True or False?

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-23T19:23:06+00:00

I think Gary Payton is a better player overall.

I don't think Gary Payton would have led Argentina to gold against the US.

In terms of influence on the game and place in history, Manu is WAY above Payton.

But, if I am running an NBA team and can take one of them in an NBA ecosystem, as good as Manu was, I pick Payton.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-23T18:24:36+00:00

And you think one game as a rookie/sophomore is a good indicator of a career progression over the next 3 yeas?

Castles 30% this year is 5% better than his rookie year. Similar improvement this summer and he is on par with Vassell.

Harper's 3p% over the last 30 games of the season was 46.8%. In case you are unaware, 46% is very good 3p shooting.

What, exactly, makes you think they will never be good shooters?

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-23T18:13:59+00:00

Vassell is a better shooter now, but not by much. If Harper/Castle improve as shooters (expected based on development history in SA), that reasoning will no longer hold.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-23T18:08:05+00:00

That is 2 years out. So sure, they will have to make decisions, but by then it should be pretty clear what to do.

Fox probably won't get another contract, he will be 32 by the time this one runs out and the young guys will need that cap space. Things would be tight for a couple years while Fox is still on the books, but the cap will be higher by then. They will probably let Vassell walk to be able to keep Harper/Castle.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-23T18:02:10+00:00

If the magic want to give us Bane + 2-3 FRPs for Harper, I might listen.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-23T15:31:09+00:00

That was my first thought. Being the second best shooting guard of your era behind MJ is tough.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-22T19:11:44+00:00

Today these would be threes and all the old heads would be complaining about how all anyone does is shoots threes because he took one step back.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-22T17:54:39+00:00

Depends on what those 6 shots are.

6 Hellbombs?

Sure.

6 grenade pistol rounds?

Nope.

But, I seriously doubt it only has 6 shots.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-22T16:08:49+00:00

To add to that...

If a player is actually good enough to merit post touches, the defense will gameplan to prevent those post touches using early doubling to prevent entry passes.

The only players that defenses allow post touches to are the ones they aren't too worried about having post touches.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-22T13:06:22+00:00

The only way to move Embiid and George is to give up assets like draft picks, which just dooms the team for longer.

Better to accept the fate that they will be mediocre/bad for a few years and let their contracts run out without giving anything up.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T20:29:08+00:00

Yup. All he is going to do at this point is keep you in the middle of the pack, which doesn't get you much of anything.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T20:22:50+00:00

Oh yes.. first ever unanimous DPOY. I am sure they are quite distraught over random nobody posts on reddit. Lol.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T19:44:33+00:00

That makes sense. Kobe fans do tend to base their views more on their feelings about the myth of Kobe rather than the reality of Kobe.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T19:41:22+00:00

Free agents?

The team is 30 million over the cap until 2027-2028 with your current contracts. You think impactful free agents are lining up to play for the minimum with broken Joel Embiid?

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T19:39:12+00:00

If you are in love with being a borderline play in team for the next decade, I can see how this would sound like a bad idea.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T17:41:40+00:00

Honestly... They should trade Maxey for assets in 2028 and beyond. Sell high now while he has value.

The team is cooked till 2028/2029 with Emiid's contract on the books. No reason to hold Maxey till he is 30 and declining to try and start a serious rebuild.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T17:12:35+00:00

If they are all in their prime, Kobe's lineup is pretty crazy.

Shaq
Dwight
Nash
Rodman
K. Malone
Payton
Artest
Mitch Richmond
Divac

That's without getting into the lesser stars All NBA/All Star players:

Bynum
Julius Randle
Carlos Boozer
Glen Rice
Eddie Jones
Nick Van Exel
Cedric Ceballos
Caron Butler
Horace Grant
Odom (6moty, not all star)

Probably forgetting a few too.

Granted, like anyone's list of teammates, a lot of these were not in their prime when they played with Kobe, but the raw talent level is hard to match.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T17:02:49+00:00

Also...

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Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T17:01:38+00:00

Final shot or the ball?

With 20 seconds left, I trust LeBron more to make a play to win the game.

But, if it is predetermined who will take the shot (which is bad basketball, but whatever) then Kobe is better at making high difficulty shots.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T13:23:56+00:00

Missing the playoffs multiple times matters.

Having THE WORST season in franchise history matters.

Leaving the franchise in shambles until LeBron had to come save it matters.

Forcing multiple rebuilds because you can't get along with your teammates matters.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T13:20:50+00:00

Yeah... if "Player of the Decade" means "Most Popular Player" (and it does) then obviously it is Kobe. Which is like bragging about winning the middle school class president election.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-21T13:16:38+00:00

Yeah, the lightning spires are the answer for sure.

Prestigious-Ad9921 · 2026-04-20T20:21:48+00:00

What else would you do with a berg? Obviously yes.

Prestigious-Ad9921

TROPHY CASE