal Keyonte and/or Lauri (assuming he's interested in signing an extension) for obvious reasons. There's also a few more "nice pieces" that would be great to have long-term.

That said, the above is completely blown up if there's a chance to go all-in for a true superstar/top-15 player.

I'm actually going to quote and amend my prior statement. Keyonte, and Lauri (if willing to extend), would be untouchable if I'm JZ/DA. Full stop.

Lauri is 26, 7 feet tall, and shoots 50/40/90 without dominating the ball. There's a reason every other contending team dreams of adding him; he's the perfect piece to build around. Keyonte just turned 20 and is already a complete bucket. His D sucks (spoiler, most rookies suck defensively) and he is not a physical freak but he plays with a swagger and savviness that maybe 1-2 guys have in each/every draft.

We have *plenty* of other pieces + draft capital to swing any potential trade on the market without having to deal with either of those. Unless it's Luka or Giannis, lol.
 
Keyonte might be a star in three-four years time or he might not. He's not getting "ramped up" any faster than that. He really doesn't play any D at the moment and he's not yet a scoring god. Sexton is extremely expendable.
You are seriously underrating how quickly guys ramp up. We have already seen a pretty impressive pop from the beginning of the year to now for Key. I'm not saying he is guaranteed to be a star but if he is going to take that step then it is going to happen quick. We should have a pretty good idea by midseason of next year if he is going to be a star or not because Hardy is going to give him every opportunity in the world to show what he can do.
 
You are seriously underrating how quickly guys ramp up.
I don't think so. Or maybe you think there are a 100 stars in the NBA that make teams competitive.

There are a select few players from recent drafts that have risen to become stars in their third seasons: Ja, Ant, Haliburton, Scottie Barnes. Other knocking on the stardom door in their third season the Magic guys Wagner and Paolo. Maxey reached it in his 4th.

Has Keyonte shown enough to be listed in the first group? No. And of those guys Ant is the only one where his fast rise might lead to the team competing for the championship extra quickly, and that's yet to be proven.
 
You are seriously underrating how quickly guys ramp up. We have already seen a pretty impressive pop from the beginning of the year to now for Key. I'm not saying he is guaranteed to be a star but if he is going to take that step then it is going to happen quick. We should have a pretty good idea by midseason of next year if he is going to be a star or not because Hardy is going to give him every opportunity in the world to show what he can do.

Guys who exceed expectations in their rookie year, rarely improve dramatically in year two, unless they are future MVP type players.

As good as Key has been, he still has a long ways to go from a decision making and defense standpoint to be a winning player in the NBA. I think he will get there, but I think it will most likely be in his 3rd year that he is really able to helps us win at a high level.
 
I think Kessler needs to replace John with the starters. Not sure if Taylor is a starter but it would make sense if he does well the last 15 games... even if he was only like a 20-25 minute guy as a starter. I could see us adding like a decent wing like Caleb Martin in FA and slotting him into the starting lineup somewhere.

Its just so choppy. Need to start building a team.
Kessler definitely needs to replace Collins. As far as free agency goes I don't mind Caleb Martin but I think I prefer Naji Marshall for his defense. I'd also lose to throw an offer at Okoro and force the cavs to match. Another player that I would like to go after if his contract allows it is Dzanan Musa who was a 1st rd pick for the nets in 2018. He was super young when drafted and just wasn't ready. He is still only 24 and I think he is now ready to be an nba guy.
 
Kessler definitely needs to replace Collins. As far as free agency goes I don't mind Caleb Martin but I think I prefer Naji Marshall for his defense. I'd also lose to throw an offer at Okoro and force the cavs to match. Another player that I would like to go after if his contract allows it is Dzanan Musa who was a 1st rd pick for the nets in 2018. He was super young when drafted and just wasn't ready. He is still only 24 and I think he is now ready to be an nba guy.

What's Musa been up to lately?
 
I don't think so. Or maybe you think there are a 100 stars in the NBA that make teams competitive.

There are a select few players from recent drafts that have risen to become stars in their third seasons: Ja, Ant, Haliburton, Scottie Barnes. Other knocking on the stardom door in their third season the Magic guys Wagner and Paolo. Maxey reached it in his 4th.

Has Keyonte shown enough to be listed in the first group? No. And of those guys Ant is the only one where his fast rise might lead to the team competing for the championship extra quickly, and that's yet to be proven.
Like I said most stars ramp up very quickly and you just proved my point. There are exceptions that take longer but most guys are legit impact players by their 2nd season. Based on what I am seeing from Key right now I think we will have a pretty good idea by the middle of next year if he can be a star. He is certainly showing flashes right now so my expectations for next year are pretty high. Somewhere in the range of 20pts and 7asts a game.
 
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