Kyle Anderson

[somuchyummy]

we have an open roster spot. i'd rather sign McDermott to that rather than lose a guy. he's a one trick pony (good trick, we need it) but there are other facets to the game he just doesn't do.

[Beef Supreme]

we have an open roster spot. i'd rather sign McDermott to that rather than lose a guy. he's a one trick pony (good trick, we need it) but there are other facets to the game he just doesn't do.

On balance, Anderson is a better overall player than McDermott. But a theoretical swap shouldn’t be looked at as McDermott taking Anderson’s minutes and role. That would set him up for failure.

As I said the other day, this would only make sense if we had someone step up as a secondary ball handler. McLaughlin’s play yesterday was an encouraging step in that direction. But we obviously need to see that repeated a number of times before we consider that settled. The other thing is McDermott is a 3 and a small ball 4 at times, but you have to think of him as a perimeter guy. That’s the kind of play and production you’re going to get. And he’s a shooter/scorer and not a playmaker. Expect efficient points and smart basketball plays, but not a lot of production other than points. So someone else needs to also step up into a bigger role to get some of those rebounds and play defense. Someone like Miller or Minot (probably Miller)

Such a move would get rid of a “do a little of everything” guy in Anderson (except shooting) in favor of more specialization and guys in more narrowly defined roles. That might help the offense settle a little bit if everyone knows exactly what’s expected of them, but at the risk of losing a guy who can fill multiple roles as a Jack of all trades and master of none. It’s a definite trade-off and there are pluses and minuses either way. And totally the ideal solution would be to get McBuckets and keep Anderson. Hopefully, our beer can do that.

But come playoff time, if his shooting doesn’t come around, Anderson might be nigh unplayable.

[somuchyummy]

Someone mentioned a nice trade idea today that makes a bit of sense for both teams. Kyle/shake and perhaps Wendell to the Raptors for Schroeder and Jalen McDaniels. We win the immediate trade because DS is the best player - but for the Raptors, he is a bit their third PG now - and doing this trade gets something like 14-17M off their books this summer. Assuming they let Kyle and shake walk.

Myself? I think I'd rather kick the tires on a Jaden for Amen/Jeff Green deal with Houston.

[somuchyummy]

OK, because I'm bored, I'll throw this out for reactions to the trade Kyle crowd.

KA and Shake to the Knicks for Evan Fournier.

All three players have expiring contracts. Fournier is on the outs in NYC and doesn't play - which is actually good for us because a) he's rested and b) he's openly pissed about that. He's a career 38% shooter from deep - and could get both some of Kyles mins at the 3 and Shakes mins at the 2 for us. For the Knicks, Kyle can return to his best position - PF - and be a better option behind Randle than newly acquired Achiuwa - who could instead backup Hartenstein till Robinson returns.

We get the shooter. They improve their depth at PF. All are expirings. NY may be holding onto Fournier to use his money in a bigger deal - but they did just significantly retool the team in their Toronto trade. They are 18-15, and too many major mid season changes could upset that flow as a plus 500 squad. This trade would improve their depth in a less invasive fashion, while still retaining the expiring money for summers FA market.

[BBG]

Kyle does so much defensively that he is untradable. Since we have no distributor besides Mike, Kyle serves multiple roles.

Sure, he can't score anymore but he is too valuable defensively to move.

[somuchyummy]

Kyle does so much defensively that he is untradable. Since we have no distributor besides Mike, Kyle serves multiple roles.

Sure, he can't score anymore but he is too valuable defensively to move.

I'm with you on this. Proposal only offered because KA has become the forums fall guy, and I think many here would be fine with trading him. I'm for keeping him - even if we lose him this summer as an FA.

[BBG]

Kyle does so much defensively that he is untradable. Since we have no distributor besides Mike, Kyle serves multiple roles.

Sure, he can't score anymore but he is too valuable defensively to move.

I'm with you on this. Proposal only offered because KA has become the forums fall guy, and I think many here would be fine with trading him. I'm for keeping him - even if we lose him this summer as an FA.

I hope that when we move into Feb & March, his scoring will improve.


The thing is, if we want to trade for a scorer and improve our offense, we probably have to move him because there isn't much else we can deal with.

[OliverMiller]

Kyle does so much defensively that he is untradable. Since we have no distributor besides Mike, Kyle serves multiple roles.

Sure, he can't score anymore but he is too valuable defensively to move.

At some point though, you need to trust Rudy, Jaden, Ant, Mike, and Naw to not let it fall too far.

Swap Tyus for Kyle Anderson and I think the offense improves quite a bit with a minimal dip on defense.

[Roy Kent]

I just don't see the value of this guy. He hurts us in so many ways on the floor. Hoping a trade at the deadline happens. We need someone who is a threat to score.

[Greenbolt]

Kyle does so much defensively that he is untradable. Since we have no distributor besides Mike, Kyle serves multiple roles.

Sure, he can't score anymore but he is too valuable defensively to move.

McLaughlin/NAW/KAT are also good playmakers. Ant admittedly over-isolates a lot to a pretty highly damaging degree, but his passing reads have become increasingly more consistent to the point where i think he's bordering on being legitimately good at playmaking out of defensive collapses. and then the timberwolves are full to the brim with extra passers who can capitalize on Ant/KAT collapse & kick plays. Conley/Jaden/McLaughlin/NAW/TBJ/Naz all great extra passers. i don't really find Slo-Mo's playmaking to be all that necessary now, particularly considering that he's been far less aggressive slashing this year and hasn't even been all that good of a playmaker as a result (save for the last like 10 games which i'm not going to overreact to when the previous 30 were a different story). i thought Slo-Mo's playmaking was a lot more valuable last year when KAT was out, D-Lo was being his usual inconsistent self, Conley/NAW weren't here yet for most of the season, Ant wasn't as developed, and Slo-Mo's playmaking was actually very good. but this year meh

defensively i actually don't find Slo-Mo to be good at all anymore. on-ball i don't think he's ever been better than average for the timberwolves. very good screen navigation and avoids being a poor defender by putting in good effort, but i don't think it's even possible to be a good on-ball defender on the perimeter if you're that slow. gets cooked regularly. as an off-ball defender i think he's had a significant decline this year. he's always had overhelping issues to me. some of it can be explained by the fact that he's so slow that he has to pre-rotate more than most players in order to make the rotation in time, but there are tons of instances where he's helping on the ball or helping the helper when it's unnecessary. the difference last year was that Slo-Mo didn't overhelp as often and then his recoveries relative to his footspeed were amazing. this year i think he's overhelping more frequently and then that low motor on offense has also crept into his recoveries. so there's a high tax to pay on all of his overhelps because he's usually not recovering in time. in addition, Slo-Mo displayed a tremendous ability last year to make deflections in the passing lanes. this year it feels like that aspect of his game has completely evaporated. for whatever reason he seems to have lost his motor and isn't really anticipating plays much defensively anymore. he's just mechanically helping when needed without taking into account specific circumstances it feels like. i think his rotations are still great and his help plays can be good at times, so that balances out with the costly overhelping plays for me and in the aggregate i just see him as an average off-ball defender now

Slo-Mo last year imo:

-solid scorer
-very good playmaker
-poor spacer
-very good mover
-average on-ball D
-very good off-ball D

Slo-Mo this year imo:

-poor scorer
-good playmaker
-non-spacer
-good mover
-average on-ball D
-average off-ball D

the first player is worth keeping. but the second player no way imo, particularly when you consider the timberwolves salary cap situation. but right now i'd honestly even play Troy Brown Jr over him. i see TBJ as a great extra passer, a good spacer, a very good mover, a great POA defender, a great wing defender, and a great off-ball defender. i feel like that's easily better than what Slo-Mo provides. Slo-Mo's package this year is frankly horrible to me. the lack of spacing alone is such a massive negative, he can't score anymore, and on the other end i don't even think he's a meaningful positive. the sun does admittedly appear to be peaking out of the clouds on the scoring/playmaking fronts for Slo-Mo the last 10 games or so, but shit. i think i'm still taking Troy Brown Jr. even if you're right that Slo-Mo's playmaking is pretty necessary i still don't think i want it if the cost is zero spacing (on a team already fairly lacking in spacing), poor scoring, and meh defense

[A$$MAN]

I disagree with that entire wall of text...

[somuchyummy]

Kyle does so much defensively that he is untradable. Since we have no distributor besides Mike, Kyle serves multiple roles.

Sure, he can't score anymore but he is too valuable defensively to move.

McLaughlin/NAW/KAT are also good playmakers. Ant admittedly over-isolates a lot to a pretty highly damaging degree, but his passing reads have become increasingly more consistent to the point where i think he's bordering on being legitimately good at playmaking out of defensive collapses. and then the timberwolves are full to the brim with extra passers who can capitalize on Ant/KAT collapse & kick plays. Conley/Jaden/McLaughlin/NAW/TBJ/Naz all great extra passers. i don't really find Slo-Mo's playmaking to be all that necessary now, particularly considering that he's been far less aggressive slashing this year and hasn't even been all that good of a playmaker as a result (save for the last like 10 games which i'm not going to overreact to when the previous 30 were a different story). i thought Slo-Mo's playmaking was a lot more valuable last year when KAT was out, D-Lo was being his usual inconsistent self, Conley/NAW weren't here yet for most of the season, Ant wasn't as developed, and Slo-Mo's playmaking was actually very good. but this year meh

defensively i actually don't find Slo-Mo to be good at all anymore. on-ball i don't think he's ever been better than average for the timberwolves. very good screen navigation and avoids being a poor defender by putting in good effort, but i don't think it's even possible to be a good on-ball defender on the perimeter if you're that slow. gets cooked regularly. as an off-ball defender i think he's had a significant decline this year. he's always had overhelping issues to me. some of it can be explained by the fact that he's so slow that he has to pre-rotate more than most players in order to make the rotation in time, but there are tons of instances where he's helping on the ball or helping the helper when it's unnecessary. the difference last year was that Slo-Mo didn't overhelp as often and then his recoveries relative to his footspeed were amazing. this year i think he's overhelping more frequently and then that low motor on offense has also crept into his recoveries. so there's a high tax to pay on all of his overhelps because he's usually not recovering in time. in addition, Slo-Mo displayed a tremendous ability last year to make deflections in the passing lanes. this year it feels like that aspect of his game has completely evaporated. for whatever reason he seems to have lost his motor and isn't really anticipating plays much defensively anymore. he's just mechanically helping when needed without taking into account specific circumstances it feels like. i think his rotations are still great and his help plays can be good at times, so that balances out with the costly overhelping plays for me and in the aggregate i just see him as an average off-ball defender now

Slo-Mo last year imo:

-solid scorer
-very good playmaker
-poor spacer
-very good mover
-average on-ball D
-very good off-ball D

Slo-Mo this year imo:

-poor scorer
-good playmaker
-non-spacer
-good mover
-average on-ball D
-average off-ball D

the first player is worth keeping. but the second player no way imo, particularly when you consider the timberwolves salary cap situation. but right now i'd honestly even play Troy Brown Jr over him. i see TBJ as a great extra passer, a good spacer, a very good mover, a great POA defender, a great wing defender, and a great off-ball defender. i feel like that's easily better than what Slo-Mo provides. Slo-Mo's package this year is frankly horrible to me. the lack of spacing alone is such a massive negative, he can't score anymore, and on the other end i don't even think he's a meaningful positive. the sun does admittedly appear to be peaking out of the clouds on the scoring/playmaking fronts for Slo-Mo the last 10 games or so, but shit. i think i'm still taking Troy Brown Jr. even if you're right that Slo-Mo's playmaking is pretty necessary i still don't think i want it if the cost is zero spacing (on a team already fairly lacking in spacing), poor scoring, and meh defense

i think it would be good to give TBJ a lot of the minutes backing up Jaden - and moving Kyle back to his better spot, which is backing up Karl. Some of the complaints you have about Kyle might be because he's not being used in his optimal position. Many teams run with a rotation of 4 bigs - we're kind of going with three to make sure Naz gets enough minutes - and because both Naz and KAT can play C as well. But as the season drags on and wear and tear mounts - i'd be in favor of reducing all three of those bigs' minutes somewhat - and getting Kyle back in so it's a four big man rotation. Keep Rudy and KAT fresher. Likewise, if we want to see more of TBJ - there's the simple path. Jaden averages about 28 mpg. Conceivably, this would get TBJ the remaining 20 per night. you want NAW to see more of the court? he gets all of Ant's backup minutes at the two - and splits the backup minutes at PG with Jmac.

[weimy froob]

KA has the second best defensive rating in the league of any players getting more than 20 minutes a game--so there is that.

[somuchyummy]

KA has the second best defensive rating in the league of any players getting more than 20 minutes a game--so there is that.

Yeah, more proof we should trade him. 9/3/4 on 56% in the last five games. IMO not everyone on the court has to drain threes. it's a shame his numbers are so down in that regard from last year. But we're still firing off 31 per game from the following 7 guys - Mike (45%), KAT (44%), Naz (40%), Ant (39%), Jaden (38%), TBJ (37%) and NAW (36%). Seems like we have enough weapons in that regard to allow us to keep a guy who's got the second best defensive rating in the league.

[mlhouse]

OK, because I'm bored, I'll throw this out for reactions to the trade Kyle crowd.

KA and Shake to the Knicks for Evan Fournier.

All three players have expiring contracts. Fournier is on the outs in NYC and doesn't play - which is actually good for us because a) he's rested and b) he's openly pissed about that. He's a career 38% shooter from deep - and could get both some of Kyles mins at the 3 and Shakes mins at the 2 for us. For the Knicks, Kyle can return to his best position - PF - and be a better option behind Randle than newly acquired Achiuwa - who could instead backup Hartenstein till Robinson returns.

We get the shooter. They improve their depth at PF. All are expirings. NY may be holding onto Fournier to use his money in a bigger deal - but they did just significantly retool the team in their Toronto trade. They are 18-15, and too many major mid season changes could upset that flow as a plus 500 squad. This trade would improve their depth in a less invasive fashion, while still retaining the expiring money for summers FA market.

What is the deal in New York with Fournier? Is he just washed up? He only played 27 games last year, spending most of the season DNP and did not play a minute in teh Knicks playoff series. He once was a quality player.

He is signed with a Team Option for 2024-25 of $19 million. Might be a guy to look to acquire but I doubt the current management will be interested in trading Slo Mo for him. Plus I think the original premise is right, the Knicks want to use his contract in a trade to land a bigger player than Kyle Anderson.

A smaller deal might be to trade Shake and a pick to New York for Quenten Grimes who I saw was also on the trading block.

[somuchyummy]

Fournier is clearly a Thibs casualty. He could be playing. Thibs doesn't play him. Is he the greatest player in the league - obviously no. but he's a legit NBA player who Thibs basically black-balled on his own squad. Because ... Thibs.

Similar - but different sitch to Quickley - who Thibs could never find it in his heart to start. He's playing 31 mpg now for the Raptors - starting - and averaging 19/5/5.4 on 47% from three - with just 1 TOV per game.

[weimy froob]

[Jimi_Thing]

I'll try to remember to check this article out later but the headline shouldn't be surprising to anyone who's been watching the games.

He does bring something to the table but what he brings isn't always needed. I also think we convince ourselves to appreciate what he brings to the table more than what we should. His negatives are constant and guaranteed. They're also exacerbated when he's on the court with Rudy and for whatever reason, Coach Finch plays those Anderson/Gobert lineups for extended minutes on a nightly basis. He's a vet and isn't oblivious to his shortcomings. He can't be. He should be seeing very limited minutes as a veteran player that can be called upon if needed. Basically, Coach Finch should be taking a 'If you guys don't pull your head out of your ass, I'm putting the blind player in the game to try to right the ship' approach.

[flexbuffchest]

I miss 2022-2023 Kyle Anderson. He was such a good role player.

[somuchyummy]

I'll try to remember to check this article out later but the headline shouldn't be surprising to anyone who's been watching the games.

He does bring something to the table but what he brings isn't always needed. I also think we convince ourselves to appreciate what he brings to the table more than what we should. His negatives are constant and guaranteed. They're also exacerbated when he's on the court with Rudy and for whatever reason, Coach Finch plays those Anderson/Gobert lineups for extended minutes on a nightly basis. He's a vet and isn't oblivious to his shortcomings. He can't be. He should be seeing very limited minutes as a veteran player that can be called upon if needed. Basically, Coach Finch should be taking a 'If you guys don't pull your head out of your ass, I'm putting the blind player in the game to try to right the ship' approach.

But I think we might overstate the damage. We currently sit second in the NBA in three point pct at 39% - so by one metric, we space the floor better than 28 other teams. I know it's more complex than that. But stating that the bottom is falling out because Kyle is a part of our rotation just doesn't hold water. Now... I'm also ok with trading him in the next 8 days if a deal comes along that makes sense. He will likely be leaving this summer - theres decent logic in getting something for him that could be a part of next year's rotation. We could do that and just increase Browns PT without negative impact IMO. Still say OKCs Micic is a reasonable option. They need size, they're super happy with what they've seen with Cason Wallace as a backup PG, while at the same time, Micic has started to show his adaptation to the nba game and his vet worth. Was a nice part of their win over Denver last night - 10 points, 2 rebs, 5 assists on 4-8 shooting.

[weimy froob]

I'll try to remember to check this article out later but the headline shouldn't be surprising to anyone who's been watching the games.

He does bring something to the table but what he brings isn't always needed. I also think we convince ourselves to appreciate what he brings to the table more than what we should. His negatives are constant and guaranteed. They're also exacerbated when he's on the court with Rudy and for whatever reason, Coach Finch plays those Anderson/Gobert lineups for extended minutes on a nightly basis. He's a vet and isn't oblivious to his shortcomings. He can't be. He should be seeing very limited minutes as a veteran player that can be called upon if needed. Basically, Coach Finch should be taking a 'If you guys don't pull your head out of your ass, I'm putting the blind player in the game to try to right the ship' approach.

very good article and doesn't put the focus on KA until the end. here's a sampling.

I’ve belabored the Wolves maddening tendency – with Ant and KAT by far the biggest offenders – to ignore the simple pass and instead barrel into the painted area toward the basket and a bevy of defenders waiting to thwart them. Rather than another chapter-and-verse rant this time around, I’ll simply point out a few stats from the tracking data at nba.com.

When it comes to the play type “drives” – the barreling toward the hoop – the Wolves are 10th among the 30 NBA teams in frequency, 15th in field goal percentage and 10th in free throw attempts. They are 24th in the percentage of times they pass during drives, 23rd in the percentage of times they register an assist on a drive, and first in the percentage of the times they turn the ball over.

Wouldn’t it by lovely if there were more “drive and kick” instead of merely “drive?” A pretty significant argument for that is under the tracking play type “catch and shoot,” the Wolves have the second-best overall field goal percentage, the best three-point percentage and the best effective field goal percentage (which properly weights the added value of threes).

So, worst turnover rate on drives, and most efficient production on catch-and-shoot field goal attempts. Add in the fact the Wolves NBA-best defense becomes positively superhuman in the half-court game, when turnovers aren’t creating transition opportunities for the opponent, and you understand why a team that features the firepower of Ant and KAT continues to languish somewhere between 18th and 20th in points scored per possession this season.



also a point on Naz that i made a post in the game thread last night. he needs to bring more energy and smarts on the defensive end to my way of watching/thinking.

(this is on the san antonio game.) Naz’s sins were mostly defensive lapses and a failure to secure rebounds.

[weimy froob]

I'll try to remember to check this article out later but the headline shouldn't be surprising to anyone who's been watching the games.

He does bring something to the table but what he brings isn't always needed. I also think we convince ourselves to appreciate what he brings to the table more than what we should. His negatives are constant and guaranteed. They're also exacerbated when he's on the court with Rudy and for whatever reason, Coach Finch plays those Anderson/Gobert lineups for extended minutes on a nightly basis. He's a vet and isn't oblivious to his shortcomings. He can't be. He should be seeing very limited minutes as a veteran player that can be called upon if needed. Basically, Coach Finch should be taking a 'If you guys don't pull your head out of your ass, I'm putting the blind player in the game to try to right the ship' approach.

But I think we might overstate the damage. We currently sit second in the NBA in three point pct at 39% - so by one metric, we space the floor better than 28 other teams. I know it's more complex than that. But stating that the bottom is falling out because Kyle is a part of our rotation just doesn't hold water. Now... I'm also ok with trading him in the next 8 days if a deal comes along that makes sense. He will likely be leaving this summer - theres decent logic in getting something for him that could be a part of next year's rotation. We could do that and just increase Browns PT without negative impact IMO. Still say OKCs Micic is a reasonable option. They need size, they're super happy with what they've seen with Cason Wallace as a backup PG, while at the same time, Micic has started to show his adaptation to the nba game and his vet worth. Was a nice part of their win over Denver last night - 10 points, 2 rebs, 5 assists on 4-8 shooting.

this article touches on a lot of other things besides KA. i hope you find the time to read it. but as far as KA goes--he basically is making jimi's point. don't have him on the court unless there are some scorers playing with him

[somuchyummy]

I guess my point is that a lot of our offensive woes are heaped on Kyle's shoulders - but much of our low per game scoring is also simply a reflection of our great D. we muck it up. you're not going to be the 81-82 Denver Nuggets when you play that way. And it's good to remember that while that Denver squad had the best ppg avg in NBA history (126.5), they also had the worst defense (126). Kyle isn't the only reason we have trouble scoring - it's part and parcel with this squad's identity to have low scoring games.

[weimy froob]

I guess my point is that a lot of our offensive woes are heaped on Kyle's shoulders - but much of our low per game scoring is also simply a reflection of our great D. we muck it up. you're not going to be the 81-82 Denver Nuggets when you play that way. And it's good to remember that while that Denver squad had the best ppg avg in NBA history (126.5), they also had the worst defense (126). Kyle isn't the only reason we have trouble scoring - it's part and parcel with this squad's identity to have low scoring games.

SGA has plenty of drive and kick outs. the article points out that too many times with KAT and Ant it's just drives. this is where the writer is putting the onus on the mediocre offensive numbers.

[rtb]

I miss 2022-2023 Kyle Anderson. He was such a good role player.

yeah this is why i've been cutting him a break all year. i think he started last year somewhat slow too but when he got major minutes once KAT went down he became a very key player for us. i keep waiting for that to happen this year and i don't think you dump these kind of guys because come playoff time the best teams have these type of veteran role players that seem to make key plays for them at the right time, but it would be nice to see that late season surge start soon!

[somuchyummy]

I guess my point is that a lot of our offensive woes are heaped on Kyle's shoulders - but much of our low per game scoring is also simply a reflection of our great D. we muck it up. you're not going to be the 81-82 Denver Nuggets when you play that way. And it's good to remember that while that Denver squad had the best ppg avg in NBA history (126.5), they also had the worst defense (126). Kyle isn't the only reason we have trouble scoring - it's part and parcel with this squad's identity to have low scoring games.

SGA has plenty of drive and kick outs. the article points out that too many times with KAT and Ant it's just drives. this is where the writer is putting the onus on the mediocre offensive numbers.

i'll read it.

[flexbuffchest]

I miss 2022-2023 Kyle Anderson. He was such a good role player.

yeah this is why i've been cutting him a break all year. i think he started last year somewhat slow too but when he got major minutes once KAT went down he became a very key player for us. i keep waiting for that to happen this year and i don't think you dump these kind of guys because come playoff time the best teams have these type of veteran role players that seem to make key plays for them at the right time, but it would be nice to see that late season surge start soon!

My thoughts exactly

[SKOLMN]

I miss 2022-2023 Kyle Anderson. He was such a good role player.

yeah this is why i've been cutting him a break all year. i think he started last year somewhat slow too but when he got major minutes once KAT went down he became a very key player for us. i keep waiting for that to happen this year and i don't think you dump these kind of guys because come playoff time the best teams have these type of veteran role players that seem to make key plays for them at the right time, but it would be nice to see that late season surge start soon!

Another poster alluded to it, but the reason he was so great last year was he played in the front court once towns went down. This year with a healthy towns, him naz and gobert get all the front court minutes which leaves Kyle playing on the perimeter, which is why he hasn’t been as effective this year. Kyle isn’t being properly utilized here and unless you swap out any of the other three for him he doesn’t have much of a future here, which is why he should be traded. Brown can easily take his minutes and I think there would be hardly a drop off

[Greenbolt]

i don't see how Slo-Mo is a positive at all at this point. for the season i'd say he's been a poor scorer, a good playmaker, a good mover, a non-spacer, an average on-ball defender, and an average off-ball defender. i don't see how that's better than a neutral bench player, and in recent games his movement & defense have been rapidly declining. he's probably a negative at this point on both ends. i don't see any point in playing him, we've given him 45+ games to get this thing turned around and he hasn't

and i disagree with the point that Slo-Mo's decline is because of the position change from the 4 to the perimeter. last year Slo-Mo did display good low man chops, which he isn't getting the chance to do much this year, but he also played good gap help, made solid perimeter rotations, and had a very high deflection rate last year. those were all perimeter defensive aspects he excelled in and now it's all vanished. i also think his perimeter on-ball D and transition D was better last year

this season speaks to a larger issue with Slo-Mo to me. i think he has a low motor. as someone said earlier he also got off to a rough start last year and didn't pick things up till like a third of the way through the season. then there's the eye test where he's always struck me as a fairly lazy player in general with his length & iq compensating for the laziness. he'll showcase a burst of effort here & there, but in general i think his play is pretty lazy

this year i think the combination of losing his already-iffy shooting in the offseason due to the eye injury, and him being given a much smaller role this year due to the different roster and Slo-Mo's lost shooting led to Slo-Mo feeling less motivated and then that low motor completely stopped running

[Hornets]

My untrained hoops eyes continue to see a not so great player in Slo-Mo. If he can be included in a trade that brings us a valuable piece then if I'm Connelly I don't thing twice about it....