Like to hear that no one works harder on and off the court.
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Like to hear that no one works harder on and off the court.
Cole for Salmons is good, but the Thunder did a lot more to strengthen their team for that 8th spot. I still think Evans is doing a better job running point than Jrue. Never was a big fan of that trade for Jrue.
I like the Cole trade. Welcome Norris
I am glad that we got a player of use for a player we had no use for, but ultimately this trade is a microcosm of the problem the Pelicans organization has right now, we are stuck in a position where we don't have any assets outside of core guys that we spent a lot to acquire to try and get better.
Well run organizations like OKC, Dallas, GSW, Phoenix, Portland and Miami use their poker chips wisely and always have a supply that they can use when they need to acquire players that move the needle for their franchise without giving up core pieces. They do this by taking a multi prong approach to building their franchise: developing talent, using draft picks wisely, smart FA signings, having coaching staffs that get the best out of players. So when unexpected things happen they have routes to buffer a loss and when needed make moves that move the needle in their favor.
We have very little of that as franchise and as a result we sit not he outside looking in on the playoffs and have very little IMO that we can trade away that keeps our core in tact while making us considerably better.
You can't say that about the Pelicans.
Isn't it very possible we have some nice pieces next year? Perkins was a bad chip last year, a valuable one this year. Chips change. Once we give Hou our pick this year, we will also be able to give up future picks again.
From my POV, the second this season ends we no longer have any negative chips. Just positive ones. And possibly really good ones if Gordon and Ryno play well in these final 29 games/continue to get healthier.
Patience. AD is 21, not 28. This is just the beginning of the run with him, not the end.
Heck, at year end Jimmer, Cole, Minty, and Demps might be gone (si Dios quiere).
I feel like it's time for the obligatory 2009-2010 Hornets roster post, because everyone forgets how far we've come.
If I told you that by the end of the season Russ SMith Austin Rivers and John Salmons would become your future 8th and 10th men next year, we'd all be ecstatic. The cap management bonuses of having 35-40 minutes of contribution from Cole and Pondexter (Legit 8-9-10th men) for about 6 million total is significant. This should also put us over the cap, giving us the Full MLE and BIE to sign our 7th and 9th men. Starting next season, we're 10 deep.... something that you couldn't really imagine without trading a 75 cent piece for 3 quarters or something like that.
If I wanted to be a cynical a-hole, I could point out bad things all of these teams did. Don't forget that Portland went from 33-49 with no bench to the playoffs last year by shoring up their bench. And that 33-49 season was Lamarcus' 6th year.
All of life is a matter of opportunity costs.
Is this a better roster then what we had in 09? Maybe.
Is this the best roster we could of realistically acquired for the present and long term given the assets we had? I don't think so.
Is this even a very good use of the assets we had? I would say no.
Again, 4 lottery picks, a very good back up PG, around 50 million in cap space and a starting caliber Center has resulted in Holliday, Evans, Gordon, Pondexter and Asik. Is that really the best use of what we gave up to get those players?
This isn't even touching on the 1st rounder for Jeryd Bayless trade.
Anderson is currently the only signing Demps has made that could potentially catch equal or better market value for what he cost to acquire. What does that say?
I'm not saying you don't have a point... I'm saying it's like being P.O'ed at the weatherman for not being totally accurate.
Let's look at the Kings, a team that value their draft picks:
They've had the 8th, 7th, 5th, and 10th picks in the past 4 drafts:
They ended up with Maclemore (finally looking like a blue chipper), Stauskas (a pick well in projection with the "experts"), Thomas Robinson (some suggest he should go 2nd, a home run) and Jimmer Fredette (Again, pretty much in line, maybe a slight reach).
When a team whiffs on 3 of 4 draft picks to surround their budding star, your team looks like the Kings.
The blazers Drafted Myers Leonard instead of John Henson
They also drafted CJ Mclollum instead of MCW and Steven Adams.
The difference? When they drafted Lilliard they had 2 budding stars in Batum and Aldridge. And they've had amazing injury luck.
I think if you take away the injuries (including the one I sincerely believe Asik is dealing with), you probably look at this a lot differently.
If you put our luck on Portland, you probably laugh at them a lot harder than you laugh at us.
People don't want to acknowledge that this is a major factor, but it is.
It's not THE factor. But in a game where the 6th best team is maybe 2-3 pts per game better than the 15th best team, minor things make a major difference.
One day, luck will be on our side. I truly believe that. We had it in 07-08 and that was fun. I mean, that team wasn't much different on paper from the previous year when we went 39-43. Injury luck was on our side, though.
We are due for karma. I believe it is coming.
Anderson trade was excellent.
The Asik trade was a good move. Probability is the 1st round pick will not help us as much as this giant Turk/beast who will sign with us at a fair price. If not more space for us to compete for coveted FAs.
Jrue trade is fine and I'd take Jrue over almost 90 percent of the PGs in the league. We didnt need Noel and I'd rather Asik anyway. Good move but Jrue must recover and play or the move will look flawed. Most GMs would have made that move if they were in Demps shoes.
Trade for Tyreke is sort of questionable. I wonder if we had kept Vasquez as a backup and had Lopez start if that would have been a better move... Asik and Tyreke are definitely better but I'm still unsure about that trade. Jury is still out. I will say that Reke is having an awesome year and he's awesome when he's on fire.
Signing Gordon was a HUGE mistake BUT I would have done the same thing at that time. Most of us would. What a mess.
A first for Bayless was bizarre but it's over now.
Getting Qpon and signing Cunningham were good moves.
Signing Salmons was not so great but trading him for Cole was smart.
I think Demps is VERY strategic and brilliant. He is unpredictable in both good and bad ways. He's clearly not done putting this team together but once we get Gordon off this team I see Demps making one HUGE move within the next 2 years if he isn't fired. I think he's going to clear space to sign a superstar to join and then we'll be praising the organization like never before.
This much is clear. AD is 21. This is just the start. The Pels will not have one negative asset on this roster going into next year. Will have rights to their own picks after June. So, they have a chance to restart or adjust if they would like. This team is not weighed down by terrible contracts with no picks of their own like the Nets. They have the hardest piece to acquire - the mega star. The story is far from written. Drawing conclusions right now is getting far too ahead of ourselves.
All of our own. We haven't traded any future picks past the upcoming 2015 draft.
MM's negative assets point is interesting, and true. You can say that Gordon is killing us.... but if Javale showed us anything, it's that a big expiring and a 1st rounder will buy you 15m in cap space. I think our flexibility is actually pretty strong right now.
We will have access to all our future picks.
Don't hold your breath for a star SF.
1.) There aren't many out there
2.) Stars don't change teams often, and when they do, they don't go to small markets (LBJ don't count)
If Dell is here, our offseason is predictable IMO - keep everyone, sign a wing like Jared Dudley
If Dell is replaced, anything goes.
But this summer, we will sign a mega star as AD will sign his extension and that is more important than anything else.
In other news, Chris Paul going absolutely bonkers right now.
I wouldn't look at it any differently.
Even completely healthy I would not think the Evans trade was worth the cost. The Jrue trade MAY be worth its cost, but when you put into play the fact that a guy like Jeff Teague was on the market and was ultimately signed for less then Jrue's salary it makes you scratch your head. You have a lottery pick, why not use it and then make a run at a FA that can hold you over while you develop the draft pick?
To an extent I can understand the logic with Jrue. Although I still don't agree with it. I think Dell puts a lower value on draft picks then I do and I think it is a large reason we are siting where we are right now with so few assets.
Gordon had an injury history that we looked past because we had married ourselves to him because of the CP3 trade. In retrospect a sign and trade would of been the smart move that a more veteran franchise would of chosen. If that wasn't a realistic thing then just let him walk and cut your loses.
I never liked Rivers before the draft, during the draft or after the draft. He reeked of a choice based on nepotism.
Portland was able to acquire Lillard exactly because they didn't do what we did and trade away all their firsts.
Which is the point I have been making. We gave up flexibility and assets for a handful of players that haven't exactly proven to be a ideal fits with our star and each other - even when healthy.
Jimmer maniacs still bonkers i see. Hopefully we'll have to see jimmers only when the bench hops up after a big play of the guys actually on the field
Now, this is far more interesting :hihi: i honestly hope they give gigi some more minutes in boston because while his decision to go to the nba was as stupid as they come, he's not really that much worse than plenty of people we see getting consistently minutes. Wish he'd just go back to europe but he's too dumb or proud to consider it *shrugs*Quote:
I think Luigi Datome will come in and take Gerald Wallace's minutes.....but eventually Gerald will step up and take Luigi's rotation spot... proving something or other....
Who cares you ask?
Good Question.
The argument of mortgaging the future is just inaccurate at this point. Right now, AD seems pretty gosh darn happy where he is. He has talented players around him. I don't know why so many people would rather have a new rookie to pair up with him every year who may or not me absolutely worthless. I know that some have forgotten how awesome Trey Burke is doing this year. http://www.basketball-reference.com/...burketr01.html
Just practice patience. These guys are young and they have time to figure it out. Once you have the pieces, you don't always need to rush to finish the product.