Roundtable: Farewell, 2018-2019 LA Clippers, and the Hunt for Kawhi’s Tahoe

Nate Jacobo: I just realized we hit over an hour on our Slack Chat Logan lol, is that good or bad?

Logan Rapp: (It’s good lol)

As we’re starting to wrap up here, let’s do one more real question: What do we want to see from our young core over the offseason and coming into the new season?

So, Shai, Shamet, Zubac, Rome, and we can even throw Trezz in here.

Randi Geffner: Oh no I was 37 when Kawhi’s Tahoe was new….

Matt Chong: Well, all jokes aside, I really would like to see Shai get stronger. I don’t need him to be this huge, beefy guy, but I definitely want him to be able to play through contact more effectively. Both in getting to the rim and defending larger players. Besides that, I’d love for all of them to keep working on those three point shots (and apparently Trezz will be doing that, among other things). This front office wouldn’t bring in any young players that aren’t workers, though. You can bet that they’ll all be back better than they were a few weeks ago.

Nate Jacobo: Shai: Build more muscle, work on his three-point game, defense and playmaking.

Shamet: Become a better ball-handler, take it in more, develop a mid-range jumper.

Zubac: Work on getting leaner, post moves, not being so stiff and on defense.

Rome: Get more consistent with his inside and outside game, defense and tone up more. I would like to see Motley and Delgado return with Sin and Ty.

Logan Rapp: For me, I want to see Zubac’s hands get better — I know he had some hand injuries, but even then, some of his handling of the ball was still subpar — and I’d like to see Doc unlock his aggression. He’s not a string-bean seven footer. He’s got some mass to him, even if he does get leaner.

Randi Geffner: I think SGA is still growing, I’m hoping he just continues to get more comfortable with how long he is and how his body  moves. All of them working on the threes is a huge move, watching Dubs games, which I rarely do regular season, it’s like everyone, including probably their towel guys, can nail a three.  So that alone is huge as the NBA has shifted to such a three point league. For Zubac, I think he needs to work on his confidence, however one does that. The Lakers seem to have beat him down a little and Doc calling him out in the playoffs and then basically benching him was hard to swallow.  I think a summer and training camp with the team will go a long way for him.

Nate Jacobo: Zubac showed flashes of his athleticism too off lobs from Shamet. If Doc could get potential out of DJ, I’m sure the same will happen with Zubac.

Logan Rapp: That’s a good point, Randi. It really is just honing in that three point shot. Adding that to Trezz’s repertoire, as Matt noted he’s working on, would do some crazy things to the Clippers’ floor spacing.

Randi Geffner: Imagine Trezz add the 3 to his arsenal, it gives me goosebumps.  Unstoppable.

Logan Rapp: If he can pull that off, imagine Trezz and Lou not just going into the pick and roll, but adding pick and pop to their arsenal.

Nate Jacobo: I would not “protest” that at all, it would make that duo become even more deadly.

Matt Chong: You look at a guy like Pascal Siakam that also added a three point shot to his bag this year and it’s really transformed the kind of player that he can be, among other things. It would no doubt have a similar effect on Trezz.