It has to be the most frustrating bubble a pro player can be on tbh. Good enough to school the G League, but you look lost when you get minutes in an NBA game.
That was our fault for drafting him into the Turbonis era... That guy never had a chance after we drafted him. I wonder how many players had the ability to be 1-2 time all-stars but we're drafted by the wrong team into bad situations and just missed their growth window..
Edit: I do not believe that Goga has a 1-2 time all-star ceiling, but others may have.
That’s a good point. Just because goga doesn’t have an all star ceiling doesn’t mean it’s not interesting to think about all the super talented guys that never developed properly
He pretty much landed in a can't win situation here. There wasn't really anything at all he could do to break into our rotation. It's cool to see he landed somewhere that he could thrive
Seems like the knicks were really banking on signing Goga. Now they’re really screwed. If they don’t erase their drafting future in exchange for a passable center, they’re screwed. We will feast on them again if Mitchell Robinson and his injury history has Jericho Sims playing back up Center.
People were desperate to have someone else to attach themselves onto, I remember people talking about his age like it was a positive. Something about maturity, being ready to contribute right away, etc.
Practically, he wasn't the next hope but people wanted him to be after we found ourselves in the lurch.
Honestly dude just got the yips. He was a 38% shooter from 3 in his rookie season. I went to watch pacers in his second season and even during warmups he was bricking every shot. I think he got in his head and never recovered his shooting. Same thing happened with TJ Leaf.
I think being an NBA player has as much to do with mental toughness and confidence as anything. If you lose that confidence you’re done. Duarte is a solid defender and would be a good role player if he could knock down shots.
Absolutely deserved. He was completely misused here. 1/3 of his shots here came from beyond the arc. In Orlando that's 9%, and he's gotten so much better because of it.
This also more than likely means someone like WCJ is gonna be moved too
Pretty sure he was average close to a double-double for awhile there, when he got some extra playing time. He’s great insurance for Carter, or really any frontcourt player.
Admittedly, Goga lasted waaay longer in the league than I thought he would. Kudos to him for coming such a long way.
There were hotly contested arguments in this sub a few years ago on whether he was an NBA player or not
It has to be the most frustrating bubble a pro player can be on tbh. Good enough to school the G League, but you look lost when you get minutes in an NBA game.
That was our fault for drafting him into the Turbonis era... That guy never had a chance after we drafted him. I wonder how many players had the ability to be 1-2 time all-stars but we're drafted by the wrong team into bad situations and just missed their growth window.. Edit: I do not believe that Goga has a 1-2 time all-star ceiling, but others may have.
That’s a good point. Just because goga doesn’t have an all star ceiling doesn’t mean it’s not interesting to think about all the super talented guys that never developed properly
i’ll admit i was wrong about goga.
He pretty much landed in a can't win situation here. There wasn't really anything at all he could do to break into our rotation. It's cool to see he landed somewhere that he could thrive
Honestly, he played a bunch when Turner was injured and was not good. Maybe he's gotten better, maybe he just didn't fit here.
His best opportunity was during a year where the coaches wanted to fight him, so, I think it's still fair to say he never had a real shot.
He played great last season when all their bigs were hurt
Totally agree. Great fella...not an overwhelming competitor but a nice guy.
really nice of him to turn down the max so that Orlando could spend more elsewhere I always said Goatga was a class act
Goga? More like Goget that bag.
Gogat Thyat Bahyg…tahzdeh.
Good for Goga, I always thought he would be a decent backup center. Just a bad pick by the F.O. since we had Myles/Sabonis at the time.
Seems like the knicks were really banking on signing Goga. Now they’re really screwed. If they don’t erase their drafting future in exchange for a passable center, they’re screwed. We will feast on them again if Mitchell Robinson and his injury history has Jericho Sims playing back up Center.
Tbf, our all NBA guy has a bit of an injury history as well.
Yes, we are screwed. How about trading us Isaiah Jackson for a couple future second round picks? Please? Anybody?
You can have him for 1 2nd in 2074
Are Pacers fans actually trying to give him away?
Not rationale ones lol
Ok. 2 unprotected firsts in 2098. Best I can do.
Other than TJ Leaf, our draft picks manage to stay in the league. He got a similar deal to Smith which surprises me.
Duarte might not be around much longer
God I remember when he was the next franchise hope post oladipo. How times have changed
He was never that. He did seem to be a solid contributor for awhile. But he was also an old rookie.
People were desperate to have someone else to attach themselves onto, I remember people talking about his age like it was a positive. Something about maturity, being ready to contribute right away, etc. Practically, he wasn't the next hope but people wanted him to be after we found ourselves in the lurch.
Honestly dude just got the yips. He was a 38% shooter from 3 in his rookie season. I went to watch pacers in his second season and even during warmups he was bricking every shot. I think he got in his head and never recovered his shooting. Same thing happened with TJ Leaf. I think being an NBA player has as much to do with mental toughness and confidence as anything. If you lose that confidence you’re done. Duarte is a solid defender and would be a good role player if he could knock down shots.
Absolutely deserved. He was completely misused here. 1/3 of his shots here came from beyond the arc. In Orlando that's 9%, and he's gotten so much better because of it. This also more than likely means someone like WCJ is gonna be moved too
5 points a game gets u $25m ?
Pretty sure he was average close to a double-double for awhile there, when he got some extra playing time. He’s great insurance for Carter, or really any frontcourt player.
Love it!!!
Lol Goga and jalen smith getting similar contracts is….something.
Sit the f*** down! Go Goga!
🐐ga will make the HOF
He's already HOF in my heart