Here's the thing though. When you consider his feud with Turkey and Erdogan, he doesn't want to leave the U.S for security reasons obviously. Wouldn't that have an affect since you know, we play Toronto often and if Kawhi remains with them, we might play them in a playoff series in the future too? Just a thought.
A lot of that is partisan propaganda and show off from Kanter. Nobody really believes Toronto would execute the mandate and arrest Kanter, not even Kanter. He played in Toronto just in November 2018, and nothing changed since then (the only thing it ever happened was him being detained in Romania for a few hours a few years ago afaik). In the case of a playoff series, the Canadian government would give formal guarantees if necessary.
The problem with Kanter is that if he is indeed the choice (as a 6th man or even worse as a Horford replacement), Ainge is doing the exact same mistakes he made last season.
In a few months we'll be reading the same stories about lack of chemistry, lack of leadership, Stevens not settling roles, etc, when the problem is how the roster is built.
Lol people weren't complaining how the "roster was built" last year when we won 55 games and everyone was getting along. Funny how narratives change.
The problem wasn't roster construction. The problem, believe it or not, was the run to the ECF, as Tatum, Brown and Rozier developed egos as a result. Had Kyrie not gotten knee surgery and missed the 2018 postseason, none of this would have even be an issue.
And as far as Kanter potentially complaining about his role? If he is Horford's replacement, he would be the starter, and even if Horford comes back, he would be the first big off the bench.
Kanter complained about his role in NY because he literally wasn't playing and that his role was not clearly defined. He would not have that same problem in Boston.
Can we stop listening to BS ESPN narratives and actually use facts here?
The roster last season had too many players that wanted and needed the ball - of course, the fact that Rozier/Brown/Tatum experienced the previous season playoffs was a big factor. But when the 18/19 roster was constructed, that was already known.
I think rosters like last year can work well offensively (very well even), but not with PGs like Irving and Walker - players who might even be creative passers but struggle at managing the game. I said the exact same thing last season.
I don't think the problem is Kanter complaining. Or anyone complaining. I don't really care about that. I never mentioned players complaining. The problem is that either they complain or not, players will be unsettled and vastly sub-optimized in their roles.
I don't understand the point about ESPN, haven't watched in perhaps half a decade.
The Problem last year was not how the Roster was Constructed but the Chemistry...
Isn't this like saying that if one mixes water with cesium and blows up the lab and the entire campus, the problem was the chemistry?
Surely the "chemistry" is a consequence of roster construction, not some exogenous entity?
Rozier basically lost his purpose to a player who wasn't healthy enough to help us win... (After what he showed last year, that had to be tough)
Gordon was working his way back from a gruesome injury... (We all understand why he was thrown back in the mix, but that had to be a tough pill to swallow for the youngsters)
Tatum played last year like he was afraid to disappoint Kyrie... I believe this more than anything played into him being as passive as he was with Kyrie on the court... ( That blow up the Kyrie had on Haward at the end of that game, when Hayward inbounded the ball to Tatum, pretty much pushed The young kid into the shadows for the most part... you could see the change in him from that point on)
Brown didn't like being treated like a child by a guy he really never respected...
This was why we sucked last year. This year should be so much different.
Kemba will not walk into the building like his (bleep) dont Stink.. He will not be trying to teach the kids what he learned from his Daddy. And Tatum had a hand in Recruiting Kemba.... This is good. Really good.
I think the causality on these things normally runs the other way around - teams that have good basketball chemistry - players with traits and skills that fit together to build an harmonious team will have less of those emotional problems about respect and whatever. They might even have the same, but they won't matter because they'll be winning games.
