Post by mouse on Oct 13, 2024 10:50:38 GMT -8
It's been a while since our last conversation but welcome back to another installment of Tyga Talks with my man Mouse, here discussing the recent makeover in Philadelphia. Mouse completely cleaned house and moved on from some notable names such as Chris Bosh, Andre Igoudala, JR Smith, and Sergio Rodriguez while bringing in rookies Draymond Green, Andre Drummond, and a ton of draft picks and cap space.
Tyga: What made you decide to go in such a quick overhaul of a roster that has had some success over the past 5/6 seasons?
Mouse: We felt as though this roster had underperformed compared to the expectations we had. JR missed 34 games last year and we still had won 50 games but the team was knocked out in the first round. This season we were a .500 roster and it was frustrating. Maybe we had too much talent, but ultimately with no draft assets, no developing youth, and hard cap issues looming we decided to simply cut our ties with this roster and begin a rebuilding process mid season into this off season. The funny thing is now with teams like Boston and Cleveland possibly rebuilding, if we had stood pat this might have been our upcoming season lol. Timing in general has been an issue for us always it seems.
Tyga: Draymond Green and Andre Drummond... what made you target those guys as centerpieces in some of these deals you made?
Mouse: We wanted to target players we felt could be defensive first players and really develop an identity defensively moving forward. We're confident Green and Drumm will be elite level stock players and having them as the defensive anchors for our frontcourt for years to come is exciting. We love Greens overall versatility, and think with his Warrior background Spencer made him a special player. His ability to defend, pass, rebound, and run point guard gives us the option to have him play back up point guard for us if needed. We truly think he will be the leader of this team for the foreseeable future.
Tyga: You had a busy draft last week drafting Seth Curry with the 10th pick in the draft, while also adding 23 year old SG Iman Shumpert from Toronto for 2 future 2nd round picks. What led you to ultimately selecting Curry with your first round pick?
Mouse: We were targeting Robert Covington and some other names that were selected before we made our pick, but Curry was a guy we also had high on our board as well. His brother Steph is arguably the most dynamic player in the NBA, and rating wise they aren't to far off going into their rookie seasons. We think with development and camping Seth can be a really explosive offensive scorer and elite shooter. Whether he's a starting SG or elite sixth man, we think he will bring tremendous value to our franchise. As far as Iman is concerned, we think he still has some upside. +15 remaining in camps, 2 years left on a rookie deal, 23 years old with solid shooting percentages and above average defensive skills. We think he fits into what we have building here, and think he could be a Thabo Sefolosha type of player but even better overall. We anticipate him potentially starting for us, or at least getting consistent minutes this season for us.
Tyga: $30 million in cap space with a ton of big name free agents. You were able to bring in 23 year old PG Ricky Rubio to a 6 year deal at over $77 million dollars total. Rubio spent 4 seasons in LA, but lost his opportunity to play once Chris Paul was brought in. You're giving essentially an unproven point guard the keys to your franchise. What makes you so confident Rubio is the answer?
Mouse: We were the same team that gave Sergio Rodriguez his first opportunity and he's become one of the best point guards in the league. We think Rubio will flourish with our franchise. He's a pass first player with elite handles and defensive skills which will work nicely alongside Draymond and Andre. Rubio has some camps left which we have already sent him too, and think he can be a 16/8 guy this season. Rubio/Curry/Draymond/Drummond is a fun team to see play this season while we still have 5+ first round picks and $20 million in cap space to play with this off season with a couple other players we are still targeting.
Tyga: You were able to also land C Brook Lopez on a 6 year deal over $65 million dollars in total. Your trend seems to be investing long term on young talent with camps left. What do you see in Brook?
Mouse: Brook can be a 14/10/2 guy in my opinion and at the contract we gave him that isn't bad value. I think with us though, he can elevate those numbers another notch up. We anticipate him improving a bit defensively and also playing considerable minutes at backup SF potentially. Brook is a nice third big to have alongside Andre and Draymond defensively, while giving us something different on the offensive end compared to them.
Tyga: Where do you see this team finishing this upcoming season? What are your expectations for the roster as a whole?
Mouse: It really depends on how training camp goes, but I don't have high expectations as far as wins go. I simply wanna see each individual player get better and show some promise as guys we can hold onto long term. With 2 days left in free agency there's a couple other guys we are gonna go after and hopefully sign, but I think we are really excited to see how this team can perform and who steps up as "the guy" for the foreseeable future.
Tyga: What made you decide to go in such a quick overhaul of a roster that has had some success over the past 5/6 seasons?
Mouse: We felt as though this roster had underperformed compared to the expectations we had. JR missed 34 games last year and we still had won 50 games but the team was knocked out in the first round. This season we were a .500 roster and it was frustrating. Maybe we had too much talent, but ultimately with no draft assets, no developing youth, and hard cap issues looming we decided to simply cut our ties with this roster and begin a rebuilding process mid season into this off season. The funny thing is now with teams like Boston and Cleveland possibly rebuilding, if we had stood pat this might have been our upcoming season lol. Timing in general has been an issue for us always it seems.
Tyga: Draymond Green and Andre Drummond... what made you target those guys as centerpieces in some of these deals you made?
Mouse: We wanted to target players we felt could be defensive first players and really develop an identity defensively moving forward. We're confident Green and Drumm will be elite level stock players and having them as the defensive anchors for our frontcourt for years to come is exciting. We love Greens overall versatility, and think with his Warrior background Spencer made him a special player. His ability to defend, pass, rebound, and run point guard gives us the option to have him play back up point guard for us if needed. We truly think he will be the leader of this team for the foreseeable future.
Tyga: You had a busy draft last week drafting Seth Curry with the 10th pick in the draft, while also adding 23 year old SG Iman Shumpert from Toronto for 2 future 2nd round picks. What led you to ultimately selecting Curry with your first round pick?
Mouse: We were targeting Robert Covington and some other names that were selected before we made our pick, but Curry was a guy we also had high on our board as well. His brother Steph is arguably the most dynamic player in the NBA, and rating wise they aren't to far off going into their rookie seasons. We think with development and camping Seth can be a really explosive offensive scorer and elite shooter. Whether he's a starting SG or elite sixth man, we think he will bring tremendous value to our franchise. As far as Iman is concerned, we think he still has some upside. +15 remaining in camps, 2 years left on a rookie deal, 23 years old with solid shooting percentages and above average defensive skills. We think he fits into what we have building here, and think he could be a Thabo Sefolosha type of player but even better overall. We anticipate him potentially starting for us, or at least getting consistent minutes this season for us.
Tyga: $30 million in cap space with a ton of big name free agents. You were able to bring in 23 year old PG Ricky Rubio to a 6 year deal at over $77 million dollars total. Rubio spent 4 seasons in LA, but lost his opportunity to play once Chris Paul was brought in. You're giving essentially an unproven point guard the keys to your franchise. What makes you so confident Rubio is the answer?
Mouse: We were the same team that gave Sergio Rodriguez his first opportunity and he's become one of the best point guards in the league. We think Rubio will flourish with our franchise. He's a pass first player with elite handles and defensive skills which will work nicely alongside Draymond and Andre. Rubio has some camps left which we have already sent him too, and think he can be a 16/8 guy this season. Rubio/Curry/Draymond/Drummond is a fun team to see play this season while we still have 5+ first round picks and $20 million in cap space to play with this off season with a couple other players we are still targeting.
Tyga: You were able to also land C Brook Lopez on a 6 year deal over $65 million dollars in total. Your trend seems to be investing long term on young talent with camps left. What do you see in Brook?
Mouse: Brook can be a 14/10/2 guy in my opinion and at the contract we gave him that isn't bad value. I think with us though, he can elevate those numbers another notch up. We anticipate him improving a bit defensively and also playing considerable minutes at backup SF potentially. Brook is a nice third big to have alongside Andre and Draymond defensively, while giving us something different on the offensive end compared to them.
Tyga: Where do you see this team finishing this upcoming season? What are your expectations for the roster as a whole?
Mouse: It really depends on how training camp goes, but I don't have high expectations as far as wins go. I simply wanna see each individual player get better and show some promise as guys we can hold onto long term. With 2 days left in free agency there's a couple other guys we are gonna go after and hopefully sign, but I think we are really excited to see how this team can perform and who steps up as "the guy" for the foreseeable future.
