Trade Lauri for The 3rd Pick

[HadAnEffectHere]

Based on what? His back issues? If those are bad he may already be toast. If they arent bad, then in 3 years he is only 30 and looking at how fit he is physically its wild to suggest that timeline.

Dirk played great till he was something like 36. He was a better handler and operated from the post a lot better, but other than that they have a lot of similarities. Lauri may slow down on his rim running a bit over the years, but being a 7 foot sniper with quick release is gonna be valuable even after his athleticism starts to decline.

Lauri is already an average at best defender and he's going to become a huge defensive liability as he ages. Lauri will probably also become less effective at interior scoring as he ages and loses pop. There's just not much athletic wiggle room for him. Dirk was an elite shot creator who relied on his athleticism less and played in an era kinder to bad defenders.

 

[HermanG]

Lauri is already an average at best defender and he's going to become a huge defensive liability as he ages. Lauri will probably also become less effective at interior scoring as he ages and loses pop. There's just not much athletic wiggle room for him. Dirk was an elite shot creator who relied on his athleticism less and played in an era kinder to bad defenders.

You arent justifying your timeline here at all. Apart from NFL running backs, 30 isnt even close to father time for pro athletes these days.

Lauri is obviously taking care of his body. Dude looks like a statue carved by Michaelangelo.

 

[baka98]

Could we get #3 without giving up #5? Would love to get Ace and Tre somehow

Lauri + 21 should get you there...

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

You arent justifying your timeline here at all. Apart from NFL running backs, 30 isnt even close to father time for pro athletes these days.

Lauri is obviously taking care of his body. Dude looks like a statue carved by Michaelangelo.

I mean, Beal works out all the time and is completely shredded and is also toast at 31 years old.

Markkanen just has very little athleticism he can lose without declining a lot as a player. We saw him play with declined athleticism this year and he wasn't very good. He was one of the worst defenders in the league and his offensive efficiency dropped off a good bit because his explosion was gone.

 

[HermanG]

I mean, Beal works out all the time and is completely shredded and is also toast at 31 years old.

Markkanen just has very little athleticism he can lose without declining a lot as a player. We saw him play with declined athleticism this year and he wasn't very good. He was one of the worst defenders in the league and his offensive efficiency dropped off a good bit because his explosion was gone.

Again. You are not justifying either:
A) Why Markkanen would start losing his athleticism at age 30
B) Why is it that it impacts his game so dramatically

In the world of analytics 3s and dunks are what teams want. Those are the two things he can do effectively well into his 30s due to his size and shooting. He doesnt need to be an aboslutely elite cutter when he plays his proper role as a 2nd or 3rd banana. We need that from him since we have no one else who has any gravity to mention.

The Beal comp is also just dumb not only because they are so vastly different as players but also because Beal isnt toast. He went from #1 banana in a perennial loser franchise to a #3 banana in a dumbass franchise who let KD build the second iteration of "Kyrie, Harden, KD" both of which included too many "ballers" and not enough role players. Beal's contract is 100% toxic waste, but thats because of the no trade clause and cap number in combination with his current 3rd banana usage.

 

[KqWIN]

I think Lauri has more than two years left, but being jacked doesn’t have much to do with staying healthy.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

Again. You are not justifying either:
A) Why Markkanen would start losing his athleticism at age 30
B) Why is it that it impacts his game so dramatically

In the world of analytics 3s and dunks are what teams want. Those are the two things he can do effectively well into his 30s due to his size and shooting. He doesnt need to be an aboslutely elite cutter when he plays his proper role as a 2nd or 3rd banana. We need that from him since we have no one else who has any gravity to mention.

The Beal comp is also just dumb not only because they are so vastly different as players but also because Beal isnt toast. He went from #1 banana in a perennial loser franchise to a #3 banana in a dumbass franchise who let KD build the second iteration of "Kyrie, Harden, KD" both of which included too many "ballers" and not enough role players. Beal's contract is 100% toxic waste, but thats because of the no trade clause and cap number in combination with his current 3rd banana usage.

I think it's pretty reasonable to think a 7 foot tall guy with a good bit of injury history will start athletically declining at 30 years old, I think this is basically the norm. Lauri just can't afford to lose a step because his perimeter defense is already so borderline and he can't slide down to center as he ages.

 

[HermanG]

I think it's pretty reasonable to think a 7 foot tall guy with a good bit of injury history will start athletically declining at 30 years old, I think this is basically the norm. Lauri just can't afford to lose a step because his perimeter defense is already so borderline and he can't slide down to center as he ages.

What "norm"? Where are the comparison points for 7 foot snipers who wash out of the league due to age and injury that early?

KD has ruptured his achilles and he had a stress facture already at the age of 26. He is still here.

Besides your defense argument holds no water when you already referenced him as one of the worst defenders in the league. If that is true, then what is the drop off potential there? He is a 7 footer and will always be at least a tall body to go around.

Weak.

 

[LogGrad98]

I think Lauri has more than two years left, but being jacked doesn’t have much to do with staying healthy.

Tell me about it!

 

[HermanG]

I think Lauri has more than two years left, but being jacked doesn’t have much to do with staying healthy.

Of course you pop in with one of these backhand truisms.. except his argument has this entire time been that its his athleticism that starts to decline.

Bravo.

 

[Ferguson_Mellochill]

Sixers are publicly saying they’re open to moving off of #3.

If the Jazz have a clear preference for a guy in the 3-5 range, they’d better act on it. Jazz absolutely have the means to make a serious offer.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

What "norm"? Where are the comparison points for 7 foot snipers who wash out of the league due to age and injury that early?

KD has ruptured his achilles and he had a stress facture already at the age of 26. He is still here.

Besides your defense argument holds no water when you already referenced him as one of the worst defenders in the league. If that is true, then what is the drop off potential there? He is a 7 footer and will always be at least a tall body to go around.

Weak.

KD has declined hugely from an athletic perspective since his injuries is the thing. He can't beat anyone off the dribble at all anymore. But KD was so dominant that there were many steps he could lose and still be great.

Lauri's defense is very very very sketchy and borderline and losing one or two steps makes him far less valuable. He was one of the worst defenders in the league last year and had very little value because of that. But he was league average on defense in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 and he needs to reach that level again to be a valuable player.

We saw Lauri after losing 1-2 steps last year and he wasn't very good. Hopefully he can return to his 2022-2024 form for the next couple of years, but this is not a guy who is going to age great at all.