Game #11: ROCKETS (6-3) @ LAC (3-7) FRI 11/17, 7:30 PM

[Scoundreldays]

Must be showcasing him for a trade, because his plus/minus is crap every night. 3-11, 10 points, minus-8? 30 MINUTES? Yup. I still don't know what Powell is doing out there. Especially in the last 5 minutes???

All I can say is that SOMEBODY on the second unit has to put the ball in hole. Mann has a great plus/minus as a glue guy, but he had one more point than a dead man.

I'd take a bag of potato chips for Powell and PJ. I have no idea what those guys are doing out there. Sad thing is neither do they.

Powell is the one I've been harping on. 2 years left on his contract @ $20M per after this one. I don't know who would take him off our hands.

Basically we dumped Mook on the Sixers and they dumped PJ on us. Mook is unplayable in Philly, PJ unplayable here. Pick your poison lol.

Zu played 35 minutes tonight. That kind of workload killed him last year. Now it's Theis or death. Didn't happen a microsecond too soon.

Powell has become redundant unfortunately. In my dream world we trade him for more size / PF just so PJ doesn't play as much. Outside of getting offensive rebounds PJ is another Morris that Ty Lue will fall in love with. Idk who would take Powell though or who to go after.

I've given Zu alot of crap but he came through last night.

[NickP]

the legend, the man

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In Theis we trust!!

[madmaxmedia]

Whatever disconnect there might be between the FO, Ty, and players, you don't make a trade for Harden to keep him on the bench. And you don't need a magic ball to tell you that a Kawhi-PG-Harden-Russ-Whoever lineup is going to spell trouble on most nights. Love Russ' energy, but if everyone's healthy and he has more shots than those other three, that's a huge problem.

Hopefully we got the nasty part out of the way, with the coach and players seeing for themselves what does and doesn't work. Maybe now we can finally start building a functional rotation again, like they seemed to have been doing during preseason.

Kawhi-PG-Harden is your offense, focus on those three figuring stuff out together. If they can't, we're done. Just put two other pieces around them that can defend, one of which can also score a bit. T-Mann isn't ideal at PF, but he might be the best option for the foreseeable future, unless we have one more move to make. Last spot should still go to Zu on most nights, and Theis gives you a decent option for small ball. Really wish PJ wouldn't look so washed on most nights.

I just want to see a solid starting lineup before even worrying about how to stagger the stars, who fits together best with the bench unit, and what to do with Russ.

And I'd really want to see a late play after a TO that doesn't end with a very tough shot, after all the air has been dribbled out of the ball.

Still so many questions about this team, and this is with our stars healthy. You could tell me we'll have more roster changes and a new coach before the year is done and I wouldn't say you're crazy.

Ballmer at the end looked about the same as how I feel right now, just too mentally exhausted to even properly enjoy the win. Maybe getting a few more will alleviate that.

Yes, one step at a time since it is a long season. Establish the starting lineup and that unit first because you aren't going anywhere without them.

Now, you generally will get limited to 2nd round if you also don't have a strong enough 6-8 men, as your bench is what takes you over the top when you meet an opponent that matches your starters, but your starters need to be good first.

After they are developed well enough, you'll still have another 50+ games to figure out rotations and your bench and all that.

Westbrook of course is the biggest loser here. For example, playing 17 minutes last night probably was tough for him. I wonder how his situation is going to play out as the season goes along.

All 3 are skilled enough and have enough BB IQ that I’m pretty sure it can work, if the other 2 spots on the floor are chosen well as you point out. I think the ideal combo would be Zu and an athletic 3-and-D which we don’t have, but at least Theis is a true big and can catch and shoot, and Mann has a complementary skill set that isn’t perfect but can also work well. Also, Kawhi and PG have to get out of the mindset of taking turns iso’ing which is what results in guys standing around. Part of that is waiting to see how the defense reacts and then cutting or whatever to an open spot, but we generally lack off-ball movement.

I think even off the bench Russ can get more than 17 MPG, but not too much more? I think the big thing here is if a second unit led by Russ can establish an identity and chemistry together- that would genuinely be a lot of fun to watch. If so, they can actually be a strength rather than stopgap for resting the stars (and Lue trying to give Russ minutes.) This is a little trickier as we just we may not have the right guys, but I think it will involve giving Russ more free rein to do his thing, and have the right guys/shooters who play off that. He can play with Kawhi and/or PG, but pretty sure we want to minimize Russ/Harden minutes.

[madmaxmedia]

Wow, the new starting line-up put up a real solid +/- across the board. Love seeing George, Leonard, and Harden with +20 points each.

The bench though needs work that's for sure.

Still hoping once the rotations get solidified, we can see Bones Hyland get back in the mix. Maybe he can take some of Powell's minutes. I am still hopeful he works out. I guess time will tell.

Must be showcasing him for a trade, because his plus/minus is crap every night. 3-11, 10 points, minus-8? 30 MINUTES? Yup. I still don't know what Powell is doing out there. Especially in the last 5 minutes???

All I can say is that SOMEBODY on the second unit has to put the ball in hole. Mann has a great plus/minus as a glue guy, but he had one more point than a dead man.

I think against many teams Mann now becomes a good starting PF with our new big 3. He doesn’t demand touches and will always have his head in the game, and can catch and shoot and gives us a little more athleticism than Theis. If we need more size then it’s Theis.

[esqtvd]

I would be giving his mins to Kobe Brown. We are literally developing no talent lol

That's what G-League is for. This ain't Daddy Day Care.

The fact is, nobody has left the Clippers and blossomed elsewhere. With a lot of experience you can average 10 points a game like Reggie Bullock or Terance Mann. You either got it or you don't.

If Kobe Brown is not lost, then there's no issue developing him with the primary roster. If he's lost on the floor, then yes, it's better to have him develop with the G-League so he doesn't lose confidence.

That doesn't seem to be the case though, he's looked like he knows what is going on. He's a more mature and developed player, so his body is NBA ready too. You also have to play the long game, many rookies from November to April will be very different players. He definitely has signs of a guy you can develop over the season to even give you some spot playoff minutes if he continues to learn and grow.

Currently I don't believe he's in the G-League because he's lost, he's there because there isn't a plan to give him consistent PT, especially with the current roster trying to figure itself out, so the G-League gives him an opportunity to stay in shape and play in games.

Kobe will get his NBA minutes when he's ready, just like Mann did. But only noncontenders have the luxury of letting you learn on the job. That's what G-League is for. Kobe is a 4, and we don't have any. He'd be playing if we could afford it, but we can't.

I too remain hopeful he will be getting meaningful minutes as the season goes on, but he's been a pro for like 6 weeks.

[madmaxmedia]

That's what G-League is for. This ain't Daddy Day Care.

The fact is, nobody has left the Clippers and blossomed elsewhere. With a lot of experience you can average 10 points a game like Reggie Bullock or Terance Mann. You either got it or you don't.

If Kobe Brown is not lost, then there's no issue developing him with the primary roster. If he's lost on the floor, then yes, it's better to have him develop with the G-League so he doesn't lose confidence.

That doesn't seem to be the case though, he's looked like he knows what is going on. He's a more mature and developed player, so his body is NBA ready too. You also have to play the long game, many rookies from November to April will be very different players. He definitely has signs of a guy you can develop over the season to even give you some spot playoff minutes if he continues to learn and grow.

Currently I don't believe he's in the G-League because he's lost, he's there because there isn't a plan to give him consistent PT, especially with the current roster trying to figure itself out, so the G-League gives him an opportunity to stay in shape and play in games.

Kobe will get his NBA minutes when he's ready, just like Mann did. But only noncontenders have the luxury of letting you learn on the job. That's what G-League is for. Kobe is a 4, and we don't have any. He'd be playing if we could afford it, but we can't.

I too remain hopeful he will be getting meaningful minutes as the season goes on, but he's been a pro for like 6 weeks.

Right. The question right now is Kobe Brown better served by playing 40 seconds at the end of quarters, or starting in the G-League.

I think as the season progresses Kobe will get more minutes as he does show promise, but we have very little margin for error right now (not that Tucker is holding it down for us either lol.)

[og15]

That's what G-League is for. This ain't Daddy Day Care.

The fact is, nobody has left the Clippers and blossomed elsewhere. With a lot of experience you can average 10 points a game like Reggie Bullock or Terance Mann. You either got it or you don't.

If Kobe Brown is not lost, then there's no issue developing him with the primary roster. If he's lost on the floor, then yes, it's better to have him develop with the G-League so he doesn't lose confidence.

That doesn't seem to be the case though, he's looked like he knows what is going on. He's a more mature and developed player, so his body is NBA ready too. You also have to play the long game, many rookies from November to April will be very different players. He definitely has signs of a guy you can develop over the season to even give you some spot playoff minutes if he continues to learn and grow.

Currently I don't believe he's in the G-League because he's lost, he's there because there isn't a plan to give him consistent PT, especially with the current roster trying to figure itself out, so the G-League gives him an opportunity to stay in shape and play in games.

Kobe will get his NBA minutes when he's ready, just like Mann did. But only noncontenders have the luxury of letting you learn on the job. That's what G-League is for. Kobe is a 4, and we don't have any. He'd be playing if we could afford it, but we can't.

I remain hopeful he will be getting meaningful minutes as the season goes on, but he's been a pro for like 6 weeks.

That's something that we, and even coaching staffs can convince themselves to be true, but isn't necessarily so.

For example, here's another mentality towards it:

You win a championship, but our path right now is we have to develop all of these young players," said Malone. "And doing that while not running all of our starters into the ground. That right there is a balance. It's hard, but I have to really remind myself of that and sometimes you have to live with the results. But those experiences, when you stack them up and stack them up, hopefully, by the end of the year, those guys are no longer rookies.

https://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/how-the-denver-nuggets-are-prioritizing-development-while-contending-for-championships

Braun shot 40/35/54 his first 20 games of last season, the team was -3.1 in his minutes. Now some people will look at his final season stats (50/35/63) and say, "well of course he got minutes, he was an efficient rookie".

Of course every rookie can't get minutes, but it should be an aim to always incorporate at least one (who is not absolutely lost of course) so that you are also working on in game development along with practice development. In this situation where PJ might just be a negative player who the rest of the lineup around him might have to carry to be positive, Kobe has an even better situation for opportunity.

[esqtvd]

If Kobe Brown is not lost, then there's no issue developing him with the primary roster. If he's lost on the floor, then yes, it's better to have him develop with the G-League so he doesn't lose confidence.

That doesn't seem to be the case though, he's looked like he knows what is going on. He's a more mature and developed player, so his body is NBA ready too. You also have to play the long game, many rookies from November to April will be very different players. He definitely has signs of a guy you can develop over the season to even give you some spot playoff minutes if he continues to learn and grow.

Currently I don't believe he's in the G-League because he's lost, he's there because there isn't a plan to give him consistent PT, especially with the current roster trying to figure itself out, so the G-League gives him an opportunity to stay in shape and play in games.

Kobe will get his NBA minutes when he's ready, just like Mann did. But only noncontenders have the luxury of letting you learn on the job. That's what G-League is for. Kobe is a 4, and we don't have any. He'd be playing if we could afford it, but we can't.

I remain hopeful he will be getting meaningful minutes as the season goes on, but he's been a pro for like 6 weeks.

That's something that we, and even coaching staffs can convince themselves to be true, but isn't necessarily so.

For example, here's another mentality towards it:

You win a championship, but our path right now is we have to develop all of these young players," said Malone. "And doing that while not running all of our starters into the ground. That right there is a balance. It's hard, but I have to really remind myself of that and sometimes you have to live with the results. But those experiences, when you stack them up and stack them up, hopefully, by the end of the year, those guys are no longer rookies.

https://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/how-the-denver-nuggets-are-prioritizing-development-while-contending-for-championships

Braun shot 40/35/54 his first 20 games of last season, the team was -3.1 in his minutes. Now some people will look at his final season stats (50/35/63) and say, "well of course he got minutes, he was an efficient rookie".

Of course every rookie can't get minutes, but it should be an aim to always incorporate at least one (who is not absolutely lost of course) so that you are also working on in game development along with practice development. In this situation where PJ might just be a negative player who the rest of the lineup around him might have to carry to be positive, Kobe has an even better situation for opportunity.

Jamal Murray was out. Minutes were desperately needed, and Braun's early numbers were encouraging enough. We're juggling 4 superstars, and Mann scored 1 point in a Pat Bev-like 21 minutes.

Now, Tucker has been a complete disaster and he's just about run out of leash. Theis will get a lot of those minutes at the 4 and small ball 5. We may just be desperate enough to turn to Kobe right soon. But we're a basket case at the moment whereas as your link states,

There's a luxury in boasting what the organization feels is the best starting lineup in the sport. Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokić make this conundrum easier to stomach. Those five guys alone can get you a lot of regular season wins.

Not comparable scenarios. We are on the verge of disaster and the whole team leaving next summer. No margin for error, no time for Daddy Day Care.

[og15]

Kobe will get his NBA minutes when he's ready, just like Mann did. But only noncontenders have the luxury of letting you learn on the job. That's what G-League is for. Kobe is a 4, and we don't have any. He'd be playing if we could afford it, but we can't.

I remain hopeful he will be getting meaningful minutes as the season goes on, but he's been a pro for like 6 weeks.

That's something that we, and even coaching staffs can convince themselves to be true, but isn't necessarily so.

For example, here's another mentality towards it:

You win a championship, but our path right now is we have to develop all of these young players," said Malone. "And doing that while not running all of our starters into the ground. That right there is a balance. It's hard, but I have to really remind myself of that and sometimes you have to live with the results. But those experiences, when you stack them up and stack them up, hopefully, by the end of the year, those guys are no longer rookies.

https://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/how-the-denver-nuggets-are-prioritizing-development-while-contending-for-championships

Braun shot 40/35/54 his first 20 games of last season, the team was -3.1 in his minutes. Now some people will look at his final season stats (50/35/63) and say, "well of course he got minutes, he was an efficient rookie".

Of course every rookie can't get minutes, but it should be an aim to always incorporate at least one (who is not absolutely lost of course) so that you are also working on in game development along with practice development. In this situation where PJ might just be a negative player who the rest of the lineup around him might have to carry to be positive, Kobe has an even better situation for opportunity.

Jamal Murray was out. Minutes were desperately needed, and Braun's early numbers were encouraging enough. We're juggling 4 superstars, and Mann scored 1 point in a Pat Bev-like 21 minutes.

Now, Tucker has been a complete disaster and he's just about run out of leash. Theis will get a lot of those minutes at the 4 and small ball 5. We may just be desperate enough to turn to Kobe right soon. But we're a basket case at the moment whereas as your link states,

There's a luxury in boasting what the organization feels is the best starting lineup in the sport. Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokić make this conundrum easier to stomach. Those five guys alone can get you a lot of regular season wins.

Not comparable scenarios. We are on the verge of disaster and the whole team leaving next summer. No margin for error, no time for Daddy Day Care.

You're mixing up seasons. Jamal Murray played 65/82 last season, he only missed 4 games in their first 20, and 8 games in their first 53 games, this wasn't because of injury.

How do you get early numbers except by being on the court, right?

Kobe's early numbers are promising, he doesn't look lost on the court, he's played 52 minutes and shot 50/38 so far. His big minute games so far, the team has been double digit + with the lineups that had him. The lineups with him have been positive in 4/5 games, meaning his presence on the floor is definitely not some wildly destructive situation. His numbers are as promising as one can get from a limited sample.

PJ Tucker has absolutely no upside, it's not his fault, he's 37 (38?) years old, he's more likely to be even worse and less productive in the playoffs just from age and the long season catching up to him.

[esqtvd]

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Tucker paired with a 5 is not happening. Embiid can shoot the 3, so the spacing was OK. Not happening here. The only combos that weren't dreadful were brief stints as the small ball 5.

[nickhx2]

well, i'm sure i'm like everyone else in that i'm relieved that we won, but my concerns are still quite concerning, at least to me

- this whole business with tucker: dude is just not doing enough positive things as far as i can see. yet he's getting a bunch of minutes and that's alarming, considering how gluey/connecty/amplifying t-mann has been with any combination of stars.

- powell's another guy who's getting too much time over the less shot-intensive guys. it'd be fine if he was a better 3-point shooter or if he was a better defender, but he's a guy who needs the ball to be effective, doesn't space in an elite way, doesn't board, doesn't pass: all detrimental things for a team that is SUPPOSED to put supporting pieces around the star core guys.

- zu's not getting enough time either, and it's like, basically just shades of yesteryear where marcus morris's presence alone as an ill-fitting piece just detracts from the point of the core, rather than augmenting or amplifying it.

funny thing is that while last year i was adamant that lue had to go, i'm not quite there yet but i'm also like, eh, if he keeps this up then it's gonna really suck. and i know that coaching isn't purely about lineups or rotations, despite what many of us want to believe or are even able to understand from a basketball perspective, but you sure are gonna feel like gigantic sums of money are left on the table with those minute imbalances.

- i'm also pretty concerned about westbrook. he looked more alive than he'd been in years before the trade, and now i just don't see how it's not going to impact him negatively: possibly to the point that he reverts back to his level of play on the lakers. we're really gambling on lue to figure out the starters sooner rather than later, because imo he needs as much time as possible to focus on getting westbrook sorted out in a role that's both good and happy for him. and without that we're gonna have a far less effective guy coming off the bench who instead could very possibly be an absolute chaos creating and pace pushing demon off the bench. i'll say i'm optimistic about his fit with theis, and far more optimistic about it all if powell were moved for an athletic, rim-running PF such that we could go fast with like a theis/PG/bones/westbrook/new guy kinda thing but we're at the mercy of the FO and any available trades in that regard.



so yeah, big concerns for me, which outweigh the positives (kawhi/harden/PG all looking better) and i don't feel great about that.

[esqtvd]

That's something that we, and even coaching staffs can convince themselves to be true, but isn't necessarily so.

For example, here's another mentality towards it:

https://www.nba.com/nuggets/news/how-the-denver-nuggets-are-prioritizing-development-while-contending-for-championships

Braun shot 40/35/54 his first 20 games of last season, the team was -3.1 in his minutes. Now some people will look at his final season stats (50/35/63) and say, "well of course he got minutes, he was an efficient rookie".

Of course every rookie can't get minutes, but it should be an aim to always incorporate at least one (who is not absolutely lost of course) so that you are also working on in game development along with practice development. In this situation where PJ might just be a negative player who the rest of the lineup around him might have to carry to be positive, Kobe has an even better situation for opportunity.

Jamal Murray was out. Minutes were desperately needed, and Braun's early numbers were encouraging enough. We're juggling 4 superstars, and Mann scored 1 point in a Pat Bev-like 21 minutes.

Now, Tucker has been a complete disaster and he's just about run out of leash. Theis will get a lot of those minutes at the 4 and small ball 5. We may just be desperate enough to turn to Kobe right soon. But we're a basket case at the moment whereas as your link states,

There's a luxury in boasting what the organization feels is the best starting lineup in the sport. Jamal Murray, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Michael Porter Jr., Aaron Gordon, and Nikola Jokić make this conundrum easier to stomach. Those five guys alone can get you a lot of regular season wins.

Not comparable scenarios. We are on the verge of disaster and the whole team leaving next summer. No margin for error, no time for Daddy Day Care.

You're mixing up seasons. Jamal Murray played 65/82 last season, he only missed 4 games in their first 20, and 8 games in their first 53 games, this wasn't because of injury.

How do you get early numbers except by being on the court, right?

Kobe's early numbers are promising, he doesn't look lost on the court, he's played 52 minutes and shot 50/38 so far. His big minute games so far, the team has been double digit + with the lineups that had him. The lineups with him have been positive in 4/5 games, meaning his presence on the floor is definitely not some wildly destructive situation. His numbers are as promising as one can get from a limited sample.

PJ Tucker has absolutely no upside, it's not his fault, he's 37 (38?) years old, he's more likely to be even worse and less productive in the playoffs just from age and the long season catching up to him.

Yes, it looks like Tucker's time is up. See chart above. He is a poor spacing fit with Zu, and Theis is only a 32.5% career 3-pt shooter, so not much help there either. Kobe's time may be coming soon. [Remember, the Clippers were attempting to teach him the 5 before they landed Theis, so there was a bit of a detour there.]

As for "developing young talent," my only point is that you can't give out minutes without them being earned. The point still holds--few if any Clipper draftees in our history have gone elsewhere and blossomed. The constant grousing about "playing the kids" is unfounded: When a kid is ready for NBA minutes, he gets them, and look--Kobe has already moved ahead of Diabate in the space of a month!

[og15]

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Tucker paired with a 5 is not happening. Embiid can shoot the 3, so the spacing was OK. Not happening here. The only combos that weren't dreadful was brief stints as the small ball 5.

Yes, Tucker is a rim protector with charges, but he's not a deterrent which shot blockers are. Offensively he's lesser and lesser each year, and he can't guard as well defensively man to man anymore.

Like I said, the roster is in flux, so Kobe going to the G-League and Bones going out of the rotation as they figure it out is fine.

From a maximizing upside in the playoffs standpoint though, guys like Bones and Kobe are probably ones that if after 10-15 games, you're getting either negative lineups with Tucker or can only get "cheating" positive lineups where he's positive because he's with your starting lineup and he can't hurt enough to make them negative, then you need to go away from him.

The bench needs an identity, their's can be the younger, faster lineup. I'm not really concerned about Powell, he's a nice 6th man to carry a bench unit scoring, but the team doesn't really need that type of player.

You could have a few bench lineups that exemplify that:

Westbrook/Bones/Brown/Diabate/Theis

Westbrook/Bones/Brown/George/Theis

Right now of course Lue is just throwing things out there to see, but from a logical standpoint, of course the "developing an identity" is the goal.

[nickhx2]

yeah i can't slam lue too hard because there are so many critical processes going on right now, we just don't know what's supposed to be what, or going to be what

but i also can't say the threat of another marcus morris type situation looming over the entire season with a decrepit pj tucker isn't a big worry, for me

[playaloc916]

Harden needs to make this a dance

[x]

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?t=IM8_OUiDL415jpuOY2ethQ&s=19[/x]

[playaloc916]

Once Plumlee gets back, there won't be any meaningful minutes available for Brown. I wouldn't mind him getting an uptick of minutes while Plumlee is recovering, just to see what he can do with it.

[esqtvd]

Once Plumlee gets back, there won't be any meaningful minutes available for Brown. I wouldn't mind him getting an uptick of minutes while Plumlee is recovering, just to see what he can do with it.

Can we get to .500 first?

[PeteyPablo]

Clippers were active on the defensive end this game.

They ended with 10 steals and 7 blocks

Theis is a solid player. Great pick up out of no where ?

Next two games are vs Spurs. Clippers need to take care of business , which does not need to be stated but I’m speaking it into existence .

Clippers are 11th place right now with 71 games left.

[wakelaunch1]

Once Plumlee gets back, there won't be any meaningful minutes available for Brown. I wouldn't mind him getting an uptick of minutes while Plumlee is recovering, just to see what he can do with it.

Can we get to .500 first?

I get what you are saying but the minutes we are getting from that position have been disastrous. Brown is old and and has a mature body. He was solid when in the game and can hit the 3 ball. Ty Lue was worst coach for developing Mann. What he did to Mann last season was pathetic. Deciding when someone is ready when they dont even practice seems pointless. Kobe was a first pick, played well in summer league, and played well in the minutes he got. He deserves it.

[esqtvd]

Once Plumlee gets back, there won't be any meaningful minutes available for Brown. I wouldn't mind him getting an uptick of minutes while Plumlee is recovering, just to see what he can do with it.

Can we get to .500 first?

I get what you are saying but the minutes we are getting from that position have been disastrous. Brown is old and and has a mature body. He was solid when in the game and can hit the 3 ball. Ty Lue was worst coach for developing Mann. What he did to Mann last season was pathetic. Deciding when someone is ready when they dont even practice seems pointless. Kobe was a first pick, played well in summer league, and played well in the minutes he got. He deserves it.

Yah, we aren't disagreeing at all, bruh. Kobe is the only G-Leaguer in line to get significant minutes--or frankly, ever. I liked him since Summer League, and Mann was the only one I've said that about, and we're going back to 2019. [And believe it or not, Reggie Bullock in 2013. Who turned into a passable pro SIX years later.]



But all the calls for "playing the kids" for the last 4 years now have been bullshtt. They are NOT real NBAers. NAME ONE.

THAT's the primary point here. Kobe is a #30 pick who had a nice Summer League, and hasn't embarrassed himself in his few minutes with the REAL team. He hasn't earned NBA minutes but he has earned a CHANCE at NBA minutes.

All I asked is that we get to .500 first.

_________________________________

I mean, everybody wanted to dump Mook--who is now a continuing disaster in Philly, but Nick Nurse is giving him a veteran's respect and a chance to avoid the ashheap of NBA history--just like Ty is doing with Tucker. Other veterans notice that level of respect, that you won't be tossed aside like garbage after a few bad games.

And Ballmer, Inc. is stuck with TWO more years of PJ, so Ty is FCKED as an organization man. You'd at least love to keep PJ on as mentor for Kobe [and maybe Theis too], and you'd like to find a role for him ON the court, even only 7-10 mpg.

Yo, I'm Joe Plus-Minus around here , and PJ should be bought out immediately based on the numbers. But PJ commands respect among his NBA peers. This team NEEDS some self-respect.

"Identity," they're calling it now. Back in the day, they called it heart. Everybody knows what that means. PJ has heart. Mook don't. Even if equally useless on the court now, they ain't the same. You WANT Tucker on your team, in your clubhouse.

Not so much on the court, but if you cut him, that's $11M in dead cap money, and another $11.5 next year.

And he ain't gonna take no buyout, lol.