Dell is a genius. Just google "Best Shooting Guards"

[NMThreeMVP]

I was listening to a week old "Lowe Post" podcast on the Grantland Network last night, featuring Zach Lowe and Kevin Arnovitz. Now, whatever you think of those two guys, they are generally well respected journalist don't get caught up in hype and glitz.

During the podcast they were discussing potential trades for Kevin Love, and in discussing a hypothetical Golden State offer that included Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, David Lee and a pick (too much, imho) for Love, one of the reasons they suggested Golden State might be willing to include Klay Thompson is because he will command a max contract when he hits the market. As supporting evidence they talked about how shooting guard, which used to be a deep position in the NBA, now has a dearth of talent.

This is nothing new to any of us. I think we all recognize this and have discussed it several times over. Shooting Guard is the new Center position in terms of scarcity of Superstar or even consistent All Star level players. Wade, Kobe, and Ginobli are headed to the glue factory, Lance Stephenson has Ron Artest's crazy potential with Stephen Jackson's talent ceiling, and the universally accepted best shooting guard in the league, James Hardin, is also possibly one of the worst defensive wings in the league.

I hate Eric Gordon. Hate him with a passion like I've only ever hated David West as far as players that play for teams I like. He's blocked me on twitter, not cause I troll him, but because I mentioned him once in a tweet he didn't like. Seriously, dude is sensitive, insecure AND pompous all at the same time! That has never been a good combo for a professional athlete, lawyer, realtor, or security guard. Seriously, name me one successful person with those personality traits!!

We live in the same neighborhood, and I wouldn't let this dude borrow a trash bag if he needed it!

I was against Dell's original move to match Gordon's Phoenix offer, I get no better happiness than an unconfirmed Gordon trade rumor, and I have a bottle of Dom P ready to pop 1972 Dolphins style the day he takes his heart and his knees to some other community, but looking at the complete wasteland of the Shooting Guard position in the NBA, is it ludicrous to think Dell is a pure genius for locking up two second tier shooting guards (Gordon and Evans), with the potential to be first tier guys??

This is all about Anthony Davis, and going into the last year of his rookie deal, before the countdown starts on his second contract, Gordon will be 26 and Evans will be 25. I'd argue both are top 15 Shooting Guards right now when actually on the court playing Shooting Guard. Seriously, salaries aside, are their 15 Shooting Guards that are definitely better than Gordon and Evans?

If Gordon plays well in 2014, we probably make the playoffs, and he probably opts out to secure more guaranteed money. But rather than needing to search for a SG and overpay on the market, we will have Tyreke Evans making a bargain price of $10m a year when you consider the Thompsons, Stephensons, and Beals of the world will be demanding near max or max money. The opportunity to secure a potential top 5 player at a position of scarcity at a reasonable price doesn't come along very often, so I don't begrudge Dell for signing Evans last offseason even though it's now obvious they didn't have the best plan for how to utilize him. If overpaying Gordon has been a burden on this franchise, underpaying Evans could be a blessing in the last two years of his deal! The fact that you have overlap at the position in these early years of Anthony Davis' development when you're not a contender is less important than the fact that you'll have security at this scarce and important position when the team is ready to contend.

And even if Gordon doesn't opt out of his contract at the end of next season, I think his 1 year, $15m salary won't look so bad to some teams before the season starts, when because of increases in the cap and pending free agency, Shooting Guards like Lance, Hayward, Afflalo, Wesley Matthhews and Klay Thompson are all making well north of $13m a year on multi-year deals and Kobe, Joe Johnson and Wade are pulling special appearances for north of $20 million!

Dell will get something for Gordon when he needs to get something for Gordon and when it matters most. He'll get cap relief and maybe a draft asset going into 2015, the most important season in Pelicans history. And nothing before then will matter. Dell is 13 months away from looking like a genius if everyone can stay healthy and he can hang on to his job that long!

[Noggy]

They just need to trade him for kevin garnett.

[Kumar]

What about Utah? They have buckets of cap space, no shooting guard.

[NMThreeMVP]

Clippers, Magic, Trailblazers,Wizards, Raptors and Rockets. Maybe Mavericks. Those are the only teams I can definitely say have better Shooting Guard situations than ours over the next 4 years. The Warriors and Pacers are also probably in better situations than us, but it's questionable depending on how much they have to pay Klay Thompson and Lance Stephenson if they keep them. If they have to near max those guys or if they lose those guys, we'll clearly be in a better situation when Gordon is gone and we're paying Tyreke $10m.

The Lakers, Heat, and Nets have $20m tied up in aging vets who are deteriorating before our eyes. In the Nets case, even if Joe Johnson is still playing at a higher level, I'd still rather pay the shooting guard group of Evans/Gordon $25m than to pay Johnson/Thornton $32m next year!

Everybody else has average talent that hasn't really shown the potential to ever crack the level Gordon and Evans are capable of.

IF a team hits on a Shooting Guard, they're in great space. Dell has double the odds between Gordon and Evans and if Gordon can start the team healthy, I fully believe it will be a sellers market before the start of the 2015/16 season.

[DRDJ1]

I was listening to a week old "Lowe Post" podcast on the Grantland Network last night, featuring Zach Lowe and Kevin Arnovitz. Now, whatever you think of those two guys, they are generally well respected journalist don't get caught up in hype and glitz.

During the podcast they were discussing potential trades for Kevin Love, and in discussing a hypothetical Golden State offer that included Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, David Lee and a pick (too much, imho) for Love, one of the reasons they suggested Golden State might be willing to include Klay Thompson is because he will command a max contract when he hits the market. As supporting evidence they talked about how shooting guard, which used to be a deep position in the NBA, now has a dearth of talent.

This is nothing new to any of us. I think we all recognize this and have discussed it several times over. Shooting Guard is the new Center position in terms of scarcity of Superstar or even consistent All Star level players. Wade, Kobe, and Ginobli are headed to the glue factory, Lance Stephenson has Ron Artest's crazy potential with Stephen Jackson's talent ceiling, and the universally accepted best shooting guard in the league, James Hardin, is also possibly one of the worst defensive wings in the league.

I hate Eric Gordon. Hate him with a passion like I've only ever hated David West as far as players that play for teams I like. He's blocked me on twitter, not cause I troll him, but because I mentioned him once in a tweet he didn't like. Seriously, dude is sensitive, insecure AND pompous all at the same time! That has never been a good combo for a professional athlete, lawyer, realtor, or security guard. Seriously, name me one successful person with those personality traits!!

We live in the same neighborhood, and I wouldn't let this dude borrow a trash bag if he needed it!

I was against Dell's original move to match Gordon's Phoenix offer, I get no better happiness than an unconfirmed Gordon trade rumor, and I have a bottle of Dom P ready to pop 1972 Dolphins style the day he takes his heart and his knees to some other community, but looking at the complete wasteland of the Shooting Guard position in the NBA, is it ludicrous to think Dell is a pure genius for locking up two second tier shooting guards (Gordon and Evans), with the potential to be first tier guys??

This is all about Anthony Davis, and going into the last year of his rookie deal, before the countdown starts on his second contract, Gordon will be 26 and Evans will be 25. I'd argue both are top 15 Shooting Guards right now when actually on the court playing Shooting Guard. Seriously, salaries aside, are their 15 Shooting Guards that are definitely better than Gordon and Evans?

If Gordon plays well in 2014, we probably make the playoffs, and he probably opts out to secure more guaranteed money. But rather than needing to search for a SG and overpay on the market, we will have Tyreke Evans making a bargain price of $10m a year when you consider the Thompsons, Stephensons, and Beals of the world will be demanding near max or max money. The opportunity to secure a potential top 5 player at a position of scarcity at a reasonable price doesn't come along very often, so I don't begrudge Dell for signing Evans last offseason even though it's now obvious they didn't have the best plan for how to utilize him. If overpaying Gordon has been a burden on this franchise, underpaying Evans could be a blessing in the last two years of his deal! The fact that you have overlap at the position in these early years of Anthony Davis' development when you're not a contender is less important than the fact that you'll have security at this scarce and important position when the team is ready to contend.

And even if Gordon doesn't opt out of his contract at the end of next season, I think his 1 year, $15m salary won't look so bad to some teams before the season starts, when because of increases in the cap and pending free agency, Shooting Guards like Lance, Hayward, Afflalo, Wesley Matthhews and Klay Thompson are all making well north of $13m a year on multi-year deals and Kobe, Joe Johnson and Wade are pulling special appearances for north of $20 million!

Dell will get something for Gordon when he needs to get something for Gordon and when it matters most. He'll get cap relief and maybe a draft asset going into 2015, the most important season in Pelicans history. And nothing before then will matter. Dell is 13 months away from looking like a genius if everyone can stay healthy and he can hang on to his job that long!

That's the way
I like it

[xulapaul]

Great post.

[BIGBREED]

Great post!!! One of the best I've seen on this site.

[kclaboy504]

Very good post my man. (Or woman?)

[PelsFan2313]

Clippers, Magic, Trailblazers,Wizards, Raptors and Rockets. Maybe Mavericks. Those are the only teams I can definitely say have better Shooting Guard situations than ours over the next 4 years. The Warriors and Pacers are also probably in better situations than us, but it's questionable depending on how much they have to pay Klay Thompson and Lance Stephenson if they keep them. If they have to near max those guys or if they lose those guys, we'll clearly be in a better situation when Gordon is gone and we're paying Tyreke $10m.

The Lakers, Heat, and Nets have $20m tied up in aging vets who are deteriorating before our eyes. In the Nets case, even if Joe Johnson is still playing at a higher level, I'd still rather pay the shooting guard group of Evans/Gordon $25m than to pay Johnson/Thornton $32m next year!

Everybody else has average talent that hasn't really shown the potential to ever crack the level Gordon and Evans are capable of.

IF a team hits on a Shooting Guard, they're in great space. Dell has double the odds between Gordon and Evans and if Gordon can start the team healthy, I fully believe it will be a sellers market before the start of the 2015/16 season.

What makes you say the Clippers and especially the Timberwolves? If we are talking four years, prime Evans vs. 38 year old Crawford and Reddick/whatever crap Minnesota has (Corey Brewer, Shved, Bazz?)/Monta Ellis (who will have a newer more expensive contract in 3 years time)? I'm taking Evans every time. Same goes for Stephenson bc brain size and Thompson due to his giant impending deal (which OP alluded to on both accounts.)

[NMThreeMVP]

What makes you say the Clippers and especially the Timberwolves? If we are talking four years, prime Evans vs. 38 year old Crawford and Reddick/whatever crap Minnesota has (Corey Brewer, Shved, Bazz?)/Monta Ellis (who will have a newer more expensive contract in 3 years time)? I'm taking Evans every time. Same goes for Stephenson bc brain size and Thompson due to his giant impending deal (which OP alluded to on both accounts.)

I'd rather have Crawford and Reddick at a combined 12 million over the next 2 years, and Reddick one season after for only $7m, than to have Evans and Gordon at $25m over the next 2 years and Evans for one season after that at $10m. The next two years DO matter. Can't completely dismiss them.

I also never said the Timberwolves. I said the Trailblazers and Wizards which you probably combined when you read it to get "Timberwolves" LOL.

The present does matter. It might not matter to us if our true window starts in 2015, but it does matter when you're taking a 30k foot view of NBA. Therefor, same logic as with Clippers, I'd rather have one more year of Klay Thompson's rookie year and the possibility that he develops into a player that will be worth the contract he gets after that, than the $25m for Gordon/Evans. Westley Matthews and CJ McCollum are perfect compliments for what Trailblazers have with Lillard and Aldridge, and even though Matthews is a free agent in 2015, I think they'll be able to resign him for a reasonable amount.

My overall point remains though, that there are so few elite SG that A) Gordon will have value as other flawed players sign similarly market driven enormous contracts and Gordon approaches expiring B) Evans could be a top 3 SG on a deal $5m below market exactly when Pelicans are trying to add complimentary pieces to a Playoff team at the start of Davis' second contract.

That's a good place to be in and Dell will look like a genius.

[PelsFan2313]

I'd rather have Crawford and Reddick at a combined 12 million over the next 2 years, and Reddick one season after for only $7m, than to have Evans and Gordon at $25m over the next 2 years and Evans for one season after that at $10m. The next two years DO matter. Can't completely dismiss them.

I also never said the Timberwolves. I said the Trailblazers and Wizards which you probably combined when you read it to get "Timberwolves" LOL.

The present does matter. It might not matter to us if our true window starts in 2015, but it does matter when you're taking a 30k foot view of NBA. Therefor, same logic as with Clippers, I'd rather have one more year of Klay Thompson's rookie year and the possibility that he develops into a player that will be worth the contract he gets after that, than the $25m for Gordon/Evans. Westley Matthews and CJ McCollum are perfect compliments for what Trailblazers have with Lillard and Aldridge, and even though Matthews is a free agent in 2015, I think they'll be able to resign him for a reasonable amount.

My overall point remains though, that there are so few elite SG that A) Gordon will have value as other flawed players sign similarly market driven enormous contracts and Gordon approaches expiring B) Evans could be a top 3 SG on a deal $5m below market exactly when Pelicans are trying to add complimentary pieces to a Playoff team at the start of Davis' second contract.

That's a good place to be in and Dell will look like a genius.

Must have misinterpreted your usage of four years then. I literally considered each teams situation at the 2 in four years time (which is silly bc so much can happen between now and then). I certainly agree with your overall conclusion. I do think however that while the next two years may matter, the last two will be much more significant considering Davis' projection. I suspect he'll be at least a consensus top 5 player then, which would make contending (and in turn putting a solid supporting cast around him) that much more important.

And I don't know how I saw the Timberwolves there either. My bad! Great post though. I too love to listen to the Lowe Post.