which embiid team became a contender? I am not even discussing from a Sengun trade view. Embiid is injury prone and people hardly notice it but it is much harder to build around embiid imo. He hardly makes other better but has the ball a lot.
This off season will be filled with Sengun skepticism just like the last one. No need to worry, Sengun will get better and better and shut most of the doubters down when normal season begins.
The Sixers have been one of the top teams in the East the past 4 seasons. Embiid paired with another star player and a decent supporting cast always has a chance at the title. The problem with him is kind of like Yao. You always have to attach the qualification "if healthy" to any comment about him winning. And the "if" always seems to fail in the critical moments. Another thing about Embiid is that he has a tendency to disappear in crucial games, kind of like Harden. These guys can carry a team all by themselves. But you can't really count on them.
That’s the point. Theoretical contender and actual contender are not the same. And when he is healthy, can you point out a playoff performance in a whole series that makes one think he has the mental toughness, stability to lead his team and win it all. My answer is no. they always have a chance but that chance is very very slim. But since as an individual player, he is good that chance is being way overestimated. I think harden is better though. His production is better and creates for others as well. And doesn’t get injured like embiid. another reason why embiid looks better than he is, is being in the east. He would be more exposed if he was in the west and those Philly teams would not easily look like they are a top 3 team in the conference.
Not sure why this matters. Embiid with this team is what matters. Specifically FVV Brooks Jabari and Green with Embiid. And you mention his injury…as if my entire proposal wasn’t hypothetically based on the notion of assured health. not talking about “building” around anyone. Trades usually result in additional changes and departures. This scenario was specific to trading only Şengün/Embiid (which isn’t even technically possible).
Embiid's playoffs numbers (when healthy ) (25, 11, 3) and Harden's (22, 6, 6) aren't that much different. I'd say Embiid's are slightly better. Again, the problem with them isn't that they don't do well in playoffs. That's the misconception of the criticism. The real criticism is that they disappear in crucial must win games, like elimination games and closeout games.
I would give Jalen + some role players for Durant, nothing more. Imagine Sengun gravity + Durant gravity on the court and some bonus, Durant can actually shoot.
I mean, Phoenix is fresh off a sweep in the first round with a 27-year-old prime Booker, 30-year-old Beal, and 35-year-old Durant. They only won eight games (49 wins) more than our 21-year-olds this year. I might give some role players for a 39-year-old Durant when that $54-million contract ends.
Just for fun, who would you trade him for straight up? Or is he the most valuable asset in the nba to you
KD shot 12 threes the whole series. Granted it was only 4 games, but you need your #1 scorer averaging more than three, 3p fga a game. But sure I'd trade Jalen, filler and one pick for him. As the tweet at the top of this page notes, KD isn't coming to play with an ass roster... nor any other superstar really.
wemby, ant, luka if we only select from under-25 players. chet is also good but he is much less dominant than I expected him to be, so not so sure about him. trading 35 year old KD for a young player with a star potential is like that marshmallow test for the basketball fans. I wouldn't trade him for Green, as well.
Jokic, maybe - but that's hypothetical - and Jokic is older. In 3-4 years from now, I would not rule out that Alpi is just as good, or very close. There are other great players, like Ant, Luka and obviously Wembanyama, but no, I would not trade him for any of them.
You would say no if denver offered jokic for sengun? I know it's obviously ludicrus, but jokic just turned 29 and is at this point a top 5 all time player in his prime, who you would expect to age really well. Obviously i think WAY more of jokic then you do, but still
i expected him to be a more consistent / dominant player in the offence - he looked better in mid-season than like the last 20 games or so.
I think Jokic is absolutely amazing. But almost 8 more years of a 9.5/10 when the 10/10 might only have 2-3 years in his prime left...I realize I am an outlier with that opinion, but I think Alpi has a chance to be almost as good as Jokic.
What do you think his historical ceiling is? Jokic i think ends up 3rd behind lbj/mj, with an outside shot at cracking the top 2. Worst case i think for him is 4th, behind kareem as well
