Rising Star award<\/a>, was vindication for a front office whose most polarizing early decisions have mostly worked out.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s no doubt Mart\u00edn\u2019s talent was worth a top-10 pick. The question of her fit with this roster is another matter entirely.<\/p>\n
Because even \u010cernivec, who took Leite in two expansion drafts with Golden State and Portland, didn\u2019t anticipate the French point guard\u2019s leap happening this rapidly. Leite has thrived as Portland\u2019s lead initiator, getting to the free-throw line at will and becoming a legitimate three-point shooting threat.<\/p>\n
\u201cI guess it\u2019s a good problem to have,\u201d head coach Alex Sarama said Monday after practice of the \u201cunique challenge\u201d that will come with playing the two ball-dominant guards together.<\/p>\n
Sarama also said the quiet part out loud about why their on-court fit will have to be carefully managed: neither Leite nor Mart\u00edn are great defenders.<\/p>\n
\u201cDefensively, we\u2019re going to have to find some really creative solutions,\u201d Sarama said. \u201cBut the offense should be really fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
During the tournament, Mart\u00edn displayed a similar penchant for making tough shots to what Leite has shown in her second WNBA season. Sarama sees the two as complementary of each other despite their similar skillsets. He saw Leite\u2019s improved defense in the World Cup and sees the potential that another ball-dominant guard taking the pressure off of her will lead to improvements at that end in the WNBA as well.<\/p>\n
Offensively, it will be a balance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you\u2019ve got two players who are so good on the ball, you don\u2019t want to waste either one of them doing things off the ball that aren\u2019t their best strength. But what I see with Iyana is she can play well off the ball with shooting and coming off screens. At the same time, if you look at her pick-and-roll creation, it\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarama pointed to his previous two seasons as an assistant coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, where head coach Kenny Atkinson built an Eastern Conference contender around two smaller, offense-first guards in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland.<\/p>\n
Putting the kind of defenders around those two guards that can cover up for their weaknesses at that end will be \u010cernivec\u2019s top priority this summer. Those Cavs teams were able to get away with playing Mitchell and Darius Garland together because they had Darius Garland and Evan Mobley up front; Portland will need to seriously upgrade its rim protection next year to make the pairing workable.<\/p>\n
They know it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think seeing what we can do with Iyana and Carla does change how we approach other positions and what we can do defensively to get away with playing two lead guards,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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