Kevin Love Must Be Traded (And probably Irving too)
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 4:25 pm
Lebron James is clearly best utilized as a power forward. One of the most overlooked aspects of building a team is team speed. Another aspect of building a team that has long been overlooked, but is arguably now adequately considered, is rim protection. Due to James being one of the fastest and most athletic players in the league, putting James at what is usually the second-slowest position makes it much easier to have a massive speed advantage over most lineups in the NBA. This speed advantage will naturally improve the defense and lead to more transition opportunities offensively, and everyone knows that Lebron is one of the most devastating forces in transition in NBA history. It is only logical to combine Lebron with a "star" power forward if that power forward can move to the center position and provide great rim protection. Kevin Love is clearly a horrendous rim protector as a center. I believe Chris Bosh is also not very good at protecting the rim, although I haven't seen any numbers either dispelling this or backing this up.
The optimum way to build a team around James is to assemble a roster that naturally allows his unique advantages to be extremely active and efficient. Three simple keys to optimally building a team around James are as follows:
1. James should be the power forward at all times.
2. The center should be a great rim protector and hopefully be able to finish lobs very well.
3. Positions 1-3 should should be able to shoot threes and play defense.
Although Kyrie Irving is an incredible ball handler and three point shooter, he has to be one of the most horrendous defenders the league has ever known. Just go check his RPM on defense over the years if you need any data to back this up. He is so bad on defense that he is basically a slightly above average player. If he was properly utilized in an offense that spread the floor around him and constantly allowed him to isolate against a defender in space, he could probably be a slightly worse version of James Harden as far as impact is concerned. Due to the fact that he will never be optimally utilized on offense, he will never play good enough offense to make up enough for his horrendous defense to the degree that he will be worth a maximum contract. To make matters worse, he is a fragile player who might suffer another massive injury any time soon. It is time to sell Irving's stock while it is at one of its peaks.
The optimum way to build a team around James is to assemble a roster that naturally allows his unique advantages to be extremely active and efficient. Three simple keys to optimally building a team around James are as follows:
1. James should be the power forward at all times.
2. The center should be a great rim protector and hopefully be able to finish lobs very well.
3. Positions 1-3 should should be able to shoot threes and play defense.
Although Kyrie Irving is an incredible ball handler and three point shooter, he has to be one of the most horrendous defenders the league has ever known. Just go check his RPM on defense over the years if you need any data to back this up. He is so bad on defense that he is basically a slightly above average player. If he was properly utilized in an offense that spread the floor around him and constantly allowed him to isolate against a defender in space, he could probably be a slightly worse version of James Harden as far as impact is concerned. Due to the fact that he will never be optimally utilized on offense, he will never play good enough offense to make up enough for his horrendous defense to the degree that he will be worth a maximum contract. To make matters worse, he is a fragile player who might suffer another massive injury any time soon. It is time to sell Irving's stock while it is at one of its peaks.