Trade Lauri for The 3rd Pick

[KqWIN]

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.

You guys both talked about guys being jacked/shredded. Just saying that doesn’t mean much.

 

[HermanG]

You guys both talked about guys being jacked/shredded. Just saying that doesn’t mean much.

It does when he declined to play the health card. I offered it on my very first post.

 

[KqWIN]

It does when he declined to play the health card. I offered it on my very first post.

How can I say, "I think Lauri has more than two years left, but his physique is not the reason why" without upsetting you?

 

[HermanG]

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.

Oh so now KD cant beat anyone off the dribble? Yet he still somehow managed 26.6 PPG.... I wonder if that has anything to do with him being a 7 footer who shoots 50/40/85?

Keep digging.

 

[HadAnEffectHere]

Oh so now KD cant beat anyone off the dribble? Yet he still somehow managed 26.6 PPG.... I wonder if that has anything to do with him being a 7 footer who shoots 50/40/85?

Keep digging.

Yeah because KD is the best in NBA history at making contested jumpshots off the dribble whereas Lauri is not good at that, lol. So even without athleticism, KD can still volume score, but he's way less valuable than he used to be because he doesn't get any easy shots anymore.

KD has declined a lot but was already at such a high level that he's still good. Lauri is not at the level where he can decline and still be great. We saw declined Lauri last year and he was not very valuable.

 

[Tanktastic]

Sometimes I wonder if some people on this board have watched a second of NBA basketball in their lives...

 

[bigmike]

If we can't get to #2, I think I'm all in on flipping Lauri for #3.

Snag Ace and pray Charlotte falls in love with VJ at #4.

 

[NUMBERICA]

If we can't get to #2, I think I'm all in on flipping Lauri for #3.

Snag Ace and pray Charlotte falls in love with VJ at #4.

I would definitely hope to get VJ at 5 in that context.

 

[Bodhi]

Sometimes I wonder if some people on this board have watched a second of NBA basketball in their lives...

I've just seen your posts recently getting back on the last few weeks, but it one thing comes across pretty clear, everyone around you is a real moron and you have it all figured out.

That's got to feel incredible.

 

[fishonjazz]

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.

I hope they dont tbh.

 

[jazznik]

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.

I don't think that folks on this board fully realize how injury-prone Lauri was so far in his career, which is supposed to be his healthier years. Everyvbody likes to make jokes about Street Clothes AD, or Glass AD. But Lauri since he came into the league missed more games than Anthony Davis: he played less games than AD in 5 out of 8 seasons. 7-footers with that kind of an injury history usually become even more injury-prone getting close to 30.

 

[jazznik]

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.

Where are you getting this from? Lauri looks to me as being slightly below average on defense. Do you have any stats to show that "he was one of the worst defenders in the league last year"?