Recruiting Football Talk VIII

[Orangeredblooded]

Good for us

Yes, but would’ve been better for us a few months ago.

 

[Weezer]

Just watched Shakira at the Grammy's. I may need some alone time.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Anyone saying they'd rather have AD over Luka is in disagreement with like every franchise front office except the Mavs. I mean it isn't close.

Every front office was also in agreement Nikola Jokic wasn't a first round pick in 2014. Pro teams can make mistakes. The only argument I can see against this trade is age related with Luka turning 26 this month and AD turning 32 in March. But even then it's not like Luka is guaranteed to play a long time given how out of shape and injury prone he already is at a young age.

Anthony Davis is the better player right now and gives Dallas a better chance to win. I think the Mavs front office got it right while the rest of the basketball world is enamored by stat lines.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

And AD isn’t constantly injured? I’ll bet you they won’t make the finals

Never said he wasn't. Just saying if healthy he gives them a better shot at winning. He's the better all-around player.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

AD is not a top 5 player rn. Top 3 big man yes. Overall no. He’s only played 60+ games twice in 6 years lol

The league is so soft right now he's top 5 by default. Only Giannis, Wenbanyama, and Tatum are elite two way players. I ain't putting someone whose a liability on defense above AD no matter how much they stat pad.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Your takes are outrageous Luka took the MAVERICKS to the finals last yr... ppl also said LeBron wouldn't fit with Kyrie, Dwade, KLove, Bosh etc... they've all worked out except for Westbrook but I think that had more to do with the other players than LeBron. Westbrook is a driving guard and AD clogging the paint/free throw line area did him no favors.

Mavs got better defensively but they aren't world beaters all of the sudden.. they're 26-24 for a reason... i will say they have the pieces to be really good but they gotta make the playoffs 1st. Right now they have Kyrie & AD to score. Rest are role players.. they both sit out or get hurt way to often for them to be a big worry to any team in the west. Also the Lakers are 5-1 without AD this yr btw..

Their defense looked pretty dang good last night against the Knicks without AD.. DFS & Vando are their best defenders anyways.

Small sample sizes are not dispositive. Let's see how they do the rest of the year. If the Lakers thrive then I'll admit I was wrong. I just don't see how having two redundant ball dominant zero defense wings makes you a better team.

Sure Luka made it to the Finals last year but they were dominated in the championship round showing they weren't actually that close. They just benefitted from favorable matchups last year in a not so good western conference. Their lack of success this year is proof last year was fugazi. Just like how the Timberwolves were in the West Finals last year but not a contender this year. Both teams were fool's gold in 2024.

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

Vol baseball is friggin awesome. Gameday trumps football, in many ways.

Fair. Vol baseball is the ultimate form of baseball for me.

 

[Orangeredblooded]

View attachment 719107

Must be @Sally’s AI work again.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

With Luka: finals. Without Luka: average at best. But ya sure not a good player to build around. People called lebron a stat padded too.

LeBron is a physical force who used to play great defense in his prime. Also making the Finals once doesn't all of a sudden make you a dominant top 5 caliber player. I remember Iverson making the Finals once and nobody was saying he was a guy you would be dumb not to build a franchise around.

Luka is James Harden 2.0. Great stats but the actual in game product doesn't match how good the box scores reads. Give me guys like Tatum, Edwards, and AD who might not fill up the stat sheet like Luka and Harden but who impact both ends of the court with their play.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Did I miss where Ant was offered in a trade? Hard for me to imagine the T-Wolves are shopping him. Luka, surprisingly, was shopped by the Mavs.

I just threw his name out there as a hypothetical. I agree that the Wolves are too smart to offer him for anyone short of Wembanyama.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Agree to disagree over the long term. AD will remain injury prone and is 6 years older. I love this trade for LA. LeBron dishing and Doncic hitting 3s. Gotta find more big bodies now

Doncic has never been an off-ball catch and shoot player. LeBron and Luka are essentially the same player now with LeBron still being more athletic. I have no idea how they'll play together. I can see the Lakers trying to move LeBron now and building around Luka. That would make more sense than Luka and LeBron somehow playing together.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Lakers won this trade in the long run…..Luka is a generational player that LA can build their future around.

Disagree. I think he's James Harden from Slovenia. Overweight no defense playing stat padder who isn't gonna lead you to championships. Harden is at least durable. Luka ain't even that.

Neither are all-time great players. They just put up stats that fools those who understand basketball into thinking they are better than they really are.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Lebron and Wade co-existed. Curry and Durant co-existed. Westbrook and Durant co-existed and the list is endless. Lebron is a play maker that elevates his teammates

Neither Curry nor Durant were ball dominant playmakers. LeBron and Wade only started to co-exist after Wade took a step back and started playing more off the ball. When both players were at their best taking turns in 2011 they got beat by Dallas. The success only started when one took a step back. Durant and Russ never won a title so I would argue they didn't really thrive together. Durant definitely got better at Golden State.

LeBron makes spot up shooters better. He has no track record of making superstars better. Almost every star who has played alongside him has had to sacrifice their game for LeBron's benefit. Especially bigs like Bosh and Love.

 

[Smokey123]

The league is so soft right now he's top 5 by default. Only Giannis, Wenbanyama, and Tatum are elite two way players. I ain't putting someone who’s a liability on defense above AD no matter how much they stat pad.

Ant is a better defender than Tatum and is just as good offensively. SGA is a better defender and better offensively.

 

[Smokey123]

Neither Curry nor Durant were ball dominant playmakers. LeBron and Wade only started to co-exist after Wade took a step back and started playing more off the ball. When both players were at their best taking turns in 2011 they got beat by Dallas. The success only started when one took a step back. Durant and Russ never won a title so I would argue they didn't really thrive together. Durant definitely got better at Golden State.

LeBron makes spot up shooters better. He has no track record of making superstars better. Almost every star who has played alongside him has had to sacrifice their game for LeBron's benefit. Especially bigs like Bosh and Love.

Curry and Durant are very ball dominant lol

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Good for us

Lost their OC and DC after winning the NC. If I were an OSU fan I would be pissed.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

The league is so soft right now he's top 5 by default. Only Giannis, Wenbanyama, and Tatum are elite two way players. I ain't putting someone whose a liability on defense above AD no matter how much they stat pad.

lol. Weeny isn’t elite. AD isn’t too 10 in the NBA.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Ant is a better defender than Tatum and is just as good offensively. SGA is a better defender and better offensively.

Forgot Edwards. You're right about him though I think Tatum is more consistent right now. SGA is a question mark for me. He's good but I don't see elite. I think he just has a nice supporting cast. I don't think he's as good as Edwards and Tatum.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

Curry and Durant are very ball dominant lol

No they're not. Curry plays off-ball a lot running around screens. Durant can run an offense but he can also play off-ball as a catch and shoot player. Obviously they are great players so they'll have the ball alot. But they can also play off ball. Guys like LeBron and Luka are more ball dominant because they can't play off the ball. Plus both are point forwards who want to run an offense while Durant and Curry are more pure scorers.

 

[VolXr1]

Small sample sizes are not dispositive. Let's see how they do the rest of the year. If the Lakers thrive then I'll admit I was wrong. I just don't see how having two redundant ball dominant zero defense wings makes you a better team.

Sure Luka made it to the Finals last year but they were dominated in the championship round showing they weren't actually that close. They just benefitted from favorable matchups last year in a not so good western conference. Their lack of success this year is proof last year was fugazi. Just like how the Timberwolves were in the West Finals last year but not a contender this year. Both teams were fool's gold in 2024.

Timberwolves traded KAT for Randle... that hurt em more than ppl thought. Every sport is bout the match ups. Esp in the tournament/playoffs.. March Madness is a prime example. Luck of the draw. He still led em to the finals idc if they played high school teams. they was also no team beating the Celtics last yr.

 

[Smokey123]

Forgot Edwards. You're right about him though I think Tatum is more consistent right now. SGA is a question mark for me. He's good but I don't see elite. I think he just has a nice supporting cast. I don't think he's as good as Edwards and Tatum.

How do you forget Edwards?
Lmfaoooooooooooooo. SGA might literally be the best player in the world right now. “He’s good but I don’t see elite” is the most insane thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Thats the worst take you could have ever stated. Wtf

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

lol. Weeny isn’t elite. AD isn’t too 10 in the NBA.

If Wembanyama stops shooting so many 3s and gets his butt in the paint he'd be the best player in the NBA right now. He's already elite. That's not up for debate. He's the best defensive player in the NBA. That paired with his offense makes him top 5 in my eyes.

Defense matters.

 

[Smokey123]

No they're not. Curry plays off-ball a lot running around screens. Durant can run an offense but he can also play off-ball as a catch and shoot player. Obviously they are great players so they'll have the ball alot. But they can also play off ball. Guys like LeBron and Luka are more ball dominant because they can't play off the ball. Plus both are point forwards who want to run an offense while Durant and Curry are more pure scorers.

You realize lebron is elite off the ball, right? Just bcuz someone is a good off ball player doesn’t mean they aren’t ball dominate. Analytics have him as one of the best in the league still. And rn reaves has been running the point a lot. You clearly are just yapping now.

I take back my previous comment about ur SGA take. Saying Lebron can’t play off ball is 10000000 times worse

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

How do you forget Edwards?
Lmfaoooooooooooooo. SGA might literally be the best player in the world right now. “He’s good but I don’t see elite” is the most insane thing I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Thats the worst take you could have ever stated. Wtf

Just because you're on the best team doesn't make you the best player. SGA has to prove to me he can actually lead a team when it counts. When I watch him play I don't see an elite player the way I do when I see Edwards or Tatum. We'll see if he can step up this year in the playoffs. If he does I'll give him his props.

I'm just not enamored by stats like yall. I watch the games and try to see how the player impacts the game. When I watch OKC I see a good team with a bunch of good pieces. SGA never quite pops out to me as an elite difference maker.

 

[Dobbs 4 Heisman]

You realize lebron is elite off the ball, right? Just bcuz someone is a good off ball player doesn’t mean they aren’t ball dominate. Analytics have him as one of the best in the league still. And rn reaves has been running the point a lot. You clearly are just yapping now.

I take back my previous comment about ur SGA take. Saying Lebron can’t play off ball is 10000000 times worse

LeBron elite off the ball? When has he ever played off the ball for you to make such a determination? One to two plays a game doesn't make you elite. Elite off ball players are guys like Rip Hamilton and Ray Allen whose bread and butter was running around screens looking for catch and shoot opportunities.

When's the last time you saw Bron running around screens? LOL.