What would you do?

[The Great One]

But... the Heat team that LOST had THREE future HOFers (yes Bosh will be one). Of those three, one can also be argued as a top 10 player ever.

Can't win this one, trust me.

It doesn't really matter if the Heat had 10 future HOF'ers. The Mavs had Dirk. Who's a future hall of famer himself.

One player in this league makes all the difference in the world.

[CalgaryRapsFan]

So you're saying the Raps has a chance to win the Championship this year? wanna bet?

Talent wins in this league, not chemistry. 2004 Pistons team the only exception. By talent i mean SUPERSTAR talent, not borderline all stars like DeRozan and Lowry.

Doesn't the bold prove the point that talent + chemistry > talent alone, even if the talent without chemistry is superior to the lesser talent that has chemistry?

Chemistry isn't just in the locker room or how well the players get along. It's all about fit, knowing/accepting roles, and having complementary talent. Just look at how the US has lost international competitions when they just threw the best individual players together and expected to walk all over lesser teams - that's why Coach K was brought in, because the US realized how important chemistry was, even when assembling the most talented team possible.

[The Great One]

So you are saying that last years Parker, Tim and Kawhi, who pretty much ran over super talented heat with bulldozer, had the SUPERSTAR talent? You should think before writting, at least short term memory is useful here.

I think you're the one who should think first before posting lol.

Tim Duncan. Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili. They're pretty good. Future Hall of Famers. Yeah i think you can call them superstar players.

[Matt Damon]

It doesn't really matter if the Heat had 10 future HOF'ers. The Mavs had Dirk. Who's a future hall of famer himself.

One player in this league makes all the difference in the world.

Absoulutely, with only five players on the floor at a time, one superstar can play practically all game and run show on the right night, regardless of who is on the other team.

[Matt Damon]

I think you're the one who should think first before posting lol.

Tim Duncan. Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili. They're pretty good. Future Hall of Famers. Yeah i think you can call them superstar players.

Formerly, superstar players. Currently, great players.

[The Great One]

Doesn't the bold prove the point that talent + chemistry > talent alone, even if the talent without chemistry is superior to the lesser talent that has chemistry?

Chemistry isn't just in the locker room or how well the players get along. It's all about fit, knowing/accepting roles, and having complementary talent. Just look at how the US has lost international competitions when they just threw the best individual players together and expected to walk all over lesser teams - that's why Coach K was brought in, because the US realized how important chemistry was, even when assembling the most talented team possible.

Obviously you need to surround that talent with a great supporting cast. If Cousins had DeRozan and Lowry, and Amir and Patterson on his team, that team would contend.

[RandomGuy]

I think you're the one who should think first before posting lol.

Tim Duncan. Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili. They're pretty good. Future Hall of Famers. Yeah i think you can call them superstar players.

Last years Tim Duncan(38), Tony Parker (32) and Manu Ginobili (37)? This is what I call thinking in one dimension... I mean, isn't it's obvious that they are who they are "HOF" because, they played within a system, which embraced chemistry and unselfish play, what eventually elevated their performance?

[The Great One]

Last years Tim Duncan(38), Tony Parker (32) and Manu Ginobili (37)? This is what I call thinking in one dimension... I mean, isn't it's obvious that they are who they are "HOF" because, they played within a system, which embraced chemistry and unselfish play, what eventually elevated their performance?

So what are you saying? if Duncan was drafted by let's say the Raptors. He wouldn't be what he is now?

[RandomGuy]

So what are you saying? if Duncan was drafted by let's say the Raptors. He wouldn't be what he is now?

His development and production may have been way slower, that's what I am saying. I never saw a player underproduce in San Antonio. Tony Parker was 28th, Kawhi 15th pick, Manu Ginobili 57th pick. If you like simple stats so much, you should agree with me on that.

[white men can't jump]

So you're saying the Raps has a chance to win the Championship this year? wanna bet?

Talent wins in this league, not chemistry. 2004 Pistons team the only exception. By talent i mean SUPERSTAR talent, not borderline all stars like DeRozan and Lowry.

What the fuck man, where did I say that? I'm just pointing out how you're in no way accounting for chemistry at all. You made a blanket statement that "talent wins, not chemistry"....Chemistry can win with less talent. Talent cannot win without chemistry.

Building around talent with the wrong mental makeup (ie hard to build a team with good chemistry around) is often the worst mistake you can make across ALL sports, not just basketball. There are tons of guys who've been extremely talented players in the league and simply not the right guys to build with. They can have various issues. Some can just have poor bball IQ. Others are bad teammates off the court. Others are just egomaniacs who don't really care about winning. And I'm sure lots of other shit.

Point is, there's no way to automatically assume a change in situation will make things click and make a guy "get it". And if you waste assets getting a guy like Cousins, and spend 4-5 years trying to build around him only to find out he's not a centrepiece on a contender, you've set your team back pretty much a decade (since it's likely you'll have to blow it up and rebuild).

I compared him to Anthony Davis because they both play now, but to put it simply again, a dominant big man putting up the numbers Cousins is should have more of an impact for his team in the win column. If everything has to be "perfect" for him to play a winning game, I don't want that guy, because teams will hit rough patches.

As I said before, I simply don't want to be the team to take the risk. One of the biggest reasons the Raptors are so good is because of chemistry and the mentality of guys on the team. Hard workers who are all on the same page and enjoy going to war together.

**Also a reason I've cooled off quite a bit on Tobias Harris as the season has gone on. Seen a few Magic games and he can look like he's just playing for himself.

[white men can't jump]

Yes, but it's not a foregone conclusion that Cousins would kill chemistry. It's just speculation.

If Rasheed Wallace, Dennis Rodman and Zach Randolph type personalities can find rosters to thrive in, I can't see why Cousins can't, especially on a perennial playoff team (which the Raptors are slowly becoming).

Rasheed and Rodman may have gotten things like techs, but they were smart players and great teammates on the court. Randolph was not, and had to nearly wash out of the league for things to click. And for every guy who "gets it", there are JR Riders, Steve Francis, Stephon Marbury, Shawn Kemp, Gilbert Arenas, etc....Guys whose own personalities doom their chances to be what they can be and take their teams to the promised land.

[The Great One]

What the fuck man, where did I say that? I'm just pointing out how you're in no way accounting for chemistry at all. You made a blanket statement that "talent wins, not chemistry"....Chemistry can win with less talent. Talent cannot win without chemistry.

Building around talent with the wrong mental makeup (ie hard to build a team with good chemistry around) is often the worst mistake you can make across ALL sports, not just basketball. There are tons of guys who've been extremely talented players in the league and simply not the right guys to build with. They can have various issues. Some can just have poor bball IQ. Others are bad teammates off the court. Others are just egomaniacs who don't really care about winning. And I'm sure lots of other shit.

Point is, there's no way to automatically assume a change in situation will make things click and make a guy "get it". And if you waste assets getting a guy like Cousins, and spend 4-5 years trying to build around him only to find out he's not a centrepiece on a contender, you've set your team back pretty much a decade (since it's likely you'll have to blow it up and rebuild).

I compared him to Anthony Davis because they both play now, but to put it simply again, a dominant big man putting up the numbers Cousins is should have more of an impact for his team in the win column. If everything has to be "perfect" for him to play a winning game, I don't want that guy, because teams will hit rough patches.

As I said before, I simply don't want to be the team to take the risk. One of the biggest reasons the Raptors are so good is because of chemistry and the mentality of guys on the team. Hard workers who are all on the same page and enjoy going to war together.

**Also a reason I've cooled off quite a bit on Tobias Harris as the season has gone on. Seen a few Magic games and he can look like he's just playing for himself.

Fair enough.

As for Harris, don't like him on my team, not a fan of his game at all.

[planetmars]

I'd definitely take a chance on Cousins.. and would trade JV for him. JV is awesome but will never be as good as Cousins is. And Cousins can be distracted but he's only 24 years old as well. Malone was able to get to him, and I'm sure another coach/system could as well. He just needs a reason to want to play well. I'm sure playoff basketball would do that.

And he can't be that much of a knuckle head if the USA squad asked him to play at Worlds.

[breakin_ankles]

TRex you are obviously just all on cousins dick... Do you think for a second that if we traded for him and Casey chose to treat him as he treats JV that he would take it in stride? No. He is a loose cannon, it showed very clearly when we played him and Amir (!!) was playing great defence on him. He is the number one option franchise player for Sacramento. He is also 2 years older than JV. Give JV 2 more years of development and I would definitely be willing to bet that he will be a 25/15 center in this league. He already operates with one of the lowest minute totals out of current starting centres and gets way less respect from referees yet is considered top 10 by statistics. Just kill this dumb argument.

[The Great One]

TRex you are obviously just all on cousins dick... Do you think for a second that if we traded for him and Casey chose to treat him as he treats JV that he would take it in stride? No. He is a loose cannon, it showed very clearly when we played him and Amir (!!) was playing great defence on him. He is the number one option franchise player for Sacramento. He is also 2 years older than JV. Give JV 2 more years of development and I would definitely be willing to bet that he will be a 25/15 center in this league. He already operates with one of the lowest minute totals out of current starting centres and gets way less respect from referees yet is considered top 10 by statistics. Just kill this dumb argument.

25/15 huh? lol

This conversation is def over.

Trade JV! Did those 2 words hurt your feelings? lol