Grading Dell Demps

[MichaelMcNamara]

Let's stay on topic and not forget gordon is making $3 million more per year than igoudala. EG hasn't played at a competitive level since he arrived here. B level management

That is on topic. The point is that EVERY GM makes big mistakes. Sam Presti is universally thought of as a top 3 GM and he has made huge mistakes.

To get an 'A', you need to be a top 6 GM. Next 6 are a 'B', next 6 are a 'C', etc.

I wouldn't grade move by move; I grade on a curve. How does he stack up to his competition? And every GM makes big mistakes, so to point at a huge one (Gordon) and automatically drop him because of that isn't necessarily right IMO. I wanna see how he cleans up that mess. If he does it correctly, he can still get an A from me. Lopez and Ryno in one summer, Jrue and Tyreke in another. Great at trading scraps for serviceable players. Finds guys on minimum contracts who contribute (Roberts, Morrow, Ajinca, Aaron Gray, etc.)

Still has a chance to earn an A if he has a solid 16 months, but he's gotta nail these next two summers and/or February's 2015 trade deadline.

[MichaelMcNamara]

I dont think Harden would have accepted the #3 and 6th man role his whole career. Hes turned into a better player in Houston leading a team to being a possible contender after falling apart in the playoffs for OKC

I don't see a better player. Less efficient and far worse on defense. Better raw numbers? Yes. Better player? I don't agree.

[speedyG]

I don't see a better player. Less efficient and far worse on defense. Better raw numbers? Yes. Better player? I don't agree.

He plays a much bigger role. Obviously his efficiency is going to dip a little. He's developed into a true go-to guy who can lead a team which he wouldn't have become playing with Durant and Westbrook, and he's really shut up a lot of haters this year with big performances against the best teams

[UNO Gracias]

As of now Del is a mediocre GM.

Better luck next year.

[da ThRONe]

He plays a much bigger role. Obviously his efficiency is going to dip a little. He's developed into a true go-to guy who can lead a team which he wouldn't have become playing with Durant and Westbrook, and he's really shut up a lot of haters this year with big performances against the best teams

Hindsight truly is 20/20. I remember people here arguing me saying that Gordon was better than Harden. A lot of people didn't think Harden was worth his deal at the time.

Either way in my opinion Harden wouldn't be a max player production wise if he was still on that Thunder team.

[Jabberwalker]

Hindsight truly is 20/20. I remember people here arguing me saying that Gordon was better than Harden. A lot of people didn't think Harden was worth his deal at the time.

Either way in my opinion Harden wouldn't be a max player production wise if he was still on that Thunder team.

Michael Scott once said, "It takes a big man to admit he is wrong. And I am that big man."

My argument around the Gordon signing was that they knew more than us and that Phoenix's magical training staff thought that Gordon's injury woes could be fixed. In the past they were batting a thousand for being able to bring hurt guys in at a discount and fix them. I assumed that Dell and Phoenix knew more about Gordon's injuries than we did. Maybe they were right and it was somehow a coincidence but probably not. I will still argue that Gordon's last Clippers year he was better than anything Harden has done. He was slightly worse on offense with a similar style of play but a million times better defensively. I didn't want him on a max but I trusted Dell's decision on the basis that he had more resources than we fans did. I was definitely wrong.

[MichaelMcNamara]

Michael Scott once said, "It takes a big man to admit he is wrong. And I am that big man."

My argument around the Gordon signing was that they knew more than us and that Phoenix's magical training staff thought that Gordon's injury woes could be fixed. In the past they were batting a thousand for being able to bring hurt guys in at a discount and fix them. I assumed that Dell and Phoenix knew more about Gordon's injuries than we did. Maybe they were right and it was somehow a coincidence but probably not. I will still argue that Gordon's last Clippers year he was better than anything Harden has done. He was slightly worse on offense with a similar style of play but a million times better defensively. I didn't want him on a max but I trusted Dell's decision on the basis that he had more resources than we fans did. I was definitely wrong.

And see, this is where I always said everyone (including Dell) had it wrong. It was never about the injury he had and whether it would be reoccuring, it was that his body was just not built for the NBA. He had showed that he would always get injured if he played the way that he did at the time. And if he stopped being that aggressive going to the hole, he wasn't even close to a max player because it was his free throw rate alone that made him an efficient scorer. He was a good shooter, but not great, and he didn't get you assists, rebs, steals, etc.

In order to give him that contract, you had to believe that Gordon could either:

A) Play the same way and just not get hurt anymore

B) Completely change his game

Neither of those things were ever likely. Every podcast we had that summer, and every article, begged Dell not to do it. But he made a huge gamble and is now paying for it. Again, all GM's make big mistakes; gotta get out from under it.

[da ThRONe]

Michael Scott once said, "It takes a big man to admit he is wrong. And I am that big man."

My argument around the Gordon signing was that they knew more than us and that Phoenix's magical training staff thought that Gordon's injury woes could be fixed. In the past they were batting a thousand for being able to bring hurt guys in at a discount and fix them. I assumed that Dell and Phoenix knew more about Gordon's injuries than we did. Maybe they were right and it was somehow a coincidence but probably not. I will still argue that Gordon's last Clippers year he was better than anything Harden has done. He was slightly worse on offense with a similar style of play but a million times better defensively. I didn't want him on a max but I trusted Dell's decision on the basis that he had more resources than we fans did. I was definitely wrong.

We all miss things it part of the fun. If we were right 100% of the time where's the fun in that right?

Hopefully Davis will be so impactful(and healthy can't forget that) on a playoff team that I will have to throw myself at the mercy of the forum begging for forgiveness that I ever doubted him. I've already started prepping for the thread.

[speedyG]

And see, this is where I always said everyone (including Dell) had it wrong. It was never about the injury he had and whether it would be reoccuring, it was that his body was just not built for the NBA. He had showed that he would always get injured if he played the way that he did at the time. And if he stopped being that aggressive going to the hole, he wasn't even close to a max player because it was his free throw rate alone that made him an efficient scorer. He was a good shooter, but not great, and he didn't get you assists, rebs, steals, etc.

In order to give him that contract, you had to believe that Gordon could either:

A) Play the same way and just not get hurt anymore

B) Completely change his game

Neither of those things were ever likely. Every podcast we had that summer, and every article, begged Dell not to do it. But he made a huge gamble and is now paying for it. Again, all GM's make big mistakes; gotta get out from under it.

Theres also exceptions like D-Wade who the injuries never slowed down too much

[Pelicans78]

Demps has done an average job at this time. And that's at best. He did a great job creating cap room, but spent it most of it quickly.

The key will be the Tyreke and Holiday signings. Both have talent but have holes in their games keeping them from living up to their potential. Evans with his lack of shooting and poor defense and Holiday with his shooting percentages and turnover rate.

The Rivers drafting hasn't been a success and will be only limited to a 6th man type role now which is what he's best suited for anyway, but was it worth the 10th pick in the draft? Next year will determint how successful this pick is.

The Anderson signing was a very good one if he can stay healthy, but Monty doesn't push him enough to play defense or rebound like he did in Orlando so his overall efficiency hasn't matched his Orlando days, but still good enough to justify his contract unlike Gordon, Holiday, or Evans at this time.

So like Bower, Demps was gifted a superstar yet has spent the cap room on questionable contracts long-term. Unlike Bower, Demps has spent it on younger guys with upside compared to the likes of Peja, Mo-Pete (Tyson Chandler was a strong acquisition before his injuries).

[hornetsrebirth]

The jury is still out right now, but I will give it a C. The Pelicans have grabbed some good pieces but haven't put together a well designed team yet, however its clearly a work in progress. It will be a lot easier to grade his performance after we see what he is able to accomplish the summer, hopefully there is a vision for the team that will become clearer.