I've tried to stay out of this discussion, due to my disappointment about Brown's departure, and the fact that he's my favorite player on the team these past two years.
But I think some of it has to do with some posters not recognizing what he brought to the table, and how unique his skill set was. He's a unicorn. An amazingly versatile player, who passes much better than a big man should be able to, defends in a unique way for a player his size, and has a preternatural hoops IQ that always allowed him to think one step ahead and be in the right place at the right time.
The trap that a lot of posters seem to fall into is looking at him and saying -- eh, he only scored ~9.5 ppg -- that's replaceable. Or concentrating on him not being ideal for a center in certain situational matchups. Or look at incoming Freeman, and rationalize that we're better off with him at the 4 than Maliq anyway.
But when I look at those advanced stats on BOTH sides of the ball...
When you watch the kid play and see how impactful he is, doing things that most big men can't...
I just don't think that many fans recognize what a unique talent Maliq was. I mean, this season he accomplished something that's only been done in the NBA something like 10 times in the last 25 years. Maliq's skills set is so different, so diversified, so unusual, that people under-value the package.
Sickens me that he's potentially going to be bringing those skill sets to Duke. As I said when the announcement first came out that he'd entered the portal, he could start for any team in the country -- and he's the type of player who might not be a team's focal point, but who could elevate a contending team and put them over the top. And that appears to be how things are playing out.
Sickening.