160 replies to this topic

[thejohnnygold]

I believe that these guys all have the potential to be starters. 

Johnson certainly shows the defensive chops, but in a league defined by spacing and shooting, can he play offense well enough to stay on the floor?

McDaniels is similar. Love the athleticism, but we've seen it before. Can he be efficient enough to play? 

Dekker I'll reserve judgment on. Harrell dropped to the second round for a reason, but yes, I see what you see.

Capela looks like the best of the bunch to me, but he doesn't need a jump shot. He just needs to be Tyson Chandler light. 

 

I hope it's not coming off as argumentative. I want to believe just as much as you. I think I'm also feeling a little bit bitter as of late, remembering that we picked Marcus Morris over Kawhi Leonard. 

 

Not argumentative at all.  Just for clarity, know that I am not saying we should rely on all of these guys as our primary back ups for next season.  I am saying that if we had to we'd be ok.  Is Beverley/Johnson worse than Terry/Prigioni?  Is Motie/Jones worse than Smith/Jones?

 

I think that by season's end we'll be feeling really good about this team.  I think we all know Morey has a list of PG's and what he is willing to part with for each one.  If any of those deals become viable he'll pull the trigger.

 

The reality is that right now each of those guys comes in 3rd on the depth chart at best (Motie is probably considered our back-up C and assuming Smith re-signs Jones is 3rd at PF).  That is a really, really good sign and the exact way things should look.  

[Chichos]

Does anyone see Josh McRoberts as  possible Josh Smith replacement?  He is basically a poor man's Josh Smith and will probably command roughly the same salary at 5 mil a year.  But with McRoberts you also get fewer of the crazy low basketball IQ plays.  I think you can still run a lot of the same playmaking 4 stuff they ran with Smith, most sets involved defenses already tilted in another direction once Smith got the ball.  If McRob is available for a 2nd round pick or two it seems like a no brainer.

[slick shoes]

Does anyone see Josh McRoberts as  possible Josh Smith replacement?  He is basically a poor man's Josh Smith and will probably command roughly the same salary at 5 mil a year.  But with McRoberts you also get fewer of the crazy low basketball IQ plays.  I think you can still run a lot of the same playmaking 4 stuff they ran with Smith, most sets involved defenses already tilted in another direction once Smith got the ball.  If McRob is available for a 2nd round pick or two it seems like a no brainer.

 

As long as he plays like this, I'm in:

 

Edited by slick shoes, 07 July 2015 - 06:07 PM.

[Cooper]

The heat are looking to duck the repeater tax, Papa and a 2nd for mcbob or papa for chalmers would be solid frugal moves, neither are world beaters but mcbob does some nice things and chalmers is under 35 which is a nice change of pace for what we had at backup pg.

[Losthief]

Does anyone see Josh McRoberts as  possible Josh Smith replacement?  He is basically a poor man's Josh Smith and will probably command roughly the same salary at 5 mil a year.  But with McRoberts you also get fewer of the crazy low basketball IQ plays.  I think you can still run a lot of the same playmaking 4 stuff they ran with Smith, most sets involved defenses already tilted in another direction once Smith got the ball.  If McRob is available for a 2nd round pick or two it seems like a no brainer.

 

McRoberts and JSmoove are on different levels defensively though...and not in McRoberts favor. Offensively sure he could replace him, but thats not really Smith's strongpoint and it is for McRoberts...which i think is the point.

Edited by Losthief, 08 July 2015 - 06:08 AM.

[thejohnnygold]

Yeah, in the Western Conference a defensive presence at PF is crucial (which is the sole reason most of us want to shop T. Jones).  We all know the list of names and Josh McRoberts is not the answer.  Offensively, he would give us some good floor spacing/passing, but can he defend Griffin, Z-Bo, Aldridge, Dirk, Favors, Morris, Davis, Green, Cousins, Fareid, and others every night?  I don't think so.  (who can, really?)

 

Maybe T.Jones spent the Summer working on his defense--we can only hope.

[slick shoes]

Seems like the Pacers are in full fledged destroy and rebuild mode. What (if any) package would we have to put together to pull Paul George down to a relevant team? Dekker, Jones, Papa, future picks for George?

[cointurtlemoose]

^How are the Pacers in full-fledged, destroy and rebuild mode?

 

They lost out on Hibbert and West, but gained Monta, addressing their biggest need of extra creation on offense.

[majik19]

Seems like the Pacers are in full fledged destroy and rebuild mode. What (if any) package would we have to put together to pull Paul George down to a relevant team? Dekker, Jones, Papa, future picks for George?

 

They're building around George, much like the Trailblazers are rebuilding around Lillard. No way they trade him. And if they did, they would need a top 5 pick in the deal (think the Wiggins for Love deal, or the rumored #2 (Russell) for Cousins deal). 

 

I don't expect George Hill to be available either, because he and Ellis actually complement each other well in the backcourt. 

 

I do wonder if Brandon Jennings will become available with Reggie Jackson's max extension. Ty Lawson is still my number 1 choice of the point guards who are potentially available. 

Edited by majik19, 08 July 2015 - 06:56 PM.

[slick shoes]

^How are the Pacers in full-fledged, destroy and rebuild mode?

 

They lost out on Hibbert and West, but gained Monta, addressing their biggest need of extra creation on offense.

 

The Heat Stopper team that was built has essentially been dismantled. Two of their "marquee" players were just dealt, signed by other teams. They gained an offensive creator, but what did they lose defensively? I know that West was the emotional leader of that team as well.

 

The reason I even pose the question is that I look at the current situation in Indiana.PG is trying to make a come back from his leg injury. He has lost two of his leading cast members, essentially making them irrelevant (even in the barren Eastern Conference). Does PG really want to waste three or four years of his prime while he waits for Larry The Legend to put some talent around him? Does he want run out of patience and call his close friend James Harden and ask about the potential of playing together in Houston and demand a trade Kevin Love style? I do not claim this to be a likely scenario by any means, but adding him to our current line up (sans the three or four players/picks we give up) is quite an exciting thought.

 

PG- Bev

SG- Harden

SF- PG

PF- DMo

C- Howard

 

Just sayin!

[cointurtlemoose]

I mean, I wouldn't hate it at all!

 

We may just disagree on the Pacers' status. I don't think the West/Hibbert loss is super big. It's significant, but not crippling. Plus, they almost made the playoffs last season without PG at all. I think they'll be in the 6/7 seed range.

[majik19]

I mean, I wouldn't hate it at all!

 

We may just disagree on the Pacers' status. I don't think the West/Hibbert loss is super big. It's significant, but not crippling. Plus, they almost made the playoffs last season without PG at all. I think they'll be in the 6/7 seed range.

 

I agree. I'd put them 10th at best in the West, but in the East? George alone is enough to get them into the playoffs. 

[majik19]

Whelp, that was a weird day in NBA history. I can't blame Jordan for wanting to return to LA... but man, I'm disappointed in him as a former Aggie. Wouldn't even give Cuban the courtesy of telling him he wasn't going to sign with him. 

 

So that changes the Western landscape pretty dramatically. The Clippers are back to being contenders (though they still have no frontcourt depth and I'm not sold on their wing rotation) and the Mavs will dip to the lottery. So I think the West shapes up like this:

 

1) Warriors

2) Spurs

3) Clippers

4) Rockets

5) Thunder

6) Grizzlies

7) Pelicans

8) Jazz

 

I expect 2-6 to be really jumbled (again) and could finish in any order. Spurs may rest more games (though that burned them last year), so they could finish lower. The Clippers should rest more games, since they only have 7 legitimate basketball players, but again, they only have 7 players. 

 

The Jazz may be a surprise pick here, but they played really well in the second half, and I think they have more talent than the Trailblazers, Suns, Mavs, or Kings. But I could see scenarios where any one of those teams makes the playoffs (except maybe the Mavs). Lillard could lift up the second tier talent on the Blazers, the Brandon Knight/Eric Bledsoe duo could be better than I think, George Karl could somehow work black magic... 

[slick shoes]

Whelp, that was a weird day in NBA history. I can't blame Jordan for wanting to return to LA... but man, I'm disappointed in him as a former Aggie. Wouldn't even give Cuban the courtesy of telling him he wasn't going to sign with him. 

 

So that changes the Western landscape pretty dramatically. The Clippers are back to being contenders (though they still have no frontcourt depth and I'm not sold on their wing rotation) and the Mavs will dip to the lottery. So I think the West shapes up like this:

 

1) Warriors

2) Spurs

3) Clippers

4) Rockets

5) Thunder

6) Grizzlies

7) Pelicans

8) Jazz

 

I expect 2-6 to be really jumbled (again) and could finish in any order. Spurs may rest more games (though that burned them last year), so they could finish lower. The Clippers should rest more games, since they only have 7 legitimate basketball players, but again, they only have 7 players. 

 

The Jazz may be a surprise pick here, but they played really well in the second half, and I think they have more talent than the Trailblazers, Suns, Mavs, or Kings. But I could see scenarios where any one of those teams makes the playoffs (except maybe the Mavs). Lillard could lift up the second tier talent on the Blazers, the Brandon Knight/Eric Bledsoe duo could be better than I think, George Karl could somehow work black magic... 

 

 

I agree with your seeding for the most part, but I'd throw Houston in at #3 and the Clippers at #4 for the reasons you mentioned. If we can manage a relatively healthy roster for a good portion of the season, we should be able to cap 58 ish wins. The Clips have tweaked their roster, but not made a significant jump ala San Antonio. I would also move the Griz up one spot to the 5 seed and drop the Thunder to #6. No real reason for the latter prediction, just going off gut.

[Chichos]

McRoberts and JSmoove are on different levels defensively though...and not in McRoberts favor. Offensively sure he could replace him, but thats not really Smith's strongpoint and it is for McRoberts...which i think is the point.

 

I think DMo is our starting power forward once the season starts.  The discussion should be more along the lines of who is your first big off the bench going to be.  I think the decision you make with Smith is more does he help you more than he hurts you.  You make that decision with every player but with Smith it is literally a coin flip every night.  Do you sign JSmoov for 4 years at the MLE knowing his athleticism is already declining or do you take on the 2 years of McRob and bet Capela is ready by the end of year 2?  

 

In a vaccuum I think everybody takes Smith over McRob for next year but Smith isn't signing a 2 year deal or even a 3 year deal without player options.  I would rather have a stop gap for a year and then a tradeable asset on a cheap expiring deal to flip if Capela figures it out a year early.

[majik19]

  The discussion should be more along the lines of who is your first big off the bench going to be. 

The first big off the bench should be Capela. No way Howard should play more than 30 minutes a night, and Capela does a lot of Howard-lite things. 

[Chichos]

The first big off the bench should be Capela. No way Howard should play more than 30 minutes a night, and Capela does a lot of Howard-lite things. 

The issue with Capela is he can't shoot.  So defensively he adds a lot playing next to Howard but offensively you lose even more, since you keep both bigs around the basket to clog driving lanes.  Capela needs a least a year to learn how to cut and hopefully add a corner three.  Right now he should be the fourth big playing 8-12 minutes a night.  

 

I do agree with Howard topping out in the low 30s on mpg.  The Rockets need to figure out two or three second unit options sans Howard.  They got torched by Golden State every second Dwight wasn't "Orlando Dwight."  

[cointurtlemoose]

I think DMo is our starting power forward once the season starts.  The discussion should be more along the lines of who is your first big off the bench going to be.  I think the decision you make with Smith is more does he help you more than he hurts you.  You make that decision with every player but with Smith it is literally a coin flip every night.  Do you sign JSmoov for 4 years at the MLE knowing his athleticism is already declining or do you take on the 2 years of McRob and bet Capela is ready by the end of year 2?  

 

In a vaccuum I think everybody takes Smith over McRob for next year but Smith isn't signing a 2 year deal or even a 3 year deal without player options.  I would rather have a stop gap for a year and then a tradeable asset on a cheap expiring deal to flip if Capela figures it out a year early.

 

I see what you're saying, and I don't disagree that much, but to me, a 2015-signed MLE, with the cap rising, will be pretty dang cheap. I just don't see much harm in giving Smith that money and letting him come off the bench for 15-20 min. He is on the decline maybe a tad, but it's the same timeline as Howard: they've probably got another 2-3 solid/reliable years in them, for what they do.

 

I really could go either way on Smith.

[bernardo]

Capela is howard's backup, they don't need to play together. He is raw but the last thing I'm worried about is his shooting. Sure, it would help, but there are bigger priorities for him right now.

 

On a side note: I'm sad that the clippers still have jordan, but the way he screwed the mavs got him up a few spots on my favourite non-Rockets player list.

[futurestar]

I don't see us resigning Josh Smith or Terry Porter. With that mindset we are postioned to do some trading of younger players, added w/T Jones to trade for some kind of whomever or just stand pat right there. we are still a good to great team if everyone stays healthy. you know the Spurs are a lot older team and will have more than their share of key injuries keeping the playing field more fair and level. I conceed nothing to them other than D West giving up $10 million that he will need some day down the road. We were never going to get Aldridge. We have done as much right as we can for now. No wrongs. 

 

 

P.S. Jordan was an underachieving whimp for one season at Texas A & M and now we know his word is also spineless.

I guess Cuban got his just desserts as some will observe. It's a sad deal for them. Thankful we have our's. 

Edited by futurestar, 09 July 2015 - 11:15 PM.