I was thinking about how Nick Young turned into a legit 3&D guy in his last year in LA and his year for Golden State, and how he will always be a meme, but ended his career as a legitimately useful role player.
Rajon Rondo’s role in the Lakers title I think is overlooked, but he was also very good for the Kings and Pels. Shot above 40% from 3 for Lakers and Pels in the playoffs. Doesn’t get talked about enough that Rondo got much better as a shooter in his late career. Obviously he was never Steph, but got reliable.
Ish Smith is a guy who if he hasn’t played on your team you don’t understand why he’s still in the league, but everywhere he goes the fans of that team really appreciate him.
For my friend back in the day it was Biyombo for the Raptors.
I’m sure there are more egregious examples of players the general NBA fanbase doesn’t appreciate but fans of the team they play for recognise play a vital part. Any examples?
Probably not the right time to say it, but Klay Thompson. And no, I’m not willing to go to the extreme route of dying at that hill, but I am willing to go pretty far.
The reality is for a struggling offense like the Warriors benching the one guy teams will not send help to guard Steph from is the last thing they need. Moody’s defense and both he and Podz’s offense are at least half a year behind where it needs to be to start this conversation and that’s being rather optimistic. I’m not sold at all at this narrative that Klay being benched is gonna solve enough to propel the Warriors as a true contender.
Depending on how you view “washed”, you may be right. His defense against shifty guards and finishing abilities are kind of cooked, yes. But Klay is still useful as a wing defender and is a big reason why the Warriors are able to go small. He can even handle certain big matchups. Whether you like to hear it or not a gigantic set of numbers including a significantly lower shooting volumes, higher playmaking volumes indicate that Klay is transitioning into a definitive role player phase and the Warriors aren’t losing as many games as some may lead people to believe because of Klay alone, there clearly are a lot of things within the team going south and a good number of them are unexpected. History also indicates that Klay shooting this bad is an outlier compared to how often he bounces back from said slumps.
What I’m saying is, Klay has problems but chunk of it is definitely solvable or hide-able even. 4 rings, Hall of Fame, legacy, Game 6s, and those aside, I genuinely don’t think Klay is as accountable for the team-wide early season struggles as many would believe. I’m not saying he’s not responsible for it but him being replaced isn’t some magic key to turn the season around that some fans are expecting. There are many things the Warriors need to do before even contemplating outright extreme outcomes.