You’d think a 23-year-old kid who just arrived with a new team as part of a blockbuster trade that kicked a popular supernova of talent and presence out the door and is being asked to replace a captain and perennial Pro Bowler who was left to walk away in free agency might need some time to adjust to his new surroundings.
It might take a few weeks or months for him to get comfortable with his new playbook, new teammates, and begin the process of developing into the kind of player — the kind of leader — that the front office believes it acquired, whose availability helped make those two departed stars expendable.