I gotcha. My bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chef
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I gotcha. My bad.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chef
Yeah, Gasol was a franchise center who was younger than the 3rd option Crash when traded, and the only difference between their trade and ours is instead of exipirings and two first rounders, they got Marc and Crittendon added. Difference is, the two first rounders we got are better than the two they got.
Yeah true. What are the chances of us acquiring a player like Zach, a true 20-10 guy though....slim to none.
Unless we draft Kanter...
My first move would be to extend Shaun Livingston's contract. I know this isn't the popular consensus, however he is 4th in almost all stats on the team right now off the bench. If he started, he could dominate. He just needs to be more consistent with his play. We also need to figure out what we want to do with our draft picks. Who we should focus on. Should we get a production guy, or a big guy who likes to shoot to replace Diaw? I would say replace Diaw, except none of our round 1 draft picks are with the franchise anymore. We need to be able to keep some of those players for the next couple of years. I don't care who they are. No franchise can get better if they can't keep the best draft picks. Shaun Livingston is a set up guy. We're going to need somebody who he can set up, and right now, there isn't a person who is strong enough in the franchise currently. However, I think the draft is a good place to look for that. We should stay out of Free Agency for a while unless we must, or we can't pass up a good value trade. But the reason we're in this mess, is because we have tried to survive on players that other teams didn't feel were good enough to keep. Which isn't a good place to get top quality players. A star can be made at Charlotte, because we have support players. The star will be made, because we have a fantastic support staff of players. We just need a single player we can rally around, and propel them into stardom. I had hoped Shaun Livingston, could challenge for that spot by year two, but it doesn't look like it... unfortunately he isn't as opportunistic as I think he should be to be truly great, but I still like him a lot. Shaun Livingston on a reconstructed knee is still a fantastic player at times. But he just needs to be a consistently fairly good player, which I know he can be.
While I think Shaun has performed well, I'd hold off on extending his contract. He's an interesting case...I don't think he distributes well enough (or very much at all, to be honest) to be a top-tier point guard but if he's moved to the 2, his main advantage of posting up smaller guards is taken away. I do like what he's done in his role, but I can't think I'd try to build around him.Quote:
Originally Posted by bryce_1470
As for replacing Diaw, that's already on the roster. Tyrus and DJ White will be the PF duo next year. I can see Diaw getting moved, and if anyone give anything remotely worth it, Jackson will get moved, too. With that, if the draft picks aren't used in a trade to get someone, then taking the best player available is the way to go, I believe. There are nice role players, but getting as much of an upgrade in talent as possible is the priority, I believe.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bryce_1470
Don't think we should extend a guy who's knee was so f'ed up he prob shouldn't be playing right now...
We have two more years on liv's contract right now, so there's no reason to worry about that.
I have no idea what to do or where to start.
Before, we just picked up the most talented players (or what seemed like the most talented) we could get and tried to force them in to LB's system. That didn't yield great results. This time I hope Paul Silas, Rod Higgins and MJ have a system in mind and look for players that seamlessly fit in.
Look at the Lakers, Spurs, Celtics, Bulls, and Mavs. Those teams have more success even though teams like the Knicks, Heat, Thunder, Hawks and Magic have just as much (if not more) talent.
The problem there is that it is tough to come up with a system without a star player. So it is kind of a catch 22. I just hope the team doesn't end up like the Warriors, 76ers, or Grizzlies with just a bunch of good individual pieces thrown together. We are not Miami or New York and can not rely on throwing the best free agent talent together and waiting for the greatness to happen. If I was MJ I would look at how the Spurs have been run the last 10 years, and the Pacers the 10 years before that.
I agree to a certain extent but do think the best road map to success for us would be to look at what Sam Presti of OKC has done with his drafting and builing with youth. To a lesser extent but not by much one must look at what Kevin Pritchard did for the Portland Trail Blazers. The Spurs and the other successful teams you mentioned are great examples of doing things the right way. I hope that our team is built through youth and successful drafting. It would help if we had a GM noted for playing a role or roles in drafting well. Still I am willing to accept this team taking it's chances at drafting well. If we can get a legit star through FA or trades than that is fine but I don't like trying to build a team that way.
Guys, with this impending lockout, a lot of these guys we're considering drafting just might stay in school. I really think that making the playoffs becomes priority for that reason. Then you might see another draft night trade with these picks and Boris's expiring contract, contingent on if he takes the player option, which at 9 million, it's safe to assume he would. That could bring a pretty good talent over to us, though I'm not sure who exactly.