I haven’t read anything about LaMelo wanting to be top scorer either. But he did make a statement a few years back about wanting the ball in his hands more. I personally thought he had the ball plenty already. The takeaway for me was like, “Okay, this guy clearly wants that ball dominant Magic Johnson role and won’t settle for anything less.”
So, we can speculate all day about the play mechanics, but if LaMelo has little desire to be off ball, it won’t work. It’s all up to Melo.
I know, I’m just riffing. He says all the right things. But I wonder. Dude likes to shoot it - a lot. We’ll see how it goes.
Yeah I won’t be upset with either, it’s similar to the Panthers Bryce Young/CJ Stroud situation where I may have a favorite but I’ll but fine with the other. But if the front office decides to draft the NBA version of Will Levis in this situation…
There are two question which, I believe, are being conflated.
Are LaMelo and Scoot a good fit? No, clearly not. They are both PGs who are most effective with the ball in their hands.
Can LaMelo and Scoot coexist and be effective together? Yes, absolutely. Scoot’s strengths on offence are LaMelo’s weaknesses, and vice versa. With both on the court together, they will offer a complete arsenal on attack. Playmaking, 3pt shooting, midrange, driving and scoring. But that’s different from being a good fit.
That said, for about half the game only one of them will be on the court anyway. For the 12ish minutes LaMelo is resting, Scoot will be playing and vice versa.
So pick Scoot if he’s the best talent available, which most of us think he is, but there will be adjustments needed to the offence and the roster to ensure the two ball dominant PGs play effectively together.
Here’s where I’m at: who’s the guy we can get the fastest that when he pulls out his wallet it says “BAD M***** F*****” on it and has the skills to back it up?
That’s the guy that I want. Everything else is about moving parts. That’s not to say we give up on anyone. But find that lion that can take us to the next level and then figure out who you need to move to make it work. If that player doesn’t exist in the draft, then sure go for fit. But first, we need a dude that is going to go out there and rip out people’s souls.
To me, nothing about miller says any of this. That isn’t to take away from his skills.
I think there’s 2 that might have that potential: Scoot and Whitmore.
This is my guy
A lot to like for sure. If Wem is Bron, maybe Scoot is Wade.
On Scoot and Melo operating together, we’ve seen a fair amount of Terry initiating and Melo playing off ball. I think it’s possible Scoot takes that strategy to another level when we get in the half court. Scoot can be the focal point of the defense for the first few seconds and then find Melo who can pick apart the transitioning defense.
I would not hate having to us attempt it. I also think as long as Melo is active, a winning Melo is a happy Melo.
We need to have a healthier team all around next season. I am tired of idiots who know nothing about our team talking about how bad we are. I saw enough from our team late last season that I don’t think we need a full scale rebuild. I think some changes need to be made but not anything drastic!
With that said, I personally hope we get Scoot.
When Miller dropped 41 on South Carolina including the game winning shot with .09 on the clock in OT, driving left and blowing past GG Jackson, the day after news broke about his involvement in the fatal shooting and people were calling for him to be kicked off the team, SC fans chanting all types of obscenities directly at him… to have that type of performance in that environment under those circumstances says it some to me.
This is my guy… for now.
And regarding the shooting situation, Woj said teams have already been doing a lot of due diligence and what he’s hearing is that not only did they not find anything that would be disqualifying but his maturity focus, character and habits are an asset. FWIW
If Scoot is indeed the BPA, the best most sure talent after Wemby then Im with it but I’m not convinced he’s that over Miller yet.
I really love Miller’s game. His skill set is exactly what we need on this roster. He’s a proper alpha shooter, a genuinely good defender, good passing and handle for his position … it’s just the burst, power aspect of his game that appears to be lacking. I wonder about his ability to get separation in the NBA, when he’s facing players who can match him for size.
That’s my only concern. He’s 1b at the moment.
I don’t care about roster at all honestly. You can have the best roster in the league but if you have the second overall pick you’re drafting for star potential. Honestly we’re in a great spot here, I think Scoot or Miller goes #1 overall last year.
But like the thing with Scoot is we know he struggles shooting right now. That’s something that he could at least become league average in, especially a player that has the pure talent that he does. With Miller my primary concern is him beating dudes off the dribble. I feel like he has to unlock that to become a real star. You can’t really teach athleticism, so I’d rather gamble on Scoot learning to shoot at at least an average clip.
And he just feels like more of a star to me. I get the fit concerns with LaMelo because both may need the ball to reach their full potentials, but I think you have to take him and just see.
I fully fully anticipate it’s going to be Miller as that just screams Kupchak pick to me. And tbh I’d be happy still as I didn’t expect us to get either on our roster three days ago. But I think I’m firmly in the Scoot camp right now.
Seth Greenberg is just silly for that Durant comparison. I actually really like Millers game and prospects, but he’s not even close to Durant’s tier coming out.
I had never seen anything like Durant in college, it was jaw dropping. Yes, they’re both tall skinny shooters, Durant was 6’11 with much longer arms than the 6’9 Miller. He also averaged an insane 26 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals a game, which is levels above Millers impressive 19 points, 8 rebounds, and 1 block and steal a game.
Plus Durant shot over 40% from 3, and was mad aggressive hunting shots in the midrange. Durant was such a menace in college, an unstoppable force, and was a killer in the tourney games. Miller not so much.
I just wish commentators wouldn’t try to compare anyone to once a generation hall of famers. Setting unreasonable expectations only hurts the player and fans if they can’t live up to it. Start lower until he proves it at the next level. Brandon Ingram is a fine comparison, lets see if he can get there first.
Wow pessimistic much? WTF is this? Have you not seen how wonderfully Lamelo plays off ball? Our whole problem has been that we didnt really have a guy to truly draw defensive attention away from Lamelo.
Lamelo is one of the best Catch and shoot players in the NBA.
People around here are shaming his name for no damn reason after a freak wrist injury followed by some bad luck with ankles this year.
I mean he is the Franchise but I see so many fans acting like he is easily replacable when we have literally never had a player with his level of Talent.
You guys forget he is still 3-4 seasons away from his prime. This is silly talk
This impressed me as well but then all I can think about now is when the pressure was on in actual elimination games he was nowhere to be found
I watched about 6 mins of the video and he has quick hands and does play some defense, but he only took 2 outside shots. One from 3 which he made and a midrange shot he missed. No doubt he will be a good player in the NBA because of his quickness and ball handling but I think to this point I’m leaning towards Miller.