Article about our clutchness....

[Worm Guts]

I guess I just can't get on board keeping Pek around being used for limited time with how much he's making. I agree we may not find our quality wing with Pek, so I would look to pickup another center who can play big minutes if necessary starting or coming off the bench + a wing thrown in. Tough to say what he can pull in but I think Flip has to at least shop him. If nothing helps improve the team and Pek stays, fine.

I can't feel good about a backup center and a throw in wing when we already have those pieces. Pek is one of our 3 net positive players, we can't afford to give him away. You might like paying Pek so much with how much he's injured, but the challenge is finding a better alternative.

[Calinks]

I dont think we need to move Pek unless a great deal comes along. Just give Dieng extended minutes. He's the new Dante, he should get ample time and we know Pek will miss 10-20 games so Dieng gets those starts too. It would be an interesting combination.

We need to worry about our wing play and backcourt depth off the bench.

[The J Rocka]

I guess I just can't get on board keeping Pek around being used for limited time with how much he's making. I agree we may not find our quality wing with Pek, so I would look to pickup another center who can play big minutes if necessary starting or coming off the bench + a wing thrown in. Tough to say what he can pull in but I think Flip has to at least shop him. If nothing helps improve the team and Pek stays, fine.

I can't feel good about a backup center and a throw in wing when we already have those pieces. Pek is one of our 3 net positive players, we can't afford to give him away. You might like paying Pek so much with how much he's injured, but the challenge is finding a better alternative.

I guess you make a deal if you feel confident enough in Dieng to start/play 82+ games while showing huge signs of improvement. I can already tell after starting all these game over the least month that he's grown a lot as a pro. I think he's shown enough thus far that he has what it takes to be our guy.

I agree with not essentially 'dumping' Pek without getting anything in return to help us. I'll say this, if you can get Asik type center or even a Spencer Hawes to replace Pek + backup PG or new wing addition for him, I would give it a long serious thought.

[The J Rocka]

We need to worry about our wing play and backcourt depth off the bench.

How do you suppose we fix that without using a core piece with positive value? We don't have much flexibility to work with either. If you don't move Pek, then what pieces of value do we really have to offer to improve those areas? Shabazz and the 13th pick come to mind. You might get an Arron Afflalo level player at best. If you want to keep the pick and cross your fingers Shabazz is that player we're all hoping he becomes, then you're pretty much signaling to Love that we're looking to rebuild or retool.

[Worm Guts]

I don't think I'm quite all in on Gorgui as a starting center yet. I like what I see, but I need to see it for longer.

[Worm Guts]

We need to worry about our wing play and backcourt depth off the bench.

How do you suppose we fix that without using a core piece with positive value? We don't have much flexibility to work with either. If you don't move Pek, then what pieces of value do we really have to offer to improve those areas? Shabazz and the 13th pick come to mind. You might get an Arron Afflalo level player at best. If you want to keep the pick and cross your fingers Shabazz is that player we're all hoping he becomes, then you're pretty much signaling to Love that we're looking to rebuild or retool.

We should be able to find a solid backup PG with the MLE or the 13th pick. We have a few backup quality wings, all we really need is 1 all-star or borderline all-star wing. I don't know how we find that piece though, it will probably take some luck.
I do think we're more likely to find that piece though dangling Dieng, Shabazz and the 13th pick than we are by dangling Pek.

[Krapinsky]

Dieng's splits after 14 games as a starter:

ORtg DRtg +/- MP PTS TRB AST FG%
113 105 +6.6 32.5 12.8 12.4 1.6 .522

Pretty good.

These are Noah's numbers in his 3rd year for the 54 games he started (age 25):

ORtg DRtg +/- MP PTS TRB AST FG%
111 99 -1.5 33.0 11.6 12.2 2.3 .505

[FinnTheHuman]

I do think we're more likely to find that piece though dangling Dieng, Shabazz and the 13th pick than we are by dangling Pek.

Man, we can't send Dieng away when his play is the proof that a long athletic rim protector is just what we need. I mean, we can't win with consistency if we rely on offense this much while neglecting any defense, more specifically rim presence. Imo anyone who isn't clear with the fact that we need rim protection more than Pek's scoring is delusional.

I'd try to find a team interested enough in Pek's skills (OKC should be f.e. if they don't win it this year) to get us a quality wing and a backup C/PG for Pek and a net negative filler (Barea, Martin etc.). It's a huge challenge, but Pek has more value to basically any team more than to us, so we should use that until it is proven that he's less useful than Dieng. By doing that, the other teams don't gain the upper hand in potential deals in 2015 or 2016, and we all know it will happen, especially if Pek shows he can't play more than 60 games next season too.

[Feilong]

I am with FinnTheHuman on this.
Pek missed almost 30 games simply because his weight is too much for his body.
Remember last year? He had some crazy injuries too. Quads? Abdominal?
I can live one year watching Dieng making mistakes and learning, i can't live one more year watching Pek sitting on the bench. Especially when he is paid 12M and surely we can get something for him.
A decent trade is all i am asking.

[Worm Guts]

I'd trade Gorgui for superstar wing in a second if it was available. We're 8-10 since Dieng has been starting and probably giving more points than we were with Pekovic starting, I'm not sure that's dramatic proof of the needed impact of a rim protector.
Ultimately I think we could really use both, especially while Gorgui develops. I think he's still vulnerable to some really bad matchups. Together they can give us 48 minutes of quality center play for less than a max contract, and that's fine as far value goes.

[Narf]

Dieng's splits after 14 games as a starter:

DRtg 105

These are Noah's numbers in his 3rd year for the 54 games he started (age 25):

DRtg 99

Kind of a big deal.

Hopefully Dieng will get significantly better defensively. Noah did after a couple years, and Dieng certainly has the tools. But that D is why Noah is so good.

[karch34]

I am with FinnTheHuman on this.
Pek missed almost 30 games simply because his weight is too much for his body.
Remember last year? He had some crazy injuries too. Quads? Abdominal?
I can live one year watching Dieng making mistakes and learning, i can't live one more year watching Pek sitting on the bench. Especially when he is paid 12M and surely we can get something for him.
A decent trade is all i am asking.

I think the question then is what team is Pek a good fit on? I would think a team with a very good defensive PF is the starting point.

[urinesane]

We don't need a roster overhaul, we need a coach with a different mindset.

Have Dieng start with Love, Rubio, Brew, and Bud (or Bazz if he develops) and have Pek/Martin/Mbah a Moute/Turiaf/FA Backup PG.

If they could get someone like Andre Miller with that 2nd unit, teams wouldn't be able to handle the Wolves. The 2nd unit would be so tough that other teams would have to adjust their rotations/starters etc to deal with it.

It also keeps a shotblocker on the floor most of the game and allows Love/Pek/Martin to all be featured on offense, except when Martin starts ruining the flow, it won't matter as much because he will be on the 2nd unit (his defense would also be less of a liability vs backups).

We all want Rubio to be aggressive, but it's tough with Martin/Pek/Love all needing touches. If you move Pek/Martin to the 2nd unit Rubio can be more aggressive and look to get his shot early.

Also pairing Love/Dieng and Pek/Turiaf addresses a basic fact as far as competing with the best in the NBA...YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SHOT BLOCKING THREAT OR YOU WILL NEVER COMPETE WITH THE TOP TEAMS.

They just need to shuffle things around, get rid of JJ and Adelman, and pickup a solid backup PG that can run an offense.

[urinesane]

I'd trade Gorgui for superstar wing in a second if it was available. We're 8-10 since Dieng has been starting and probably giving more points than we were with Pekovic starting, I'm not sure that's dramatic proof of the needed impact of a rim protector.
Ultimately I think we could really use both, especially while Gorgui develops. I think he's still vulnerable to some really bad matchups. Together they can give us 48 minutes of quality center play for less than a max contract, and that's fine as far value goes.

You don't get rid of a shotblocking defensive big, with a solid shooting stroke, and a lot of room to grow (while on a rookie contract).

They should keep Pek and Dieng, they should just use them differently.

Also, people think Pek is getting paid a lot, but he is actually on a pretty good contract for his production and if you factor in the price we pay for Dieng+Pek vs their output, we could easily have the best Center duo in the league next season and at a great price.

Having Pek with the 2nd unit would allow him to not get as much wear and tear throughout the year and he will be facing backup centers, so he will feast, but without having to play him as many minutes.

[minimus]

I am with FinnTheHuman on this.
Pek missed almost 30 games simply because his weight is too much for his body.
Remember last year? He had some crazy injuries too. Quads? Abdominal?
I can live one year watching Dieng making mistakes and learning, i can't live one more year watching Pek sitting on the bench. Especially when he is paid 12M and surely we can get something for him.
A decent trade is all i am asking.

I think the question then is what team is Pek a good fit on? I would think a team with a very good defensive PF is the starting point.

ATL (Horford), PHI (Noel), OKC (Ibaka), CLE (TT), NOP(Davis), MIL (Henson)

[Feilong]

I am with FinnTheHuman on this.
Pek missed almost 30 games simply because his weight is too much for his body.
Remember last year? He had some crazy injuries too. Quads? Abdominal?
I can live one year watching Dieng making mistakes and learning, i can't live one more year watching Pek sitting on the bench. Especially when he is paid 12M and surely we can get something for him.
A decent trade is all i am asking.

I think the question then is what team is Pek a good fit on? I would think a team with a very good defensive PF is the starting point.

Probably but not necessary. CHA is very good defensive team. I don't consider Jefferson and McRoberts as good defenders but with a good coach and good synergy they do a good job.
- There are teams that need a big that can score. e.g CLE. Their guards can score but their bigs can't. You need to have some balance.
- There are teams with cap-space that might want to roll the dice on someone like Pek.
- There are teams that didn't accomplish their goals this year and will want to make roster changes. Maybe some of them will consider Pek as the missing piece or the extra boost they need.

So there will be/are teams interested in a player like Pek. Flip will have a decent offer on the table. Will he be ok with a decent trade or he will aim for a great one? He isn't Ujiri to make something out of nothing, so i hope he pulls the trigger for the best offer available and not aim for the stars.

[Ice32]

I agree, get a defensive minded coach (Lionel Hollins). Get a defensive/all-around wing (Luol Deng). Get a cheap back-up PG (Andre Miller) and PF/C (Pau Gasol). Trade Pek/Martin/JJ to get Deng and Miller, sign Gasol (Rubio can make this happen):

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=kcehe2d

C - Dieng/Turiaf
PF - Love/Gasol
SF - Deng/Chase
SG - Brewer/Bazz
PG - Rubio/Miller

Having Rubio/Brewer in the backcourt still keeps your transition offense high and gets you 4+ steals, but you have rim protectors in Dieng, Gasol and Turiaf. Love still gets his 20+ FGAs, Luol Deng is the wing defender we need.

Andre Miller off the bench steadies the 2nd unit and Gasol can play with starters or bench.

[Narf]

I agree, get a defensive minded coach (Lionel Hollins). Get a defensive/all-around wing (Luol Deng). Get a cheap back-up PG (Andre Miller) and PF/C (Pau Gasol). Trade Pek/Martin/JJ to get Deng and Miller, sign Gasol (Rubio can make this happen):

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=kcehe2d

C - Dieng/Turiaf
PF - Love/Gasol
SF - Deng/Chase
SG - Brewer/Bazz
PG - Rubio/Miller

Having Rubio/Brewer in the backcourt still keeps your transition offense high and gets you 4+ steals, but you have rim protectors in Dieng, Gasol and Turiaf. Love still gets his 20+ FGAs, Luol Deng is the wing defender we need.

Andre Miller off the bench steadies the 2nd unit and Gasol can play with starters or bench.

How exactly are you getting Gasol and Deng?

[Worm Guts]

I'd trade Gorgui for superstar wing in a second if it was available. We're 8-10 since Dieng has been starting and probably giving more points than we were with Pekovic starting, I'm not sure that's dramatic proof of the needed impact of a rim protector.
Ultimately I think we could really use both, especially while Gorgui develops. I think he's still vulnerable to some really bad matchups. Together they can give us 48 minutes of quality center play for less than a max contract, and that's fine as far value goes.

You don't get rid of a shotblocking defensive big, with a solid shooting stroke, and a lot of room to grow (while on a rookie contract).

You need to give up something good to get something good. If a superstar were available, I would trade Gorgui and try to find rim protection elsewhere.

[Worm Guts]

I am with FinnTheHuman on this.
Pek missed almost 30 games simply because his weight is too much for his body.
Remember last year? He had some crazy injuries too. Quads? Abdominal?
I can live one year watching Dieng making mistakes and learning, i can't live one more year watching Pek sitting on the bench. Especially when he is paid 12M and surely we can get something for him.
A decent trade is all i am asking.

I think the question then is what team is Pek a good fit on? I would think a team with a very good defensive PF is the starting point.

Probably but not necessary. CHA is very good defensive team. I don't consider Jefferson and McRoberts as good defenders but with a good coach and good synergy they do a good job.
- There are teams that need a big that can score. e.g CLE. Their guards can score but their bigs can't. You need to have some balance.
- There are teams with cap-space that might want to roll the dice on someone like Pek.
- There are teams that didn't accomplish their goals this year and will want to make roster changes. Maybe some of them will consider Pek as the missing piece or the extra boost they need.

So there will be/are teams interested in a player like Pek. Flip will have a decent offer on the table. Will he be ok with a decent trade or he will aim for a great one? He isn't Ujiri to make something out of nothing, so i hope he pulls the trigger for the best offer available and not aim for the stars.

I'm sure lots of teams would love to have Pekovic, the hard part is finding someone willing to give up something good for him.
There's usually a give and take with trades, one team gives talent while the other gives salary or potential or something else. The problem with Pek is that to get someone to take on his salary and injury issues, we're going to have to sacrifice talent.