How do we feel about taking a back-up big – like Yves Missi – with the 16th pick?

The team seemed to be played off the floor whenever Joel would sit. Paul Reed puts in effort and has the hustle, but I’m not certain about continuing to force him into being Joel’s back-up. I’ve always personally thought that Paul would be better suited as a 4.

I realize a big part of these problems is due to having had Tobias and his massive contract; it’s not particularly easy to flesh out the rest of the roster within the cap constraints when you have such a void plaguing the team.

We seem to have the cap space this offseason to outright sign someone like Paul George, assuming he and his camp aren’t merely posturing to get more money/years out of Los Angeles. We do have other tradable picks and will need to flesh out a big part of our roster.

Most of the discourse I’ve seen regarding this year’s first-round pick has been concerning who we could turn it into via a trade, but I haven’t seen much talk on simply keeping and attempting to fill a void with it. We’ve never had a consistent back-up for Joel; it’s been a revolving door, just like his teammates themselves. Obviously, we’re attempting to win a championship and aren’t currently rebuilding, but there have been other rookie centers that have performed well for contending playoff teams, like Dereck Lively for Dallas.

Maybe I’m being crazy here, but the potential connection between Yves and Joel seems like a no-brainer. Yves is also from Yaounde, Cameroon, speaks French like Joel, and grew up playing soccer instead of basketball. Not that all of these similarities mean that Yves would inherently be a great player or worthy of the pick, but I do feel like it could simply be a great fit. Joel could have a legitimate protege. It’d also give be an opportunity for our team to have an insurance policy, of sorts – someone on the team to learn from and challenge Joel, and hopefully we wouldn’t be played off the floor when he sits or if his injuries persist. He’s also young enough to eventually bloom and fit within Maxey’s prime, once we get there.

Perhaps I’m looking at this too narrow-mindedly, but I do feel that there’s a solid opportunity here. What’re your thoughts? Obviously none of this matters if he somehow gets picked before 16, but he’s currently being mocked at or around 15-20 from what I see.

He’s got good footwork, great touch around the rim, and can actually rebound which is what we’ve sorely needed. Some immediate concerns: his shooting, or lack thereof. What better big man to learn that from, though?

[Here are some of Missi’s recent highlights](https://youtu.be/k7beHPUefN4)

by demarci