Class of 2026 PG Dylan Mingo (NY / LuHi)

[IthacaMatt]

He was our best player.

So was Judah Mintz. Doesn't mean he had a winning attitude - but he was way more competitive than Donnie ever showed us.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

So was Judah Mintz. Doesn't mean he had a winning attitude - but he was way more competitive than Donnie ever showed us.

People show 'competitiveness' in different ways. Or, they don't show it, but can still have it.
I remember Donnie showing 'fire' many times. But, he wasn't a 'dive on the floor' kinda dude. Chalk that up to being a thin 6'9" dude with a history of injuries, or basic makeup, but a 6'1" guy with one type of personality is going to react differently than a 6'9" guy with a different personality. Doesn't mean they both don't 'want to win.' If the entire team had been better—if he hadn't been expected to be the #1/alpha—i'd bet his attitude wouldn't be called into question so much. Some players are more stoic than others. Stevie Thompson comes to mind. Not a lot of expression. He just killed you with a blank face.

 

[dollarbill44]

Nope. That would be pay to play. Verboten.

There are ways to move along the path of incentives. For example, you can have an incentive for postseason, through an automatic daily or weekly extensions of the contract (maybe even at a different value) as long as the season is still going, otherwise the contract expires with the final regular season game. It’s probably a little trickier with personal performance metrics.

 

[IthacaMatt]

People show 'competitiveness' in different ways. Or, they don't show it, but can still have it.
I remember Donnie showing 'fire' many times. But, he wasn't a 'dive on the floor' kinda dude. Chalk that up to being a thin 6'9" dude with a history of injuries, or basic makeup, but a 6'1" guy with one type of personality is going to react differently than a 6'9" guy with a different personality. Doesn't mean they both don't 'want to win.' If the entire team had been better—if he hadn't been expected to be the #1/alpha—i'd bet his attitude wouldn't be called into question so much. Some players are more stoic than others. Stevie Thompson comes to mind. Not a lot of expression. He just killed you with a blank face.

I remember Judah taking over games and willing us to win on several occasions.
I honestly can't think of one game when Donnie got us a win in crunch time.

Just because he's talented - which he obviously is - doesn't mean he's a dawg.
Yes, we saw him woof a few times in a few games, but when did he ever win us a game?

Not ripping. He's very talented. So is Kevin Durant, but he's been a passenger on somebody else's team when he won his 2 rings. He's never led a team to anything.

 

[PeteCalvin]

Will we be talking about Dylan Mingo again anytime soon? Asking for a friend.

 

[23Zone]

Maybe

 

[DBCooper]

I remember Judah taking over games and willing us to win on several occasions.
I honestly can't think of one game when Donnie got us a win in crunch time.

Just because he's talented - which he obviously is - doesn't mean he's a dawg.
Yes, we saw him woof a few times in a few games, but when did he ever win us a game?

Not ripping. He's very talented. So is Kevin Durant, but he's been a passenger on somebody else's team when he won his 2 rings. He's never led a team to anything.

Durant was the NBA Finals MVP for both of his championships.

 

[Zelda Zonk]

I remember Judah taking over games and willing us to win on several occasions.
I honestly can't think of one game when Donnie got us a win in crunch time.

Just because he's talented - which he obviously is - doesn't mean he's a dawg.
Yes, we saw him woof a few times in a few games, but when did he ever win us a game?

Not ripping. He's very talented. So is Kevin Durant, but he's been a passenger on somebody else's team when he won his 2 rings. He's never led a team to anything.

I don't disagree with any of that. He's not a 'dawg.' I do think there's a difference between not being a dawg verus not being a winning player. The latter asserts too much blame. And there isn't often room for more than one (maybe two) alpha dawgs on a team. Donnie wasn't that guy, and in part it tends to require being a ballhandler and playmaker, both in personality and skills capability.

Agree, also, on Durant. Great player. Not The Guy, though.

 

[TommyA13]

Durant was the NBA Finals MVP for both of his championships.

Look at how he was guarded vs how Steph was guarded. Ty Lue said it himself, Steph was the main defensive priority in those finals’, not KD.