What kind of players does this team need to take it to the next level next season?

[HorneyTexan]

1. A defensive 5 who is athletic and adjust shots. I wouldn't complain if this player could also hit the 10 foot jumper consistently.

2. If JA and Kira aren't clear cut answers at the 1, then we need a true point. I had hope for Dyson but he's totally lost his confidence with his shooting. He refuse to take open looks which makes him a liability. His defense gradually improved before the injury and his passing was elite at times but his confidence needs to be rebuilt this offseason.

3. I would have said another shooter, but I believe we have enough depth of athletic 3's and 4's that can get their shots and shoot the 3. They'll need to work on this aspect of their game this off-season but i'd say Herb and Trey are much better this season than last, Josh and Naji are good reserves that can drive for shots and get a 3 too.

Feel free to tear me down on this list...

[Pelicanidae]

Zion healthy goes a long way to fixing things.

But assuming we mean other things.

1) More serious shooting. Trey is elite, we know that, and CJ and Ingram are both very good shooters when they're on (though Ingram's volume can be a bit low at times and CJ can get too selfish with it at times) but outside of those three we don't really have another elite gunner. I'd love if we had someone else who could get into that 38% on good volume range - maybe Herb makes that leap, but we can't assume that.

2) If we're not going to commit to using our bigs in situations where they could be advantageous, then we need to move on from JV. I like JV and I think he's been huge at points in this season but Green's love affair with Nance and even Herb at the 5 lineups, his reluctance to play Jax, etc, tells me that Green just doesn't like legitimately big bigs. So that needs to be a serious conversation in the FO, and if Green really won't commit to JV, trade him and go after someone like John Collins. I think EJ Liddell being back will help here, if he plays well over the summer/summer league and earns opportunities.

Not too worried about dyson - kid's a 19 year old rookie who has had good patches and bad patches. It happens at that age. Let him live

[msusousaphone]

The Saints and Pels need to figure out the injury curse. That's pretty much it for both teams. They're setup to be contenders when healthy.

Now specifically....are we talking new doctors....dietitians.....exorcists......that's the question. But it's been happening to both teams for too long to be a coincidence.

[6warddude]

a player that can take over the game and get buckets when zion and ingram misses games...

[new city champ]

Bench scoring and rim protection are the two obvious holes in the roster. Getting Beasley and Vanderbilt would have been a big step in addressing those needs, but that’s the way it goes. It’s obvious that Green doesn’t think Hayes and Kira can fill those needs and Graham is gone. So we should have some roster spots available. Sign or draft a legit scorer to come off bench and a versatile big who can switch on defense and offer rim protection and rebounding. Those needs will exist whether Zion plays or not.

[donato]

Yeah, to me it's stronger rim protection and health. Throw in stronger defensive rebounding awareness. And that's it.

[As I See It]

They need a veteran presence at the 1 who is team oriented. Our team clicked in 2017-18 because of one player (Rashon Rondo). He, alone, allowed Jrue to shine in the playoffs against Portland and I wonder if Pop's San Antonio success would be nearly as profound without the play of the 'underwhelming' PG, Tony Parker (tongue in cheek, of course) despite having the Great Tim Duncan anchoring his team.

This team needs a swizzle stick 'to stir this concoction'. CJ Lillard....I mean CJ Curry...I mean CJ Harden is absolutely abysmal masquerading in this role. He, more than anybody else, makes JV almost unplayable when the ball is in his hands. This is partially why Willie has to play LNJ with CJ; LNJ doesn't post up on the box or need the ball and that's a major piece of JV's game. Also, can anyone argue that CJ's defense is almost non-existent?

Further, his ineptitude as a orchestrator forces us to use our best player creating...not only for himself, but... for everybody else. While what BI has accomplished in the last month is remarkable; imagine how much more effective he could be if he could be played like KD has been played throughout his career (Westbrook in OKC, Curry/Green in GS, Kyrie in BRK, and now CP3 in PHX).

In time, DD may be the answer, but objectively speaking, that may be a couple of years down the road and there is no veteran presence on this squad to show him the ropes. Kira is a mystery and Jose is not a 30 minute a night presence because of diminutive size. We simply have to make a move to upgrade the position somehow.

[donato]

Lol. Ok

[P_B_&_G]

The Saints and Pels need to figure out the injury curse. That's pretty much it for both teams. They're setup to be contenders when healthy.

Now specifically....are we talking new doctors....dietitians.....exorcists......that's the question. But it's been happening to both teams for too long to be a coincidence.

I like the idea of bringing in an exorcist and maybe a voodoo priestess on the end of the bench. It would be helpful if the exorcist can rebound and rim protect.

[PaKwAn]

-Need more reliable shooters
-a pg to steady the ship to relieve bi/zion from time to time to run the offense. I wouldn't mind conley or rubio if he's healthy.
-paint presence defensively. I would try and go after Clint Capela.
-a go to scorer on the bench. Cj would be nice there but willie ain't doing that.
- draft targets would be Hendricks and or hawkins. I like hawkins because of his shooting and movement without the ball. Hendricks would be nice but might take a while for the team to give him playing time.
-enroll willie to coaching school

[Mrakar]

We need healthy Zion, healthy Nance jr qnd healthy Jose to start with.
Nance was great for us for first part of season but right now he is not the same. JV is fine in some matchups but we are not getting anywhere with him playing more than 20 mins.
Jose did great job brining energy to this team and we didnt have thatvlast couple months.
We need shooting improvement from Dyson and Herb.

We need to update our medical staff!

We are getting as far as Zion can take us. BI is great but he just isnt that level of talent.

[djrnno]

It's very hard to really assess what this team needs because BI and Z have played so very few games together.Will we ever get a break from the ridiculous injury bug that has crippled both the Pels and the Saints? If BI and Z missed only half the games they did we'd be the #2 or 3 seed
1st, SHOOTING. Especially 3pt shooting. We have ONE player in the top 50 in 3pt% and he's @ 28 TM3 with 40.6% And only 3 players in the top 100 and one is Josh Richardson. I think you need at least 3+ 40+% 3pt shooters on the team

2nd, A young vet PG. Dyson may wind up being good but that's at least 2yrs away IMO.
3, CJ really should ( although WG will never do this ) be 1st off the bench, plus he's got to quit thinking he's Dame meets Tyreke Evans and realize he's hurting the team at times, having a hurt hand does not affect his decision making.
4, I agree with DAE about the bigs. And that's part of WG's issues. We don't seem to have an identity. While JV may not be a great fit for Z he's very useful for the 1/2 or more of the season Z seems to be out every season.
5,WG, maybe he needs a strong X's and O's offensive coach that he can take advice from because he can be Monty Williams stubborn about not playing guys

[fullcourtpress]

We need a 3pt assassin. Consistent enough to make cj come off the bench. With cj as our 6th man it cures our bench scoring while letting him be his shoot first self

[Pelicanidae]

We need a 3pt assassin. Consistent enough to make cj come off the bench. With cj as our 6th man it cures our bench scoring while letting him be his shoot first self

I've seen a lot of people suggest this CJ bench thing, and I have to ask, does anyone legitimately think that's going to happen?

I would be stunned beyond belief is Willie ever made that move.

[b_l_p]

I've seen a lot of people suggest this CJ bench thing, and I have to ask, does anyone legitimately think that's going to happen?

I would be stunned beyond belief is Willie ever made that move.

A prayer from our lips to God's ears, brother. (... but I agree, ain't gone happen)

[djrnno]

I've seen a lot of people suggest this CJ bench thing, and I have to ask, does anyone legitimately think that's going to happen?

I would be stunned beyond belief is Willie ever made that move.

Ain't gonna happen, WG is too stubborn. It's the Monty in him

[As I See It]

I've seen a lot of people suggest this CJ bench thing, and I have to ask, does anyone legitimately think that's going to happen?

I would be stunned beyond belief is Willie ever made that move.

Then who goes to the bench? Even if team moves off of JV, someone other than Herb, CJ, 3M3, BI or Z will be playing the five, no?

Also, I'd like your thoughts on Donte' DiVincenzo.

[tdcreator]

1. A Must Need is a point Guard that Willie will trust and play preferably one that can run a pick and roll and shoot some 3's.
2. A Rolling Defensive big. If he can shoot some 3's that would be great to spread the floor
3. A 6th Man that can shoot 3's at an efficient level. (I've not been a Heild fan but he'd be perfect if he's a decent price)

My ideal would be trade Zion to Brooklyn for Bridges and Claxton
Find a PG not sure who'd be available but spend out picks
Go get Heild
Pg- ?
Sg - Bridges
SF - BI
PF - Trey
C - Claxton

6th Man - Heild
7th - DD
8th - Nance
9th - Herb

[Algiersraised]

If cj is truly a leader he will take a step back and go to the bench next year

[Pelicanidae]

Then who goes to the bench? Even if team moves off of JV, someone other than Herb, CJ, 3M3, BI or Z will be playing the five, no?

Also, I'd like your thoughts on Donte' DiVincenzo.

Green would bench Herb, Trey, or JV over CJ.

No need to tell me that's stupid, I know it is, but he'd do it anyway.

Also, I think he's fine.

[Butters]

1. A Must Need is a point Guard that Willie will trust and play preferably one that can run a pick and roll and shoot some 3's.
2. A Rolling Defensive big. If he can shoot some 3's that would be great to spread the floor
3. A 6th Man that can shoot 3's at an efficient level. (I've not been a Heild fan but he'd be perfect if he's a decent price)

My ideal would be trade Zion to Brooklyn for Bridges and Claxton
Find a PG not sure who'd be available but spend out picks
Go get Heild
Pg- ?
Sg - Bridges
SF - BI
PF - Trey
C - Claxton

6th Man - Heild
7th - DD
8th - Nance
9th - Herb

I like the trade idea you purposed...do you think Brooklyn would entertain that idea?

[Pelicanidae]

I like the trade idea you purposed...do you think Brooklyn would entertain that idea?

I don't think either team would be particularly interested.

[JJackisangry]

Shooters. Another big. Preferably one that is capable of shooting to compliment Jonas or replace him. When we shoot well from deep we win without Zion. Imagine if we had that in addition to Zion? Imagine if we had the Trey we have now with Z?

[As I See It]

Shooters. Another big. Preferably one that is capable of shooting to compliment Jonas or replace him. When we shoot well from deep we win without Zion. Imagine if we had that in addition to Zion? Imagine if we had the Trey we have now with Z?

That's the problem; all we can do is imagine.

[JJackisangry]

That's the problem; all we can do is imagine.

Can’t argue. Just those are the blueprints if we want to reach our potential. Need spacing but yeah Zion hasn’t proven he can even stay healthy