Not a huge fan of the contract, but the more I see of THJ, the more impressed I am. He looks so much more versatile than he was before, possible SG of the future?
Posted Jul 21, 2017, 2:57 PM UTC
3639
I think Zach Lowe nailed it - decent offensive game who often takes difficult shots, sub-par defense, skeptical that he'll continue his growth under a different system, and yes the contract is crazy.
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nothing crazy about $17m for a starting SG, thats the going rate.
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We don't even know if he's starting quality SG on a good team.
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he was last year on a good team at 24, no reason to think he cant continue to be.
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He was offensively for 30 games of ONE 82 game season.
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I understand the thinking for paying 17 mil for a starting SG. Issue is Timmy hasn't proven himself to be a starting SG yet. Doesn't mean he can't get there. But when you're paying on speculation, you shouldn't be paying so much. Therein lies the issue...
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That podcast with Beck and Begley described THJ perfectly.
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So he's a worse version of 6th man of the year Jr Smith
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Pretty much. I'd just offensively THJ has a better jump shot, but JR is a decent defender and he was great in his prime, so not a slight to THJ by all means.
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He's absolutely gotten smarter and takes better shots. Where i think Lowe's commentary is short sighted is that it takes some of these players some time to find the balance needed to play consistent defense.
He really built in some smart hesitation into his game (which shows he knows the scouting report on him) and takes better risks with his drives. He could barely pass when he got to the rim when we had him last.
Lots of money, yes, for a gamble. Look at the gamble that Houston made with Harden - this was his line the last year he was in OKC:
31.4 min 16.8 pts 49.1 FG 39.0 3pt
THJ stats last year 27.3 min 14.5 pts 45.5 FG 35.7 3pt
I know he is not in the same universe as Harden, esp when it comes to handle and vision. But that's why execs get big bucks - to take big risks. Morey did it and now look.
He's got a father who was a star in the league. He probably has basketball intelligence that he doesn't know he has, and thats why he has these bursts of points. If its mostly a psychological issue with THJ, then the front office saying "look, here is a pile of money. We know you can do this." has to help.
All-in.
7
I do like the vote of confidence in him. Between thj and KP should be a good scoring tandem. It's a matter of where will the rest of the points come from. Not saying Tim will have the keys to the offense (cause it'll be Baker /s) but he should be able to get us buckets especially with hornacek having full control of the offense. I liked what he was able to do with a bledsoe knight backcourt in PHX and that was also a season they were only expected to have about 20-30 wins. Of course we have no one close to bledsoe, but I think Tim is just as good if not better than knight. He won't be awful, but we shouldn't expect the world of him either. Should be an interesting season to watch our young core gel together
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I kind of like the Harden comp. In terms of being moved and then breaking out. Harden was a 6th man for OKC. He broke out on the Rockets, hoping THJ turned the corner. There's no debate he showed flashes of being a dynamic game changing scorer last year. Now he doesn't have the passing or physicality of James, but I think he can be a 20ppg scorer and elite 3 point shooter. I just hope he's coming in as the starting SG and second offensive option. I think we have a nice little young core going. We just need a 3 and d SF.
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it is clear the potential is there, and we certainly overpaid, but if he can really step up his defense and maintain small offensive growth, he could be a solid starting SG 2/3 years from now
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I think he's a solid starting shooting guard right now and he showed that last season.
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His defense is not that of a solid guard. Offensively yes. And when I say solid I mean we can say yes I'm happy we are paying him 18 mil a year
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I feel like "happy" will come on a game-to-game or even play-to-play basis this next season and beyond. The gamethread/post-game threads will be a toxic meme-fest every time Hardaway has a bad game and we lose. Not looking forward to that.
But regarding defense, if we can surround him with 3 big time defenders, it may be a mitigated detriment. Ntilikina next to him and KP protecting the paint is a good start.
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I want consistent year to year, yes this guy deserves the money play. Everyone has a bad night. We have seen melo go 1-13. I want to see Tim go 1-13 and contribute on defense and the glass. That is when i know he is a solid player
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His D was better than Lee last year.
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More like SG of right now. He's already 25. His time is now.
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FO took a gamble on him for sure but he has all the necessary tools to be a legit scorer. I think he averages 20 PPG this season.
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I bet he averages 18+ for us as a full time starter on at least 55% TS
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Well we just have him $70mil so I would fucking hope so.
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Too streaky. If he can fix that he'd be really good
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I think he will compliment frank really well.
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I just hope he doesn't try to become the number one option and take away shots from KP. I can definitely see him as a starting caliber SG for the future, but his lack of playmaking abilities limits his ceiling to under borderline All Star imo.
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His assist rate was about average for a SG last season.
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Assist rate isn't necessarily a good indicator of playmaking, more of an indicator of Mike Budenholzer's offensive system. Timmy isn't an above average ball handler, nor is he above average at creating opportunities for others.
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What SG besides Harden is a great playmaker? You're just asking to be disappointed. He doesn't need to be a big time distributor, he just needs to know when to pass, drive, shoot, or whatever.
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How am I asking to be disappointed? I already said I knew he's not a good playmaker. I would be more than happy if he develops into a good scoring option like Lou Williams or Will Barton. I just don't think the all star potential I heard some fans talking about is there.
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the #1 option should be the guy who earns it, THJR was a better, more effieicnt scorer than KP last year on a per min basis. so if he keeps that up... i mean i think they could be 1a & 1b,,, KP isn't the best shot creator.
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Kid scored 17.5 PPG over a 30 game stretch as a starter last season and was the 3rd option for a playoff team. He's a starting caliber SG that can score from all three level. He'll have big games but it'll be hard to live up to the contract. I'm hoping his play helps people forget about the dollars.