Roundtable: All Aboard The Landry Shamet Bandwagon
By Logan Rapp
Addressing the Center Position
SNELLINGS: On a little bit of a tangent from what I said: Why isn’t DeMarcus Cousins being discussed anywhere? He hasn’t looked bad, right? Are people really assuming he’s going to stay there?
KIMBRELL: I think he’s probably gone from GS; they can only offer him a few million, right?
CULLEN: I’d Durant leaves, yes. If Durant stays, then he’ll get nabbed up somewhere. Maybe even go to New York with KD.
RAPP: I think it’s a mix of things, Ryan. KD is sucking all the oxygen out of the room, and while folks are assuming Klay Thompson stays with GSW, there is still a small chance he does not. Those questions seem to be much bigger than Boogie’s future.
LOFTIN: I think he is going to get a big contract, probably not from GSW though.
KIMBRELL: Plus we’ve seen Kawhi and KD help a team become a championship contender. Fair or not, Boogie doesn’t have that same playoff reputation
SNELLINGS: Okay. I’ll ask it. Would you be okay with signing him? Say we land Kawhi and make space for another max. Is Boogie worth that?
RAPP: Well, Ryan, let me add to your question.
Because now we have Ivica Zubac. We should bring him into this discussion. Is Zubac going to be the center of the future? If so, is Boogie worth it?
KIMBRELL: I’d rather Zubac on the contract he ends up getting than Boogie on a max.
SNELLINGS: I want to be greedy! Give me both!
CHONG: I don’t really think I would want to give Boogie a max. He’ll be 29 years old, an aging big man, and maybe not the best personality.
CULLEN: I think Zubac has the potential. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts to stretch his game in the next couple years. Remember DJ could barely get playing time and then Doc made him one of the best big men in the league for a few seasons.
LOFTIN: Boogie is definitely the better player, but I prefer Zubac plus flexibility. I don’t think a team with Cousins as the 2nd superstar can win a title unless the Warriors fully break up.
KIMBRELL: And I value defense in a big man far more than offense.
SNELLINGS: I’m not as high on Zubac as you guys are honestly. If we are actually trying to win in the next 1-3 years, I don’t think he’s the solution. As a backup big, sure, but I think he’s 3+ years away from full-time starting quality. Hopefully I’m wrong though.
CULLEN: @Ryan Snellings so if you want an upgrade I would rather take Ed Davis at a decent price than Boogie on a max.
SNELLINGS: Are we sure Nikola Vucevic still isn’t on the table?
KIMBRELL: Yeah, I don’t think that Zubac is necessarily the answer in our starting unit at the 5 spot. I’m just shying away from Boogie pretty hard
CULLEN: Do you trust that Vuc’s play extends past this year? It’s a contract year on a bad team…
CHONG: Yeah, I think he might wind up being pretty affordable.
SNELLINGS: I mean, he’s always been talented offensively. We still would be in need of rim protection though. Dude is horrendous on defense.
LOFTIN: I think he has certainly earned the nice contact he will be getting, I just don’t want to be the team that gives it to him.
CULLEN: I think the defense should be valued in the front court. This team has had moderate success while getting killed in the post. If they just improve that one area it does a lot for the overall success of the season.
CHONG: Zubac had three blocks last night, man.
CULLEN: Exactly. And they erased their biggest deficit ever.
CHONG: Yup. Besides the blocks, he made them change a ton of their shots as they tried to get to the rim.
SNELLINGS: I don’t know. Let’s see how he does tomorrow night against Towns before we get too hyped on his defense.